Mary Bilyeu: My Rosh Hashanah menu
Sep. 5—Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown on Monday.
It's a time of introspection mixed with celebration, at which it's traditional to eat sweet foods with hopes of ushering in a good year (5782 on the Jewish calendar), small and numerous items like seeds representing abundance, and round foods to symbolize continuity and the circle of life.
While the date is fixed on the lunar calendar, it comes very early this year on the Gregorian one. But in 2022, it won't begin until the evening of Sept. 25 — nearly three weeks later.
And while a secular new year menu in winter is fairly consistent, with champagne and hors d'oeuvres at midnight and a fancy meal, perhaps, preceding that, the late summer date of this Rosh Hashanah dictates a vastly different array of foods from what will be served next time.
Every year, the holiday begins with locally-grown apples dipped into locally-harvested honey. That requisite tradition is a given.
Next year's courses may very well include something pumpkin-y, a cozy stew featuring acorn or butternut squash, a comforting noodle kugel, and a hot (and likely) boozy drink — spiked hot caramel apple cider is sounding pretty good, especially as I type in an over air-conditioned space, right now, while it's 87 degrees out.
It will sing autumn, just as the seasons change along with the years.
But this year ... well, we're still harvesting deliciousness like juicy ripe tomatoes, golden ears of corn, fresh zucchini and summer squash, crisp and tender lettuces, and plump blueberries.
These fresh foods seem more appropriate for a Labor Day picnic or a backyard barbecue than for the first of Judaism's string of four fall holidays.
So I'm thinking of making a sauce with pomegranate molasses as the base, and slathering it onto grilled chicken for the entrée.
The sweetest local corn hardly needs anything more than a char and some fresh butter, plus a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper. You could make it fancier and more elaborate, but why?
I may sauté green beans (representing plenty, along with the pomegranate) in garlic and olive oil with a pinch of red pepper flakes, and then sprinkle them with some ground almonds and stir them around just until the nuts are toasted. I would be the only one of the three in my family eating them, but I'm worth it.
If I can knead challah and form it into a traditional round loaf — which would be with great thanks to Dr. John Houghtaling, who operated on my hand in July, and Talia Gibson, the occupational therapist who continues to help me increase dexterity and flexibility in my fingers (both with ProMedica) — I might add grated zucchini to the dough. If not, an easier option — a traditional spiced zucchini quick bread — will be served.
(Aside: Kneading challah is one of my three therapy goals, along with rolling pie crusts and using chopsticks. I'm not there yet, but I get a little bit better every day.)
For dessert, I'm thinking a simple round butter cake topped with sun-kissed peaches and a brown sugar-and-cinnamon topping will be ideal.
To everything there is a season.
And this year's Rosh Hashanah is coming in summer, with all its extraordinary bounty for the holiday feast.
First Published September 5, 2021, 8:30am
