Rosh Hashana Happiness

As I've stated before, it's almost the Jewish New Year. It's literally right around the corner and I could not be more excited. I'm also still sick so part of this may be the Tylenol + Sudafed talking.

Every year at work we get together and toast to the New Year. It's called Haramat Kosit in Hebrew. We make a little toast wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year and then we nosh on some baked goods, apples and honey, and some other random fruits.

I usually have a hand in planning this for our Tel Aviv office and I like to do it. It brings out my creative side and allows me to do what I love doing most - I get to bake!

This year will be a little different for me, I will be toasting with grape juice instead of wine and I'm actually going to bake most of what we'll be eating. How cool is that?? Usually we just buy some store bought cookies and cakes but this year I want to start a new tradition: making your office feel like family.

Israel is a special place. Unlike most American companies where your boss doesn't know your name, in Israel, there's a good chance the CEO/CFO/COO were dancing at your wedding and getting you plastered (that actually happened at mine - I did a few shots with my bosses). Not only do they know your name, they ask how your parents are. I'll never forget my first Passover at my company, my bosses were concerned that I had no where to go for the holiday and invited me over. Oddly enough, unlike this year for Rosh Hashanah, I actually had somewhere to go. Since most of the population is Jewish, we do our best to make sure our own people feel included.

In a sense, I already feel like my office IS my family but rather than toasting to a happy new year and eating crap your grandmother would kill you for eating, I'm going to bake things that are generally found in my house during Rosh Hashanah.

On the menu:
Honey Cake
Kolaczki (an amazing Hungarian/Polish jam-filled pastry)
Apple Bakes (Simplified - pastry dough with a slice of apple, a strip of honey, and baked - I'll post pictures next week)
Apples and Honey (a must-have for the new year)
Carrot/Cucumber sticks in a sour cream dip
Apple Bourekas

Sounds yummy, right? This is general stuff that you will find in my house during Rosh Hashanah ... well, not my house in America but my house in Israel.

Throughout the weekend I will hopefully be posting pictures and recipes to help make your Rosh Hashanah flavorful. Not Jewish? Try the recipes anyway - I promise you'll love them!