“And who knows whether at a time like this you will attain the kingdom?” I want to see you be brave! In honor of Purim, Mpri Yadeha is delighted to present Megillat Esther: A special assortment of fruit leather that’s a sweet reminder of what a brave woman can do! (Only 10 NIS apiece!)
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Purim’s Here!
In the Hebrew calendar, Purim is not considered one of the agricultural holidays. At first glance, Purim seems to be a holiday unrelated to nature and agriculture, rather an urban holiday with no customs related to harvesting or seeding, and a costume carnival seemingly unattached to a specific season. But anyone who tends the field during this time of the year realizes exactly how much Purim is suited for this season, especially in our tiny little country.
The weather is acting as if it’s guzzled down a bottle of wine or two or three, staggering in its walk, driving itself into a drunken stupor. After a cold, rainy winter, suddenly the weather ups and changes, thrusting itself between summer and winter, cold and warm, wet and dry. Three summer days, then one rainy day, followed by two dusty heat waves and then some more fog and cold weather. What a mess!
Our winter field is contemplating dressing up in a spring costume, a salad mix of winter and summer. The cauliflower, broccoli, peas, fava, greens, beets, carrots, leeks and scallions, celeriac and parsley roots, artichoke and garlic, veteran tenants going way back to wintertime, have been sitting in their beds calmly, chatting away for months. Suddenly, from beneath the plastic covers emerge new saplings peeking out at the world! There’s squash, butternut, pumpkins, melons, fakkus, beans, cucumbers and even tomatoes, the first batch to be planted after the autumn bushes were damaged by the frost and had to depart from us prematurely.
Along with the field, we too are getting excited about the transformation: almost like the butterflies in our tummy as we put on our costumes. One minute it’s my daughter checking herself out in the mirror and all of a sudden she disappears and someone else appears, familiar but new, and it’s her, but she too is now different, and her appearance changes the way she feels. Walking around the field that has been wintery for a good while evokes similar excitement as the gourds make their appearance and the beans are sprouting. Change is in the air, and it’s a joyful change.
And the joy and laughter are accompanied by a sense of unease as well: somewhat of an embarrassment to be seen outdoors wearing the costume, hoping all goes well, that nothing falls apart and the smile remains on our made-up face. In the transformational field as well, our heart skips a beat as the field slips into this summer costume, mostly because of the drunkard weather that can keep making us crazy. Thus we send out our children and vegetables all dressed up and neat, and hope we meet them at the end of the day in good spirits, their makeup a little smeared and their mouths chocolaty, but with laughing eyes.
In honor of Purim we suggest such interesting and joyful mishlochei manot from your vegetable boxes as:
Vegetable sticks and dips
Or simply a fresh bag of snow peas
Wishing us all a happy and silly Purim, full of embraces and easiness,
Alon, Bat Ami, Dror, Yochai and the Chubeza team
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WHAT MISHLOCHEI MANOT ARE WE SENDING YOU IN THIS WEEK’S BOXES?
Monday: Lettuce, coriander/parsley, tomatoes, Swiss chard/spinach/kale, cucumbers, potatoes, carrots, fava beans, celeriac/parsley root, snow peas/garden peas. Small boxes only: Fennel/beets.
Large box, in addition: Cauliflower/artichoke, nana (mint)/dill, leeks/fresh onions, baby greens (mesclun mix).
Wednesday: Red or green lettuce, dill/parsley, tomatoes, Swiss chard/kale, cucumbers, potatoes, carrots, fava beans, celeriac/parsley root, fennel/beets. Small boxes only: snow peas
Large box, in addition: Cauliflower/cabbage, nana (mint), leeks/fresh onions, baby greens (mesclun mix).
And there’s more! You can add to your basket a wide, delectable range of additional products from fine small producers: flour, fruits, honey, dates, almonds, garbanzo beans, crackers, probiotic foods, dried fruits and leathers, olive oil, bakery products and goat dairy too! You can learn more about each producer on the Chubeza website. On our order system there’s a detailed listing of the products and their cost, you can make an order online now!