Rosh Hashanah (The Jewish New Year) begins tonight. On this holiday, symbolic foods are eaten in hopes for a sweet, healthy and prosperous year ahead. Apples dipped in honey illustrate the sweet year we hope for while other less-known symbols like pomegranate signify the abundance of merit one hopes for in the coming year. Gourds and squash can also be seen as symbolic Rosh Hashanah foods and since they’re such a fall ingredient, it’s not such a long shot to incorporate them into Rosh Hashanah menus.

I saw this recipe on a very delicious food blog called Sophistimom. She made risotto look so easy (despite knowing that it’s not) and melded delicious flavors that were perfect for my Rosh Hashanah meal. That, and I happened to have ALL of these ingredients in my house already so I knew I had to make it.

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The most commonly known tradition of Rosh Hashanah is dipping apples in honey. While this is highly revered and probably the most observed tradition, I am here to tell you that if you’re Jewish, you can and should have more honey than that tonight.

Dip your challah into honey. Make honey glazed carrots. Eat honey cake (like Max hopes to do). Not only are you supposed to do all these things anyway (find out the meanings behind many of the symbolic foods here), but what better way to ring in the new year sweetly than to go all out?

Here are some Rosh Hashanah recipes to help you out. And if these don’t do it for you, just guzzle down the whole jar of honey. Don’t be ashamed. Yes, we’re all being judged on this holiday, but I don’t think that would be a sin.

Cinnamon Honey Sweet Potatoes
Bistro Challah Bread (round challah)
Dried Apricot and Date Jam
Beet Salad
Glazed Carrots
Pomegranate-Walnut Chicken

You’re probably confused as to why some of these foods are on the list, so don’t forget to read the explanations.

And, for those of you who are Jewish, L’shanah tova u’metukah: Here’s to a good and sweet year! And for those who aren’t, have a good and sweet REST of the year!

-Hillary, excited to see the family and stay with her niece for 3 days!
Editor, Recipe4Living

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Fall has descended quickly onto the Chicagoland area and with it came cool breezes and a warm autumn sun. We knew it was coming. Unlike other parts of the country, where seasons change gently and the shift from one to the other is gradual, Chicago weather is like a giant slap in the face. One day it’s 88 degrees with 98% humidity and the next you’re searching for your fleece on a cool, gray, rainy morning hoping it doesn’t snow. Ok, that was a slight exaggeration, but only slight.

However, those fleeting moments when Chicago’s fall season does exist, it is quite lovely. The leaves change colors and the air is brisk but the sun is warm, a time which is inextricably linked in my mind to the Jewish high holidays and walking to synagogue with my grandparents. If you know nothing else about the Jewish religion, you should know that the high holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) are important. The beginning of a new year and the repenting of last year’s sins are weighty stuff, but for me - and I expect many other people too - it’s about family.

For as long as I can remember, every Rosh Hashanah my Bubbe (grandma, in Yiddish) would send over honey cakes to help celebrate a “sweet” new year. If you’ve never had a honey cake, allow me to explain how delicious they are. Traditionally, honey cake is a moist, dense, dark cake with honey (of course), dark brown sugar and aromatic spices like cinnamon and ginger. It simply cannot be Rosh Hashanah without honey cake. Even when I went away for college, every year I got a care package filled with honey cake and dried apples from my Bubbe.

In October, it will have been a year since my Bubbe passed away and this will be our first high holidays without her. And though I miss her throughout the year, it alarmingly dawned on me earlier this week: how am I going to get my honey cake without Bubbe??? I realize this is completely illogical as I could simply find a Jewish bakery and pick one up, but it was a poignant reminder of the year that has been, and hopefully of the sweet new year to come.

So in honor of my Bubbe, I wanted to share this recipe for Apple and Honey Cake and wish you all L’Shana Tovah (Happy New Year in Hebrew).

Apple and Honey Cake

Ingredients

2 C. all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. apple pie spice
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 C. margarine or butter
1 C. honey
2 eggs
1 C. orange juice
2 1/2 C. snipped dried apples
3 Tbs. honey

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 2 quart baking dish; set aside. Stir together flour, baking powder, apple pie spice, baking soda, and cardamom. Set aside. In a mixing bowl beat margarine with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1 C. honey and eggs; beat until smooth. Add flour mixture and orange juice alternately to the beaten mixture, beating on low speed until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, pour boiling water over apples to cover; let stand 15 minutes; drain well. Sprinkle cake with apples. Bake 15-20 minutes more or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. In a small saucepan, heat the 3 Tbs. honey just until warm; drizzle over cake. Cool completely.

Yield: 16 servings

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