Comments (0)A Fruitful Holiday
Brighten up your January with sweet figs for Tu B’Shevat.
January 2010By Amy Landsman
It’s January. Happy New Year! Not that New Year, the one in which you need to find a babysitter.
It’s Tu B’Shevat, the new year for trees, which begins this year on Friday evening, Jan. 29, and ends at nightfall on Jan. 30.
The most well known Tu B’Shevat custom is making a donation to plant trees in Israel. Maybe you did it when you were a kid and your own kids are likely continuing the tradition in their day school or religious school classes, as well. In addition, many schools and congregations have revived the 16th-century custom of holding Tu B’Shevat seders.
In general, Tu B’Shevat seders feature the seven species of food mentioned in the Bible: wheat, barley, grapes, pomegranates, olives, dates and figs. The seder also includes drinking four cups of wine or juice, as well as readings on trees and fruit.
Without holding a full seder, you could make a special dish to remind you and your family that, although Maryland is still in winter’s grip, spring is coming in Israel.
Figs, which are nothing if not Biblical — Adam and Eve are said to have covered themselves with fig leaves—are still exotic enough to many of us to be something new. They are nothing like the Fig Newton cookies we grew up with.
Fresh figs are available now. Dried figs are generally available year-round.
Fig, Goat Cheese and Almond Appetizers
Tu B’Shevat Pilaf
Cream Cheese, Dried Fig and Walnut Spread