In preparation for Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’Atzmaut next week:
Monday deliveries – as usual.
Wednesday deliveries will be advanced to Tuesday, March 24.
————————————— Before we begin, a huge thanks to all who attended our Open Day last week. We were so delighted to greet the familiar faces of those who come season after season, the new faces of veteran clients making their first Open Day visit, and the “green” clients who’ve recently joined the Chubeza family. Thank you all for your kind words, smiles, support and the “togetherness” that makes Chubeza a special place, whether behind the scenes throughout the year or in our little shady Open Day grove.
Thank you also for heeding our requests to avoid driving into the field and to treat the vegetables gently during the tours. The field and farmers salute your kind consideration.
A giant thank you from us all to the Hazel Hill String Band, who created a spirited, toe-tapping atmosphere of joy. Thank you, Howard, for making the match.
In the Lost and Found section: At the end of this wonderful day we found: sunglasses and a child’s shirt. If you recognize any of these items, please advise, and we’ll arrange to return them to their rightful owners.
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Bringing Forth Bread From the Earth
In honor of the rush to bakeries at the end of Passover, we decided to rush to Assaf Nov’s Minhat Ha’aretz and bring you great news: Asaf has begun grinding flour from grains beyond the “usual” wheat, spelt and rye. From now on, you may also purchase stoneground organic flour from rice, corn, buckwheat, oatmeal and quinoa.
To mark the expansion of the operation, I asked Asaf to tell us how he became a miller, such a quaint profession. Like many other stories, this one began “by chance.”
My wife bakes our bread at home from whole wheat flour. For a good while, I was disturbed by the fact that this flour is so much more expensive when sold by Jews, than in the Arab villages which grow the flour, grind it locally and produce inexpensive, high quality whole wheat flour. I began exploring the matter and decided to try grinding the flour for the small community of 20 families where we lived.
I began searching for a millstone. I really wanted to find an Israeli-made model, and happily bought one from a person in Tel Aviv who manufactures grinding millstones. Only after the machine broke (after two tons of flour) did I discover that he’d sold me a machine made to grind coffee and spices… So I ended up purchasing a grindstone from Denmark, which to this day has ground over 500 tons of flour and is still going strong.
A millstone is actually an ancient device: two great big heavy stones with a hole in the middle are stacked together, and the seeds are placed between them and ground. The ground flour flows from the center of the stones and gathers at the bottom. The difference between modern and old-time millstones is that while donkeys once were used to turn the stones, today it’s an electric motor. But the grinding is the same as always.
When I started learning about the “new” flour, I found a paragraph in the Mishna Brura which mentioned that people could not tell the difference between loaves of bread from rice or buckwheat and those of wheat, causing a problem on Passover. Indeed, the “discoveries” of the New Age movement for healthy, natural living were once common use, over a century ago and more…”
And thus, the basic grains Asaf has been grinding till now are being joined by other family members such as rice, corn, and oatmeal. Friends from other prestigious families are there too: the quinoa, from the Amaranthaceae family, and the buckwheat, from the Polygonaceae family, both relatives of the beet root. All the flours are ground with the same millstone, so they are not suitable for the gluten-sensitive.
The wheat and corn Asaf grinds are grown in Israel, and the rest of the grains are imported. All the flours are ground from organic grains. Most of the flours are 100% whole, i.e., the seed was unpeeled and the flour contains all of the bran. The 70% wheat flour and white spelt flour are also ground from an unpeeled seed, but after the grinding, some 30% of the bran is sifted out to create finer flour. Aside from the flour, Asaf grinds the basic whole grains for semolina, i.e., a coarser grinding, with a unique, very tasty result.
Menu and prices, per kilo (all detailed in our order form as well):
Israeli 70% whole wheat flour- 9 NIS Whole spelt flour- 15 NIS White spelt flour – 18 NIS Rye flour – 12 NIS Israeli corn flour – 15.5 NIS Rice flour – 16.5 NIS Buckwheat flour – 17.5 NIS Oatmeal flour – 17.5 NIS Quinoa flour – 22 NIS Whole wheat Israeli semolina – 9 NIS Whole spelt semolina – 15 NIS Whole rye semolina – 12 NIS
Wishing you all a nice, “springy” after-the-holidays, a true renewal of the spirit, and a smooth reentry into the routine,
Alon, Bat Ami and the Chubeza team
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WHAT’S IN THIS WEEK’S BOXES?
Monday: Green or red cabbage, iceberg lettuce, cauliflower, parsley root, radishes, tomatoes, Dutch cucumbers, carrots, beets, cilantro or dill, fresh fava beans
In the large box, in addition: zucchini, celeriac, Swiss chard
Wednesday: kale or Swiss chard, Romaine lettuce, parsley root, dill, beets, fresh fava beans, Dutch or “regular” cucumber, carrots, tomatoes, cauliflower, potatoes
In the large box, in addition: fennel, red or green cabbage, zucchini
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, dried fruits and leathers and organic olive oil 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.
Note: in the near future there will be many updates from Chubeza’s associate vendors. We will be updating our order form according to what we have in stock, so be sure to open the form through the link for the very latest version.
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We’re starting up slowly……..Recipe Corner to return next week.