Welcome to mid-June, my favorite time of year, when days are long and nights are short. I’ve spent some amazing mid-Junes in Alaska or flying through Iceland on the way to friends near Copenhagen or Glasgow. I love the lingering twilight blues and pinks with no night at all. In constant daylight, things grow so fast, it’s like watching time-lapse photography—unforgettable!
My newest book, A Traveling Grandma’s Guide to Israel: Adventures, Wit, and Wisdom, draws from nine trips in thirty-nine years lasting 135 days in this incredible country and is now available for pre-order before its June 27th release. The Kindle version is currently $4.99 currently but goes to $5.99 on release day. An audio version will be available later by Jenny Pullen Myers of Jenny’s Audio, my former student and now successful audio recording artist and friend. How nice to work together!
My love for travel is in my DNA, perhaps from my father’s father, or his ancestors who originally came to America on ships and then by train to farming country in Wisconsin.
In 1924 after my Grandfather’s homesteading efforts failed due to two floods and a drought, he and Grandma and my four-year-old dad loaded their big Pontiac and worked their way west to where the land was good and the climate more cooperative.
During WWII, my dad saw Hawaii and the Philippines while serving on a US Navy subchaser. On my first visit there in 2008, I shared Dad’s adventures with a group of Filipinos in the northern mountains who had been occupied by the Japanese, and they instantly stood on their feet clapping. I was privileged to give Dad their thanks in person.
I’ve learned and enjoyed so much through travel. I regret no trip ever taken. Travel provides wonderful opportunity for growth and makes us better citizens in today’s world.
I love the fresh tastes, scenes, fragrances, and sounds of Israel and other countries in any season. On my first trip there in 1984, I discovered the wonderful blended spice, za’atar. You can buy it online or in some stores, but it’s fast and cheap to make at home.
Za’atar is usually a blend of equal parts of savory dried herbs like oregano, marjoram, thyme, and toasted earthy spices like cumin, coriander, sesame seeds, coriander, and what some call the most important ingredient, the ground red berries of the North American red sumac tree with its bright color and lemony tang. Avoid the white berries of the rare white sumac as they are poisonous. If you can’t find red sumac, some lemon juice may be added while toasting the sesame seeds. Add less sumac and salt than the other ingredients. Judge all amounts by your personal taste preference. Best of all, Za’atar is considered “brain food” with antioxidant and medicinal properties.
I discovered za’atar years back when a small packet came with the fresh Jerusalem bagel I bought from a vendor near the Upper Room in Old City Jerusalem. Now that I’ve learned its ingredients, the spice is easily blended at home and is delicious on breads, dips, meat, vegetables, rice, potatoes, pasta, soups, and dressings—almost anything. Enjoying unique flavors can be almost as delightful as standing in foreign countries.
Please name any foreign recipe you love that is almost as good as a visit to a foreign country. And enjoy your summer!
Looking for more blog posts to read? Be sure to check out my post from last year, “Happy High Summer”. And get ready for the Fourth of July by revisiting, “You’re a grand old flag, you’re a high flying flag”. Happy reading!
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