This winter started off on the left foot – first there were an endless string of hot dry days that lingered through December. Then came the disastrous Carmel fire. And then while the embers were still smoldering, came the first real winter storm – 3 days of torrential rain. I couldn’t even begrudge the 26 … Read More »
On Droughts, Fires and Blogging
Take Israeli society and narrow it down to the sub-set of English-speakers, then divide it further to get those people who blog in English, and then take away another giant slice, to capture those people in Israel who blog in English about food – and you come up with about ten people, all sitting around … Read More »
Cracking Olives
The olive harvest is officially underway here in the Galilee. At this point, though, relatively early on in the season, most people I know are picking olives for eating – the large scale harvesting to make olive oil will probably begin in another week or so. As we do every year, Ron, our good friend … Read More »
Sukkot
The holiday of Sukkot, for those of you who are not familiar, originally celebrated the late summer harvest, with a pilgrimage to the Temple bearing offerings of the season’s yield. In commemoration of the local practice during Biblical times, Jews are commanded to build a “Sukka” (booth, tabernacle) – a makeshift outdoor structure that recalls … Read More »
Bagels With a Twist
Every family has their Yom Kippur fast-breaking tradition, and ours involves a spread of bagels, cream cheese, smoked salmon, pickled herring, etc. This is a nod to the tradition that I grew up with in the United States, and homage to my grandfather, who was in the deli business, and whose dining room table never … Read More »