Living in the Galilee, I am occasionally gifted with transcendent moments of timelessness – where the landscape and the scene that unfolds within it have more to do with thousands of years of history, than the blink of an eye of the latest decades. At least once a summer, together with Balkees and Muhammad, Ron … Read More »
tomatoes
Pining for Fakus
Summertime – and fakus are in season. Fakus are like a downy, zucchini-skinned cucumber but tangier, crunchier and more refreshing than your average cuke. They are eaten raw, without peeling – their fuzz is as inoffensive as that of a peach. I first encountered fakus in the “baal” vegetable field of friends – who grow … Read More »
A Meal With What You Have
I believe there is an art to creating a satisfying meal out of what you have in the larder. The other day, I was fortunate enough to be at my friend and culinary muse, Balkees’s home at lunch time, when she was doing just that. So what is in Balkees’s kitchen on an early summer … Read More »
A Tomato Education
More on the subject of “baal” tomatoes… For some weeks now, I’ve been trying to coordinate with Balkees a time that we could go together to visit our friends where they are growing their waterless summer produce. I’ve been enjoying these amazing vegetables, through her, but there is nothing like visiting the field and picking … Read More »
Tomatoes Without Watering
It’s tomato season and all of a sudden these quintessential summer fruits have taken center stage. First, through Slow Food Movement connections, I recently had the good fortune to meet Roberta – a lovely US ex-pat who gave up city life to live on a farm in the Po Valley, learn Italian cooking and raise … Read More »