The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

W h a t ' s c o o k i n g FOOD Wednesday, September 18,1S8S Section B o*h Jews' faith tied to cuisine Joe Agnew Herald staff writer The symbolism of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, helps to reinforce the traditions of the Jews as the shofar (ram's horn) heralds New Year 5746, which began at sundown Sunday, Sept. 15. And like many other ethnic groups, the cuisine of the Jewish people comes from the products of their iand and the climate of country. Through the thousands of years from being cast out of their homeland and being spread all over the world, there are slight differences in the East and West factions of Jewish cuisine. This difference can also be attributed to the availability of local products. They are unified, however, in the fact that all Jewish cooking is derived from religious festivals, biblical symbolism, the requirements of kosher laws, and its very close association to the Jewish people's hopes and prayers. Gefilte fish is one example -- created out of poverty of the Jewish masses when a good thing had to stretch a long way. Jewish cuisine has also updated the dishes of many lands, altering them to conform to kosher laws, but keeping their original names, such as strudel, torte, pierogi or borsht. v . Rosh Hashana is the first of the High Holy Days, marking the birthday of the world as counted from creation, it falls an the new moon of the Hebrew calender, in the month of Tlshiri, and is officially brought in when the shofar is blown by the Rabbi during special services. It is a common belief that man's fate for the coming year is decided on these days by God. Friends and relatives then gather to celebrate and prepare for the solemn 10 days ahead leading to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and the holiest day of the Jewish year. Another ceremony held during this time is the Tashlikh, or. the casting of sins into the sea or running water. In America, it is also a popular custom to send New Years cards to Jewish friends. Loaves of bread on the Sabbath table are biblical symbols of the bread on altars in ancient times. On Rosh Hashana, the holiday blessing is made as two white candles are lit. Then young and old will partake of the sweet round challah bread for uninterrupted health and happiness, as a wish for a sweet year and as a symbol of the circle of fate. The loaves are also usually braided to look like crowns -- the crown of the Lord's Kingdom, and the silver crowns on the Torah scrolls. Ladders and birds are on theloaves in some Jewish communities, symbols for their prayers to ascend more easily to heaven. Apples and honey, and dishes made of them, are on the Rosh Hashana table as a symbol of the sweetness of the year, and the harvest the people have survived to taste. The golden and carrot-shaped Carrot tzimmis is a hopeful symbol of prosperity. The head of a sheep or a fish is on the table of Shephardic 3ewish households as reminders of the promise that Israel will be at the head and not at the tail oflfie nations of the world. Many vegetables appear on Shephardic tables with a play on words for good omens and wishes. Here are some dishes characteristic of this special holiday: Carrot Tzimmis (serves 6) »; brisket of beef V sp. fat 4 carrots, peeled and cut into rounds 4 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced 4 white potatoes, peeled and sliced 1 onion, sliced 1/2 cup honey salt and pepper to taste pinch of grated nutmeg water 11/2 tbsp. flour 11/2 tbsp. margarine or chicken fat Heat 2 tablespoons fat in a heavy saucepan, sear and brown meat on sides. Add all vegetables, honey, salt, pepper and nutmeg and water to cover. Bring to a boil, then cool gently for about three hours. After three hours the liquid will have reduced by about half. Remove the meat, put in a baking dish. Brown flour in margarine, dilute with a little broth and stir until smooth. Add to the cooking liquid and vegetables, mix until smooth. Add liquid and vegetables to the bailing dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour until nicely browned. ROSH HASHANA- page 20B Fiber adds punch to low-calorie diets Healthy snack foods c found In the average kitchen ^ June Cavarretta "Hey, Mom! What's to eat?" That familiar refrain is heard countless times throughout America, and sometimes the question isn't so easy to answer. Penny Warner, a child devel­ opment expert and mother of two children, developed over 400 sug- ar-free and salt-free answers to the "What's to eat?" refrain. They appear in two books, "Healthy Snacks for Kids" and "Super Snacks for Kids." You don't need to visit the health food store before prepar­ ing these recipes. Warner uses readily-available ingredients in imaginative presentations that take a minimum of time. Children who participate in their menu plan and its prepara­ tion have a greater incentive to eat the finished product, and these recipes lend themselves well to kids in the kitchen. Color­ ful photographs highlight the' recipes, and its small size is per­ fect for smaller hands. "Healthy Snacks" begins with the basics of healthy eating, in­ cluding eight secrets to making your child a healthy eater. This is followed by lists of healthy foods, Including good basic foods to serve each day, foods to cut down on or avoid, foods high in fiber, and suggestions for substitutions. Snacks Include easy treats such as Banana Chips, Fruit Leather, Strawberry Pudding, and Jack's Bean Stalks. Yogurt Plus shows you an easy way to cover the four food groups in one delicious snack. The rest of the book devotes Itself to better breakfasts, lunches, and dinner. Warner shares her many tricks of "smuggling" good things into ev­ ery meal. "Super Snacks" begins with the same format as "Healthy Snacks," but expands on it by adding lists of carotene-rich foods, complex-carbohydrate foods, and a simple approach to the four basic food groups. Be­ lieving that children respond to foods with silly names, Warner adds a touch of whimsy to many of her recipes (Monkey Pie, Boil­ ing Caldron, Fat Apples, Pop de Pomme, Chipmunk Lunch, Ba­ nanas Kersplat, Very Merry Un- birthday Salad). These two books are a must for households with kids of all ages and make delightful gifts. "Healthy Snacks for Kids" is available for $7.95 at the Cre­ ative Cook in Spring Hill Mall. You'll find >rSuper Snaoks for Kids" at B. Dal ton Bookstore, also $7.96, at Spring Hill Mall. Barley a delicious soup additive Following a low calorie diet some­ times is little fun for the dieter -- or the other members of the family. The latest research suggests that adding fiber to that low calorie regi­ men may be beneficial in more than one way. One important point is that high- fiber foods such as fruits, vegeta­ bles, cereals, nuts, seeds and le- gumes, tend to be bulky. They require more chewing and take long­ er to eat. That adds to the feeling of satisfaction at the end of the meal. One way many calorie watchers can put fiber in their diets without putting inches on their waistlines is through crunchy, high-fiber cereals, such as All-Bran® or Bran Buds®, from Kellogg's. Kellogg's home economists have created many recipes that use their high fiber cereals. This recipe for a light supper main dish is a surpris­ ingly reasonable 215 calories per serving with 4.8 grams of dietary fiber. Chicken Tomato Pilaf • : • j: \ 1 jar {2Vz oi., to cup) sliced mushrooms, drained, reserving liquid 1/4 cup chopped onion 1 small garlic clove, chopped 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1/4 teaspoon salt , dash pepper 1/8 teaspoon thyme leaves 1 can (l4Vfe oz.) whole peeled to­ matoes, not drained 1/3 cup high-fiber cereal • 1 cup cooked, long grain, brown rice , 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken 1/3 cup water In large frypan, cook mushrooms, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in reserved mushroom liquid and all remaining ingredients, cut­ ting tomatoes into pieces. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly. Sprinkle each serving with snipped parsley and additional cereal, if desired. Yield: 5 servings. A backyard gardener's greatest concern this year may be how to use up all of summer's gracious bounty. But before you resort to door-to-door vegetable peddling, try your hand at some easy, wholesome barley and garden vegetable meals. By teaming barley with fresh vegetables, you can prepare wholegrain meals, rich in protein, thiamin, niacin, phosphorous and iron from barley, and many natural vitamins from popular garden vegetables. Tomatoes, for example, are a very good source of vitamin C. Flavorful dishes like Garden Barley Soup and Southwestern Style Barley Bake use-plenty of summer vegetables that art lure to be readily available for gardeners and non-gardeners alike. Since summer is traditionally a "best buy" time for many fruits and vegetables, you, cap easily serve these two dishes with store-bought produce. And barley makes good economical sense all year round, with its low cost-per-serving and high nutritional value. Traditionally a whole grain associated with hearty soups and stews, barley has experienced a recent surge in popularity. Consumer recipe requests for barley continually outrank those for any other product of The Quaker Oats Company, including oats. Garden Barley Soup 146-ounce can tomato Juice 1 10% oz. can condensed beef broth to cup Quaker Pearled Barley* 2 cups coarsely chopped zucchini C or peeled eggplant lcup chopped tomato to cup chopped green pepper 2 tablespoons sugar 2 to 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 1 bay leaf to teaspoon thyme leaves, crushed to teaspoon salt - In 4-qt. saucepan or Dutch oven, combine tomato Juice, broth and barley. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover; simmer 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add remaining ingredients. Cover; simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until barley and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. About Nine 1-cup Servings •NOTE: Or substitute to cup Quaker Scotch Brand Quick Pearled Barley. In 4-qt. saucepan or Dutch oven, combine all ingredient*. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover; simmer 15 to S minutes or until baflay - Is nder, stirring occasionally. Southwestern Style Barley Bake Mb. ground beef to cup chopped onion 115-oz. can tomato sauce 1 cup water to cup Quaker Scotch Brand Pearled Barley* to cup sliced ripe olives to teaspoon sugar 10 l cup (4 oz.) shredded to teaspoon chili powder ipt shredded Cheddar cheese (optional) Chopped tomato Sliced avocado Heat oven to 350'F. Brown ground beef and onion; drain. Add tomato sauce, water, barley, olives, sugar and chili powder; mix well. Spread into Ux7-lnch glass baking dish. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until barley is tender. Cover; let stand 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Garnish with tomato, avocado and additional olives, if desired. 85ERVINGS substitute fe cup ch Brand Qtaick QUici Varied Barley, decrease baking time to 45 minutes. •NtWUv-tirj Quaker Scotch Pt Proceed as recipe directs. For more deJIcloui barley reclps from The Quaker Kitchens, tend your name and addreaa to: Quaker's Beat Barley Recipes, 231 South Green St., Fifth Floor, Chicago, IL 60607. Scotch Brand ard vegetables their harvest a number of (la vi ariey can be teamed ivorful dishes. Elderly missing calcium in diet Grapes really perk up a salad Picnics call for cool, refreshing add easy to tote foods. Rainbow Grape Salad is loaded with Juicy-sweet flavors of seedless grapes, cantaloupe and pineapple chunks layered with let­ tuce, creamy cottage cheese, spinach and crunchy celery. A tangy honey-lime dressing and crumbled blue cheese add the crowning touch. The salad travels well to games and parks; pack In a cooler for food safety . Try your favorite seedless grape in this satld--vibrant red, dusky blue/black or tranquil green. Rainow Grape Salad 3 cups torn lettuce INDEX/SECTION B W Bridal ...; 8B,9B Classified 14BtoUB Comics 13B DearAbby 2B Foods.... 1B,3B,4B,5B,20B Opinion 6B Regional 10B DRTHWEST REWSPAPERS 3 cups grapes, halved and seeded if necessary 1 pint cottage cheese Ito cups slicejLgelery 3 cups tornspinath 2 cups each cantaloupe balls and fresh pineapple chunks 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese (optional) Honey-Lime Dressing In a 4-quart glass serving bowl, layer lettuce, half of the grapes, cottage cheese, celery and spinach. Arrange canaloupe, pineapple and remaining grapes on top of salad. Cover and chill 4 to 6 hours. To serve, spoon from bot-H torn to include all layers. Serve with Honey-Lime Dressing. Makes 6 main-dish servings. - Honey-Lime Dressing: Combine to cup vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons lime juice, 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons honey, lto teaspoons dry mustard and 1 teaspoon seasoned salt in Jar. Mix well Just before serving with salad. Makes about % cup. Better understanding of human nutritional needs could lead to a substantial reduction in the inci­ dence of heart disease, cancer and other major problems afflicting the aged. In an Overview on nutrition and the aging process, published recent­ ly by the Nutritional Information Bureau, a service sponsored by BASF Wyandotte Corporation, the bureau observes: "Clearly, authorities in both can­ cer and heart research believe nutri­ tional factors directly affect one's risk of contracting these major dis­ eases in later life-, to combat the enormous toll of osteoporosis, a calcium deficiency that often results in fatal hip and other fractures in the aged, the bu­ reau notes that substantially higher dietary calcium intake is recom­ mended by health authorities, espe­ cially for women. Dr. Robert B. McGandy, professor of nutrition at the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, states in the overview: "Calcium is one nutrient of which very few elderly Americans get even the current Recommended Dally Allowance (RDA). The use of milk and dairy products, which are the primary sources of calcium in this country, has declined, very like­ ly because people are trying to re­ duce their intakes of saturated fats and cholesterol." While cautioning older against taking megadoses of nutri­ ent supplements, Dr. McGandy notes that a reasonable supplement, "which amounts to the recommend­ ed adult daily requirement of vita­ mins and minerals," may make sense as food intake is reduced. "This, of course, assuming that to­ day's RDA standards are appropri­ ate for the elderly," he adds. The bureau notes that while the changes in eating habits currently being called for by cancer and heart disease authorities are somewhat different in emphasis, they are not incompatible. "It is possible, therefore, to choose a diet to reduce risks both of cancer and heart disease, and to add in osteoporosis prevention for good measure," the overview states. Especially Important for the el­ derly, the bureau concludes, is the problem of food-drug interaction. The overview explains: "Older people take more dally medications, some as many as six prescription drugs every day. Many drugs and nutrients interact in the body and may cause dangerous side effects or may cancel or intensify each other's action." The bottom line, notes the over­ view, is that elderly patients should make a point of learning from their doctor which foods should be avoid­ ed due to the prescription - and non-prescription - drugs they might be taking. 4-H teaches good nutrition Each day, people make decisions about the foods they eat. Young people learn to make these decisions at an early age -- when choosing items in cafeteria, fixing after-school snacks; ordertna meals in restaurants, shopping for groceries, and grabbing a quick drink or snack from a vending machine. Changing family lifestyles mean more young people are responsible for buyina and preparing food for themselves and their families. Through 4-H food and nutrition projects, kids can learn how to select food for a balanced diet, make good consumer decisions, and prepare foods that are fun to cook and taste good. For more information about making good food choices, enroll in a nearby 4-H club or call the McHenry County Extension Office, (SIS) 338- 4747.