Acharei Hachagim– New Flavors for a New Year
Our field is renewing its landscape and producing a bounty of autumn vegetables. Simultaneously, there are new developments and products amongst Chubeza’s associates:
- First and foremost, Danny and Galit’s kitchen is now producing a new, rich granola flavor, Vanilla Nut. As Galit describes, “This granola is made with homemade pure vanilla extract, and sweetened only with agave—with no added sugar or oil whatsoever. The basic recipe contains oats, whole sesame, flax and seeds, to which we add three types of nuts: walnuts, almond chips and chopped hazelnuts. There is no dried fruit, other than dried blackberries. Like all of our granolas, this new flavor is rich with chia seeds, a super vegetarian source of omega 3. In addition to Vanilla Nut Granola, we also offer Date and Halva Granola, and Cranberry Cashew flavor.”
- Organic rye flour, which was lacking for some time due to a difficulty in obtaining rye seeds, will be returning to Chubeza’s shelves next week. Now is the time to order.
- Last week we were paid a visit by Ehud, a nice kibbutznik from Samar who brought us a new supply of “dekel nur” organic dates. We have established a new routine: every time Ehud visits his friends in nearby “Karmei Yosef,” he brings along a delivery for us. The “dekel nur” date is noted for its delicate taste and texture, and is a huge hit in the Arab countries. It has a slightly nutty flavor, and is a little less sweet and concentrated than other date varieties. We prefer to sell this delicious date in 5 kilo quantities, but we can manage 1 kg orders as well.
And speaking of Samar, we cannot refrain from mentioning the battle taking place over the past few years to save what is left of the Samar Sands- the last large dune in the Arava. The fight is to save it from the bulldozers intending to use it for building sand. Here is a link to the campaign, as well as some articles by Aviv Lavie on the topic and more detailed information by the Sde Boker Academy (Hebrew). As the New Year descends upon us, turn your eyes and hearts southward and support the sand, animals, plants and people of the Samar Sands.
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Thanks for Coming- It Was Great Fun!
I always enjoy expressing our gratitude after an Open Day, and this year is no exception.
So first of all, thanks to our great team. My mother is always so impressed by them, and rightfully so. As every year, the team did much more than expected, contributing their energy, talent, creativity and happiness to this special day. This year Lobsang had the brilliant idea of building our own on-site sukkah, which he built entirely (walls and schach) from the corn stalks that had finished producing their cobs. At the end of their days, these stalks received renewed appreciation and acknowledgment. If any of you happened to take a photo of the Chubeza Sukkah, please forward it our way. This year we were happy to celebrate with Mohammed as well, who usually cannot visit due to a closure on his village during the holidays. After all the times he had to listen to stories about how much fun this day was, this year he was finally able to take part.
This year, the Milgram’s (Melissa’s family) contributed in all the various realms: Melissa’s special spiced popcorn was such a huge success that it was completely devoured. It was served in homemade origami-style paper cups made by the children under the coaching of Boaz, the eldest of the Milgram children. After he exhausted his cup and popcorn-making endeavors, Boaz assisted in painting the dried corncobs. The paints themselves were natural ones we prepared from vegetables and spices (beets, carrots, turmeric, paprika, tea and others), and we prepared a beautiful sign for our packing-house. Many thanks to all who took part:
All Yemima Milgram wanted to do was prepare art from cotton, but she quickly became the organizer of that job, happily and expertly. The young artists’ creations were beautiful and very imaginative. Lots of white clouds, beards, cottony ice creams, bleating sheep and other ideas came to life on the pages.
A hearty Mazal Tov to Boaz who celebrated his Bar Mitzvah this past weekend, and to Melissa and the Milgrams- may you continue to celebrate happy occasions!
Many thanks to Lobsang, who took charge of the pita and Saj preparation, to Oren, who was responsible for the yummies, and to Mohammed, who manned the produce stand. And of course, to all our loyal helpers behind the scenes and throughout the day: Pume, Faisan and Naim, who helped with everything, Zehava (Alon’s mother), my parents, Maya (Alon’s wife) and Yisrael (my husband), and to Sigal, who is always willing to give a hand. This year I can even thank my girls, especially Netta and Shachar, who helped me prepare ahead of time, made the initial artwork and happily ran around to carry out tasks throughout the day.
And last but not least- thanks to all who came, both returnees and first-time visitors. Despite the great Gilad Shalit celebrations and the Jerusalem Parade that clogged the city, and many other holiday plans, thank you for joining us, for celebrating with us, for coming to meet us and the vegetables, for taking in the field scents (tinged by the great big pile of chicken manure at the entrance…) and for seeing how the magic of agricultural growth takes place. For some of you, Chubeza’s Open Day has become a holiday tradition: Efrat from Jerusalem told me she feels so at home that she can guide visitors around. Chana from Jerusalem promised to help fulfill an old dream and prepare a surprise for you for next year. And this is precisely the meaning of community-based agriculture: a community supporting agriculture that feels at home and anxious to contribute in a variety of ways.
And like every year, we know there is still room for improvement, and will happily receive your suggestions and ideas for the future. Thanks to everyone who already wrote or talked to us. And to the rest of you- don’t be strangers: write to us, talk to us. We appreciate your friendship.
(Thank you Klara for the picture)
Wishing us all a week of fertilizing, nurturing and cultivating (sprouting) communication. May this be enjoy a year of good togetherness, one of blooming and blossoming, of rain, saturation, fulfillment and germination.
Shana Tova from us all!
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What’s in This Week’s Boxes?
Monday: Cucumbers, cilantro, yard long beans or cowpeas (lubia), Swiss chard, eggplans, lettuce, tomatoes, arugula, caroots, red beets, radishes
In the large box, in addition: corn, sweet potatoes, pumpkin
Wednesday: pumpkin, lettuce, cucumbers, basil or arugula, tomatoes, cilamtro or dill, green onions, red beets or Swiss chard, green peppers, carrots, radish or daikon
In the large box, in addition: yard long beans or cowpeas (lubia) or okra, sweet potatoes, eggplants
And there’s more! You can add to your basket a wide, delectable range of additional products from fine small producers: granola and cookies, flour, sprouts, goat dairies, fruits, honey, crackers, probiotic foods, sesame butter and dried fruits and leathers too! You can learn more about each producer on the Chubeza website. The attached order form includes a detailed listing of the products and their cost. Fill it out, and send it back to us soon