When most of us think about retirement homes, we think about sad, isolated places with TVs turned to the highest possible volume, very few visitors, and a faint smell of old soup. Not so in Neveh Amit in the Jerusalem area, where the residents are energetic and environmentally conscious. The residents/gardeners (aged 75 to 100) […]
Pipe use and smoking is increasing in the Middle East, but new research shows this habit is bad for your heart. While westerners are already too aware of the dangers of smoking, the Middle East culture has a long way to go in education and smoking laws. In some countries, such as Iraq, more and […]
There are environmental triggers (hairspray! lipstick!) of common autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, a TAU researcher reports. Our immediate environment interacts with our genetic programming and can determine if we will succumb to an autoimmune disease, says rheumatologist Prof. Michael Ehrenfeld of Tel Aviv University’s Sackler School of Medicine, who is seeking to unravel those mysteries. […]
A culinary heritage centuries old is preserved in this cookbook. This is a Jewish collector’s cookbook. It contains 100 old-fashioned recipes that evolved out of the centennial Jewish presence in Iraq, plus a synopsis of Jewish history there. Through the book run parallel threads, the main one being the recipes. Around the recipes are comments […]
Calcium and mineral-rich oatstraw tea nourishes, soothes – and stimulates. Wait – that’s supposed to be “sow your wild oats” – isn’t it? It makes more sense to reap them. At this time of year in the Middle East, native Avena sterilis sends up its nodding seed heads in empty lots, fields, and neglected gardens […]
I’d always admired people who eat wild vegetables. No water gets pumped and no gas is drilled to get those plants to the market. But as an immigrant without a horticultural bent, I needed guidance. Fortunately I had expert teachers: Green Prophet’s own Miriam Kresh, and Sarah Melamed, who writes Foodbridge. Miriam has taught me […]
White Almond Blossoms Make A Unique Liqueur All over the Mediterranean and Middle East, wild almond trees in fields and along highways are becoming clouds of pink and white blossom. They’re the first to bloom at winter’s end. Although rain and dark skies may return a few more times, tentative sunshine warms our faces, and […]
Photo of the Dead Sea by David Shankbone, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. We can’t live without salt. That’s a known fact. To satisfy the craving for this essential nutrient, people have fought wars to own it, built roads to transport it, suffered extreme labor to extract it from the earth, and paid high taxes for […]
Pizza Fusion, a US-based chain, proclaims itself as being committed to “saving the earth one pizza at a time.” And now its slogan might ring more true. Now that it has a stronghold in the Middle East. In late November Pizza Fusion opened its first international franchise in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (on Prince Abdullah Street […]
Tuesday night’s horrific 7+ magnitude earthquake in Port au Prince Haiti, has all but devastated this island nation, said to be the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. This catastrophe, which many seismologists say may dwarf the 2008 earthquake in China (which killed more than 100,000) may even wind up being one of the worst in […]
Taste of Beirut blog features authentic Lebanese cuisine and a great give-away. I love this blog. I love Lebanese food, and author Joumana, a Lebanese ex-pat living in the States, presents recipe after delicious-looking recipe, Slow Food style. Just a small example – the Toom garlic paste, a staple flavoring in Lebanese kitchens. Whirl garlic, […]
Will chicory become chic? Chicory, or olesh in Arabic and Hebrew, is a tasty wild edible related to endive. Generations of Middle Eastern peoples hand-gathered the lance-like, serrated leaves to cook, but you can buy it cultivated now. Unfortunately, this nutritious, inexpensive wild vegetable hasn’t acquired the prestige of, say, artichokes – which are really […]
Last week Karin asked what weeds in her garden are edible. Today she finds out. With winter in full bloom in the Middle East (this is when we get rain), urban gardens come alive, whether or not you want them to. The rains and cooler temperatures invite green leafy things to sprout up everywhere. And […]
Chef Moshe Basson and health expert Christina Pirello put a vegan twist on a classic Arab dish. After changing location several times, Jerusalem’s Eucalyptus Restaurant has taken root in the prestigious Khutzot HaYotzer artist’s quarter in Jerusalem. Chef Moshe Basson hosted a “Biblical Cooking Class” there last week, taught by visiting American health and nutrition […]
Premature babies must gain a certain amount of weight before they can leave hospital. Listening to Mozart could help, finds a new Middle East research study. Studies show that listening to music composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the 18th century has a positive effect on the brain of developing babies. Now a new study […]
To get the needle or not, that is the question some of us are asking. A researcher looking at bacteria model, says these ancient organisms wouldn’t mass immunize. The swine flu is taking its toll in the Middle East, not immune to the deadly virus that tends to attack younger, healthier people, and those who […]
Who doesn’t want to live the longest, fullest life? We all do right? That’s why we go to the gym, fight for the right for clean air and water, and eat healthy organic food. As environmentalists with eyes wide open, some of us take vitamin supplements, like Omega 3, and other multi-vitamin packs, hoping to […]
NatureMill’s urban compost bin does the work right in the house. Now there are no excuses to not composting! You already know through reading Green Prophet that you can make your own vegetable composter for only $10 worth of easily obtainable materials. With all the interest being circulated dealing with organic gardening at home, including […]
It’s easy to cultivate chickweed (a vitamin powerhouse) on your windowsill for a quick springtime salad. Karin went foraging in her backyard, but wasn’t sure which weeds were edible. One of the most prevalent edible weeds thriving now in the Mediterranean is chickweed, Stellaria media if you want to get botanical about it. Its flavor […]
Christina Pirello combines healthy and organic food recipes with delicious and gourmet. Acclaimed American macrobiotic cook, food writer and TV personality Christina Pirello will be in Israel this week, teaching how to cook for health, from the 3rd to the 12th of the month. She has authored five cookbooks and is an activist for better nutrition […]
Bug off, eh? When a virus carried by the whitefly almost destroyed Israel’s tomato crop, Meteor developed an innovative new anti-insect net to keep the bugs out. Meet Avi Klayman. He’s the man who saved Israel’s tomato crop and in the process stumbled onto a multi-million dollar industry that is now creating a green revolution […]
Winter salads are as colorful and appetizing as warm-weather ones. Miriam shares two recipes here. The word “salad” evokes a warm afternoon, sunshine streaming in through the kitchen window and a big ceramic bowl filled with chopped tomatoes and cucumbers. At least, it does to me. But it’s the wrong season for that picture right […]
Known for its health benefits, olive oil is such a defining part of the food culture in the Levant and Mediterranean region. Turkey aims to be #2, reports Arieh O’Sullivan. Government incentives and intensive planting of vast new plantations hope to set Turkey on path to topple rivals Italy, Greece and Tunisia for number two […]
Here at Green Prophet we are concerned about the current water shortage. Today we’re sharing 12 water conservation tips for the kitchen that can impact the Middle East. 1. If you use a dishwasher, always fill it completely and choose the fastest setting. 2. When washing by hand, soak to soften the residue, then scrub […]
Got a yen for the food of strong men? Miriam shows how to make the Middle-Eastern working man’s lunch. It’s so easy to just bop down to the corner falafel stand and pick up a pita full of the Middle Easts’ favorite fast food. But get to know – and make, another meal, the kind […]