Happy 5770

Tonight begins the new year on the Jewish calendar, 5770. The traditional wish for at this time of year is for a sweet new year. So dear blog sisters, I wish you all a sweet year, one of good health for you and your families, happiness and peace for the world. One of the traditional foods -- and there are quite a number -- is apples, served with honey. Honey signifies the wish for a sweet year and the apple was in season in Eastern Europe. I served it tonight and expect to be eating apples and honey for the next two days.

Another traditional food is "tzimmes," a sweet vegetable stew. Sweet potatoes, carrots, white potatoes, an apple and prunes are my traditional one, with cinnamon, honey and orange juice for sweetness and seasoning. Sometimes I add dried apricots, but this year at the fruit market I saw the loveliest turnips and thinking of dear Penniwig, I added the loveliest little turnip. We considered the finished product quite delicious and asked the proverbial question, "Why don''t I make this more often?"

My perfect little turnip