Dear The Jew & The Carrot readers,

You really outdid yourselves this time.  We asked you to inspire us by creating the greenest, most locally-inspired, and delicious Rosh Hashanah dinner imaginable.  And boy did you ever impress!  All the submissions we received looked mouthwatering.  But from a homemade vegetarian feast, to honey cookies made with local honey, to perhaps the only humanely-raised, kosher schected goat eaten anywhere this Rosh Hashanah, the winners (featured below), brought to sustainable celebration to the next level.

Check out their amazing meals – with pictures! – below the jump…

FIRST PLACE (wins: a copy of Aromas of Aleppo)
Who: Mindy Shapiro and Alan Mendelsohn
Where: Philadelphia

(Sung to the tune of the Brady Bunch Theme Song:) Here’s the story of our Rosh Hoshanah meals. That were prepared with such loving care.  They were vegetarian through and through for a bunch of Jews.

From the compost enhanced organic garden, we used carrots and maaannnny herbs -which were added to our coop purchases for the holiday feast.  As you will note in the picture, there was homemade stock for the veggie soup. We are happy to report all odds and ends from the chopping ended up back in the compost.

Challah and desserts were baked at home; we timed our oven use to cook everything at once.  We used cloth napkins and cotton tablecloths; in fact nothing disposable was used at all.

Most of our guests walked to our home – there was little carbon footprint left out in the world. This ends our song about our green Rosh Hashanah dinners. Which we know were winners.

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SECOND PLACE (wins: a copy of The Weekend Baker)
Who: Dara Mirsky
Where: New York

Shana tova!

I was a guest at my sister-in-law’s house this Rosh Hashanah, and she was happy to let me wait to see what I received from my CSA before I told her which dishes I’d bring. I’m a member of Roxbury Farm’s CSA, which is located near Albany, NY.  I was very lucky to get four delicata squash that week, which I tossed with olive oil, maple syrup, and salt and then roasted until the syrup caramelized. It was like having candy-coated squash! The recipe and a photo are on my blog, Chick in the Kitchen.

I also brought sauteed greens — collards and arugula — made sweet for the new year with golden raisins. Greens are not always an easy sell, but this dish wasn’t bitter at all. It was my first time cooking with collard greens, and I was happy to see that cooking them with a smoked meat is definitely NOT mandatory!  (Recipe here.)

Finally, I brought honey cookies featuring wildflower honey from Hummingbird Ranch, another local Hudson Valley producer. This recipe is from a childhood cook book of mine, Junior Jewish Cookbook.  This year, I brought my food over in my own ceramic dishes, rather than using something disposable that would get thrown away after a few hours. No disposable packaging, and three sweet dishes for a sweet new year, all featuring locally-sourced, organic produce. That’s my contribution to a greener Rosh Hashanah this year!

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THIRD PLACE (wins: our deep admiration and respect!)
Who: Naftali Hanau
Where: Rochester

Braised Goat-Leg Roast.
Raised by my friend, Aitan.
Shechted by Rabbi Shalom Cantor.
Salted and Soaked by the Chevre.
Butchered by Yours Truly.
Roast Rolled and Spiced by my girlfriend, Anna.
Served with potatoes, turnips, carrots, and sweet potatoes from the farmer’s markets….

mmm… mmmm…. good