`Good & `Sweet'

Foods are traditional symbols of Rosh Hashanah.

ANNABEL COHEN
Special to the Jewish News

T

here's a feeling at Rosh
Hashanah that all things
are possible. Its an opti-
mistic sentiment that's
kept the Jewish people going forever.
With each new year, we express our
hopes for the next.
"Good" and "sweet" are charming
words that are echoed from one to the
next in greetings, prayers, and in the
foods we eat. Though each word is
simple, the expectations are manifold:
a new job, good health, new love,
becoming a better Jew, a safer world.
All of these wishes are honest and
unique to each person. And when we
recite the Musaf prayer at Rosh
Noodle kugel
Hashanah, with its messages of kingli-
ness, remembrances and the blowing of the shofar, when we received the
Torah, we believe them.
So what do these lofty, striking ideals have to do with eating? Plenty;
believe it or not.
It's been demonstrated throughout Jewish history that food is our tangi-
ble symbol for hopes and desires. Just as we require food to live, we
require ethics and principals to flourish.

The most elementary association
of food with Rosh Hashanah is the
symbolic dipping of challah and
apple slices into honey. It translates
literally into sweetness and bounty.
Heads of fish are long thought to
symbolize the head of the year as
well as the notion that one should
have a future that's the "tops."
Pomegranates with their abun-
dant seeds, as well as many other
types of seeds, symbolize mitzvot
(good deeds — may you have as
many as there are seeds).
Still other foods are served
because of their names in languages
like Hebrew and Aramaic. For
example, carrots mean "more.
Leeks, beets, and dates translate
into cut off, remove, and consume,
respectively; as if from one's enemies. The list goes on.
That's why we eat honey cake and tzimmes and other sweet foods.
The following recipes use these ingredients and others to make the
foods we traditionally serve for Rosh Hashanah. Serve them along with
the foods you normally make, or try them as something new that s
symbolic. In fact, make up a menu for your dinner and offer short
explanations of why you are serving these particular foods.
You'll be teaching your children by example another important
aspect of Rosh Hashanah.

'

SIX-INGREDIENT NOODLE KUGEL

Don't be turned off by the few ingredients in this dairy kugel. It's delicious and has all the basics.
If you feel you want to add extras, go ahead. One cup of golden raisins, one cup of apricot preserves, a little
cinnamon on top or a well-drained can of crushed pineapple or a cup or two of minced apples wouldn't hurt.

1 pound wide egg noodles dry,
cooked al dente
2 c. cottage cheese
2 c. sour cream

6 large eggs
1 c. sugar
3 c. cornflakes, crushed

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Set aside. In a large bowl, combine all the kugel ingredients except cornflakes and pour the mixture into the
prepared pan. Sprinkle the cornflakes over the kugel and bake, uncovered, for 30-50 minutes,
until the cornflakes are golden and the custard is set. Makes 24 servings.

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Recipes on page 154

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