Recite a בורא פרי העץ-Borei Pri Haetz (have in mind other fruits you will be eating) and take a bite of date and then recite:

יהי רצון מלפנך, ה' אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שיתמו שונאינו

Yehi Ratzon Milefanecha, Ado-nai Elo-heinu v’elo-hai avotaynu, simtem shoneinu.

We eat dates in the hopes that our enemies will be destroyed-- to consume – שיתמו. It can  also refer to our enemies from within who we struggle with.

1. Simanim Salad (for the dates, pomegranates and apples)

lettuce

2 scallions

3 celery

1 green apple

1 delicious or pink lady apple

4-5 dates

Dressing

½ cup orange juice

¼ cup oil

Salt to taste

1 tsp. mustard

¼ cup brown sugar

3 tbsp. lemon juice

We eat black-eyed peas in the hopes that our merits increase and we are purified.

יהי רצון מלפנך, ה' אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שירבו זכויותנו

May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that our merits increase.

Preparation:

Soak in water for about an hour and check beans—if there are holes, open to check for bug or discard those few.

Soak for a few hours and check for holes. Discard or open the ones with holes to make sure no bugs inside.

Option 1

Boil in salt water like chickpeas  for 1 –2 hours  on low flame

Option2

Bake covered with sauce of ketchup and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar for an hour

Option 3

Rubia dip

2 cups raw black-eyed peas,  soaked for a few hours and boiled for 1 hr.

1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic

1/8 teaspoon salt

Black pepper, to taste

Process in Food processor

Option 4

Add rubia to any rice dish

2. Pomegranate (רמון)

For pomegranate, we generally each eat a handful of pomegranate seeds.

We eat pomegranate in the hopes that our merits will be many:

יהי רצון מלפנך, ה' אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שנרבה זכויות כרמון

Yehi Ratzon Milefanecha, Ado-nai Elo-heinu v’elo-hai avotaynu, shenirba zchuyiot k’rimon.

May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that our merits increase as [the seeds of] a pomegranate.

Or  שירבו זכיותינו כרמון

Mango: Pomegranate Salad

1 head of lettuce ,chopped

2 mangoes diced

Seeds of one pomegranate

Handful of craisins (optional)

Almonds (optional)

2-3 tablespoons  mango, pineapple or orange juice concentrate (not diluted with water)

Mix lettuce and fruit together.  Mix in juice concentrate right before eating.

3. Apple in honey

--תפוח בדבש

Apples –customary to use a sweet apple. We eat apples with honey in the hopes that we will have a sweet new year.

יהי רצון מלפנך, ה' אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שתחדש עלינו שנה טובה ומתוקה

May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that You renew for us a good and a sweet year.

4. דגים Fish

We eat fish in the hopes that we will be fruitful this year. Fish are a symbol of abundance and fertility. When eating the fish we ask Hashem  to bless us with both.

יהי רצון מלפנך, ה' אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שנפרה ונרבה כדגים

May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that we be fruitful and multiply like fish.

You can make a slightly sweet salmon with a mixture of 2 tablespoons of honey and 2 tablespoons soy sauce and bake for 20 min.

5. Fish heads—   ראש של דג

יהי רצון מלפניך ה'  אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו שנהיה לראש ולא לזנב

We request that Hashem place us in a position of leadership and not subordination.

Boil in a pot with a little salt pepper and sugar

6. Kara-Squash

We eat gourds in the hope that any evil decree against us will be destroyed and our merits proclaimed (rendering a favorable judgment). The Hebrew word for gourd is kara, which is also the word for ‘tear/rip’ and sounds like the word for ‘read/proclaim’ – קרא.

יהי רצון מלפנך, ה' אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שיקרע גזר דיננו ויקראו לפניך זכויותינו

May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that the decree of our sentence be torn asunder; and may our merits be proclaimed before You.

Option 1

Orange soup

1 onion chopped

3 garlic cloves chopped

Tablespoon olive oil

2 stalks celery

2 colerabi

4 carrots

½ kilo pumpkin

3 sweet potatoes

2 squash

Chop veggies. Saute onion and garlic and add celery. Continue sauteeing for 2 min and add rest of veggies. Cover with water and boil for 30 min. Add salt and pepper and cook until soft. Puree.

Option 2

Saute grated onion, carrots, pumpkin and red pepper in a little olive oil.  Add a cup of rice and saute for a few seconds. Add salt and pepper and 2 cups of water.  Cook on low flame 15 min until water absorbed. Cover rice with a towel to absorb any more moisture.

Option 3

Kara--Pumpkin muffins (Taken from Kosher by design-- short on time cookbook)

3 cups regular  or whole wheat flour                                     

3 cups sugar

1 ½ cinnamon

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 ¾ kilo piece of  pumpkin, cooked, drained and mashed

1 cup oil

3 large eggs

Craisins optional

Optional Topping

¼ cup margarine

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/ tsp cinnamon

Bake about 20 min in cupcake tins until lightly browned

כרתי7. --leek

We eat leeks in the hopes that our enemies will be destroyed. The Hebrew word for leeks is "Karti," which sounds like “karet”, to be destroyed.

יהי רצון מלפנך, ה' אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שיכרתו שונאינו

May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that our enemies be decimated.

8. Leek and Onion Kugel 

1 leek, chopped (can be done in a processor on “s” blade. If you don’t buy the bug free leek, it is only sold on Erev Rosh Hashanah in Israel. Cut the leek in half lengthwise and separate the pieces. Soak for a few minutes and wash under strong stream of water. Check for bug.)                                                         

3 eggs

½ cup oil

1 tsp salt,

Pepper

3 large onions, diced (or processed)

1 cup flour

Beat eggs and combine with rest.  Pour into well greased loaf pan.  Bake 1 hr.

9. סלקא Silka---spinach or beets

The word   סילוקmeans remove and expresses our wish that this year our enemies are "removed".

יהי רצון מלפנך, ה' אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שיסתלקו שונאינו

May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that our adversaries be removed.

10. Stuffed Beet Leaves

2-3 packages bug free beet leaves

1-2 kilo chopped meat/ chopped turkey mixture

2 eggs

2 grated onions

½ cup bread crumbs or oatmeal or can leave out if you are gluten free

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

½ cup checked rice

Sauce

2 cans tomato paste

¾ cup brown sugar

Juice of half a lemon

Mix together and put to boil. When at a rolling  boil, lower flame. Prepare rolls of beet leaves with meat and place rolls in sauce.

To make rolls--Mix together meat mixture and form balls. Place in center of leave and roll up into rolls. Place in boiling sauce

11. Spinach Quiche:

Crust:

 2 cups all-purpose flour

 1 teaspoon salt

 1 cup margerine

 Up to 1/2 cup ice cold water

Mix flour, salt and margarine.  Slowly add water until the mixture resembles a dough.  Refrigerate for a few hours.  Roll out into 2 rounds, one a little larger

Spinach filling:

1 package frozen bodek spinach

4 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1-2 tablespoons onion soup mix  (I use grated onion or onion flakes)

Dash of pepper

2 eggs

Steam spinach for a few minutes. Drain from water(can be done in microwave) and add the rest of the ingredients.  Place on top of pie crust.  Cover with second crust.  You can save the leftover pieces of dough  from when you roll out the pie crust and form an apple, shofar or pomegranate shape of dough to place on top of the quiche.  Bake  for an hour or until it begins to brown.