Maple- Glazed Carrots and Leeks With Pomegranate Seeds For Rosh Hashanah

When was the last time you used leeks in a recipe? This recipe for sautéed leeks and carrots with pomegranate seeds is simple, sweet, colorful and delicious. I made it for Rosh Hashanah for our holiday meal. I meant to publish it last week, but got behind while traveling. ( If you just want the recipe and not the backstory, scroll down to the bottom of the post). 

Leeks are in the onion family but have a milder less pungent taste. 

I don't use leeks very often (because they are expensive and can be very hard to clean out the dirt) but sometimes there is no substitute, such as for our Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah. 

Leeks (and carrots) are a traditional foods that are symbolic to Sephardic Jews (from North Africa, Spain, or Middle Eastern origin). Yup! It's a must- just like turkey on Thanksgiving. It's a tradition that bridges us to our past and connects us to our heritage.    

      

Customs and Traditions

You see my husband's family origins are Sephardic-Their customs differ from Jewish people (like me) whose family came from Eastern European countries such as Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. Us Eastern European or Ashkenazi Jews eat matzoh ball soup, apples & honey, honey cake, apple cake, and gefilte fish on this holiday. Sephardic Jews eat holiday foods made with leeks, carrots, dates and pomegranates!!!

Honey or Maple Syrup for A Sweet New Year

I made this recipe sweet by adding maple syrup or it could have been honey because we make things sweet for the New Year to hope our New Year will be as sweet as honey.

 

My mother-in-law (from Egypt) used to make delicious leek patties on this holiday which are more savory. They are really good, but also more labor intensive.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I wanted to minimize my work prepping for 22 people.

They taste good hot, at room temp, and leftovers taste good cold from the refrigerator. 

                            

This recipe is a keeper. It's nutritious, looks pretty, and goes with most dinner entrees.  It doesn't have to be a holiday or special occasion to make this recipe. Try it - you will like the sweetness of the carrots with the mild leeks and the cinnamon and honey (or maple syrup) dressing. The garnish with the pomegranate seeds is a bonus.

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THE RECIPE

Ingredients: 

1 large leek, cleaned, chopped, and tough green parts removed

4 large organic carrots, washed, peeled, sliced, and slightly steamed

1/4 cup of maple syrup or honey

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 cup of fresh pomegranate seeds

Directions: 

Sauté the leeks in a dry pan for about 2 minutes in a large skillet, stirring continuously. Add 3 tablespoons of water and the lightly steamed carrot slices. Sauté for another 2 minutes, stirring (add a little more water if sticking). Remove from the pan and add to a bowl. Sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds and maple syrup. Toss and serve.

My Notes: 

1. Do you use the white and green part of the leek? 

    Answer : Use the tender part of the stalk. Mostly use the white part, but some of the green can be tender enough to use. 

2. I meant to post this recipe before the holiday but I got behind.

A Little Mini Vacation to Cape Cod For a Reunion

Sometimes the little mini vacations aren't about seeing as many places as possible—they're about spending time with people you really enjoy. 

I just returned last night from a six-day car trip that included Westchester, NY, Boston, Massachusetts, and Cape Cod.

Our ultimate destination was Cape Cod where we were meeting up with good friends from Florida for a snow-bird reunion. Since it’s about a seven-eight hour drive from our home in Philadelphia area, we decided to break up the trip along the way there.

Westchester NY to See Our Son and Family

Our first stop was Westchester, where we drove about two and a half hours to spend the afternoon and evening at my son’s home enjoying time with my kids and grandkids. 

Boston, Massachusetts

The next morning, we continued on to Boston, about a three-hour plus drive, where we stayed for the weekend at the home of good friends from Florida too. We enjoyed some good meals, and since we had never been to Boston before, we did a little sightseeing. We visited Beacon Street, Boston Commons, and Boston Gardens. 

At the Boston Gardens

Have you heard the famous story book about these Boston ducks? I'll do a post on it..

Cape Cod

From Boston, it was just an hour or so to Cape Cod, where we finally arrived to spend three days with seven couples who we have known and loved for 10 years now.

My friend's back yard- I know!!!!

The reason we chose Cape Cod for the reunion was that one of the couples has a magnificent summer home right on the ocean, with five beautiful ensuite bedrooms. She was able to accommodate four of the couples in her home, while another friend who spends her summers nearby hosted the remaining couple. We all gathered at the main house for activities and to enjoy meals, relax, and spend time together.

Her house

Can you guess whose house it is? 

In Florida, the guys play poker together twice a week all winter. The gals who also have become friends, get together while the guys are playing poker. We also enjoy a rich social life together with pot luck dinners, shows, rummy dub challenges, and dinners in Miami restaurants. Our 6 months in Florida is like being at summer sleep away camp.

The kitchen

Poker and Spa 

So, what did we do during our three-day reunion?

The guys played poker during the day of course!!!

The grounds of the spa

No Poker for the gals! We scheduled time at a really fancy spa where we enjoyed lunch, massages, thermal pool, steam room, sauna, followed by dinner out in the cute little tourist town of the Cape Cod city of Falmouth. 

Our Evenings

In the evenings, girls and guys came reunited. We cooked together, took walks, hung out on the gorgeous deck which faces the ocean, read books, drank wine, and watched late night movies.

It was the kind of getaway that reminds you how special good friendships are. There was no packed schedule and no need to entertain ourselves—other than the spa day, we simply enjoyed being together, catching up, laughing, eating, relaxing, and enjoying the beautiful ocean views.

It was a wonderful getaway with really dear friends.

The Seven Hour Drive Home

We left the Cape and drove back to Philly area. The seven hour ride was definitely long, tedious, and tiring, but it was worth it for such a wonderful few days that we got to spend together.

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).