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 »
nazareth
A New Article in Gastronomica
Over a year has passed since Ron, Balkees and I helped harvest green wheat to make farike. After that amazing experience, I wrote an article which was accepted for publication in Gastronomica magazine – that very fine journal of food and culture that is put out by UC Press. The article was accepted in the … Read More »
A Tabun is Born – Continued
Building our tabun was an elaborate process which involved the contributions of a number of people. And it’s in this kind of project where you discover the blessing of having good friends. Ron’s friend and work colleague Mahmoud Nassar oversaw the project. He guided Ron and our friend Tzvika in how to shape and weld … Read More »
A Tabun is Born
For a long time, Ron has wanted to build a “tabun” in our yard. Tabun isn’t exactly the most precise term for what he wants – but the common denominator between a traditional “tabun” and what we will make is that they are both wood-burning ovens fashioned from a mixture of local clay and straw. … 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 »