You don’t have to languish in jail to make Jailhouse Booze. It’s an easy, fun project you can make in your own kitchen, with fruit juice. Old-time jailbirds used to call it Pruno. We also have another, no-waste, alternative wine recipe: Pea Pod Wine.

It’s said that the merry prisoners used to save up their lunchtime fruit juice, float a slice of moldy bread on it (for yeast) and ferment it in a milk carton, or even a garbage bag. To hide it from the jailers, they’d stash it behind the toilet, and break it out at night for a soirée in the cell.

I doubt anyone makes Pruno anymore. Today’s jailers know all about it, and know where to find that milk carton or garbage bag bulging with illicit alcohol. But if you’d like to try, I recommend fermenting the juice in a clean glass or plastic jug. Stash it in a dark, cool place instead of in the bathroom.

To get that old-time feeling, keep it under the kitchen sink. Best, and most hygenically, make room in the pantry or garage for it.

Don’t make a lot. And don’t use moldy bread unless you’re willing to risk getting sick. (Or maybe inventing Penicillin.) Pruno’s pretty rough, and there’s no quality guarantee at all.

Pruno, Or Jailhouse Booze

Equipment

• A very clean plastic or glass jug of 7- cup capacity
  A long-handled spoon
• A funnel or large ladle
• A latex glove or a balloon, new out of the box
  A rubber band
  A saucer to put under the container in case of fermentation overflow

Ingredients

1-2/3 cup sugar
1 quart/ 4 cups/ 500 ml. fruit juice, any kind, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon baker’s yeast
1 small handful raisins or grapes

Dissolve the sugar in the juice, stirring well. Funnel or ladle the juice into the jug.

Add the yeast and raisins or grapes.
Fit the glove or balloon over the mouth of the container.
Tie the rubber band around the glove or balloon: fermentation will make it swell and possibly pop off the container
With a pin or needle, poke a hole in the glove or balloon. This allows fermentation gases to escape while keeping bugs and dust out.
Set the container on top of the saucer and put that bad boy away in a cool, dark place.

The Pruno will be ready when the glove or balloon deflates.
Pour it off the sediment, chill it, and enjoy.

Recommended: play Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock” as you sip.

The post Jailhouse Booze For Home Bootleggers appeared first on Green Prophet.

If you’re anywhere near Sri Thanu on Koh Phangan, Thailand, around the yoga centers: Zen Beach, Haad Yao, or Salad Beach—make time for Street Vegan. It’s vegan and so satisfying that one meal might convince you that eating plant-based is not a compromise. I suggest for any vegan restaurant owner or chef to come to this modestly-priced venue to learn from a master.

I’ve been to Koh Phanghan a handful of times but things there change fast. Street Vegan was recommended through our musician friend Harel Shachel, who spends a lot of time on the island performing (and eating), and it turned out to be one of those easy, memorable family meals you don’t overthink, you just go back.

Street Vegan is right on the main road and easy to reach by car, scooter or the shared taxi trucks. Inside, the vibe is relaxed but special. The upper floor feels like a treehouse, looking down onto the kitchen and you can actually see the food being prepared, which gives you confidence that nothing rushed, and everything made with care. You can say that about Thai food in general but this place is a cut above.

We went around midday, the hottest month of the year, with the kids and ordered a mix from the menu to share.

The tofu cubes topped with fried onions were a hit—crispy, savory, simple but really well done. Another standout was the sautéed tofu served in cabbage leaves, fresh and nicely balanced. My daughter ordered dim sum, which was light and well made and filled with mushrooms I believe, and we also tried the sweet potato gnocchi with pesto which surprisingly good. Everything in the restaurant is gluten-free and meat and animal-product free.

The highlight for everyone was the chocolate cake. Which I do have have a picture of, sadly because we attacked it.

I’ve made vegan cakes with coconut butter and tofu but this was hand-down taking the cake. I might reach out for the recipe. The cake was creamy, rich, with a delightful crust made from coconut and nuts, and honestly hard to believe it was vegan. One of those desserts you end up finishing even when you’re full.

The guy beside us ordered the Buddha bowl and he looked like a satisfied regular.

What stands out at Street Vegan is the quality of ingredients. Thailand has incredible produce—fresh fruits, vegetables, coconut oil, palm sugar—and you can taste it here. But it’s also the effort behind the food. You can see the kitchen working, step by step, and it shows in the final dishes. The chef told me it’s endless work when I thanked her.

Street Vegan not trying to be fancy or trendy. Just solid, flavorful vegan food in a great setting. It’s open many hours until the night. I hope the owner can hold her stamina because it’s a place worth protecting and sharing. I remember years ago telling everyone to eat at Mama Poos. Now it’s the mama at Street Vegan.

If you’re on Koh Phangan, especially around Sri Thanu, this is a must-stop.

Getting to Street Vegan

Street Vegan House is located on the west coast of Koh Phangan in the Hin Kong area (near Sri Thanu), known as a major vegan hub. It is situated along the main road, easily accessible by scooter or songthaew taxi from Thong Sala or Sri Thanu and offers Vietnamese-style plant-based street food (open Mon-Sat, 1 PM-10 PM).

The post Street Vegan in Sri Thanu is a must-stop family lunch spot on Koh Phangan, Thailand appeared first on Green Prophet.

April is National Garlic Month! We’re close to the end of April, but fear not: the North American garlic harvest lasts through July, and you can pick up the bulbs until Fall. Even after the green stalks wither and the bulbs are drier, your garlic will remain pungent for any months if you store it well.

The trick is to keep the fresh garlic in a well-ventilated, shady place away from steam and heat. Not by the stove, in other words. I place a tension pole in a shady spot in the laundry room, not close to the washer/dryer, and hang my year’s harvest from it by the stalks. I’ve also cut the stalks off and stored the garlic heads in wicker baskets, on a well-ventilated shelf.

Buy plump, firm bulbs wearing their sheath of papery outer skin. If it’s soft or shriveled, or feels light in the hand relative to its size, it’s not worth buying.

The little bulblets inside the stalks may be worth the trouble of extracting. Press the stalk and judge if the bulblet is big enough to bother with. Sometimes they are.

Now for peeling the cloves. One way is to crush a clove with the flat side of a knife. Just place the knife over the clove and bang your fist down on the knife, taking care to avoid the knife edge. This loosens the garlic skin and makes it easy to pull off. If you prefer to peel the cloves whole, pour hot water over them for a few seconds. The peels will come off with a little help from a paring knife.

A tip for crushing garlic: throw away the metal garlic crusher. You can reduce garlic to a paste on your chopping block in seconds by chopping the cloves coarsely, then scraping the bits with the edge of your knife. One less gadget to wash, and no time spent digging garlic out, blunting your knife in the process.

Where does American garlic come from?

Approximately 80% of the garlic consumed in the United States is imported from China. Prices have gone up with the current tariff war, but some pre-tariff produce may still be found. It won’t be fresh, though. You may find garlic imported from Spain, Argentina, Egypt, India, or Mexico in your grocery store.

California produces about 90% of American-grown garlic. Local garlic very much fresher and tastier than garlic imported from China, and here’s why you should prefer it.

A commenter on Reddit who goes by hamdunkcontest manages the garlic category for a fairly large industrial food ingredients company. These are his insights regarding what American garlic consumers can expect in 2027:

“Assuming the tariffs hold, for this year specifically, some amount of the demand will still be covered by Chinese garlic that was already imported into the US. The balance will likely be covered by Indian garlic.

“The US can’t feasibly cover their current demand with US-origin product. Even if we wanted to increase production, the land we’d use to increase acreage will also need to be considered for other crops that are also impacted by the tariffs.

“What we’ll instead likely see is a modest increase in US production for next year, with the balance of the gap being covered by: 1) Indian or other small tertiary sources, 2) demand being reduced by companies reformulating garlic out of recipes, and 3) Chinese garlic that is illegally dodging the tariffs, though things like falsifying the country of origin.”

It’s enough to make you uproot your lawn and plant garlic, isn’t it? Many in the US and Canada do.

Green Prophet’s editor, Karin Kloosterman, says that in her native Ontario, the local CSA brings the garlic harvest down to one July weekend when they announce that the garlic’s ready to pull. The news spreads around the community by word of mouth and that’s how home gardeners known when to start digging.

Here I go to the local open-air market and revel in the garlic abundance.

But I can’t hang around reveling too long, because the season is short, a month at the longest. I ensure a year’s supply of local garlic by buying a tad more than I’ll need, to account for some inevitable loss over the months.

Eating Garlic a Natural Medicine

People have been claiming health benefits from eating garlic for centuries. Today we include:

Eating a raw clove daily keeps your heart strong, as it reduces cholesterol and blood pressure, and prevents blood clots.

Garlic is known to be antibacterial and antifungal.

Raw garlic, freshly cut, works as a home-remedy antibiotic in a pinch. In other words, sliced raw garlic applied to an infected cut, scrape, or pimple will clear it up. Mashed cooked garlic also works. Obviously, a serious infection calls for standard medical help.

Is all this talk about garlic getting you hungry? We have some great garlicky recipes, like this vegan roasted cauliflower dish and creamy roasted garlic soup. I recommend the soup as a delicious pick-me-up for any time you’re tired and disheartened.

And if you’re not convinced that garlic is the answer to the world’s woes, try this decadent garlic bread recipe from the American food writer Ruth Reichl (taken from her Substack newsletter, La Briffe):

Make Decadent Garlic Bread

1 loaf sturdy French or Italian bread
1 stick sweet butter
1 head garlic
Zest from 1 lemon (optional)
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley or chives (optional)

Begin by cutting the bread in half, lengthwise (a serrated knife helps). Preheat oven to 350⁰ F.

Peel and finely chop the garlic. Melt a stick of sweet butter, and add the garlic.

Slather the garlic butter onto the bread, cut side up, with a brush. Let it soak in. Use it all, and evenly spread the bits of garlic all over. Now is the time to salt it if you want to, and to sprinkle on the zest.

Bake the loaf, cut sides up, 15 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and wait to take the final step just before serving.

Turn the heat up to broil. Add cheese, if using. Broil for about 2 minutes, watching carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn. Sprinkle with herbs just as it comes out of the broiler and serve immediately.

My note: include all the optional ingredients. It’s the best garlic bread you’ll ever eat.

Happy National Garlic Month!

Cook on – Recipes that feature garlic

Creamy Roasted Garlic Soup — Creamy Roasted Garlic Soup

The Ultimate Hummus Recipe — The Ultimate Hummus Recipe

Ful Medames and Musabaha Recipes — Ful Medames and Musabaha Recipes

Vegetarian Haricot Bean Stew Recipe — Vegetarian Haricot Bean Stew Recipe

Noodles and Lentils Recipe — Noodles and Lentils Recipe

Baba Ganoush Recipe — Baba Ganoush Recipe

Grilled Vegetables With A Middle Eastern Accent — Grilled Vegetables With A Middle Eastern Accent

Spinach and Cheese Bourekas Recipe — Spinach and Cheese Bourekas Recipe

Shakshuka, Tunisian Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce — Shakshuka, Tunisian Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce

Late-Summer Pickled Peppers — Late-Summer Pickled Peppers

The post April Is National Garlic Month appeared first on Green Prophet.

Generation Regeneration, launching August 2026, is a book by Tony Cho positioned as a blueprint for the future of cities: it’s a piece of thought leadership aimed at investors, planners, students, and policymakers trying to make sense of urban life in an age of climate stress and social fragmentation. When Green Prophet wrote about California’s first farm to table community in California called The Cannery, we received hundreds of emails about it. Back then the idea was fresh and new and it resonated with people looking for a new kind of suburb and intentional community.

But Tony’s new book explores the surface of what will make people and planet happy. Behind his book sits a message and a business: regenerative real estate development. District-scale projects like PHXJAX in Jacksonville and investment vehicles, including a Portugal-based fund tied to the Golden Visa program. In Cho’s model, culture, community, and ecology are not side effects of development, they are part of the value proposition.

Tony is a regenerative developer and community builder focused on designing cities as living ecosystems that support human connection and ecological balance. A key figure in Miami’s urban transformation, he helped shape the Wynwood Arts District and founded the Magic City Innovation District. Influenced by an unconventional upbringing that included time in an ashram, Cho brings a spiritual lens to real estate, blending culture, community, and capital into what he calls regenerative placemaking.

Call it regenerative placemaking, or strip it down further: a new way of packaging cities as living systems that can generate both meaning and returns. We spoke with Cho about how the model works, who it serves, and whether cities can truly be built like ecosystems, without repeating the extractive patterns they claim to replace. Thousands of communities around the world have tried to build alternative communities, and communes. Nothing to date has survived to become a replicable model for greatness. Does Tony have new answers?

Interview: Tony Cho on Regenerative Placemaking and the Future of Cities

Green Prophet: You talk about regenerative placemaking almost like a living system. Where does money fit into that? Is it philanthropy, or something else?

Tony Cho: Real estate value creation is the financial engine — but its purpose should be to serve the community, not extract from it. Strategic public-private partnership is what unlocks a district’s potential in the first place: public investment de-risks the environment, private capital activates it, and together they generate the income streams that sustain operations over time.

That real estate-derived value then becomes the container — the stable financial infrastructure that allows grant programming and philanthropic investment to do what they do best: fund social and educational programming, community events, and youth engagement.

We’re actively demonstrating this across Florida, which I talk about in my forthcoming book Generation Regeneration: Codesigning the Future of Cities Through Regenerative Placemaking coming out this August.

Green Prophet: That sounds balanced in theory, but real estate has a long history of extracting value from communities. What keeps this from becoming just another version of that?

Tony Cho: Community participation has never been a box-ticking exercise for us — it’s been foundational from day one. From early visioning workshops to open meetings, surveys, and collaborative design sessions, residents and cultural stakeholders have helped shape public programming and activations, define what local success looks like, give feedback on design and build strategy, and co-curate arts, events, business incubation, and youth priorities.

We say “we build with you, not just for you.” That distinction is the difference between a development that lands in a community and one that grows from it.

Green Prophet: You’ve worked in Miami and Jacksonville — places with layered histories and tensions. What lessons translate to older port cities or culturally complex places like Jaffa?

Tony Cho: Decades of neighbourhood and district work has taught me a few things that I believe travel well across geographies and cultural contexts.

First — start with people and plants, not buildings. Before a single blueprint is drawn, we ask: who lives here, and what once grew here? Listening to long-time residents and reading the native ecology of a place — its soils, its waterways, its indigenous plant communities — are not separate acts. They’re the same act. Transformation that lasts is always rooted in what came before.

Second — pair cultural narrative with economic strategy. Historic and port cities aren’t just real estate opportunities; they’re living stories with layers of identity, memory, and meaning. The most resilient districts weave culture and commerce together — public art, festivals, and markets alongside mixed-use development and eco-literacy — so that each reinforces the other rather than replacing it.

Third — hybrid financing creates resilience. Blending private capital, public incentives, and mission-aligned funding rather than relying on any single source is what allows a project to weather political cycles, market shifts, and the inevitable friction of long-term development.

And fourth — let community programs lead, not just follow, development. Spaces enlivened by real community life — education, youth programming, makers, artisans — scale more equitably and more durably than places that simply layer new uses onto existing fabric without cultural rootedness.

In places with deep historical layering — where displacement and cultural erasure are not theoretical risks — these principles aren’t just best practices. They’re ethical imperatives.

The community isn’t the audience for the development. They’re its co-authors.

Green Prophet: You’re now expanding internationally, including into Portugal. Is regenerative placemaking becoming a global model, or is this just another way to package real estate for investors?

Tony Cho: Yes — and Portugal is where that expansion is taking shape most concretely right now. Future of Cities is expanding into Europe through a venture capital fund that qualifies for Portugal’s Golden Visa program. The fund is designed to invest in a portfolio guided by our Regenerative Placemaking strategy, with at least 60% of investments in Portugal and the remainder primarily in the U.S.

The two core investment themes are hospitality and community revitalization — which should feel very familiar to anyone who has followed our work in Jacksonville and Miami.

Portugal made sense for a number of reasons. It has been voted Europe’s best destination, holds one of the world’s most powerful passports, and is emerging as a genuine leader in regeneration and sustainability. But beyond the metrics, it’s a country with historic port cities, rich cultural layering, and neighborhoods that are ripe for the kind of adaptive, community-rooted development we practice.

More broadly, while there aren’t formal Regenerative Placemaking branches overseas just yet, the underlying framework is being discussed and explored in cities around the world — at global forums, summits, and in direct conversations with communities navigating growth.

The core idea travels: ground the project in community identity, align financial sustainability with social outcomes, and co-design with local stakeholders from day one.

Green Prophet: Final question, can cities really be built like ecosystems, or is that just language?

Tony Cho: The principles that are shaping our current projects — adaptive reuse, hybrid financing, community co-design, cultural preservation alongside economic vitality — are not uniquely American ideas. They’re responses to universal challenges that cities everywhere are facing. The idea is simple, even if the execution is complex: align human systems with living systems. When you do that, cities don’t just grow — they evolve.

In a world of smart cities and sensor grids, Cho is betting on something more resilient: when people are given a place to belong, they will do the work of regeneration themselves.

The post Tony Cho’s model for regenerative cities appeared first on Green Prophet.

Nawal Nasrallah, a food historian and author, writes about Iraqui cuisine in a warm, rich style that beautifully highlights each recipe’s  historical and cultural background. Her newly revised cookbook, Delights From The Garden Of Eden, is about to be released in a new edition, and I can’t wait to read it (and cook from it).

Nasrallah’s blog offers some traditional Iraqi recipes, as sort of a preview of the book. Here on Green Prophet, we’ve got a weak spot for Iraqi cooking, like this Fesenjan recipe (chicken with walnut sauce.)

I liked Nasralla’s surprising watermelon rind jam especially because the recipe ensures that there’s no food waste. Even more than that, it’s an old-fashioned, slow-food recipe that promises to taste simply delicious.

Nasrallah introduces the watermelon rind jam:

You will be surprised how beautiful and tasty this jam will turn out to be. Its origin cannot be any humbler: watermelon rind, usually discarded after the juicy ruby melon pulp is sliced off. In other parts of the world this rind ends up being pickled, but in Iraq we transform it into a charming chunky jam, usually served with geymer (slabs of clotted cream) or butter for breakfast.

Related: beat the heat by using water from your AC unit

Watermelon Rind Jam

Ingredients:

1 kg. – 2 lb. watermelon rind, measured after slicing off the red pulp and hard green outer peel

3 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup honey

2 strips lemon peel or 2 small pieces of peeled fresh ginger

4 whole pods cardamom

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method

Cut rind into strips, about 1 inch wide and 2 inches long. Cover in cold water and bring to a quick boil.

Reduce heat, and simmer slowly until translucent, about 30 minutes. Drain, and reserve 3 cups of liquid.

In a heavy pot, completely dissolve sugar in reserved liquid.

Add honey, lemon peel or ginger, and cardamom. Bring to a boil, skimming as needed.

Add the drained watermelon rind, and boil gently over medium heat, for 30 minutes.

Remove from heat, cover, and set aside, overnight.

Boil pot again over medium heat until syrup thickens, about 30 minutes.

Add lemon juice in the last 5 minutes. Test for doneness by putting a drop of syrup on a dry cold dish, and tilt it. If the drop does not go flat, and keeps its domed shape, it is done.

Let the jam cool off completely. If wished, put the jam in a strainer to get rid of extra syrup.

Store it in the refrigerator and use as needed. It will stay good for a long time.

Love this? Here are 5 ways to use watermelon rinds in recipes

Enjoy!

More Preserved Fruit On Green Prophet:

• Locavore Strawberry Jam
• Baked Apricot Jam
• Mulberry Chutney

The post Make Watermelon Rind Jam appeared first on Green Prophet.

It’s late winter, almost spring in the Mediterranean, and the time to harvest wild greens is now. In a week or two, the best will be gone to seed, gotten leggy and tough, or infested with bugs.

I went out foraging for nettles, my favorite wild edible. I was aiming to make nettles dumplings, or as they’d be known in Italy, malfatti. See our other 5 ways to eat iron-rich nettles. And here we show inventive ways to make dumlings.

Malfatti means “badly formed,” and these dumplings, quickly shaped in the hand, have an awkward, rough look. Traditionally, spinach is the leafy ingredient, and the malfatti come out white speckled with green. These, based on nettles, are a rich, dark green.

I found this recipe in the late Leda Meredith’s book, “The Forager’s Feast.”

When I mention harvesting nettles to people who don’t forage, I get plenty of rolled eyes and the usual question: “Don’t you get stung, picking them?”

I do get stung. In my first years of picking nettles, I found that wearing gloves and taking scissors along was the way to deal with them.

Snip the stems and holding them with the scissor blades, put them down, all facing one way. That makes them easier to handle when rinsing them and hanging them up to dry.

But that was years ago. I pick nettles with bare hands now, and while I feel the sting, I don’t mind it anymore. Remember, all the sting goes away in the cooking. If you’re new to eating nettles and curious about their flavor, I’ll say that they don’t taste like spinach.

All wild greens are described as tasting like spinach, but the truth is that each has its distinctive taste, as with artichokes and lettuce, which are botanically related but taste nothing like each other. Nettles’s taste is dark, if you like, and a little salty; a little like seaweed.

This is how I learned to make delicious green malfatti. Like the ancient recipes that start, “First go out and catch a rabbit,” you need 4 ounces of raw, rinsed nettles that you went out and picked yourself.

Nettles Malfatti Recipe

Serves 2 as a main dish; 3-4 as a hot appetizer or side dish

Ingredients:

4 oz. – a tightly packed 1/2-cup of raw nettle leaves – stripped from the stems. My note: ignore any seeds present; they’re also excellent nutrition when young and green.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and chopped finely
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or more if liked
1/2 cup cup flour for rolling the malfatti in
About 1/2 cup melted butter and 1/4 cup grated extra Parmesan for saucing the malfatti

Instructions:

Blanch the nettles. Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a boil.

Drop the nettles in and cook for 3 minutes. I set the timer on my phone to avoid over-cooking. You’re only blanching the greens here.

Have ready a bowl of cold water. Remove the blanched nettles from the hot water with tongs or a slotted spoon and immediately drop them in the cold water. Let them sit for a minute or so or until cool.

Drain the nettles in a colander or sieve, and squeeze as much liquid out of them as possible by pushing them hard against the side of the colander. Do this over a bowl, to catch that dark-green juice. It’s tasty and sky-high full of nutrients. You can add it to soups or green smoothies later.

Coarsely chop the wad of squeezed-out nettles.

Empty the pot you boiled the nettles in. Pour the olive oil in and set it over medium heat to warm. (Leda’s tip for reducing the washing up by one pot).

Cook the onion in the oil until soft and translucent, stirring, 4-5 minutes.

Using the knife blade of a food processor, blend the onions and nettles together with the salt and pepper, eggs, breadcrumbs, and cheese until you have a coarse paste.

Scoop the nettles mixture into a bowl, cover it, and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. I’ve let it mature as long as 24 hours.

Set a large pot of lightly salted water to boil.

Either flour a surface like a baking sheet with the 1/2-cup flour, or dump the flour into a wide bowl. Either way, flour your hands. You’ll need to flour your hands again at intervals.

Pinch off a generous tablespoon of the chilled dough and roll into a torpedo shape. Some prefer a nice round dumpling like a mazah ball; your choice. In either case, your palms will be green.

Roll each malfatti in the flour and set it aside on a floured surface while rolling the rest. If your bowl is wide enough, just place them around the inside and roll the rest of the malfatti in the flour heap in the center of the bowl.

Gently lower the malfatti into the water, which by now should be boiling. Don’t crowd the dumplings; they swell and need room to move. You’ll know they’re close to done when they rise and bob around. Cook them 4-5 minutes, no longer or they’ll break apart. You may need to do this in 2 batches.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked malfatti to a platter or serving bowl.

Gently pour melted butter over the malfatti, and sprinkle with the extra grated Parmesan. Serve right away.

Some take malfatti to another level by baking them, cooked as described above, in a bechamel or a tomato sauce for 15 minutes at 350° F – 175°C. Sprinkle with more cheese before serving.

The post Make nettle dumplings, also known as nettles malfatti appeared first on Green Prophet.

Farm To Table Israel is transforming the traditional dining experience into a hands-on journey.

“People want to see and experience where the food comes from,” says Farm To Table owner Yakir Knafo. “I like to introduce guests to the small, ‘romantic’ farms where they get a personal feel for connection to the land.”

And you can hardly get more personal with the land than pulling carrots out of the ground yourself; carrots that you’ll watch a chef cook a little while later for lunch. Or standing under a tree peeling a juicy orange you plucked off a branch a second ago.

An hour in the field is followed two hours of a 7-course meal filled with the genuine flavors of Israeli food. It might be cooked then and there on the farm, to be eaten in the open air. Or you might head back to the Alhambra deli in Jaffa, where Farm To Table Israel guests feast at a communal table. You’ll enjoy a meal that’s as much about storytelling and community as it is about fresh, local flavors, and where every ingredient comes from local sources – even the salt.

Culinary tours include visits to an olive oil press, followed by a meal where every dish features a different local olive oil; or to a vineyard and boutique winery that shows how Israeli wines have gained international recognition. Or a group may visit one of the local dairies. A tour of an apiary and honey tastings in the works for the near future.

Each tour ends with a meal freshly cooked by Yakir and chef Aviel Elbaz, with the participation of any guests who like to cook. There’s a story behind every dish, even behind every ingredient. Guests leave the table enriched with history, a sense of connection with the land, and naturally, the lingering wellbeing that’s the gift of a delectable meal shared with friends.

Related: Ada’s home-roasted coffee in Jaffa

And that’s just one of the culinary experiences offered by Farm To Table Israel. Groups can also book hands-on cooking workshops for groups of friends and for business groups on a day out. Workshop themes include pickling and fermentation, seasonal cooking, and making pasta. Yakir told us that they will create a workshop focused on a special theme too, if requested.

Then there’s Alhambra, the Jaffa base for Farm To Table’s culinary workshops. It’s a café by day and wine bar by night, as well as a delicatessen offering Israeli gourmet specialties.

All of this was born of Yakir and Aviel’s vision to make food the connection between people and the land. Yakir has an enormous love of nature, the farmer, and the goodness of Israel’s sustainable foods. His enthusiasm overflows in spontaneous talk as visitors harvest, cook, and eat together.

Jaffa, close to Tel Aviv, is the mixed Jewish-Arab neighborhood where Alhambra operates, and where Yakir lives with his family. He interacts comfortably with close-by Arab businesses:

“We live together, after all. I get fish from Ibrahim, orange juice from Salem, and kitchen equipment from Abu Avram. We respect each other,” he says. His voice softens as he says that seaside Jaffa is very much like the Moroccan port town of Essaouira, where his grandfather was chief rabbi.

Alhambra is kosher under rabbinical supervision, dairy/fish. The partners offer cooking workshops there, but a group may also book a workshop near home.

::Farm To Table
::Deli Alhambra 
30 Jerusalem Blvd., Tel Aviv
+972 523 255 370

Traveling to Jaffa in the near future?

Read our green guide to Jaffa

The post Farm To Table Israel Connects People To The Land appeared first on Green Prophet.

Eyeing the mushrooms for sale in the local supermarket, I was intrigued to see shaggy, pearl-white Lion’s Mane mushrooms (H. erinaceus ). It’s not often found fresh, and is mostly used as a health supplement in capsule, powdered, or tincture form.

Traditional Chinese medicine has used it to improve memory and ability to withstand stress, and ease depression, for centuries. This could be helpful for women in menopause, to take just one population needing relief.

Western medicine has begun to recognize the benefits of Lion’s Mane mushrooms. Studies made on mice show tremendous potential for improving cognitive impairment, depression/anxiety, and other major ailments. This is attributed to the antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties of the mushroom.

Research so far has been limited, and mostly made on people with mild Alzheimer’s disease. Those studies show participants’ improved memory and mood after treatment with Lion’s Mane. Now a pilot study published in the National Library of Medicine presents a different angle: prevention of cognitive decline and health in older age by taking Lion’s Mane while still healthy.

Participants in the study were 41 healthy young adults, men and women, taking Lion’s Mane regularly over 28 days. They showed enhanced memory and improved mood, as well as more ability to withstand stress.

Laboratory mice treated with Lion’s Mane showed faster recovery from nerve injuries, protection against stomach ulcers, lower blood sugar, a healthier heart, higher immunities, improved memory and mood, and even cancer prevention.

Quite a list! Will Lion’s Mane mushrooms rise as the new miracle medicine? That’s something we won’t know until more extensive studies are done on humans.

Caveats: Lion’s mane mushroom might cause the immune system to become more active, which can be great in normal cirumstances such as during flu season. But this could increase the symptoms of auto-immune diseases.  According to WebMD, Lion’s Mane mushroom should be viewed with caution by people with these conditions:

Those with auto-immune disease such as multiple sclerosis (MS), lupus rheumatoid arthritis, pemphigus vulgaris (a skin condition), and others. If you have one of these conditions, it’s best to avoid using lion’s mane mushroom.

Patients taking anticoagulant/ antiplatelet drugs: Lion’s mane mushroom might slow blood clotting. This might increase the chances of bruising and bleeding in people with bleeding conditions.

Before surgery: Lion’s mane mushroom might slow blood clotting and reduce blood glucose levels. This might cause extra bleeding, and interfere with blood sugar control during and after surgery. Stop using lion’s mane mushroom at least 2 weeks before a scheduled surgery.

Before a transplant: The strength of immunosuppressants – medications that decrease the immune system – may be weakened by Lion’s Mane.

Diabetics taking medications: Lion’s mane mushroom might lower blood sugar levels. Taking lion’s mane mushroom along with diabetes medications might cause blood sugar to crash.

Now let’s assume that all is well and you want to taste the famous mushroom fresh. Lion’s Mane are hard to grow. To get them fresh, you had to either forage them yourself – assuming you were in the correct, humid forest conditions – or order them from specialty farmers.

I tried growing Lion’s Mane mushrooms myself, out of a kit, but alas – my kitchen window didn’t offer the right conditions. So I was excited to bring some of those Lion’s Mane mushrooms home. I’d have to eat a measured amount of the mushroom on a daily basis to benefit from its medicinal properties, but I wasn’t set up to conduct scientific research in the kitchen; I was set up to conduct culinary research, with my skillet, some good olive oil, and my appetite. I wonder – could we beat cogitive decline by eating Lion’s Mane mushrooms cooked in olive oil?

I chose a simple recipe that allows the umami-rich flavor of the mushroom to shine, without masking it by adding lots of herbs, cream, or other ingredients. This makes 2 appetizers. It may be doubled or tripled.

Enjoy!

Photo of sauteed Lion’s Mane mushrooms via acouplecooks.

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Souk El Tayeb in Beirut has always been more than a farmers’ market. It is a small miracle in the heart of Lebanon—a community place where farmers, cooks, refugees, artisans, and city dwellers gather around the simple idea that food can heal a country.

Founded in Beirut during a time of deep political strains, Souk El Tayeb became a meeting place where sect, class, and region dissolve into the shared pleasure of tasting ripe tomatoes, kneaded manousheh, or warm kebbeh made by someone whose village you may have only heard about.

What makes Souk El Tayeb remarkable is not only its insistence on local, seasonal produce, but its belief that dignity and sustainability must go hand in hand. Farmers are paid fairly. Villages are uplifted. Traditional recipes are kept alive not as nostalgia but as knowledge systems: real food is carbon-light, waste-free, and is adapted to the land.

In a region where instability and terror threatens the smallest things, Souk El Tayeb remains defiantly hopeful, stitching Lebanon back together one shared meal at a time.(Related: The Pope was just visiting Lebanon uplifting the spirits even more).

And now Lebanon prepared for Eid el-Barbara, a celebration as rooted in the soil as in faith, it’s like a kind of Halloween, but gentler. As Souk El Tayeb writers described it: “It tells the story of Barbara (Saint Barbara), a pious Christian in Roman times, whose father, the pagan ruler of Baalbek, wanted to kill her for her forbidden Christian beliefs. It’s celebrated December 5 in the Middle East, and December 17 in Europe.

“To escape him, she disguised herself (hello costumes!) and ran through bare fields that miraculously grew into tall wheat to hide her as she fled.”

To remember the miracle of the wheat, families cook amhiyeh and atayef, and children plant soaked wheat, beans, or lentils on beds of cotton.

By Christmas, the sprouts become a soft green carpet for the nativity scene, the مغارة الميلاد.

This ritual also exists in Provence, where wheat is planted on Sainte-Barbe’s Day. Lebanon, France, and a shared tradition of sprouting hope in the darkest month of the year.

Another tradition is eating qatayef, a stuffed cookie, which is also eaten at Ramadan.

Eid il-Burbara or Saint Barbara’s Day, and also called the Feast of Saint Barbara, is a holiday annually celebrated on 17 December or 4 December amongst Middle Eastern Christians in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Turkey. It is also celebrated as Barbaroba amongst Christians in Georgia.

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Sheep, goat, and buffalo milk create some of the world’s most flavorful cheeses. And if you are going an extra step and can find it, camel milk cheese might be one to try.

We tend to think of dairy as synonymous with cows, and it’s true that most commercial milk products start there. But cheeses made from the milk of other animals—sheep, goats, and water buffalo—are becoming increasingly common and often easier on digestion. Many people with mild lactose intolerance report they can tolerate these alternatives. If you’re curious about widening your cheese horizons, here’s a starter list of cheese made from non-cow milk. (DairyX makes a stretchy vegan cheese).

Feta

True feta is never cow-based. This classic Greek cheese is traditionally made from sheep’s milk, or a blend of sheep and goat. It’s firm, salty, tangy, and ideal for salads or pastries like spanakopita. Authentic feta is usually sold in blocks, with a crumbly, dry texture full of little fissures. Cow-milk “feta-style” products exist, so check labels if you want the real deal. Here is a feta dish you can make worthy of a Michelin star.

Manchego

This is an iconic Spanish cheese comes exclusively from the milk of Manchega sheep raised in the La Mancha region. It ranges from semi-soft to firm depending on how long it’s aged. A buttery interior and a signature herringbone pattern on the rind signal authenticity, along with the official D.O. (Designation of Origin) marking. Curado (aged 3–6 months) is smooth, slightly sharp, and perfect on sandwiches or a tapas plate.

Buffalo Mozzarella

Mozzarella di bufala is produced from the milk of Italian water buffalo, especially in the provinces of Caserta and Salerno. Its creamy, silky texture is notoriously difficult to replicate with cow’s milk. Real buffalo mozzarella carries protected status in Italy. Counterfeits exist globally, but the authentic version has an unmistakable richness and delicate tang. Loads of TikTok videos suggest how easy it is to make. It’s not. But this salad, a caprese is easy to make after you’ve bought some mozzarella from the deli. Fresh mozzarrela should be floating in water, not hard in a bag like cheddar. The hard stuff will work for pizza but the fresh stuff is a million times tastier.

Labbaneh / Lebbene

Common across Israel and the Mediterranean, labbaneh, labne, or labaney is a soft, tangy yogurt-style cheese made largely from sheep’s milk (though goat versions exist). It’s often shaped into small balls and stored in olive oil, sometimes rolled in herbs like za’atar. It might taste “off” when you first try it but the tang of the cheese grows on your. Spread it on bread, serve with vegetables, or add it to a breakfast mezze. It’s so simple that many home cooks make their own. We take 2 parts labne, 1 part heavy youghurt with a quarter cup of olive oil and wrap it inside laffe bread. Yummy. Here is a recipe for labne here you make from yoghurt.

Humboldt Fog

Created by Cypress Grove in Northern California, Humboldt Fog is an American original made from goat’s milk. Its signature ash line running through the center helps it ripen from the outside inward. The result is a cheese that starts crumbly but becomes increasingly creamy over time, with gentle acidity and a more intense flavor near the rind. It’s excellent on a cheese board or melted over vegetables.

Halloumi

Originating in Cyprus, halloumi is a mixture of sheep and goat milk. Its springy texture and high melting point make it ideal for grilling or frying—so much so that people often mistake grilled halloumi for chicken. Traditionally aged and unpasteurized, it’s now beloved throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and far beyond.

We even have an Amish friend in Ontario, Canada making her own halloumi and selling it in markets in Toronto. It’s texture is a delight and it’s best served fried or grilled. Our friend says that one avoids a strong goat cheese flavor when the goats are kept clean and no urine makes it into the cheese. Reminds us of the expensive cat poop coffee, or argan oil made from nuts that come from a goat’s butt.

Halloumi chews squeaky. Sort of like rubber sneakers in a newly painted mall parking lot floor. It’s kind of neat though, also a bit annoying.

Pecorino

Pecorino simply means “sheep’s milk cheese” in Italian, and it’s a key member of the great Italian cheese families. Pecorino Romano is the version most commonly found outside Italy—salty, sharp, and a great substitute for parmesan. Other regional styles include Pecorino Sardo (Sardinia), Pecorino Siciliano (Sicily), and Pecorino di Filiano (Basilicata). All add depth to pastas, pizzas, and anything deserving a savory kick.

Tzfat Cheese

Produced in the northern Israeli city of Tzfat since the 19th century, this semi-hard cheese was originally made from sheep’s milk. Today you’ll find versions made from goat and cow milk too. The HaMeiri family—descendants of the early cheesemakers—still crafts a traditional sheep-milk variety using free-range animals milked by hand. The small family factory offers tastings and tours. (See also Goat’s With the Wind)

Roquefort

One of France’s most renowned blue cheeses, Roquefort is made from the milk of Lacaune sheep and aged in limestone caves. Legend says a shepherd abandoned his lunch—bread and fresh ewe’s cheese—to chase after a woman. Months later he returned to find the cheese transformed by blue-green mold into what we now call Roquefort. Its veins create a sharp, smoky tang that pairs beautifully with nuts, figs, or crusty bread.

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