In the JNF Kitchen: Melon and honey vodka cocktail

This fun #RecipeOfTheWeek is great way for ushering in a summer weekend. It comes to us from the Arava desert, a region characterized by sharp climate changes, extreme topographical conditions, scarce water, and dramatic natural beauty. The Arava is a key focus of JNF's Blueprint Negev initiative.

In the JNF Kitchen: Uri's lamb stew with pomegranate

Rosh Hashanah always comes either early or late. For a late-summer Rosh Hashanah, we're bringing you a succulent recipe from Chef Uri Arnon, who owns the restaurant Arnold's, voted one of Israel's 10 best kosher gourmet restaurants!

Chef Uri opened Arnold's, located on Moshav Nativ Hashayara, to shatter the myth of "kosher or delicious."

Off the beaten path in the Western Galilee, Israel's Napa Valley, in photos

Photo: Grant Legan

Meeting the clans behind the Western Galilee's family-owned businesses and experiencing their homey hospitality is a treat. Pictured at Hefer Ranch, a site for camping, horseback riding, and outdoor team-building activities, are Eyal Hefer and wife Edna (left and third from left), their son Or, and Rachaeli, who works the horse stables.     

As part of our #JNF #SummerLovin series featuring lesser-known Israeli seasonal gems, we visit the beautiful Western Galilee in July.   

By Lauren Katz 

If you haven’t visited the Western Galilee, add it to the top of your list. If you have been there, well, you know it’s worth a second (or eighth) visit. Located in the north of Israel, the culturally diverse area has an incredible amount to offer -- from picturesque wineries to richly historic cities like Akko and breathtaking views in almost every direction. The warmth and openness of the people working and living throughout the region immediately make you feel welcome. 

Below are just a handful of the highlights. For lots more, visit the site for Western Galilee Now, a nonprofit organization that aims to connect visitors with the amazing opportunities in the area. Its website features a detailed map of what to see, as well as an updated list of events. And be sure to take a virtual trip to some of the region's treasures in our photo gallery at the bottom of this post (hover over any image to spend more time on it). 

In the JNF Kitchen: Hagit's super-easy banana ice cream

Photo: Anne Taillandier

This #RecipeOfTheWeek, like last week's, comes from the kitchen of Hagit Lidror, a chef who specializes in healthy vegetarian cuisine and teaches cooking classes at her home in Israel's Western Galilee. She's a member of JNF partner organization Western Galilee Now, a consortium of small businesses in the region. 

Here's how Hagit makes a healthy, one-ingredient ice cream. Have you made a JNF #RecipeOfTheWeek? Send a photo of your creation to teddyherzl18@gmail.com or tweet it to @JNFUSA with the hashtag #JNFfoodie. We might share it!

14 of the most unique ice cream flavors in Israel. Hummus anyone?

Photo: Anne Taillandier

Adam Ziv (left) and Alaa Sawitat, co-owners of Buza, in their Ma'alot Tarshiha shop. 

As part of our #JNF #SummerLovin series, we take you to an ice cream shop with a sweet backstory and some of the more unusual flavors you'll come across in Israel -- or anywhere. Have a lick! 

By Rachel Glago 

It’s official. We've found some of the most uniquely delicious ice cream in Israel, and it's in Ma'alot-Tarshiha, up north in the country's scenic Western Galilee. 

Friends Adam Ziv and Alaa Sawitat, a Jewish kibbutz resident and an Arab Muslim, co-founded Buza, the insanely delicious ice cream shop with spectacular flavors, whether they're in a cup, a cone, a mini-cone, or on a stick. Filled with gorgeous, vibrantly colored Moroccan-style tiles, Buza has a friendly, welcoming atmosphere and is the perfect place to be on a hot Israeli summer day.

Summer on an Israeli field of dreams: To these kids, baseball is life

Photo: Robert Kerzner

At summer baseball camp in Israel, young players listen to coaches intently. 

As part of our #JNF #SummerLovin series focusing on lesser-known Israeli summer happenings that also happen to be #PoweredByJNF, we bring you the story of a baseball camp where young players dream big.    

By Leslie Katz

Ido Peled wants to play in the Major Leagues one day. So does Uri Federman, Nadav Schwartz, Yair Chen, and virtually every other Israeli boy crowded into the bleachers of a Petah Tikvah baseball field on a sticky late morning in July.

For these 12- to 15-year-olds attending summer baseball training camp in Israel, America's favorite pastime is far more than just a pastime. 

"Baseball," Gal Partouche says simply, "is my life." His baseball buddies would surely echo the sentiment.

Baseball, goats, and glida: #JNF #SummerLovin uncovers hidden treasures

Photo: Robert Kerzner

Been to Israel in the summer? Then you've probably spent a balmy evening walking Jerusalem's Old City, floated in the warm waters of the Dead Sea, and downed a cold beer in a bustling outdoor cafe on Dizengoff Street.

But have you ever enjoyed a nighttime concert at a desert amphitheater? Wound your way through Israel's sun-drenched wineries? Pitched a tent just feet from a gaggle of goats?

You can, and throughout August, we'll tell you how. To celebrate summer in Israel, JNF-style, we'll feature stories of some of the country's best kept summer secrets, all #PoweredByJNF.