Trying to find normality in the midst of Gaza’s summer

There is nothing normal about life in Gaza. The Israeli and Egyptian-led siege, Fatah and Hamas fighting and poverty. What about trying to make a smoothie (via Kabobfest)?

Now that I have been trapped in the Gaza Strip and I am determined to make smoothies here. As you know people in Gaza lose their jobs, loved ones and even their lives in a matter of seconds, but that does not mean I have to lose my mojo. Here are few challenges to my plan”

Problem One, frozen fruits have not gone mainstream in Gaza, maybe because the food sits for days on the crossings and it is costly to keep it frozen that long. It could be that people do not have enough fruits to consume fresh, yet alone to freeze it.

Solution I started freezing my own, whatever seasonal fruits I can buy for cheap, I freeze. Mangos, plums, melons, grapes are all summer fruits and all make great smoothie fruits.

Problem Two, due to the power shortage, electricity cuts off regularly and thus it is hard to keep food frozen. Once a day power cuts off about six hours and one cannot get fruits to a freezing degree on such conditions.

Solution, freeze my fruits at nearby family members who have a power generator which created another problem, their kids eat the fruits of my labor.

Problem 3, since the siege on Gaza electronic goods have yet to make it to Gaza via the legal outlets. Thus the only stuff you can find is the stuff they get from the tunnels, and the quest for finding a good Egyptian make blender is harsh. The blenders they have in Gaza are all wimpy and are not make for crushing frozen fruits—they are good for making Humus though.

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

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