The last few days have been both surreal and restful. It’s truly amazing to what people get accustomed.

I woke up early on Friday morning to work in my rooftop garden. Everything is growing like gangbusters now. We’ve had surprise rains and the weather has turned warm. Harvested carrots. Planted more radishes and lettuces. Did some weeding. And separated the seemingly hundreds of tomatoes that are growing from last year’s dropped fruits. I’ll be distributing them to neighbors all this week.

Every once in a while as I’m up on the balcony I hear a few thunderous booms off in the distance. Antitank artillery from Hizbulla. This followed by helicopters or jets taking off to strike the launch sites. Life continues as usual as children are outside playing without a care. It’s Friday so the neighbor across the street is washing his car. People are out walking their dogs as if nothing is going on just a few miles North.

John and I take decide to go for a hike before it gets too hot or too late in the day. We take the dog with us and the scenery is breathtaking. We have our favorite spot… a paved walking path two miles around the ridge of a mountain overlooking Haifa and the Mediterranean. And the jets strafe the sky overhead. My phone gets continual dings, alerts of rockets launched from Gaza into the South of Israel.

We stop off at our favorite nursery on the way home. Each roundabout before a village is ringed with Israeli flags and bright yellow flags, a reminder of the hostages still held in captivity.

Different communities have set up “bring them home” displays: posters of the hostages; yellow banners, ribbons and kites; empty chairs. It serves as a stark reminder against the beauty of the Galilee spring.

The nursery is incredibly crowded with families loading up on plants. The days are getting longer and there’s more time for planting. Planting gardens. A sign of hope. A symbol of beauty and pride in the neighborhood. As we are each one of us choosing our herbs, flowers, and fruit trees there are more very loud bombs in the distance. It sounds like a crane that has dropped a load of cement blocks. Plumes of smoke rise from the mountain range in the distance and no one gives the slightest jump. It is all way too surreal. And has become way too familiar. If they stop us from living- going to work/school, shopping, meeting friends, doing our normal activities….then they’ve won. Our enemies cannot stop us.

By the time we got home, I had no time to plant the flowers in our front garden, write a blog, prepare dinner and get ready for the Sabbath, so… I saved the blogging for today.

We were supposed to have friends from the middle of the country (Tel Aviv area) for dinner both last Tuesday and last Wednesday, but neither family was able. We were going to have a Tex-Mex American cook-out. I saved the ingredients for when local friends visited on Thursday and for Shabbat dinner.

We had barbecued chicken on the grill, American potato salad, and Texas baked beans in the crockpot. Oh my word! There ain’t no eatin’ like that round these parts. I served a delicious cornbread (made with oil, no dairy) with jalapeño jelly. And pickled corn salad.

We invited our Israeli neighbors over on Friday to share the bounty. But the most different and delicious part for them (besides the Texas ranger cookies I’d baked a ton of ) were the fried green tomatoes!

Leah and Aryeh had never heard of, seen or tried them before and were over the moon!

Fried Green Tomatoes

Serves 4. Pareve (neither meat nor dairy)

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 fresh squeezed lemon juiced
• 4 drops Tabasco sauce
• Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 cup flour
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 2 tsp Old Bay Spice Mix
• 3-4 medium green tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thickness (ends off)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (sunflower,etc)

In a small bowl, mix mayo, lemon juice & Tabasco & set aside. In 3 separate shallow dishes place flour, beaten eggs & cornmeal. Season each with the Old Bay. Heat oil in large skillet until shimmery. While oil heating, dip tomato slices first in flour to coat, then egg, then cornmeal. Fry tomatoes in oil working in batches. About 3-4 minutes each side. Transfer to wire rack with paper towels at bottom. Serve while hot with the sauce on top.

(We just got back from taking our dog on a walk as I was writing this….John & I needed a break. As it turns out, two separate neighbors stopped me to ask about that American food… with the tomatoes. And the cornbread and jalapeño jelly…we’ll be having more guests next week!)

This next salad was so so simple to make. Pretty standard fare. Avocados and tomatoes. But the nuts!!!! Took it to a whole higher level! Not only delicious but healthy too.

Tomato Avocado Salad

Serves 4 Pareve (vegan)

Ingredients:

• 1 large medium ripe avocado
• 2 cups (1pint) cherry tomatoes
• 1/3 cup walnuts
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1 small fresh squeezed lemon lime
• Sea salt, pepper
• (Optional 1 1/2 TBSP pumpkin seed oil)

Cube avocado into small chunks and place in bowl. Halve cherry tomatoes and place in bowl. Toast walnuts until golden brown in olive oil or pumpkinseed oil (highly recommend!!!) Let cool and add to salad. Drizzle lime juice & small amount of olive oil over top . Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked black pepper .

The fact there is a war going on just a few miles from us is surreal. It will curb some of our outings this summer, but we will find new places to hike and new villages to visit. Our enemies will not stop us from living. It’s the Israeli spirit-