Hope it will rain

A happy birthday and a recipe for a most decadent cheese cake

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 15:15:00 +0000

The best cheesecake we know

A couple of weeks ago I turned 39. I must confess I wasn't too thrilled about it. Though I never hide my age the passage of time is starting to be cruel. I cannot ignore anymore the signs time is marking on my face and skin. This year I allowed myself a bit of dark, moody brooding before the big day. It didn't last long tough, because we all took a day off and went to celebrate my birthday weekend in the north part of Israel with all my family, parents and brothers included. It was a perfect day. Unpredictable great weather with beautiful deep blue sky dotted with white clouds (we call it The Simpsons sky), empty roads with no traffic jams and an almost completely empty national park. We hiked the short but challenging Arbel cliff that hangs over The Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), combining adventurous rock climbing on ladders with history and archaeology. The Arbel is a fort built into the rock like something out of Game of Thrones, which makes it a great place for pretend knight dual or hide and seek.

The Arbel

Hiking the Arbel mount

thorns of summer

We ended the day in a lovely family gathering at the hotel lobby where we all stayed. We had a cake of course, with only one candle; I think the heat from 40 candles would've caused a fire.

All together now

Since we've recently celebrated the Jewish holiday of Shavuot every Israeli and Jewish food blog had recipes for cheesecake. Although I was reluctant at first my friend and food blogger Foodbridge convinced me to publish my version for cheesecake. It is my daughter's favorite because it combines perfectly sweet, savory and sour flavors.

Cheesecake recipe modified from Doram Gaunt's cookbook "A tall man cooks".

A 22cm tin lined with baking paper.

Cake base:

150gr savory gluten-free pretzels (Osem has a special edition for Passover from potato flour) or any savory crunchy gluten-free crackers.

125ml (half a cup) Nutella spread.

75gr butter

The filling:

4 eggs

250ml (1 cup) sugar

500gr 5% white cheese – Quark cheese (gvina levana)

200gr soft ricotta cheese

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 table poon corn starch

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Ganache topping (Not necessary)

100gr dark chocolate at least 60% cocoa solids

100ml whole cream

Preparation:

1. Making the cake base: In a food processor grind all the ingredients to crumbs. With moist hands take the base and flatten it on the bottom of the cake tin and chill for one hour in the refrigerator.

2. Heat the oven to 150 centigrade

3. Prepare the filling: bit together the eggs and sugar (at least 5 minutes in an electric mixer), add the cheeses, and lemon zest and mix. Dissolve the corn starch in the lemon juice and add to the mixture.

4. Assembling the cakes: pour the mixture on the base and bake for 50 minutes until the cake is stable. Cool the cake for at least 5 hours in the fridge before serving.

5. If you want to top the cake with ganache, boil the cream, take it off the heat and immediately add the chocolate, mix and cool. Spread carefully on the cake and let it cool for another hour.

Have a bite

The great outdoors

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:35:00 +0000

A carpet of tiny Irises covers The Israel Trail near Jerusalem

Tiny iris ( Moraea sisyrinchium)

Recently I met a very interesting person, a tourist from Canada that isn't Jewish and came to visit the area out of curiosity and a sense of adventure. I got to meet him through a friend we've acquired a couple of years ago on our great tour in Canada. Since the guy arrived just before Passover the DH and I took it upon ourselves to explain our non-suspecting visitor what happens in Israel come Pesach. We met him for beer and conversation in a Jerusalem pub. Although he is Quebecois he speaks very good English, far better than my pitiable French. We had a very nice evening, discussing many issues in history, geography, politics and a lot of explaining about Pesach, especially in Jerusalem. We've also recounted our own visit to Canada. I described to him my awe and wonder from the size of the country. The huge impression all the woods and running water made on me, coming from this arid corner of the world. I tried to explain how liberating it was to be in empty huge wilderness, as I'm not used to so much open space.

He was very attentive but didn't really get what I'm talking about.

He kept traveling here in Israel and in The Palestinian Authority, went to the Galilee and Golan Heights, enjoyed the night life of Tel-Aviv and before he went on in his travels he came to celebrate Independence Day with us. I believe he now understands a lot more about the complexity of the situation here and comprehended better the reality of life here for both Israelis and Palestinians. But what he understood best was the size of the country. He was amazed that his hike in The Tel Dan National Park ended in an hour and was crammed with people. After telling me that, he said: "I now get the way you feel about traveling in Canada, you live in a very claustrophobic country, no great outdoors." I just smiled.

Our guest has left for the great Turkey and its splendor.

We're still here. Yes, it's crowded and there is not much open space left but we are trying to make the best of it. Those past months we went outdoors as much as possible. Not doing great hikes or challenging treks but rather picnicking, relaxing, and taking lots of pictures even in the weirdest of weather.

There is great beauty even in the smallest of places as hopefully you can see in some of my photos.

Not to mention my DH who is a wonderful cook, in and outside the house.

Having a picnic at Hirbat Saadim in The Jerusalem Mountains- we were freezing so a nice fire kept us warm

Carpets of cyclamens near Jerusalem

Green almonds

Anemones blooming

Sunset on Lachis

Strider -Walking Wadi Barak, in the southern part of Israel

Happy campers-having breakfast in Wadi Barak camping site.

Stop and smell the almonds.

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 20:14:00 +0000

My favorite time of year is here again and will disappear shortly. The winter is ending and already we are experiencing hot dry days. The hills around my house are still green and everything is blooming: the trees, the shrubs, and flowers everywhere, an awful time for the allergic among us. Very soon it will all turn yellow and dusty. So for this short period of grace I'm in photography frenzy especially of almond trees blossoming. I've wrote before about the loveliness of almond flowers and so has my fellow blogger foodbridge. But every year it enchants me again. Just a mere 5 minutes' drive from my home there are almond orchards that transform to fairy wonderland this time of year with trees blooming in white and pink. It is one of my favorite places on Earth. Even the road that leads to the hospital where I work is laden with almond and Judas trees that make the tedious driving a lovely experience. Although my daily life is very stressful and demanding I do stop, take out my smart phone and photograph the lush beauty of trees and flowers thus remind myself every day that it is a wonderful life and I am fortunate to live them.

My working place

Pink almond tree

The road I drive daily

Stop to smell the almond flowers

As opposed to most of my posts the photographs here were taken and processed using iphone4. Unfortunately there is yet no way for me to document the lovely scent of the almond tree or other flowers.

A new year with snow

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 20:24:00 +0000

2012 passed so quickly. There was so much to do, so many new things to learn and new people to meet some of which were amazing but not all unfortunately. There were a lot of dead-lines to meet till it seemed sometimes I just moved from one project to the other. There was a lot of good food this year that was mostly home cooked. The current economics kept us mostly dining home and less in fancy restaurants, even though here and there we treated ourselves to some old favorite places. It was a year filled with happy moments with family, friends and work. I had many challenges to face this year but I think I handled them quite well. I circled the world this year and was in many places abroad not in all of them for recreation and fun. These are experiences that I didn't have time to process yet even though they were emotionally very taxing.

A new year brings with it contemplation followed by resolutions. I want to write more and take more pictures this coming year. And I do hope it will be a good year for us all on our lovely blue planet.

The Israel Trail in The Meron Region

The Israeli symbol- Sabre (cactus) covered with snow

Since the first week of the New Year has begun with a spectacular storm I thought it is a good omen. Not only my hopes for rain were fulfilled but as a bonus it snowed on the top of the mountains here in Israel. As snow is extremely rare in these parts we skipped work and school took the kids and went for our won snow day in the North of Israel. It was an amazing experience, and the first snow my 4.5 old boy ever saw.
Happy new year.

Rainbow over The Golan Heights

The Golan Heights in the storm

I'm only happy when it rains

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 16:25:00 +0000

After a very long summer finally we were blessed with stormy weekends. As my loyal readers know, my favorite season is winter. Unlike most Israelis I adore gray sky, thunder storms, wool scarves and sweaters. Most Israelis love the beach at summer but I on the other hand try to avoid it as much as possible. When winter arrives I love to take long strolls on empty beaches taking pictures of the roiling sea. Since weekends are the only time left for hiking and photographing, I wasn't deterred by weather forecasts and went traveling with the family. One weekend was spent in the old Crusaders fortress of Apollonia (near Herzelia) and another in the city of Acre. I'd like to share with you some of the lovely images of sea at winter.

From Herzelia to Hedera

Tel-Aviv and stormy sea

Acre marina

Cloud over the Old City of Acre

We discovered a small but charming national park in the North. Ein-Affek is an attempt to restore the original marshland ecosystem of the Haifa Bay area. The dried up water holes were filled with water and the fish, birds, and turtles followed. Even buffaloes which once were abundant in the area and disappeared were restored. It's nothing like the rivers and lakes we saw in Canada but it's pretty and it's ours.

Cormorant, buffaloes, water lily and herb tea in Ein-Afek National Park

Sun sets over the Mediterranean

Going home

How I spent my summer vacation (and a recipe)

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 20:10:00 +0000

Akziv Beach National Park

When I was at elementary school the first day of any school year started with writing the assay: "how did I

spend the summer holyday". I want to share with you a bit of what we did this summer. In contrast to last year's summer that we spent in Canada, this year we mostly juggled between work and kids on vacation. This year's summer broke records, we had such long heat waves that air-con became as essential as breathing. In spite the heat we tried to get out of the house and break the routine. We had a lovely five days break in the Greek island of Crete. While at home we went mainly to movies or museums (yes, especially for the air-con not necessarily or culture) and travelled mainly in the car. We had a nice picnic in the Carmel woods with food blogger Foodbridge and her family. Somehow between the

work, the heat and the long endless vacation we had fun.

.Having said that I'd really like to spend next year's August in a very cool place, The North Pole will be nice

View of the Jordan river south of the Kinneret

Picnicking in the woods

Hot day requires some cold juice in Wadi Nisnas, Haifa

Israel Museum in Jerusalem

Keshet cave in the Western Galilee

Sunset on Akziv beach

There is still an abundance of summer fruits in the markets and this cake is a wonderful way to use them.

Upside down gluten-free fruit cake

Ingredients:

A cake tin 26cm diameter.

Fruit lair

1kg fruits (plums, apricots, peaches etc.) pitted and cut into halves.

Zest from half a lemon

3-5 sugar spoon

10-20gr butter

Cake

200gr soft butter

1 cup of sugar

6 eggs

1 tea spoon vanilla extract

2 cups of gluten-free flours dived to 1/3 soy flour, 1/3 corn flour 1/3 tapioca flour.

1 table spoon baking powder

Assembling the cake:

Layer the tin with baking paper, spread butter on the paper. Arrange the fruits densely so that the fruit's inside are upwards. Spread the sugar and half the amount of the lemon zest.

1. Pre-heat the oven for 160 centigrade

2. Whip together in a mixer the butter and sugar till a soft foamy batter, add the eggs one by one.

3. Lower the mixer speed and add vanilla extract, flour, baking powder till again the batter is unified.

4. Pour the batter on the fruits and bake for 60-70 minutes.

5. Let the cake cool properly and then flip it on a serving dish so the fruits are upwards.

Upside downgluten-free plum cake

Paying it forward

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 20:08:00 +0000

A girl burning glass at Susan's House

Recently I had been fortunate to attend two very different places that have something in common. Both places try and give something back to the community. I'd like to share the experience with you and try to "pay it forward".

The first place I've visited is the new Yvel Center located at the entrance to Jerusalem. YVEL Company is one of the leading companies in the jewelry industry worldwide and is considered synonymous with grandeur and prestige among savvy. Yvel Company was founded by Orna and Isaac Levy, about 28 years ago. The jewelry company designs have won first prizes in prestigious competitions worldwide, they are marketed in five continents and in more than 650 points of sale in dozens of countries around the world. Famous figures such as Maria Sharapova, Rihanna, Beyonce, Carolina Herrera and Scarlett Johansson are just a small part of a long list of loyal and satisfied customers who wear the desirable pearls of YVEL. In recent years the Levy couple won almost every design award possible.

Photo courtesy of Yvel

One would have thought that all this glamour and prestige will take Orna and Yzhak Levy the founders to places easier to live in than Israel. But the couple decided not only to stay here but to help and promote weak and needed populations. In 2011, after more than 25 years the couple decided to open a new facility, Yvel Design including the production plant, a visitor center and school for jewelry that employs students from the Ethiopian Community. The Levy's decided to establish a school that would train Ethiopian as jewelers and will integrate them in the labor force. Unfortunately the state of Israel that went through great length and brought here the Jewish Ethiopian community didn't continue to support it once they've arrived, and currently they are one of the weakest communities in Israeli society. For Itzik whose family immigrated to Israel from Argentina 50 years ago, it was a form of closure.

About a year after the project was launched and seven graduates have been employed by the company, the Levi couple decided to further develop the school. With the help of Yadid voluntary association they set up a new company called "Megemeria", a business that all its profits are dedicated to the expansion of the school and creating new jobs. Megemeria in Amharic means "Genesis, becoming". The school named after Andrea Bronfman is located at the YVEL center and currently has 21 students from Ethiopia. In addition to the training each student receives a monthly stipend of 4,000 shekels. A lot of attention is invested in the school and the teachers are leading experts in the field. "Above all", says Orna "We teach students to become proud citizens with equal rights; the country doesn't always remember to do so." At the end of the program students earn a certificate from the Ministry of Industry and some of them are even combined in the factory. A few weeks ago the Collection Megemeria was first exposed in the International Jewelry Exhibition- Jovella, and won enthusiastic compliments.

Photo courtesy of Yvel

My visit to the Yvel center was a fascinating experience. The center is located at a beautiful old house that although renovated kept all its timeworn features. The jewels are spectacular; one understands how the Levys won so many prizes. But what impressed me most was the genuine will to improve the world, to help, to give something back to society.

Go visit Yvel at the entrance to Jerusalem in Moza, admission fee costs 25 shekels.
You'll see wondrous creations and help support their truly Zionist project.

The second place I've visited is also a project where craftsmanship and art are used to save young people. I was very moved by my visit to Susan's house in Jerusalem. It's story is a sad one but full of hope. It started after Susan Kaplansky, a well-known personality that led many educational projects died of cancer at the age of 38. Her husband, Eyal Kaplansky a jeweler, decided to establish "Susan's House". Wanting to fulfill her dream of helping, habilitating and integrating youth at risk through the art world. Susan's House gathers boys and girls aged 20-15 in risk mostly without any other normative framework.

"Susan's House" is a success story. Youth, who cannot fit in any other work places - can persist as part of "Susan's House" two years or sometimes even more than that. Since its establishment about 500 teenagers worked in "Susan's House". We have heard some of the kids' stories and they were shocking tales of neglect and abuse. At "Susan's house" the teenagers are trusted to work freely with fire, glass and very sharp cutting blades. Avital, the manager, says the place gives them the tools (self-confidence, maturity, responsibility, and team work), through which children can down the road integrate into regular labor force. Many of these youngsters began to experiences success, confidence and faith. We met the kids while they're worked and they seemed peaceful, concentrated and content with what they do. Susan's Home also provides boys and girls added value of hot meals, school enrichment, field trips, talk therapy, and much more.

The youth are the ones who make the products including a variety of products: Glass jewelry - necklaces, earrings, bracelets, pins, etc., greeting cards from recycled paper; photo albums; key chains and more. The products are incredibly pretty and in high standard. All are handmade by the boys and girls with lots of dedication. The initial design is made by volunteering expert designers. In addition, prices are surprisingly quite reasonable.

The products can be purchased at the store and visitor center of "Susan's House" located at Yad Haruzim 19 ,Talpiot, Jerusalem. Susanart products are shipped to all parts of the country and even abroad, special packs prevent breakage. In addition, you can order the products on the site - www.susanart.org.il

I left the visitor center with some lovely glass jewels. Unlike other places, "Susan's House is a stand-alone independent business where the kids now fight in order to survive. In here they come to realize that together, staff and youth can create, earn and enjoy.

"Susan's House", a place that saved hundreds of children in and around Jerusalem, is currently under a threat of an economic collapse. In its 12 years the house of Susan helped many. The state (through the Ministry of Social Affairs) and the Jerusalem Municipality partially funded by the activity. Today it is no longer enough and the house may not celebrate a Bar Mitzvah.
I wrote this post as my way to help to maintain this wonderful project, hope you'll read and join the effort. Let's pay it forward.

* Acknowledgement - The visit was part of a publicity tour organized by Marom Communications.

The bluest blue-A little break in the Island of Crete

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 19:49:00 +0000

View of Mirabello Bay

The heat is on. Israeli summer this year went overboard. The sun is scorching and temperature rises as everything here seems to come to a boiling point. It is never easy nor peaceful in this corner of the world so a heat wave doesn't have any cooling effect. This year's family vacation was in perfect timing. We all needed to get away for a little while and cool off. We spent 5 days in the lovely Greek island of Crete. It is a short flight from here and yet feels like a different world. Although it's the same Mediterranean Sea we have at home, in Crete the views are different.

The Island of Spinalonga

The Aegean Sea comes in shades of deep blue and turquoise and the water is crystal clear. Only the tiniest part of the Israeli coast line looks like this and it is under constant threat of disappearing under hotels built by greedy contractors.

Tiny European cars

After a couple of days of just lazing by the poolside we hired a car and went to explore the island. Driving a ridiculously small automobile we went to lovely places like the Mirabello Bay ("the beautiful bay" really deserves its name), there we settled for a few hours in the picturesque village Plaka and ate a wonderful fish dinner.

Great food in Plaka

We took the boat to the former leper's colony Spinalonga which is now a huge tourist attraction. We went to see the remains of the amazing ancient Minoan Culture at The Palace of Malia. We even went to the beach, the sea was calm, clean sand and no jellyfish were lurking in the crystalline water. Perfect.

Although we had a wonderful time the effects of the economic calamity in Greece couldn't be ignored. Many places were closed for business even in the height of the season. It was sad. I hope things will improve for the Greeks.

We spent 5 short days on Crete, a very short time that left us with a lot to see next time.

No light or my new ND filter

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:16:00 +0000

Banisas stream from the Hanging Trail

June has been hectic. Our lives are quite hectic all year long but June is quite different. The abundance of school ceremonies, farewell parties, birthday parties and general deadlines are overwhelming. The last 4 weeks were a blur of perpetual celebrations. These are of course good things but can be more than a little tiring. With all the festivities going around I didn't photograph much expect for my own kids at this or other merriment.

Banias stream

It's a bit of a shame because I now have a much coveted piece of equipment: neutral density filter. It's a filter that reduces and/or modifies intensity of all wavelengths or colors of light equally. The purpose of a standard photographic neutral density filter is to allow the photographer greater flexibility to change the aperture, exposure time and/or motion blur of subject in different situations and atmospheric conditions. In other words I can photograph waterfalls! Israel isn't rich in water sources or in great waterfalls but we have some and they are exceptionally beautiful.

Banias waterfall

I had the opportunity to spend a short vacation in the North of Israel where most of the abundant water sources happen to be. I've walked the Hanging Trail over The Banias stream in Banias National Park. This year's winter was kind and rainy, so the northern streams were full of raging water, as you can see. Although the lighting was very intense since it was late morning and Israeli sun is very harsh, the ND filter enabled me to reduce shutter speed in a way that captures the effect of the moving water. The next day I took pictures of the Tanur Waterfall in Wadi Ayun National Park, and shot some "smeared" photos. I like the water effects very much, it creates magical landscape.

I am posting a few photos of my very primary attempts. I need to go out more to practice, maybe summer holiday will provide the opportunity.

Tanur waterfall in Ayun Wadi

Cherry season

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 19:49:00 +0000

Pitting cherries with my DH posh tourne knife

Summer is here. Spring was exceptionally beautiful this year but as usual in this place short lived. Very quickly the green lush turned yellow and dusty. Pretty delicate flowers were replaced by thorns. It's getting hotter everyday as well. The temperature hits 30 centigrade by 10am. Although I am not a fan of Israeli summer, there some nice sides to it like cherries.

Cherries for sale in the Banias National Park

We've just returned from a vacation in the North of Israel, and everywhere we went they sold cherries. We couldn't resist their lovely color so we bought more than a kilo of cherries. They were in good price. Getting home we discovered that not all tasted that good but even sour cherries are great for dessert.

We've decided to make a French classic: "clafoutis aux cerises" namely cherry pudding. Since the amount of flour is minimal in this recipe we had no problem to convert it to a gluten-free version. The recipe is based on the one published by Benny Saida. With our northern cherries the dessert turned out just perfect.

Ingredients

6 egg yolks

3 egg whites

2/3 cup sugar

2 table spoons of brandy or cherry liquor

1/4 cup soy flour + 1/4 corn starch

1 cup milk

1/3 cup whole cream (38% fat)

1/2 kg pitted cherries

1 bag of vanilla sugar

A 26cm diameter pie tin or personal soufflé dishes buttered.

1. Heat the oven to 180 centigrade. Mix the eggs in a large bowl while adding the sugar till a light fluffy mixture is formed.

2. Add the flours and liquor mix till unified. Add the milk and cream in slow stream while stirring the mixture.

3. Mix the cherries with the sugar and vanilla sugar and spread at the bottom of the tin.

4. Pour the batter on the cherries and bake 50 minutes till the pastry is browned.

Clafoutis- such a cute word.

Sping break

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:38:00 +0000

One of the many religious families taking advantage of the holiday to go hiking. Strangely they wore their best cloths for the dust and mud.

Pesach holiday is over. As usual there were many hikes, picnics and family get together. We visited sites North and South of the country along with most of Israel's population. The kids homework and school assignment were left for the last minute so we could have a bit of family fun. Though some of the days we managed going to work, the past couple of weeks were mostly dedicated to our favorite amusements namely lots of great food while enjoying Nature. We had a lovely weather and spring brought with it an abundance of flowers which some I've photographed. Here are a few for your enjoyment.

From left upper corner: Judas tree, sage, Jerusalem sage, cyclamen, cistus, orchid, chrysanthemum, buttercup, orchid, anemones and buttercups.

Paradise, in open eyes.

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:06:00 +0000

Anchorage Bay from above

I love the new Coldplay album and one of my favorite songs is "Paradise". It's about a girl that her

dreams didn't come true. I've always considered myself very blessed in that sense, I've realized most of my dreams and I always have new ones to fulfill. For years I aspired to travel to New-Zealand. I know the travel route by heart. I have a clear map of the islands in my head after staring at it for so long. I have 3 different travelling guides to New-Zealand; sometimes I read them before I go to sleep. I always knew that someday I'll get to New-Zealand. Last February I got there alright but in very miserable circumstance that made me think of cosmic jokes. I didn't see much of New-Zealand since most of the time I was needed in the town of Nelson (as you can see in my former post). Although my help was very much required I was convinced to take a day off and go traveling even for a short while. The beautiful Abel Tasman National Park is an hour's ride by boat from Nelson. It is the smallest national park in NZ but one of the most travelled. I took a water taxi tour to the park, where the taxi drops you off at one point and picks you up in another while you hike in nature. I was picked up from the motel by the taxi company and driven to Nelson port where I embarked with a very diverse group of people the vessel that took us into the park. Although I'm not used to be alone and very rarely if ever I hike by myself, I had a most wonderful time. I hiked from Bark Bay to Anchorage Bay, a mild 16km walk in the most wonderful views. The weather was ideal; partly cloudy with light breeze from time to time that dried the sweat. I got back to Nelson tired but happy I managed to fulfill a tiniest part of my New-Zealand dream.

In the Coldplay song the poor girl sees Paradise every time she closes her eyes. I was very lucky to be with my eyes open and with my camera to see a slice of Paradise.

Eating Sambusak at the edge of the world.

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:22:00 +0000

I've missed my blog. It has been a month since I last wrote here. All sorts of things happened in this month most of them not so good but I'm trying to make some sort of lemonade of the lemons handed to me. The life lesson I learned once more is that good health is everything. If you and your loved ones are healthy than all else is manageable. I've been to the far ends of Earth this past month and I'll share some of my impressions with you in my upcoming posts.

Sunday is market day in Nelson, New-Zealand, just behind the town's main road, in the parking lots. I wasn't in Nelson on a holiday, far from it. Not very pleasant circumstances led me to this part of the world but on that Sunday I allowed myself to relax a little and went exploring the town's market. It was beautiful and sunny, after a streak of cloudy wet days, (the locals said it was a very unusual summer, too chilly and wet). The market was a collection of stalls: some selling fresh produce, some selling food and there were many garage sales that sold anything under the sun for example a used pair of pink bicycles only 25 NZ$. I endeavored tasting ethnic local food and bought a loaf of Maori bread. The bread resembles a doughnut as it is deep fried. I liked it very much, reminded me of the Tunisian fricassee that I usually eat in Ramle Shuk.

Maori bread

As I munched on my steaming loaf I suddenly noticed a food stall with a name that rang familiar: "Melamed", not a common name in NZ. I approached the stall and happily noticed it sells all the foods I like best: Middle-Eastern delicacies like pitta with za'atar and sambusak (filled savory pastry). Since I was far from home missing it terribly it was both surprising and comforting meeting a fellow country woman that managed the food stand. We chatted a bit in Hebrew. Of course we bought za'ater pitta very happily. It was a bit of home after a week without any decent hummus or tahini salad.
It never cease to amaze me how one finds Israelis everywhere in the world. Even in the town of Nelson, NZ.

I've recently read a fellow blogger very different experience in NZ, check out "Eat like a girl" impressions.

Sambusack made in New-Zealand

I'll follow the sun

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:29:00 +0000

A lovely sunset on the Jerusalem mountains

These days I spend most of my time in the lab trying to make my humble contribution to science. Unfortunately I'm missing out my favorite season: the blooming of the almond trees. This year the weather has been kind to us and it rained quite a lot the past month. The unusual amount of water brought with it a blossom that we rarely see in these areas. Anemones by the thousands cover the hills behind my hometown creating lovely red carpets. Last year I had a lot of free time to wonder around the hills like Julie Andrews in the "Sound of Music" but now I take what I can get. At present I don't have a lot of spare time except for weekends that provide me and my family the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful outdoors and catch up on some photography. The last two weekends were gloriously sunny so we went on some very short hikes in the area not far from where I live. We were delighted to find every place we visited lush, green and adorned with flowers. I want to share with you some of the splendor of this winter. Too bad it is so short lived.

Almond tree blooming

A few of the thousand of anemones currently blooming near my house

A little bit of sunshine

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:57:00 +0000

One of the Zodiac alleys of Old Jaffa, a slit of sea and sun

Have no mistakes, I'm not complaining. I am very happy it rained almost every day the past couple of weeks. It is nice to experience a touch of real winter. The temperature has plummeted so in the ungodly hour I go out to work it's in single digits; a rare phenomenon where we live. The sky is gray with low purplish clouds, my favorite weather. I enjoy the rain even when I need to walk almost 10 minutes to my car while my eyeglasses get covered with steam and droplets. The road leading to the lab is very pretty, twisting among mountains laden with woods mist covered like a scene from "Lord of the Rings".

winter sky

As much as I enjoy the winter gloom there are times that a little sunshine is welcomed, like in our last excursion to the old city of Jaffa. We love once in a while getting lost in the narrow alleys and feel the sea spray. It was a cold day but the little bits of sun that came out here and there illuminated all in a nearly magical way. I had a wonderful time taking photos while inhaling salty cold air.

Sun bath for the seagulls

Like a picture painted by Turner

There will be a serious post one day on Jaffa, it's an amazing city that is as ancient as human civilization, but for now just let us relish a bit of sunshine.

Changing and rearranging.

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:34:00 +0000

Free as a butterfly? Nor really, but quite pleased.

I've jump started my career only 3 weeks ago and it already feels like I lived in this lab all my life. My brain cells are all devoted to the effort of understanding my new environment. I've tried to spare some to writing and photographing but at this point in time it is an enormous effort. I have a big project that is quite complicated. I do not want to leave this blog which is very important to me, in a way it has been a journal of my life. So I need to figure out the shape it will take in the future. I'm processing all the changes and they will manifest in here eventually. I urge you to bear with me and be patient with formatting and design shifts. I will keep writing and sharing my views on science (there will be a lot of science now….), photography, travel and food with and without gluten. I'm concluding this post with a few photos because I might shift the blog's theme from writing to photographing.

Rainbows are always a sign of hope and optimism.

I'm gonna fly like this beautiful ibis from the Hachula area.

The last day of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:03:00 +0000

Evolution of a photographer: January 2011, Nitzana, Israel, one the first occasions I'm taking the Nikon D90 to my hands.

It's the last day of 2011. For me it was a very good year. It was a year of revelations and adventures. I learned a lot about myself this year. I was never the type for soul searching. The "new age" spirituality, self-search were not my "thing". But this past year I've questioned many things I assumed I knew about who I am. I've discovered my ability to write something other people will read. For years all I've ever written was either buried in deep drawers or burnt to ashes. Today I save even the silliest "notes to self" I write, I might use it in the future. I'm not willing to succumb to that horrible internal critique that haunted me for years.

March 2011-Winter sky on the Judean Hills, Israel

June 2011-Burekas and egg in Yahud, Israel

This was the year I re-discovered my creativity. For years I used to draw and paint, so I've found a new way to use light, expressing myself through photography. At the beginning of this year my photos were hardly worth noticing. Slowly but surely I figured out what the technical terms mean or how to open the menu of my sophisticated yet frightening camera. Now, at the end of this year, I feel I've advanced light years in my photography. Now I know how much I still have to learn but I love it. Photography will never be boring.

July 2011- The Safari Zoo, Ramat-Gan, Israel

I had a very good year due to a number of reasons. The time I've spent with my kids was priceless. I'm pleased I had the opportunity to be a full time Mom, even if it's not for long. I'm glad we could leave our lives here for more than a month in order to travel to Canada. One of the best voyages I've ever took.

August 2011 - Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland,Canada

August 2011, West-point lighthouse, Prince Edward's Island, Canada

Now this wonderful year that was filled with great places, good food, terrific photography and most of all my wonderful friends and family, is ending. Tomorrow my new year will begin with a new job therefore a new way of life. I'm going back to what I know best: lab work and research. I know it will be intense and demand my fullest attention. Before I start I want to share some of my last year's photos. I think you can see in them the evolution of my photography.

September 2011 - An exercise in night photography, Tel-Aviv Beach, Israel

November 2011- Discovering the many ways you can process Raw formats. Zichron-Yaakov, Israel

November 2011-A house designed by a friend.

I hope I'd still have the time to share with you my adventures in this chaotic country.

I don't know what the future holds. I hope it will be another very good year to us all. I wish you only the best. I hope it will rain.

Happy New Year.

December 2011-Nachlat Binyamin, Tel-Aviv, Israel

December 2011- The only photo in this post taken using my iPhone 4. Judean Hills, Israel

A family heirloom

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:08:00 +0000

Have you met Señor Del Mundo?

If you speak Spanish or Ladino you might be appalled by this question that actually asks if you met your maker or in Hebrew "Adon Olam" aka God. For years I heard my grandmother speak about this guy on many occurrences. I thought he was a friend of hers from abroad called Mister Delmundo. My Ladino improved as I grew up and I believe only when I got to school I finally realized who the mysterious Señor was. I still think he's my grandmother's pal.

My mother's mother was born on board of a ship sailing the Black Sea from Istanbul (than Constantinople) to Constanta in Romania. She was born to a Sephardic family that according to household myths were direct descendants of Jews deported from Spain. She married an Ashkenazi from The Ukraine but never abandoned her Sephardic heritage and especially the food. She had a fascinating life story: born in the era of The Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires and living to see the fall of Communism, tiny cell phones and emails. I didn't know all this about as a child, I only knew her as my "safta". She lived with us and helped in my upbringing. She was a very important figure in my life and a major impact on my nutrition. In short, she spoiled me. She had her clever way to feed me stuff that otherwise I would not touch. For example in order to make me eat spinach and cheese she would bake an Inchusa. I loved inchusa, never refused a slice. Throughout my childhood and rebellious adolescence inchusa was the taste of comfort. Now my mother makes inchusa from time to time reminding us of my grandmother that is still very present in our lives although she passed away 15 years ago.

I ate inchusa all my life but only recently I've discovered its origins. This was thanks to my acquaintance with Gil Marks and his Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. There I discovered that Inchusa is a traditional Sephardic tart containing a sweet or savory filling. The name originates from the Spanish enchusa, an herb from the borage family that was primarily used in the tart but later replaced with spinach. The custard was originally baked without a crust. To prevent it from sticking to the baking pan some flour was mixed with oil and the thick spinach and egg mixture gratin was spread over the top and baked.

The Sephardic culture and the Ladino language are slowly disappearing though there are efforts of preservation; the number of Ladino speakers is dropping steadily. I don't speak it to my kids though I grew up on it, my grandmother spoke very little Hebrew. Recently I've met two lovely ladies that have Turkish grandmothers and are trying to keep their legacy through food, and cooking. Liz and Ariella made me realize that making my kids inchusa or other Sephardic foods is a way of keeping my Sephardic legacy.

I baked inchusa for the first time last week and it was a great success. I made the gluten-free version (something my grandmother never heard of). My middle child got a school project. She has to bring something to class for "show and tell". It needs to be related to our family history and to combine something of Jewish history. My brother suggested I'll bring an inchusa, which is our true family heirloom.

Inchusa

1/2kg spinach leaves without stem and washed, chopped.

150gr Feta cheese

3 eggs

3 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons of flour (corn mill for the gluten-free version)

2 tablespoons grated cheese (either cachkaval or parmesan)

Salt and pepper.

Heat the oven to 180 centigrade.

Oil and flour a 22cm round tin or Pyrex

Mix all the ingredients till the mixture is unified. Pour to the tin and bake till a crust is formed.

A study in scarlet or is beet photogenic?

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 14:12:00 +0000

Beet ravioli: gluten-free

Less than a year ago all I knew about photography was how to click the little silver button and have the subject more or less in the middle of the frame. Each time a term such as "closing aperture" or "shutter speed" was used in my vicinity my eyes would glaze. Thanks to my best friend the talented Sarah Melamed (Foodbridge) I now see the world as one big photo op. My latest craze is food photography and so I drive the whole household insane because they're not allowed to eat before I take a picture. I'm now studying diligently Helene Dujardin's "plate to pixel" and practice food styling and lighting.

I was thrilled when my DH decided to buy beets for cooking. Beets have such a gorgeous color therefore must be very photogenic. I needed to find something to do with them and to form something eatable I can photograph. Again it was the DH that came up with the idea: beet ravioli. We had that dish a long time ago when we had only two kids, in a very luxurious restaurant. We didn't have the recipe of course but we recruited our memory and creativity.

Not a new nebula but an almost transparent slice of beet

We used very few ingredients: beet, hard goat cheese such as a tomme de chevre, walnuts, olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and of course salt and pepper. The trickiest part is cutting the beet in thin slices that will form the ravioli. We used a mandolin slicer that does a beautiful job and is safe to use. Safety is an important issue when using this device, there're models out there that the term guillotine slicer describes them better. I must confess that all the pretty slicing was done by the DH while I simply chopped the cheese and walnuts. We marinated the beet slices in lemon juice and olive oil for half an hour and then proceeded to form the ravioli. Between two slices of beet we've put a chunk of cheese and chopped walnuts, trying to make it look like a closed pocket.

DH hand modeling how to close the ravioli

On top of the raviolis we sprinkled a bit of kosher salt and balsamic vinegar. The fun part was styling the whole thing, it was rather amusing since not me nor is the DH professional, so improvisation was the key to the photo session. When I finished taking the pictures we just ate the lot. They turned out great.

salad

The rest of the beet was cut julienne style and tossed into a salad with the cheese leftovers, walnuts, chopped parsley, dill, olive oil and lemon juice. We served the salad to my parents at the Shabbath dinner, and they admitted it was the first time they had ever ate raw beet. My mom liked it but my dad diplomatically said he preferred to eat it as borscht.

crocuses blooming in the Judean Hills.

Though winter is stalling and the days are still mostly sunny and clear, some flowers start to bloom after the long dry summer. We found not very far from where we live, in an archeological site dating to the days of King David, these carpets of crocuses. Sheer beauty.

The fountain of beer

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:31:00 +0000

Some of the beer taps in Maayan Habira

It was a lovely day at the beginning of May and we planned a great touristy experience in the old city of Akko. It didn't happen. Somehow the whole day went haywire. The traffic was horrible and the prospects of getting to Akko in a reasonable hour went up in exhaust pipe smoke. We changed our destination and drove to Haifa instead, the northern port city where my dear husband grew up . There were five of us: my DH, "The Three Musketeers"-his three old pals since junior high and me. It was a special occasion since our gang member currently living in Zurich came to visit the homeland. We found it was quite a challenge to be tourists in our own country, at my DH and pals hometown. Finding something new and exciting in the mundane and familiar is not easy.

The Bahai temple in Haifa

Dedicated to our attempt to have a touristic experience we went to the prettiest part of Haifa: The Bahai Temple and Gardens on the slopes of the Carmel Mountain. We all knew in our hearts that the important bit is the lunch that will follow, so we spent very little time among the groomed flower beds. It was clear to us all that we will have hummus for lunch at one of Haifa's famous establishments. But like any plan we made that day this too wasn't going to happen.

A view to the Bahai Gardens, Haifa

The day was getting hotter as Israeli spring usually turns and we were getting thirsty. My DH had a brilliant idea. Why won't we have a beer at the local tavern "Ma'ayan Habira" (The Beer Fountain)? We all agreed especially since we've never been there. Ma'ayan Habira is one of those mythological establishments that exist for decades. It is not a fashionable bar or some trendy restaurant. Strangely enough, though we've been to Haifa countless times I've never been to the place though my DH promised to take me there ever since we started dating.

The entrance to the restaurant

I was pretty shocked when I saw the restaurant's neighborhood. Downtown Haifa is not very aesthetic or eye pleasing. But once you enter the place the atmosphere transforms. "Just one beer and we'll be off to have hummus" we agreed. We sat at the table only to leave two hours later slightly tipsy but in a very good mood. We had to try at least 4 kinds from the 16 types of draft beer the place serves. Of course that all this drinking couldn't be endured on empty stomach, some of the local specialties had to be ordered. We ended up having Eastern European delicacies such as chopped liver, and warm kostitza (a type of smoked ham) alongside pints of Belgian and English beers. There was lots of beer therefore lots of laughter. The hummus was completely forgotten. We ended the feast with Bavarian Creme, a type of pudding that was extremely popular here in the Seventies.

Some of the food we had: beer, bread (the basics of life), kostitza, chopped liver and Bavarian Creme.

Ma'ayan Habira was established in 1950 by Nachum Meir (his portraits decorate the restaurant's' walls).

Nachum Meir's portrait.

At first it was a sausage factory. It became a restaurant in 1962 and since then serves and prepares the same type of food. The restaurant is run by Meir's children and grand-children. Their draft beers include among others Belgian ales like Leff (Blond or Brun), English Newcastle brown ale, wheat beers like Hoegaarden and the Israeli made Goldstar, Heineken, and many more.

The bill: served on pieces of cardboard and handwritten.

The restaurant is a rare institution in Israel where few restaurants survive more than 5 years. The food is simple but tasty, the beer flows like from a bursting fountain so chances are that any visit to the place will leave you feeling happier than you got in.

Maayan Habira

4^th Nathanzon Street, Haifa

Open Sun-Thu 9:00-17:00, Tuesday open till 24:00.

Comfort food for hungry farmers

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:38:00 +0000

The orange season is here

For the past year I wasn't a very dedicated farmer and I've let my little organic garden wither. I don't even have a proper excuse but I've neglected my planters that once were thriving with tomatoes and eggplants. With the change of seasons I had a change of hearts, I decided I need to rehabilitate my garden and plant new herbs and vegetables that suit the coming winter. I've recruited the whole family for a joint effort. Our main task was to uproot the withered old plants and clean the terrace where the planters stand. My kids were not surprisingly very excited about playing with mud. My youngest son used his little red shovel to dig fiercely whether it was necessary or not. We've planted both flowers and vegetables. I look forward to see how the spinach, broccoli and radishes will turn out. The pansies are blooming beautifully.

my pretty pansies

After spending most of the morning outdoors making an attempt to be good agriculturalists, come lunch time we were all ravenous. The best food to warm us cold hungry workers was our favorite orange soup of course. It's not made of oranges but from a variety of orange vegetables usually carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes. Each time we get a different soup depending on the ratios between the different vegetables. The secret to a wonderfully tasting soup is roasting the orange ingredients in the oven prior to cooking them. This process is caramelizing the sugar in the vegetables, than we add them to some sautéed onion, add water or stock and let the whole thing simmer for about half an hour. The final stage is mashing with a hand blender the whole mixture till we get creamy, velvety bisque. We love to upgrade the taste with a bit of whole cream and to sprinkle peeled sunflower seeds, the gluten-free option to croutons.

Now I look after my planters on daily basis, I even saw some small shoots already popping from the ground. We had a wonderful weather this week, it rained for days. So the rain started early this year; let's hope it will keep raining.

Vote the Dead Sea

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:53:00 +0000

My faithful readers are aware of my escapist tendency and my avoidance of any political or actuality issues, but I'm joining the campaign for The Dead Sea. Just last week I spent half a day in the area which is one of my favorite in the whole world. I thought I'll be alone in the desert, enjoying the beauty and serenity of the Ein-Gedi oasis. Well, 5000 people thought the same. But it didn't matter. I still enjoyed myself and took many pictures. All the school kids that saw me wondering around with the Nikon on my neck were so impressed that it was worth the hassle.

I won't bother with you with all the dry facts about the Dead Sea, I will only say it is a wonder of nature that is horribly abused by Mankind. Perhaps it's winning in the official status will help repair and restore this place to what it ought to be.

So, please add your votes in the following link and add The Dead Sea to the list of 7 Wonders of Nature.

http://www.ynet.co.il/home/0,7340,L-9586,00.html

http://www.facebook.com/New7WondersofNature?sk=info

http://www.new7wonders.com

View of the Dead Sea from the Ein-Gedi oasis.

Hotels area on the artificial ponds in the southern part of the Dead Sea

Ibex, I always meet them traveling to the desert.

Ein-Gedi oasis, sweet water running in the desert on the shores of The Dead Sea

The vote will close very soon, on Friday the 11.11.2011 but according to recent updates The Dead Sea is among the finalists. Keep up the good work.

Memories of maple

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 22:35:00 +0000

Maple trees and maple syrup from Canada

One of my favorite childhood books was Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House in the Big Woods. I liked many books in the "Little House" series but the first book had a certain charm that made me read it so many times that at some point I knew whole bits and paragraphs by heart. For an Israeli kid growing up in the city under the harsh Mediterranean sun, the descriptions of endless woods and melting snow were utterly dreamlike. Above all I preferred the chapter "Sugar Snow" I think it still has a magical ring to it. In this episode little Laura's Grandpa and Pa are producing maple syrup.

I loved the depiction of the way Grandpa hammers the wooden troughs into the trees and the sap flows and fills the buckets. I didn't even know what real maple syrup tasted like till I was a grown-up. In my childhood, maple syrup was artificially flavored simple sugar goo. I know people my age that think to this day that the fake syrup tastes better than the real thing, maybe because it was what they grew-up on. My kids, on the other hand when given the bogus maple, were outraged and claimed it to be disgusting. They've grown up on organic maple syrup imported from Vermont.

Last August in our voyage to Canada, it was clear to me I'll come back with lots of maple syrup. I knew I wouldn’t meet Grandpa as he drill into trees but I thought I might have a chance of seeing something similar to what I imagined so many years ago. When we stayed at the small island of Ile d'Orleans in Quebec I finally saw maple groves. I thought it was beautiful. These days the trees have plastic tubes where the sap pours. But a lot of the process is still as it was 150 years ago, as you can see in the following link:

When we got back home with something like 3 liters of maple syrup we immediately put them to good use. For example in this salmon entrée, that was the star of our Rosh-Hashana meal.

Maple mustard grilled salmon

Ingredients:

4 salmon fillets about 170gr each

1/2 cup (125ml) maple syrup

1/2 cup good quality mustard

Salt and pepper.

Season the fillets with salt and pepper.

Whisk the maple and mustard together in a bowl. Place the salmon in the bowl and marinate for at least 2 hours or even over-night.

Pre-heat a heavy pan, preferably cast iron place the fillets in the pan and braise them 5 minutes on one side and a little less on the other.

Serve at once.

Salmon served with Israeli couscous

Let's start with something sweet

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:37:00 +0000

Brownies

Jewish holidays are over. Yesterday we finally got back to the blessed routine: school, kindergarten, work and job hunt. We had a lot of free time on our hands these past couple of weeks but we ended up not doing much with it. I'll summarize my holiday adventures (and recipes) in the coming post, which naturally is taking me ages to write.

For now I just want to share with you this great gluten-free brownies recipe that will ease up any crisis or post-holiday melancholy because it uses a lot of chocolate. My loyal readers already know that I come from a household of chocoholics and I keep looking for new opportunities to incorporate chocolate in our nutrition. I firmly believe that one day, scientists will declare that chocolate is good for you. I have adapted the current recipe from Chef Michael Smith's book: "Chef At Home", which I highly recommend for its simple yet delicious everyday cooking.

Ingredients:

250 gr dark chocolate

200 gr butter

1 cup flour divided to 1/3 soy flour, 1/3 tapioca flour and 1/3 corn starch.

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1.5 tea spoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

4 eggs

2 cups brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180c (350F)

Preparation:

Melt in microwave the chocolate and butter then mix till smooth. While the chocolate mix cools whisk together the flours, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, sugar and vanilla to the chocolate and mix thoroughly. Stir in the flour mixture until incorporated. Pour batter into a lightly oiled and floured 9x13 inch tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

The brownies come out moist and fudgy, and taste great.

Autumn Blues

noreply@blogger.com (Travelling Ibex) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:58:00 +0000

Views of Caesarea in the autumn light

It has been a month and half since we got back from our great Canadian adventure. I'm still a bit overwhelmed. We went back straight to the rat race of modern living. School year started with new schools for my eldest child and my youngest, my DH got back to his highly stressful job, the house missed us when we were away and many things around here needed taking care of.

I also got back to job hunting; I hope my days as a stay at home mom are numbered. Although only now I became aware of the fact that looking for a position is a full time job. So much of my time now is spent on polishing my CV, going through e-mails and websites, preparing to interviews. It is an absolute change of pace. With it came a change of mood; celebrating the beginning of a new year (in Jewish tradition) renders me contemplative and prone to soul searching. The weather changes as well, when the scorching Israeli summer is less cruel. The days are still very hot but at night a cool breeze blows that makes one snuggle in the blankets. We don't sleep with the air-con on anymore. Some days a light drizzle washes the dust away.

A couple of weeks ago we've experienced a bit of Israeli autumn, while visiting the ancient city of Caesarea in the rain. The day was beautiful, it rained a little and then the sun came out and played hide and seek behind the clouds,causing the light to tint the sea in deep shades of blue. The ruins and mosaics were washed and their vivid colors sparkled, making it easy to imagine how grand this city must have been thousands of years ago.

Part of the Byzantine bathhouse marble floor

On the way back home, we saw along the highway the maritime squill blooming; as every child in Israel knows it is a sure sign that autumn is here if only for a short while.

I hope it will rain.

Maritime squill blooms alongside highway no. 2

If you are Hebrew readers or just like my photography, check out my blog in Hebrew at traveling ibex .