ABOUT IN SEASON ISRAEL

There are a lot of food blogs out there, and a lot of Israeli food blogs! Nu, (so) what makes this one different and what is In Season Israel all about.

First of all, I love good food...not only good food, but GREAT food....and i might add, pretty food. I am really fussy about what I eat...I like organic or local produce that actually tastes fresh and good...free range and grass fed meats. I like to make simple foods, but sometimes i am obsessed with complex recipes and exotic ingredients. I like the food to LOOK good...colorful, attractive and enticing !!

Then there's Israel. I love the special quality of life that exists here in Israel...frustrating but unique, maddening but rewarding, colorful, rich in traditions and meaningful. I am a fairly recent (6 years) olah chadasha (new immigrant) and 13 years of travel here......(it takes a lifetime to learn the Israeli ropes :) ). After all these years, I am still in love. And all of the things I mentioned about food in the previous paragraph... is how it works here. While not necessarily organic,,,though organic is easily found today.....the fruits and vegetables are local ..After all Israel is only a few miles wide...EVERYTHING is local...and fresh! both simple and exotic, beautiful, and tasting soo sweet!! Not just the produce - even the dairy is special and amazing.

But more than that, the crops, as they come into season, are celebrated. Fruit trees are plentiful in neighborhood yards...everyone is excited when the rimonim (pomegranates) are ripening, when the shemesh (loquat) is ready, when the figs are coming forth. (and..mmm, the streets are wonderfully fragrant as the figs ripen) Neighbors expect and welcome other neighbors to help themselves and enjoy the sweetness of the harvest...and if you don't help yourself, you will be gifted with a bag of what ever is in season.

In other words it is a part of the fabric of Israeli life...what's In Season in Israel is a big deal, woven into the traditions and the traditions of the holidays.

So... nu... I want to share this with you the readers. In a sense, this blog is perhaps more about the tree and it's harvest than the recipe. I am still learning...so learn with me. Experience the excitement of the ripening fruits, the fragrances, the beautiful shuks and markets all over Israel where hidden treasures lie...both in the products and their vendors. What stories and traditions are there.

What's In Season in Israel and What's Israeli in Israeli Eating?  Let's find out !!

b'tayavon

The Shesek - Post From the Hills of Jerusalem

(Excerpt from a post on From the Hills of Jerusalem blog. To see the original post click here.)

I've always said my Jerusalem neighborhood is colorful - full of rich mizrachi tradition and wonderful neighbors.  This afternoon as i came home, one of my neighbors called me over and presented me with a sakit (bag) of shesek (loquat) from his tree.  As i thanked him i realized the tree in my own yard was brimming with ripe and unpicked fruit. It got me thinking about the fruit of this Land.



The Shesek tree bears it's fruit in late spring and the little oval orange shesekim are sweet and juicy and a favorite amongst Israelis. (both people and birds !! ).  Shesek trees are all over Israel, in yards and home gardens and have deep green large broad leaves that protect the clusters of fruit. When you pick the shesek you have to clip the stem above, otherwise the inner fruit is already exposed ready to peel the skin (if you wish) or eat !! Inside are 3 shiny large seeds..(which..of no importance - float ! when dropped in water)


Here are a few shesek recipes from Liz Steinberg from her Tel Aviv based food blog Cafe Liz . Note: Even though some shesek can be slightly tart (depending on the variety), they can usually be substituted for apricot or peach in recipes.


Liz's recipes include among others:
Loquat Peach Waffles
Creamy fruit dessert with loquat and strawberries
Savory roasted loquat and plum

Apparently I am not alone in thinking the sheshek such a pretty fruit. Here is a rather fun Flicker Photo link I discovered, celebrating the shesek !  Enjoy !

Mmmm - Israeli Fresh Garlic : Post From the Hills of Jerusalem

(This post originally appeared in From the Hills of Jerusalem. To see the original post click here.)

Some things are almost too pretty to use, but...how else can i make my shakshuka?

Spring in Israel means many things of course, but one of them is the delightful, delectable, gorgeous (and did i say fragrant?) purple w/green and white stalks fresh! garlic. 

I almost missed them this year...not that i wasn't aware they were on the scene and in the markets, it's just...well, i had a lot on my mind and many things to do, and simply mused over the idea that maybe i would skip them this year.

Thank God i woke up in the nick of time to rush to the shuk (yes even though they are available in the supers, one does NOT buy fresh garlic anywhere else but the shuk. For pete's sake. No way.) It was the end of the season, but LOOK! how beautiful they still are.  I even went back the next day and bought some for a "present" for a friend who was traveling outside the country and knew she would be sad to think she missed them.

I only hang a few to dry but one can buy fresh bulbs without the stalks for a while yet....beats the chemically dried white variety imported from China...

The taste of the fresh garlic is similar and used in all recipes that call for garlic, but..it is delicate, slightly sweet and more mild.  It also stays sweet and doesn't become bitter when sauteing it.  I like to use cloves of fresh garlic when pan frying or poaching salmon.  Very nice.

To honor the fresh garlic i've included a couple of recipes. One, fresh garlic confit, from a wonderful blog called Israeli Kitchen, and a video for a simple chicken/fresh garlic dish from Ynet Foods (Phyllis Glazer.)  My friend Micha Finkelstein sent me this video and while I haven't made it yet, he said it was wonderful and i trust his culinary opinion!   Enjoy!

The Confit:
http://www.israelikitchen.com/everyday-cooking/recipe-fresh-garlic-confit/

The Video:(Video is in Hebrew but there is an English writeup if you click on this hyperlink -it will remove you from the blog to the webpage)
Chicken/Fresh Garlic