New Year

The past two weeks marked a new year in the Jewish calendar. It is a fantastic time for reflection and renewal. After a very busy summer, full of traveling for work and new life challenges, I am committed to spending more time cooking and enjoying meals with friends. I hope that this will result in a renewed enthusiasm and engagement with Adventures in Container Gardening (and local eating)!

What better way to start off the new year with our Yom Kippur break fast meal. Here are the photos:

My mom came down to celebrate the holiday with me and my sister and brought NJ bagels down with her. Served with heirloom tomatoes, lox, and onion slices, these bagels are the best way to end the fast day. I also prepared cheese blintzes served with apple sauce. On the side we had an Israeli salad and green salad. The Israeli salad is a great way to celebrate the end of the summer, using the best of the tomatoes and cukes. Here is how to do it:

Israeli Salad

What You Need:

- Three delicious tomatoes (I used three different heirloom varieties)

- 2-3 cukes (depends on their size)

- 1 white onion

- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil

- Juice of 1 lemon

- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

- Salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

1. Chop up all the tomatoes and mix together.

2. Peel and seed the cukes and then chop up and mix with tomatoes.

3. Chop the onion and add into the mix.

4. Mix in olive oil, lemon juice, and parsley.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I love this salad, and it is very easy to adapt to your tastes (you can change around the measurements of what you put into it based on what you like).