This morning I arrived in Israel via a red-eye flight for the Arava Institute Hazon Israel Ride.  It’s my first time visiting the country, which means everyone I mentioned my trip to gave me a lengthy list of things I absolutely ”must” do and see.  For the most part I’ve taken these suggestions with a grain of salt - I’m happy to be here, and not terribly anxious to see absolutely everything in this first trip.  But when it comes to food, I’m taking all the advice I can get.  Jcarrot Blogger, Phyllis Bieri, painted tales about the superbly fresh hummus, creamy labneh, and green falafel balls that are equal-parts fluffy, and crisp. 

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[Warning: although this post is about the topic at hand, it takes a little longer than usual to get there…]
I don’t know how I became such an Indophile, all I know it is that it happened. It probably was around the time I returned from my first trip to India, and realized how dull everything looked. I missed the women wearing magenta and gold, or turquoise and orange, not to mention the jewels between their eyebrows. It seemed like I had been wearing Technicolor-colored glasses, and then all of a sudden, everyone around me had faded into shades of grey, brown and black.
My love of all things Indian caused me to seek out an Indian-style wedding dress, and get henna on my hands and feet for my wedding day. The fact that Paulie, my husband, chose to wear an Indian suit as well meant that the studio that printed my wedding album called my photographer just out of curiosity to ask her whether ours was a Hindu or Jewish wedding.

I mention all of this because last week, I had a cooking date with Swati, the amazingly talented woman who designed my wedding dress www.swati.us/wedding3.html. (The peach one at the bottom of this web page is my actual dress, if anyone cares about such silly things)…She lives in the South Bay, about an hour from me, and like so many wonderful things in my life, I found her online (I met my husband online, too). She designs the gowns from her home here, and then has a team of people embroidering and sewing to her specifications in Bombay. I know, I know, I hardly went local for a wedding dress.

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Two of the Tuv Ha’Aretz communities are hosting Meet the Farmer events this week.  Meet the farmer supplying Tuv Ha’Aretz, ask your burning questions about sustainable, organic agriculture, shmooze with other members of your local Tuv Ha’Aretz community, and find out how to join the CSA.  Check out these events if you live in or are visiting:

- Berkeley, CA  - or -

- West Orange, NJ (or anywhere in the MetroWest area) 

For more info about the Berkeley event at Chochmat HaLev on Tuesday, April 17, contact Adam Edell adumkov@aol.com, and for info about the New Jersey event at JCC MetroWest on Wednesday, April 18, contact Rabbi Rebecca Sirbu (rsirbu@jccmetrowest.org).

The first Jewish CSA, Tuv Ha’Aretz, gets a shoutout in PA’s Jewish Exponent:

Part of the process is “to examine our thoughts about food and examine what’s been taught in Judaism” on the subject, she said. [organizer Robin Rifkin, a nutritionist] The group plans to schedule discussions on conservation; what it means to say blessings before and after meals; and why organic and local foods are so crucial these days. The Jewish heritage of farming and Jewish agricultural holidays will be examined as well.

In addition, the role of charity and food will be explored. Jewish law is very specific about how much land and foodstuffs go to the poor, she noted. Kol Ami will be donating any extra or unused shares to the Mitzvah Food Pantry, a program run by the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

Still, Kol Ami will face some real challenges. Learning to eat “seasonally” can be daunting for families, especially when they have never used exotic ingredients like dandelion greens and Swiss chard in cooking before. To help participants prepare meals with these new ingredients, Kol Ami will also be holding cooking classes.

This week’s Time Out New York features an article about the growth Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) in New York City.  Quoting Paula Lukats, CSA in NYC program Manager at Just Food, “[the number of CSAs] in 2007 will spike to some 50 in the five boroughs, up from 41 in 2006.”

Hazon has also witnessed the growing trend in our Jewish CSA program, Tuv Ha’Aretz.  In the last year, Tuv Ha’Aretz grew from five to 10 synagogue and JCC communities across the country and in Israel. 

When I first started my job as Hazon’s Tuv Ha’Aretz coordinator 2 1/2 years ago, I constantly needed to explain what CSA.  It is such a pleasure to see that the idea has caught on and is increasingly familiar across the US - so much so that it was runner up as The New Oxford American Dictionary’s Word of the Year!  (It lost out to Carbon Neutral!) 

Read an excerpt of the Time Out article here. 

Check out this great article about the Tuv Ha’Aretz in Atlanta at Congregation Shearith Israel!  Seeing SI’s Rabbi’s amazing beard alone makes clicking the link worthwhile - it’s also just a really great article.

 While you’re clicking finger is hot, you can check out ALL 10 of the Tuv Ha’Aretz communities - read about their farmers, see what’s in season in Berkeley, (or St. Paul, or Israel…) download a registration form, and more. 

I received an upsetting email yesterday from Houston’s Tuv Ha’Aretz coordinator, Jennifer Handy, sent on behalf of their CSA farm, Home Sweet Farm. The email said,

“On Feb. 6th we received a registered letter from the Washington County Appraisal District giving us a NOTICE OF DENIAL for 2007 Agriculture Exemption, stating that the reason our “Property does not meet the degree of intensity requirements as set out in the 2007 WCAD Guidelines for 1-d-1 Ag Use.”

What that means, is that Home Sweet Farm applied for a tax exemption for their organic, CSA-supported farm, by filing this form. They were denied, losing out on a crucial tax break that many small farmers rely on. As to the in-question, “intensity of their farm,” Home Sweet Farmer, Jenny Stufflebeam, wrote to members,

“If it were any more intense, Farmer Brad might kill himself working.”

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