family, food and flavors

my mother and my aunt have been visiting since last sunday. my aunt left today, my mom stays another week. it's been lovely to have the ladies around. we've been making great food, they've been absolutely excited to spent time with the kids, and we did a bit of sightseeing. not a lot, mostly trips to the beach, but we also squeezed in a trip to tel aviv and the farmers market, shuk hacarmel. i love that place!

israel produces pretty much all it's own vegetables and fruits, taking pride in not importing. meaning of course, that it's almost all local food (israel is a tiny country:). prices, taste, offering and color all depend on the season, which i find charming and makes a trip to the market even more exciting.

right now is the end of the strawberry season for example, which means they are extremely cheap, very sweet and deep red. just a few weeks ago you couldn't buy grapes anywhere. now the season started, making them a bit sour and expensive compared to the taste and price a month from now. oranges are available all year, but we are nearing the end of the season and until it begins again with the first rain in october, they are not as interesting as you could wish for. the first oranges in october are green and sour, and by march and april they are all orange and full of juice. and ridiculously cheap.

of course the market also offers spices, dried fruits, different flavors of tea, olives, oils, meat, fish, bread, flowers and pretty much anything else you could wish for at a market. it's always crowded, smelly, noisy and absolutely amazing!

so, full and content from a week full of family, food and flavors, i wish you an amazing week.