Oh, it all sounds wonderful, especially the Indian rice-veg-nut casserole. As for the side dishes, if that casserole is very spicy, it might be best to pair it with the leek-zucchini-cheese dish, for contrast. For dessert, the cookies and biscotti with fresh fruit sounds appealing. As for Sol's daisies, you'd better check the weather report for the humidity forecast, if it's hard to keep them crispy. I hope you'll post some of your recipes when you have a chance.

Chag sameach!

Sue

The recipes are from Olive Trees and Honey- a book I've just started to explore. It has vegetarian recipes from Jewish communities around the world. So far the results have been very pleasing.

the rice-veg-nut casserole has a long list of ingredients so it will be a bit before I can type it in.

Balkan Marinated Beets

2 lb (about 8) beets, stems trimmed to 1 inch
1 cup cider, red wine or distilled vinegar (I used cider)
1 cup water
3 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp table salt or 1 tsp kosher salt.

Simmer the beets in a large pot of water for 30 to 50 minutes until tender or bake wrapped in foil at 375 F for 1 hour. When cool enough to handle, cut off the stem and root and remove skins.

Cut into 1/4 inch slices (I did half circles)

Prepare the marinade by combining everything except the beets in a saucepan and simmer until the sugar and salt disolve (~ 4 minutes).

Put the beets in a glass or ceramic bowl. (I used a quart canning jar to take less room in my fridge.) Pour the marinade on top. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or up to 2 weeks.

You can turn them into Eastern European by leaving out the cumin, using 3/4 to 1 cup sugar and adding half an onion thinly sliced when you add the marinade to the beets.
German pickled beets would have 2 tsp caraway seeds or 12 cloves instead of the cumin, 1/3 to 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 or 2 thinly sliced onions. Also can put in whole hard boiled eggs.

I've never understood adding so much sugar to already sweet veggies like beets and sweet potatos. It is why I thought I didn't like them - too sweet. I might try the European or German versions sometime but I think I would cut back the sugar. The Balkan recipe is very good. I did two batches - one with the golden beets.

Chag Sameach!

Thanks for the recipe, cloud swift. My DH used to love Harvard beets and he has a real sweet tooth, so I'll bet he'd like the East European version.

I'm going to look for the Olive Trees and Honey cookbook.

Sue

I vote for the leek, zucchini and cheese casserole; it seems to go better with your other dishes. I also vote for the cookies & fruit. I think you will want something light at the end of the meal. I'm delighted to learn you still share holidays with your chavurah. In our chavurah, we all still have kids at home (the oldest kids in our 8 families are now seniors in college), but our holidays already feel different with many kids gone and many grandparents now included (having moved here to be near their children). Chag Sameach!

I had fun looking through a bunch of Jewish cookbooks for you. Here is a Turkish Sukkot recipe from "The World of Jewish Cooking," by Gil Marks, that would fit with your middle eastern menu. Rabbi Marks says that "[t]h emost common Sukkoth dishes are filled oods, particularly stuffed vegetables, symbolizing bounty, or mixed vegetable dishes."

So that's why stuffed cabbage (or, as my family for some reason called it, "rolled beef and cabbage") is traditional, I suppose. You could make a vegetarian version of that.

Guvetch
Sephardic Vegetable Stew
6 to 8 servings

Rabbi Marks writes: "This Turkish vegetable stew (also spelled ghivetch and yuvetch), named after the pottery in which it was originally cooked, is popular in areas influenced by the Ottoman Empire. It is a close relative of the better-known Provencal version, ratatouille."

5 T vegetable or olive oil
2 large yellow onions, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 medium carrots, sliced
1.5 lb. eggplant, cubed
1 lb. green beans
4 small zucchini or other summer squash, cut into chunks
1 lb. trimmed okra or sliced mushrooms
6 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
2 medium green bell peppers, seeded and sliced
2 medium red bell peppers, seeded and sliced
1/2 c. water
about 1/2 t. salt
ground black pepper to taste
pinch of sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat 3 T of the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and carrots and saute until softened, 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Add the eggplant and saute until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables in the order listed. Add the water, salt, pepper, and sugar.
4. Spoon into a large casserole and drizzle with the remaining 2 T oil. Cover and bake until very soft, about 1 1/2 hours. Serve warm or at room temperature.