Home Sweet Home

“Let’s offer something special to our winter guests at Villa Tiferet. How about S’mores?” I suggested.
 
Coming from Canada, a haven for camping and campfires, I thought everyone knew what S’mores were. But after I left out my first fancy package of S’more ingredients out for our guests, I got a WhatsApp picture from our cleaner in Tsfat with the message, “What do I do with this?”
 
This was a clear indication that Israelis are not acquainted with this delicacy. They prefer to gather around their campfires eating smoked tuna from the can. (And if you want that recipe, ask any Israeli teenager.) 

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I guess North Americans have a sweeter tooth, because when their campfires are blazing, out come packets of marshmallows for roasting….and the ritual begins.
 
Here are the basics for those who don’t know about S’mores and who are brave enough to take on a new, sweet addiction.
 
S’mores are a sandwich made with graham crackers on the outside, an inner layer of chocolate with a toasted marshmallow center. They are so good, everyone wants some more and thus, we have the contraction ‘S’more.’

No one has claimed to be the first S’mores chef. However, one of the first published recipes was by Loretta Scott Crew in the 1927 Tramping and Trailing Girl Scouts magazine. Seems like these campfire treats were already well known among scouts across America.
 
S’mores are so popular, there is actually a National S’mores Day. No kidding - this is serious culinary stuff in the US and some think this day should become a federal holiday. Americans take out the marshmallows for National S’mores Day on August 10 around campfires everywhere.  And to celebrate last year’s S’Mores Day, the Girl Scouts released a new S’mores flavored cookie (to be released in America in 2017).

So what are S’mores doing in Israel? And what is their connection with a beautiful villa in a small mystical mountaintop town called Zefat?
 
Firstly, Zefat actually has what this ex-Canadian blogger would call ‘winter.’ At 900 meters (2,583 feet), it is the highest inhabited town in Israel. Come December, winds and cloud escort a rolling fog across the cobbled streets and invite the rains to settle in for a while.
 
At times, this rain turns into snow, making the place look a lot like a Swiss hamlet. 

​Don’t get me wrong. Tsfat is not London, England. There are some foggy, wet, damp days from December through February, and then there are many glorious crisp days with sapphire blue skies.

​When we bought the 400-year-old house and renovated it, the first decision we made was to put a big fireplace in. If Tsfat has a winter season, let’s embrace it, we decided. We put in a fireplace and placed two comfy burgundy couches on either side that literally envelope you. A crackling fire at Villa Tiferet during a winter’s night is one the coziest in Israel – ever. 

Our guests who come in December, January and February have use of the fireplace. There are warm blankets, slippers, lots of firewood that is stacked and ready to use, and, of course, our S’mores Galore kit. 

​Want some expert advice on how to make a S'more and eat it?  See this clip from the 1993 movie Sandlot

If you need some cozifying and want a real winter treat in the midst of the Middle East, escape to Villa Tiferet this winter.  You’ll feel as if you’re in another continent - or another century. There’s just nothing as sweet as this in Israel.