Living by Galilee Seasonality is full of ritual – with the same tasks carried out year after year under a delightfully never-exhausted series of circumstances. Now, after the drenching of our first substantial rain, it is time to harvest olives. The first green olives are for curing, and later on, when the fruit ripens and … Read More »
galilee foods
The Next Installment
For my birthday last month, I received a book each from two close friends. Each one of them – the books and the friends – has made a tremendous impression on me. At long last, I have my own copy of the wonderful Jerusalem cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. I find much that … Read More »
The Garden of New Year
How confusing to celebrate two New Years each year. Can I pledge allegiance to one of them, or at least find some resonance beyond the occasion for a holiday meal or a midnight kiss? Because I live in the Galilee, from whose agricultural landscape the practice of declaring a New Year at the end of … Read More »
House Blend Herb Tea
On these roasting summer days, one can never drink enough, and I try to keep a pitcher of chilled herb tea in the fridge at all times. Very auspiciously, the path leading to my front door is lined with herbs – starting with rosemary, followed by zaatar (Syrian marjoram), lemon verbena, thyme, zuta levana (white … Read More »
Roots are What Sustain Us
At this point in my life, birthdays are an opportunity to indulge in whatever I desire, and this year, not surprisingly, it was to spend time in the Western Galilee. Maybe I was a Crusader in a previous life, or a farmer whose world view was bound by sage-redolent hills and the shining expanse of … Read More »