Here is the beginning of a list:

From Katja Goldman, New York, NY:

The Pear Cardamom Chutney is delicious on a Roast Turkey sandwich with a bite-y lettuce like arugala. Also very good with grilled or roasted chicken.

The Sesame-Date Spread is delicious with Swiss cheese either toasted on whole grain bread or grilled as a pannini.

The Mint (Nana) is such a wonderful tasting mint that I recommend using it in its purest form as tea. Use this also as a spice in tabouli or crumble a little mint on a cucumber salad or in a feta-tomato-onion salad.

And Za’atar is the Israeli version of oregano and I use this sprinkled on breads for extra flavor, on chicken and Mediterranean salads.

From Adam Herbert, Morris Township, NJ:

I love adding Za’atar to just about everything.  With Negev Nectars Za’atar I made a Za’atar rice.

1 cup rice
2 cups water
1 tsp za’atar
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 – 1 tsp salt depending on taste/health
1/2 tsp garlic
Dash paprika
Dash tumeric (optional)

Combine all ingredients and cook together to soak in the spice flavors. Bring to a boil and simmer 40-50 mins like regular rice. I go a little heavier on spices even if you like it that way.

From a member who sent in this soup recipe which includes Nana (mint) and olive oil.

The recipe is from the “All Around the World Cookbook” by Sheila Lukins.

Mediterranean Lentil Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

2 tblspns Negev Nectars Olive Oil

6 carrots, peeled and diced

4 ribs celery, with leaves, diced

2 medium onions, diced

4 cloves garlic coarsely chopped

8 cups chicken broth

1 can crushed plum tomatoes with juice

1 cup dry red wine

¾ cup lentils

½ tspn cumin

¼ tspn all spice

2-3 cinnamon sticks

½ cup pitted prunes

½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley

½ cup fresh or ¼ cup dried Negev Nectars Nana (mint) leaves

Steps

Heat Oil in large soup pot over low heat. Add carrots, celery and onions and cook 10-12 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minutes

Add all ingredients except prunes, parsley and mint. Bring to boil, reduce to medium low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes

Add prunes and parsley and simmer another 15 minutes.

Before serving, discard cinnamon sticks and stir in mint.

“… some interesting research is being done on the possible therapeutic effect of extra virgin olive oil  upon Alzheimer’s disease. Oleocanthal is a naturally occuring compound found in extra virgin olive oil, giving it somewhat of a peppery taste. Current research suggests that this compound may help to inhibit the ability of neurotoxic protein compounds, known as ADDL’s, from binding with synapses in the hippocampal region of the brain, an area known for its key role in memory function.”

Then just this past week, Sunday through Tuesday, additional storms hit the region and the rain did not let up.  The desert experienced the kind of rainfall that it only sees every one hundred years or so.  The extent of the rain, according to Doron, amounted to at least 60 millimeters.  ”Up in the mountains it was 100 mm,” he noted. “Night and Day rain did not stop.”

Generally over the course of a typical year the Central Negev receives about 200 mm of rainfall of a year.  Thus, receiving between one half and one third of that amount in one fell swoop has major environmental implications for the region. See the Haaretz article here on the devastation of the Negev region’s infrastructure.

The wadis are overflowing.  The Nitzana river looks like the Dan River up in the North.  Hikers who stopped to watch the forcefulness of the riverbeds have gone missing and have been found dead.  Many bridges have collapsed, including a bridge built by the Turks for major flooding occurrences.  The power has been cut off, as well.  All this, Doron suggests, illustrates just how powerful the storm has been.  ”It’s unbelievable,” he kept on saying.  ”Water is the most powerful force in nature.”

What does this mean for Negev growers?  Well, for many it’s been difficult for some, including the growers of Kadesh Barnea whose greenhouse irrigation systems won’t work without electricity.  This directly affects producers like Desert Magic, one of Negev Nectars’ partners.  Too much rainfall all at once can often be disastrous; their soil might wash away, their plants might be overloaded with water, and if they use brackish water, like Doron and Kibbutz Neot Smadar, the walls of salt in the soil that surround the roots of the plants or trees might be penetrated and the roots may take in salt.  Doron usually runs to his orchard the minute rain begins falling to turn on his irrigation pump, to add brackish water to the mix to make sure his cultivated saltwater defenses don’t break down.

Doron has been rather fortunate in this storm.  Given the previous rainfall this year plants have cropped up throughout the region and flowers abound.  Those new plants held Doron’s topsoil in place, so the flooding did not rob him of those valuable nutrients.  And even though his irrigation system could not work in the 60 mm flood since all power was cut by the storm, the extent of the flooding washed all the salt out of the soil, ridding the soil of the salt walls rather than just penetrating the defenses.  The trees, be believes, are in great shape and will have a splendid growing year.  ”I’m lucky,” he reminded me and himself.  But there’s a lot of work he must do, and others have not been so fortunate.

“Thank you so much for the delightful gift from Negev Nectars, which arrived last night.  What a delightful (and delicious) surprise!
You have inspired me to start a new tradition for Shabbat Chanukah:  to dip the challah not only in salt, but also olive oil from Israel — a nice parallel to the honey of Rosh Hashanah.”

It is here!  My first shipment.  How thrilling for me.  How thrilling for you!
The packaging was beautiful — clean, minimalist, easy to open.
The welcome letter was lovely and the paper stock was classy!!!
I loved finding each “present” nestled in the paper.”

“I loved my first shipment from Negev Nectars!  The herbs were so fragrant,  I almost felt like i was in Israel!  Everything is delicious and fresh.  Opening the package and finding all the goodies was such a treat.  I was very pleased with the quality and number of items, especially for the price . . . I was so happy with it that I wanted to give this as a gift to several friends for Hanukah.”

“What an extraordinary gift came to our home today! . . .  I really would like to visit with some of the farmers when we make our way to the Negev this February, so I’ll be in touch about how to do that.”

Any orders made between December 21 and January 4th will be processed and delivered for early January.

Quick note on the Nana (spearmint): We know there’s a lot of it, but it should last a while. If you keep it in an airtight container, in a dry and cool place, dried mint has a 1 year shelf-life. For full-time members, we’ll have different herbs for the following shipments, so don’t worry that you’ll be inundated with mint, though it wouldn’t necessarily be the worst of problem.

Happy Hanukkah for all those celebrating!

And don’t worry, we’ll still be taking orders after Hanukkah.

And with that our Negev Nectars Gift Boxes are about ready to be sent out and will be early next week, so all of our full CSA members and Taste of Negev Nectars members will receive their shares by Channukah (on the West Coast by the first few days of the holiday).  For all of you who have given Negev Nectars as a gift, your friends, family and co-workers will similarly receive their gift next week.

Information about the contents of the package will be enclosed, but below is a preview of the products we’ll be featuring this first round:

• 1 bottle of Doron’s Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, made of a blend of 50% Barnea olives, 30% Sourya Olives, and a 20% mix of Barnea and Picual olives. It’s a gentle, fruity and very mediterranean oil.
• 1 bottle of Doron’s Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, made of a blend of 70% Barnea olives and 30% Sourya olives.  This belnd is aromatic, sharp, and tastes very much like its desert surroundings.
• A Pear-Cardamom Chutney made by Chami of Desert Magic in Moshav Kadesh Barnea
• An Organic Sesame-Date Tahini from Kibbutz Neot Smadar
• Edward’s Eucalyptus Honey from Edward (well, his bees)
• An Organic Herbal Tea Blend of lemon verbena, lemongrass, rosemary, sage, thyme, mint and sage from Kibbutz Neot Smadar
• Nana (Mediterranean Spearmint) grown and harvested by Shlomo Azulay of A.S.H.B.A. Farm
• Za’atar (Mediterranean Oregano and a staple of Israeli cuisine) harvested by Orly and Yoni from Orlyya Farms

<< We’re taking orders for Chanukkah through December 6 >>