A Delicious Little Corner

Paul flew out early Sunday morning for a conference in the Hague.  And while I was very jealous that he was off to a week in a beautiful country, I didn't sit around the house.  I went with some friends to the northern most tip of Israel to this delicious little corner.  I don't know exactly what the population of the town is (if it is even big enough to be a town), but they are on to something!  They have two wineries (one of which is my new favorite), a gourmet chocolate factory, and a small little restaurant that is raved about.   Oh...and fresh goat cheese made by the winemakers wife.  What a life!

First five wines we tasted at Pelter.

As we left Tel Aviv in the morning we picked out our wineries.  A well informed group we were.  We had recommendations (and driving directions) from friends, the most popular guide book, and the guide to Israeli wines. We had access to everything you could want to know about the wines....driving directions...well that was another story.  I successfully pointed out a shortcut absent from our directions.  But the second time I knew of an alternate route I kept my mouth shut, thinking the directions were a short-cut.  I should have spoken up.  We up the steepest curvy (poorly banked) roads.  I'd have taken a picture, but the military fence alongside the road said no photography.  Note to self - don't go that way ever again.

I'd been to the first winery before after a camping trip.  They weren't so nice to us, but I chalked that up to us making a reservation from the parking lot (they are big on reservations here) and showing up after a night of camping.  The second trip was as...lacking in hospitality and pleasantry.  A quick tour (the only cool part is their cellar) was followed by tasting 3 red wines.  I don't really care for their wine and two of the four wanted to buy whites.  Boo...

Then we headed up, up and up (to the highest elevation in that region) and as north as possible.  Finally, we came to a dead end:  right through a crossing or left to the winery.  Left Please!

Near the border...

The winery - Pelter Winery - could not have been more enjoyable!  First, the wine was delicious!  And instead of the three skimpy tastings at the previous winery, we tasted like 12 wines!  Second - he had fresh goat cheese laid out (which his wife made...they have 10 goats).  Third, it was so laid back.  He was tasting with us and wasn't tapping his foot waiting for us to finish. Fourth - the winemaker himself was hanging out with us!  Fifth, I don't really remember - but we did ask if there was a bed and breakfast in that town also, or at least a good (safe) camping spot.  It is like 30 minutes above the Sea of Galilee, so I think we'll be heading up there in a few weeks for a culinary camping trip! :)

Bags of Pelter Wine in the trunk on the way home.

She stuck in her thumb and pulled out a cherry!

It is cherry season again in Israel.  This is one of the things we like about it here – we always and only eat what is in season.  I think we’ve bought one bag of frozen veggies, and it is still in the freezer.  Otherwise, the market is full of the freshest produce when it is in season.
We really should have tracked the seasons so that we can tell people who are coming when to expect what (and when to be ready to not be able to find something).  Strawberry season, for example, is March/April and avocado season ends just before 5 de Mayo.  But anyway – now it is cherry season which means most of the fruit stands in the market have huge piles of cherries! 

There were wild fires on the way up there.

Last year I made my grandma Schuett’s cherry soup!  I don’t think I ever ate it when she made it, but I inherited her recipe and it was delicious!  I bought a kilo of fresh cherries (I don’t know how much that is in pounds…I’ve been out of the States for long enough to not know how much a pound of cherries or chicken is.  But I know how much 200 grams of cheese is and how much 1 kilo of cherries is.  They will take you about 45 minutes to an hour to pit with a hairpin – another cherry secret passed down from Grandma.).

This year I thought I’d take it a step further.  It wasn’t enough to make my own cherry pie from scratch, or pit my own fresh cherries…no…this year – I wanted to pick my own cherries!

My friend Claudia and I drove to the northern most Northern tip of Israel (we were literally only kilometers from Jordan and kilometers from Syria – no, I don’t know how far in miles).  There was a fruit orchard with tons of cherry trees and…ready for it…RASPBERRY BUSHES!  These were the only bushes I’ve seen in all of Israel…and there were fewer bushes for the whole country than there were in my backyard growing up.  Nonetheless, after crawling on my hands and knees for 30 minutes, I found 12 raspberries!  The 20 seconds that those little berries dripped down my fingers and melted in my mouth were magical!

Anyway – back to those cherries.  At first we were like kids in Willie Wanka’s factory, eating cherries off of every tree.  Then we started to get full, so we got pickier and only ate the darkest berries that were warmed with sunlight.  Then we would only eat one from a tree – unless that one tasted good, then we’d try another from that tree.  Eventually my stomach started to hurt, so we moved to the raspberries and eventually decided to fill my bucket with the cherries (instead of my mouth).

I think I succeeded in eating my fill!  And then, with the kilo of cherries I hand-picked myself, I made a delicious cherry pie!  Mmmm.

We always see Israelis jumping into flower beds or behind bushes to take pictures.  This is our ode to the Isreali cherry pickers.

Hiking the Golan: Take 2

To take advantage of the long weekend we decided to try hiking and camping in the Golan Heights again, this time with a map, a trail and designated (safe, vulture-free) campsite. While the online guide said that the hike was family friendly (read: easy) it promised spectacular views of a waterfall and beautiful flowers. The guide lied....at least in part.

We did find AMAZING views of the Sea of Galilee from about 5 miles away, gorgeous fragrant flowers in the midst of dry plains, a waterfall and more! The part it lied about was the difficulty. I don't know what kind of superhero Israeli family could hike 8.8 kilometers up the mountain, down the mountain, forge the river and not lose the oxen or the cart! (Oregon Trail?)

We were following the "red hamburger" - two short fat white lines and a red one in between. Every 10 to 20 yards a hamburger is painted on a rock or landmark to let you know where to go. After the first 15 beautiful minutes of hiking the hamburger disappears. To the right: a river. Ahead: Thick bush. To the left: a wall of boulders. Hmmm... where is that red hamburger? Ah..yes, of course. 15 feet above us on the top of the boulder pile. Climb!!

Continuing on our quest to make it to the camp site before sunset, we came upon a barbed-wire fence with a small metal door frame, with barbed-wire around the frame...and a metal bar diagonally blocking out the door. As Paul approached to try to squeeze through the small opening with his large hiking backpack, the bushes on the other side began to grunt. This was not a friendly grunt if such a thing exists, but a wild boar marking his territory type of grunt. While Paul wanted to rush in to see the boar, Jen wanted to be safe (and have time to take out the camera). Jen won, but Paul really had the better idea and all we have to show for this story is a footprint in the mud.

Continuing on, we came a 92ft deep fresh water pool! It was cold and oh so refreshing after 2hrs of hiking. Because we knew this was coming we had prepared with propper hiking/swimming atire, allowing us to enjoy the most refreshing swim ever! A short while later the river became a little wider and suddenly fell 200 feet into another beautiful pool. The promised waterfall.