The olive harvest in the Galilee usually starts after the first serious rain, which rinses off the dust and plumps up the fruit. In the one year on, one year off cycle of olive trees, this is an off year, and the price of oil – more than $150 for a 16-liter container – reflects … Read More »
Sesame Revealed
From a recent discussion with a friend, I realized that there is a general lack of awareness about how sesame grows. And since I recently became enlightened on the subject, it seems proper to share my insight with the curious. While sesame is a crop that was traditionally grown in the Galilee, these days most … Read More »
And an Apple New Year
The Upper Galilee Slow Food Convivium is the largest in Israel, and certainly the most active, thanks to the energy and enthusiasm of its heads, Avigdor and Einat Rothem. Yesterday they hosted an event centered around apples, and specifically to apple-growing in the Druze sector. About 30 slow-foodies met at 4:00 in the afternoon in … Read More »
Bedouin Hospitality
Thank goodness some relief has come from the monotony of these long, hot summer days. Ramadan begins today and a few days ago I paid a pre-holiday visit to my good friends Maryam and her sister Emna, in the neighboring Bedouin village of Basmat Tabun. I haven’t seen them for some time – they used … Read More »
Follow-up to “Foot in the Garden and Some Words about Mark
Since my last post, I’ve been edified on the matter of the farfahina that I found in the Wadi Nisnas market. My esteemed friend Mark Rubin, who is very wise on matters of local foods, informed me that it’s English name is purslane and it commonly grows on the East Coast of the US. Not … Read More »