As you may know, we made plenty of olives this year – green and black – from our beloved Suri olive tree. But making oil was not on the agenda. Until Balkees pointed out that, to leave the massive amount of olives on our one other tree, of the Barnea variety, would be … Read More »
galilee
My Olives Taste Good!
Ron and I cure olives every year – but always green ones. We have the technique down pat – and have even found a convenient shortcut for cracking the olives, in a handy little machine at the El Babour Mill in Nazareth (see my post from Oct. 9). But I love black olives too and … Read More »
Dry as a Bone
Dry as a bone. That’s what these autumn days in the Galilee are like. The sky is cloudless, the sun, relentless and the air, brittle. My jars and tubes of creams are serving overtime. Now I understand why people here have always rubbed their skin and hair with olive oil. When the seasonal rains don’t … Read More »
A Green Olive Harvest
The first serious bout of winter rain descended several weeks ago, marking a traditional and unofficial opening of the olive harvest season in the Galilee. In fact, late September is too early for olive picking, which generally extends from late October through November. But that first rain fulfilled its function of washing off the summer … Read More »
Autumn New Year
After the dramatic autumns of my East Coast childhood, living in the Galilee has accustomed me to a more gradual and nuanced approach of the season. Here, the beginning of fall is marked by the brief appearance of a wispy white flower, a chill in the evening air, and the return of clouds to the … Read More »