Rosh Hashanah is one week away. In case your entire meal isn’t already pre-cooked and waiting in your freezer (I know mine isn’t), here are some delicious, healthy holiday recipes to try. Instead of suggesting an entire menu as we have in the past, we offer you an array of holiday-inspired recipes for you to mix & match as you create your perfect feast.
Below, find some of the best seasonal and Rosh Hashanah recipes from The Jew & The Carrot’s archives, plus plenty of new recipes. To help you menu-plan with ease, all recipes are tagged:
d: dairy
m: meat
p: parve (but not vegan)
v: vegan (and parve)
BTAI AVON!
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The various ethical, environmental, and cultural issues surrounding honey have been considered and discussed here on The Jew and the Carrot, both in posts and comments. Leah has explored whether honey is “kosher” for vegans, and wondered if there’s “any ethics-based diet that *doesn’t* have a little bit of hypocrisy clouding up its ideals.” Michael Croland from HeebnVegan explained that the issue does little to promote veganism, and pointed us in the direction of this Satya Mag article on the subject. Meanwhile, Rabbi Shmuel has suggested that we should critically re-examine the Rosh HaShanah custom of dipping apples in honey, and explore alternatives such as maple syrup, while Rabbi Debbie Prinz joined the conversation with a lip smacking guest post on how we can integrate chocolate into our Rosh HaShanah celebrations.
Rather than continue the debate on whether honey is vegan, eco-kashrut, or even just kosher (Leah notes that she has always “puzzled over how eating a food created by a decidedly non-kosher creature could be considered okay for the Tribe”), I’m offering a number of delicious, vegan, kosher, and organic ideas and recipes for a sweet new year. Read more »
For many of us, apples and honey are an integral part of a Rosh HaShana celebration. But finding the right ‘apples and honey’ for your table is not always as simple as it sounds. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to dress up the tradition: from beautiful and funky honey pots, to a variety of honey options that go beyond the bear.
When it comes to honey pots, you can go with something traditional and very jew-y:
OR…….
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Thanks to Aaron Kagan for this guest post. Aaron is a freelance writer in the Boston area and maintains the blog Tea and Food.
The apple might seem too obvious a choice for a Rosh Hashanah post, but how much do you really know about this omnipresent fruit? For starters, why do we eat it on Rosh Hashanah?
True, apples are eaten with honey to ensure a sweet year, but more importantly they are eaten for the simple reason that they are in season this time of year in places that Jews have historically lived. Why we ate it growing up in Boca Raton is partly for tradition and partly because of the strange, industrialized relationship we have to seasonality. Thanks, California.
Another basic but commonly unknown fact about the apple is where it comes from. In other words, where did we Jews first encounter apples? Like people, all evidence points towards the apple making its first appearance in the Fertile Crescent, with the earliest evidence of cultivation occurring in what is now southern Russia. From there the fruit eventually spread in both directions, across Europe and Asia and ultimately to every continent besides Antarctica.
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The New York Times did a big “mitzvah” yesterday, by helping readers unscramble (pun intended) the mysteries of the egg. Or rather, the mysteries of the egg carton - which these days, attempts to woo consumers by being more cage-free than the other guys. According to author, Catherine Price, if you feel confused by all the choices in the egg aisle, you’re not alone:
IT used to be, an egg was an egg. Now they can be cage free and free range, vegetarian and omega-3 fortified, organic, “certified humane” or “American humane certified.” The incredible, edible egg is becoming unintelligible. Some claims on egg cartons are regulated by the federal government, some by the states and some not at all. Some affect consumers’ health, some touch upon ethics and some are meaningless.
Of course, if you get your eggs directly from under the chicken, you don’t have to worry much about packaging. But for those of us who get eggs at the grocery store, check out the abridged guide to buying eggs, below the jump. (And read the full article here.)
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Thanks to Rhea Kennedy for this guest post. Rhea maintains the blog You Are Delicious.
Breathe in. Then breathe out. It’s an easy way to become aware of your body, more focused on the mundane. And if you breathe in and breathe out after eating a habenero-laced dish, you’re probably aware of every cell in your mouth, and focused on every nook and cranny of your sinuses.
I first learned to appreciate spicy dishes while studying abroad in Ghana. At first, it was hard to take the intense heat that lurked in everything from Jollof rice to okra stew. But eventually I got to like it—especially the ubiquitous sauce known as pepe (”pep-ay”) that whirled what we call Jamaican peppers, onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes into an addictively tasty condiment. Later, while I was working at a farm in Mexico, one of my hosts explained how she swore by chilies and used to belong to a spicy food club back when she lived in the States. She says that chilies cured her ulcer, and she now uses ground dried habaneros in lieu of black pepper at the table. (She insists that this hottest of chilies actually has a pleasant flavor, describing it as a “hot apricot”).
Recipes below the jump…
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We are a people of the book as much as we are a people of the fork, and no one - no one - in our generation was more gifted with words than David Foster Wallace, who died (of apparent suicide) this past Friday. Here, in memoriam, is a link to his beautiful, compassionate, soul-searching article on man’s relationship with food, “Consider the Lobster,” which gave rise to a same-titled collection of essays that are all worth reading.
Thanks to Rabbi Debbie Prinz for this guest post. Rabbi Prinz is currently researching Jews’ historical and contemporary connections to the chocolate industry. Find more about her work at Jews on the Chocolate Trail.
A serious chocolate lover has to wonder why Judaism today has neither serious ritual celebrations nor customs using good chocolate, especially at Rosh Hashanah when we emphasize the sweetness we anticipate and long for in the coming New Year. On Rosh Hashanah, we greet each other with the phrase, Shanah Tovah u’Metukah! “a good and sweet year.” We taste this sweetness through the apples and honey we eat, through the raisins we add to the customary round challah, through the honey cake we bake, or through the taiglach (small donuts) we drown in honey. But, where’s the chocolate?
After all, chocolate induces a spiritual state that might open us to the meditative, contemplative and introspective mood we seek at the High Holydays. As the manager of a fancy French chocolate store in Manhattan confessed to me, she has a metaphysical response to eating an intense 99% cocoa French chocolate just before she studies from the mystical text known as the Zohar.
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New Yorkers crammed into the street at today’s eighth annual NYC International Pickle Day like so many Kirby cukes in a barrel. Pickle-makers from Essex Street to South Korea came to sample and sell their wares to an eager audience of thousands.
Where was I last year on pickle day? you might be wondering, but in fact, you were probably here, on Orchard Street, biting into one of Guss’ famous three-quarter sours with it’s crisp, salty bite that’s more refreshing than a gulp of Gatorade. According to the folks at Guss’, the festival has been packed every year since the New York Food Museum began sponsoring it in 2001.
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The Jew & The Carrot believes that Rosh Hashanah offers the perfect opportunity to usher health and sustainability into our year (see why here). So why celebrate with the same old greasy kugel served on plastic plates and washed down with Diet Coke?
The Green Rosh Hashanah Dinner Challenge wants YOU to inspire us by creating the greenest, most locally-inspired, and delicious Rosh Hashanah dinner ever. Whether you’re hosting 25 of your closest friends, or bringing a bit of sustainability to your hosts’ house, go ahead and let your green-flag fly. Send us a photo and description of your dinner (or dish), along with your recipes. (Extra credit for impressive food porn!)
More details & enter below the jump. Read more »
While reading the opening portion of this week’s Parasha, the Rabbi in shul saw me and said, “You can’t be zolel ve’soveh (approx: gluttonous) on Wolfgang Puck cuisine.” This statement promptly blew my mind. Here’s why.
The statement in question comes from the passage in the Torah about the rebellious son, who, if certain conditions are met, is to be seen as completely incorrigible and must be put to death by the community. One of these conditions is that the child must eat and drink copious amounts of food in a gluttonous manner in a public area and this activity must be decried by the community leadership. According to the rabbinic authorities, the money used to purchase the food must have been stolen from his parents and he must commit this act in front of his parents’ home. Not easy to achieve.
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Hey Jewish foodies! Adamah has two upcoming events: A pickle day in NYC this Sunday, and a brunch on the farm next Sunday in Connecticut. Now’s your chance to get a taste of local, organic, Jewish produce, before season ends!
NYC International Pickle Day
Sunday, Sept 14 - 11-4:30pm - Orchard Street (b/t Broome and Grand) - Free
This Sunday, Adamah will join a host of other pickle-heavyweights - Guss’, Wheelhouse, Rick’s Picks, etc. on the Lower East Side of Manhattan (natch), for a day of brine-filled fun.
Activities include: eating free pickles, canning demonstrations, musical acts - and there’s free valet bike parking available all day.
See below for more info about Brunch in the Field
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I’m not a shy person, but I have to confess, I really don’t know anyone at my CSA. Sure, I’ve tried to be friendly, exchanged a recipe or two, but I don’t see these fine folks more than a few moments every other week while breathing in the smell of basil, examining the summer squash, picking out heirloom tomatoes and contemplating the bok choi. And other than a little interaction on our Facebook group, so far it’s really been about getting in and getting out of the pick-up location while I plot and plan the upcoming meals with my farm fresh organic vegetables.
But someone had the brilliant idea of holding a “CSA happy hour” at the terrific local bar, B-Side so the people who help support Monskhood Nursery could take the opportunity to get to know each other when no one was rushing home with a bag full of produce. The idea intrigued me. I mean who are the people in my CSA? What brought them to this? Would I meet other people utterly obsessed with food? Would I meet my food-loving socially conscious bashert? (a girl can dream can’t she?)
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It’s that time again! Time to dust off the apple & honey plate, break out your favorite chicken or vegetable soup recipe, connect with friends and family, and take a moment (or as many moments as possible) to reflect on the past year, and look forward to the year to come.
As you prepare, The Jew & The Carrot is here to help you infuse this year’s Rosh Hashanah celebration with sustainable style. Our Healthy, Sustainable Rosh Hashanah Resources provides tips on how to:
- Add healthy, and earth-friendly touches to your Rosh Hashanah table.
- Find opportunities to connect to the natural world, even before tashlich.
- Liven up your table conversation with meaning and Jewish learning.
- Find new, earth-friendly ways to sweeten up the holiday.
Check out the Healthy, Sustainable Rosh Hashanah Resource List here.
