Shana Tova! And a Rosh Hashanah Menu
Rosh Hashanah is typically a bittersweet time of the year for me, a time when the seasons change, and with it new routines, new friends, new tasks, a renewed sense of purpose and urgency, and less freedom than the flowing summer. Rosh Hashanah also evokes a period of deep reflection, a forced opportunity to examine my short comings as a human in this world and consider how I can be a better mom, wife, friend, acquaintance, and community member. How I can participate differently in society and leave the world a better place than when I found it. And alongside this period of self-inventory, I cook, I chop, I dice, and I get lost in considering my purpose, my actions and reactions, my desire to develop more patience and love and kindness and sense of clarity about it ALL.
This year Rosh Hashanah feels particularly salient, as we just moved my son from a religious preschool to a secular one. It is our responsibility to educate our son (as really it ought to be) about our religion and values, steep him in Jewish traditions and help him weave them into his own experience of life. It is an awesome task. Rosh Hashanah, the birthday of the world, just seemed like a good place for me to begin.
I chose this menu for Rosh Hashanah because it brings in some traditional elements, such as round challah, as well as apples, dates, and honey to symbolically reflect sweetness for the new year, but also because it reflects the change in the season, the colder weather crops that are beginning to be harvested locally. I hope you find some inspiration within in. Recipes will be forthcoming.
Round Sprouted Spelt Challah with Raisins
Orange Scented Chickpea Soup with Caramelized Fennel
Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Apples, Grapes, and Pistachios
Spicy Honey and Citrus Roasted Chicken with Onions, Lemons, and Dates
Ginger Pear Galette with Dried Cranberries
Shanah Tovah Umetukah!