IN MY KITHEN -SEPTEMBER 2026

What’s in My Kitchen ?

September is a busy month in my kitchen because I’m getting ready for the Jewish New Year holiday, Rosh Hashanah and our celebrations. Right now I'm prepping in advance, and my kitchen is filled with holiday platters and ceremonial dishes, and my freezer is starting to fill up with food that I’m cooking ahead of time.

This month, I thought I’d share some of what’s in my kitchen as I get ready for the holiday.

One tradition that is very popular on Rosh Hashana is to dip apples in honey. I have a collection of honey containers and plates for the apples that we use at our ceremonial meals. 

This was my mother- in- laws honey jar- it says in Hebrew :
Have a good and sweet year. 

This is a crystal honey jar that I bought for myself.

This is a colorful dish with bees has a little well in the middle to put the honey. The apple dish is symbolic because of the apple theme for the holiday. 

This beautiful ceramic plate was a gift from a friend who joined us for Rosh Hashanah dinner one year. I really love it and it adorns our Rosh Hashanah table every year now. The little apple trees are part of the New Year theme when we dip sweet apple slices in sweet honey. 

My son gave me a few bunches of oregano that he is growing in his garden. I'm drying it in my kitchen.

 I'm collecting all my paper goods for our big holiday dinner. "Shana Tova" means "Have a good year"!!!

These beautiful peppers and tomatoes are from a local farm stand .
I made stuffed tomatoes and stuffed peppers for the holiday and froze them.

I  already made my vegetarian chopped liver recipe which I also froze for the holiday meal. It's easy to make and delicious! 

I also have local raw unprocessed honey - I usually buy multiple jars of honey and give them to my kids and sister-in-laws as gifts for the New Year.

I have 20 people coming for the 2nd night of the holiday for the big dinner. Everyone brings something to contribute to the meal such as a salad, cake, or fruit salad- But I make or order the bulk of the meal.

My Notes: 

1.This blog share, my September post, reflects on August .

2. Why am I preparing so early... I'll be traveling and returning right before the holiday.

3. For more in-depth information and holiday traditions, see my previous Rosh Hashanah Post.

I'm sharing this post with  Sherry's In My Kitchen where anyone can join in.

Easy Zucchini Lasagna - A Healthy Plant-Based Recipe

I promise this is my last zucchini recipe (for this month anyway).  I'm still on a zucchini kick, but since the zucchini at the farmer's stand is slowly coming to an end, so will my zucchini recipes.     .

 I've been experimenting with different ways to use it up. This time, I made a simple plant-based zucchini lasagna using slices of zucchini as my noodles with just four main ingredients: zucchini, marinara sauce, mushrooms, and tofu. (If you don't care for tofu and you eat dairy, substitute ricotta cheese).  

Easy Zucchini Breakfast Muffins - Just 4 Ingredients (vegan and gluten-free)

   

I've been craving muffins lately, and since I have plenty of zucchini on hand, I thought I'd try my hand at making zucchini oatmeal breakfast muffins. I'm have not baked for a long time, so I wanted something really simple—and this recipe couldn't be easier.

Hello NYC and Hello Broadway

A Spontaneous Day in New York City and a Broadway Show...

I live about an hour and half from NYC. About a week ago, I decided to do something I had been thinking about for a while. I went online, bought matinee tickets to a Broadway show, and figured I would find someone to go with me.

Create an Adorable Cauliflower Dog for Your Next Crudité Platter

Want to make a special crudités platter? My friend created this adorable cauliflower dog to sit on her crudité platter for a party, and it was an instant hit! It looks like it took a lot of work, but she assured me it’s actually quite easy to assemble.  

I loved the idea so much that I asked her to tell me how she did it. Here’s how she said you can make your own!

What You’ll Need

• 2 smaller sized heads of cauliflower or one large, preferably with a nice, rounded shape
• make into various sized cauliflower florets
• Black olives
• Toothpicks
• Baby carrots
• Red, orange, and yellow bell peppers
• Broccoli
• Cherry or grape tomatoes
• Any other colorful vegetables you like for the platter

The dog is held together with toothpicks

How to Make A Cauliflower Dog

1. Start with the body.
Clean off the green and place one of the whole cauliflowers on a large platter or tray with the stem end toward the back. The natural shape of the cauliflower makes a wonderful fluffy-looking body.

2. Make the head.
Use another large cauliflower floret,  to create the dog's head. Position it toward the front of the body and secure it with toothpicks. The irregular, bumpy surface of the cauliflower is perfect for creating the look of curly fur.

3. Add the ears.
Use two small cauliflower florets for the ears. Place one on each side of the head and secure them with toothpicks. You can angle them slightly downward for a floppy-eared look.

4. Add the muzzle.
Use a smaller cauliflower floret or a cluster of florets for the dog's snout. Attach it to the front of the head with toothpicks.

5. Give your dog a face.
This is where the personality comes in! Cut black olives in half and use them for the eyes and nose. In the photo, two whole black olives make the eyes and another olive makes the nose. A tiny piece of olive can even be used to create a little mouth.

6. Make the legs.
Use several cauliflower florets for the dog's legs and paws. Arrange them underneath the body, securing them with toothpicks where needed. Don't worry about making them perfectly symmetrical—the slightly goofy look is part of the charm!

7. Build the vegetable "grass."
Surround your cauliflower dog with colorful vegetables. Broccoli makes a great green base, while baby carrots and strips of red, orange, and yellow peppers add lots of color. Cherry tomatoes tucked around the dog add even more bright spots.

A Few Tips

Choose a cauliflower that is large, compact, and relatively round. Don't wash it until you're ready to assemble the dog, and let it dry thoroughly so the vegetables and toothpicks stay in place.

The beauty of this project is that it doesn't have to be perfect. Cauliflower florets are naturally irregular, so just play around with them until you see a face, ears, paws, and a body taking shape.

And don't forget to tell your guests that there are toothpicks holding the dog together before anyone starts digging into the vegetable platter!

Looking for more summer salad recipes? 

Nancy Andres, who blogs at Colors 4 Health, is featuring easy tomato and cucumber salads on her post right now. She shares lots of healthy recipes as well as healthy living tips. She is featuring one of salad recipes along with many others. Go take a look!!

My Notes: 

1. The cauliflower can be un-assembled by removing the toothpicks and then used for  cooking them for a recipe.

2 If you look closely at the crudities platter, under the dog are small peppers that have been cut into a flower and stuffed with a cherry tomato.. Also cute.

What kind of art have you made out of vegetables? 

Alaska Cruise: 7 Days, 4 Ports & 3 Excursions

Bald eagles, salmon, totem poles, seals, otters, glaciers, deer, and gorgeous flowers—our seven-day Alaska cruise was filled with amazing scenery and wildlife. Everywhere we looked, there was something exciting and new to see.

Chickpea "Tuna" Salad ; A Plant-Based Alternative to Traditional Tuna Salad

If you enjoy traditional tuna salad but are looking for a healthier plant-based alternative, mashed chickpeas are hard to beat. Not only are they delicious, but they also offer one important advantage: you don't have to worry about mercury.

Our Alaska Cruise - First Stop Seattle

Our Alaska Cruise Began with an Unexpected Surprise in Seattle

We had spent months wondering about the best time to visit Alaska. Would it be cold? Rainy? Foggy? As it turned out, we couldn't have picked a better week. Once our cruise began, we were treated to sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s to upper 60's  almost every day—perfect weather for exploring Alaska's beautiful ports.