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
