Mike Solomonov, sneakers caked in mud, hands stained red from plucking mulberries, comes bounding across the field like he’s just picked the padlock on the candy shop. “Bro, check out these crazy squash!” He carries a long, pale green vegetable resembling a peeled cucumber, albeit layered in downy peachlike fuzz. It’s a fakus, he tells me, a curious plant native to this part of Israel. “You can cook it like zucchini, or eat it raw like cucumber,” he says, breaking off a chunk and offering me a bite. It’s snappy, slightly bitter, and entirely delicious. “Right?!” the chef replies with a grin, sprinting back to the patch to harvest some more.
We’re at Mizpe Hayamim, a mountaintop farm and wellness retreat overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Most people visit Israel…
