Happy New Year 5771!

Yesterday evening marked the start of Jewish calendar year 5771. For me, more so because of school schedules than anything else, fall has always indicated the start of a new year or a new beginning. More so than January 1, which begins in cold and darkness, September is a time of warm but changing seasons with a brief lull between the excitement of summer and the holiday season of late fall/early winter. I like Rosh Hashanah because it gives me time to reflect and to think clearly about my goals for the coming year. We have a lot of change in the near future: L will finish his PhD, become Dr. L (see dad, I did marry a doctor!), start a new career. I will work a new job at the Uni for the fall and then join L in Tucson in December. New home, new town, and a chance to work 100% of the time on my dissertation. I don't think I'll be done by this time next year, but I'll have plenty of chapters finished.

Rosh Hashanah, like most Jewish holidays, is celebrated w/ friends and family around a dinner table. It doesn't have the 4 drink minimum of Pesach, but it's a good opportunity to cook something different. Here we have a round challah from Gayles, a small bottle or Ridge wine and 3 dishes from Faye Levy's 1000 Jewish Recipes - Ginger Butternut Squash, Black Eyed Peas with Browned Onions and Tomatoes, and Apple Cake with Honey (not pictured but stay tuned). Both recipes are vegan, easy to make, and usher in the fall w/o being too heavy.



Black Eyed Peas w/ Tomatoes and Onions - kicked up a notch
1 lb dried black eyed peas
10 c. water
1 28 oz can tomatoes (whole tomatoes in juice); or 1 28oz can diced tomatoes, drained, and 1 Tbl tomato paste
2 onions
1-2 Tbl olive oil
1/4 c. vegetable stock (I used 1/4 cube veggie bouillon dissolved in water)
1.5 tsp cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 heaping TBL (or more) Spicy red sauce such as harissa or red indian hot chili paste

1. Rinse and drain beans, put in sauce pan with 10c water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to simmer, cover, and cook for 45-60 min or until tender. (I would add bouillon to this step too). When cooked, drain but reserve 1 c. water). Return to sauce pan.
2. If using whole tomatoes, cut them up in the can and dump into sauce pan. If using diced tomatoes, drain, dump in pan, add 1-2 Tbl tomato paste and enough left over bean water to make a sauce. Add veggie stock/bouillon. Stir.
3. Add cumin, salt and pepper to taste. Stir and let cook on med-low heat while onions cook.
4. Chop onions and cook in olive oil until brown over med-high heat. Add onions to beans. Add 1-2 heaping Tbl hot spicy sauce (really a variety of things would work here). Cook 5 min to let all flavors come together. Serve warm.

This made a huge pot of beans with plenty of left overs.