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Pleasure Hunting / Far from the madding crowd By Ronit Vered Tags: israel news The Arava desert was created to grow summer fruits and vegetables in the winter, farmers say, and if you see their greenhouses up close, you will understand. The ability to deceive the seasons of the year is a definite advantage in global markets. When the countries of the north are covered with snow, buyers from the top food chains in Europe choose tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, melons and figs that are sent to them courtesy of the eternal summer of the sun-drenched Arava. But the Israeli consumer loses out, because these fruits and vegetables, grown according to the exacting standards of Europe and the United States, rarely reach the local market. We can only envy their quality and taste. The paradise for vegetables in the nightshade family is blessed by sun and great radiation. This is the desert. Soil and water are hardly to be found here. The top layer of the ground consists of clay and pebbles, and only dates and grapevines are able to strike roots in it. Rainfall is sparse and pumping drinking water is complex and costly. The situation engenders creative solutions, and despite the harsh desert conditions, there is sophisticated agriculture of a world standard here. The regional Research and Development Center was the site of experiments that made it possible to grow produce in greenhouses instead of open fields, thereby avoiding unnecessary spraying. Also to be found here are a large-scale project for recycling the plastic sheets that cover the greenhouses and the vegetables. Tuff layers and coconut fibers are being used to replace the vanishing reserves of sand. There are environmentally friendly biological extermination projects, and a never-ending search for the next big thing for the world market. Advertisement The day when tillers of the soil planted trees with their children and grandchildren in mind is a thing of the past. This year, local fig growers were beaten in the European arena by Brazilian fig growers, so the fruit remained on the trees; it doesn't pay to pick it. The pepper growers, who had particularly good years, suffered last year from the cold snap and this year from the global economic crisis. They can only take comfort in the fact that this is the way of the world: farming has been in crisis for the past 10,000 years, more or less since it began. The annual agricultural celebration of Arava R&D will this year mark the 50th anniversary of settlement in the region. Nearly all the tourist attractions of the area - one of the few in Israel whose residents still make a living from farming - will take part. A large agricultural exhibition will be held at Yair Experimental Station, a farmers market will showcase local produce, and guided tours will be available to the fascinating research and experimental greenhouses. The agricultural fair will take place February 4-5 at Yair Experimental Station near Hatzeva, 08-658-1083; www.arava.co.il/haklaut (partially in English); info on the exhibition: mopen@arava.co.il Tasting Those who might be confused by learned explanations about types of soil, water and agricultural techniques, can get the idea by a more pleasurable physical means - testing and tasting. The agricultural produce of the Arava is earmarked for export. Those who don't like the rather anemic taste of "819" - the most common type of cherry tomato in Israel - will be pleased to discover that French and Italian chefs have only praise for the "Summer Sun" sweet orange cherry tomatoes, the "Palermo," and other Israeli varieties. This year Tomer and Ronit Tene opened one of the greenhouses on their farm, which lies on the beautiful Peace Road, for visitors to pick their own produce. Stretching in contiguous rows on the farm are 20 types of peppers - large and small; round, square or elongated; purple, green and red - and 25 different types of cherry tomatoes that are differentiated by size, color, acidity and degree of sweetness. Local instructors are on hand and the children are dizzied by the colorful abundance and the joy of picking, and adults, too, will appreciate the rare opportunity for comparative tasting. Melo Hatene, Ein Yahav, 052-2913379, 052-3666606. Vegetable patch The flowerbeds of paradise will probably resemble the vegetable garden cultivated by the Elazari family: huge cabbages, kohlrabi fit for the table of Gargantua, tomatoes sweeter than honey and dwarf carrots with the flavor of nectar. Ronit and Motti Elazari are graduates of the Hebrew University?s Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot. Twenty years ago, because they wanted their daughters to be able to eat unsprayed strawberries, they started to grow the fruit organically on a small scale. Thus was established the family vegetable garden, and any chef would covet the luscious vegetables grown there. Anyone who tastes its cauliflower, snow peas and figs will immediately understand once and for all the difference between the taste of just-picked vegetables and fruits and those that reach the shelf after lengthy conservation and cooling processes. Eight years ago, when Ronit lost her job as an agriculture teacher as part of the reform introduced by the then education minister, Limor Livnat, the vegetable garden became a playground for Arava children who come here twice a week to attend a hobby group in organic agriculture. Each child has a small patch of his own, and the eagerness to enter the Guinness Book of Records with the world?s biggest carrot is in inverse proportion to the size of the toddler. On fine days the children run about in the plots outside the greenhouse and collect ladybugs to devour the pests that threaten the garden. They spend the rare rainy days under the curtain of fresh drops that fall from a canopy of white netting − Ronit wants the sparse rain to slake the thirst of the plants, so there is no plastic cover − and soap themselves with suds and luffa sponges from vines they cultivate themselves. Two months ago the couple began to host small groups for breakfast and brunch, using produce from the cornucopia of the garden. The meals are wonderfully tasty and generous and the table is set with thrilling simplicity: brown rolls bursting with herbs and kashkaval cheese, a golden vegetable omelet, green salad suffused with fresh grains, a salad of orange, yellow and red cherry tomatoes sprinkled with olive oil, roasted eggplant and peppers, marvelous dried tomatoes, homemade cheeses diced with hot peppers, a banana milkshake, dates and tehina, camomile and hibiscus tea. The vegetable garden supplies most of those materials and visitors can wander the garden paths and enrich their meals with random tastes of the season?s crops. Breakfast at the organic garden, Tsofar, 052-366-6819. The stars above The establishment of the new community of Tzukim was accompanied by stories about the affluent founding core of families, people in the prime of life and at the height of professional and economic success who in the name of pioneering and love of nature decided to move to the desert. Four years later, their presence in these parts is less noticeable. The first group was defeated in struggles over control of the community's future. At present the small community - 25 families in all - is made up of young couples who hope to make their living in tourism and running spiritual workshops. Tzukim is one of the first communities in Israel in which a separate area for tourism was established in the planning stage. At the moment, a luxury boutique hotel and a gourmet restaurant are being built. Elegant and isolated guest units already exist, earmarked for long-term rental for, among others, artists seeking the quiet of the desert. The site of Rinat and Yair Bashan - striking structures made of straw and mud, nestled amid the soft hills, along with a central structure - was the first to open, a few months ago. The site, which they built with their own hands, is intended for families that want to escape the kind of vacation that is spent in a desperate search for the next children's attraction. These are families who want to sleep where the stars are bright at night and the earth is painted in the colors of a primeval landscape by day. Instead of watching television, you can roast marshmallows over an open fire, go into the desert to hunt for shark's teeth from the period when the area was a sea bed, or find a quiet corner in the grove in the valley and relax with a good book. The modest cabins and compost toilets, with a stack of hay instead of a flush mechanism, will not be everyone's cup of tea (so to speak), but the experience is wonderful - hot showers thanks to solar energy, kerosene burners to ward off the desert chill at night, a shaded area and hammocks for every cabin, a place for a private bonfire, and the central structure, which contains a library, children's games and mattresses and carpets for lazing around. Yemei Midbar (Desert Days), Tzukim, NIS 350-450 a night, 052-617-0028, www.desert-days.co.il (Hebrew only, but definitely worth a look). Bookmark to del.icio.us   Following Chavez Bolivia cuts ties with Israel, says it seeks war crimes charges. Who needs the Knesset? Arab parties: We'll establish an alternative Arab parliament.

Read & React Bradley Burston: In Gaza's shadow: Obama's Inaugural message Send response Harel & Issacharoff: Egypt's Gaza truce plan is mostly bad for Hamas Responses: 45 U.S., Israel near deal aimed at halting Gaza arms smuggling Responses: 19 Gideon Levy: The IDF has no mercy for the children in Gaza nursery schools Responses: 41 U.S. may cut $1billion in loan guarantees to Israel over West Bank settlements Responses: 13 More Headlines 14:56 Gaza hospital, UN facility hit in Hamas-IDF fighting 14:21 UN Chief: Success of Gaza truce deal depends on Israel's will 15:04 Israeli charged with attempting to spy on behalf of Iran 15:00 Livni urges Red Cross to press Hamas for access to Gilad Shalit 13:37 U.S., Israel near deal aimed at halting Gaza arms smuggling 12:23 ANALYSIS / Key to Israeli exit from Gaza rests with Egypt, U.S. 14:58 Hamas agrees in principle to Egypt offer for Gaza truce 12:22 ANALYSIS / Egypt's Gaza truce plan is mostly bad for Hamas 13:47 WATCH / Obama: We must engage Syria and Iran in Middle East peace efforts 15:02 Gaza militants fire 22 rockets at Israel, one hitting Gedera 12:00 Israelis receive SMS messages apparently from Hamas warning of `surprises` in Gaza 11:57 Unsung Israeli hero risks his life to save Gaza children 13:04 U.S. may cut $1 billion in loan guarantees to Israel over West Bank settlements 14:26 Protesters against Gaza op heckle Israeli ambassador at Holocaust ceremony in Poland 12:01 Poll shows most Israelis back IDF action in Gaza 13:46 Israel Foreign Ministry preparing for 'day after' IDF leaves Gaza 12:17 Venezuela: We cut ties with Israel over 'persecution of Palestinians' 14:47 The IDF has no mercy for the children in Gaza nursery schools 08:27 False rumors of Shalit release do not faze family and friends 09:25 Pro-Gaza demonstration in Ramallah canceled for a lack of protesters 09:36 Israeli Arab singer urged to step down from Eurovision, so as not to present 'false image' of coexistence 08:45 IDF helping coordinate aid for civilians in Gaza Strip 05:46 Operation Cast Lead taking toll on Israeli businesses overseas Previous Editions Select Day 14 jan 13 jan 12 jan 11 jan 09 jan 08 jan 07 jan 06 jan 05 jan 04 jan 02 jan 01 jan

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