By Wendy Camassar

Happy Jewish New Year to those of you who celebrate it!  I had quite a dilemma this year: how was I going to prepare a traditional Jewish holiday meal now that my family eats a plant-based diet?  These traditional meals are ones that my family really enjoys, and I didn’t want to take that away.

My daughters’ favorite part of any holiday meal is my mother’s Matzo Ball soup, aka, “Grandma Marsha’s World Famous Matzo Ball Soup,” which is laden with huge chunks of chicken, rice or noodles, and Matzo balls the size of a soft ball but as light as a feather.  I wracked my brain over how I would be able to recreate this little piece of heaven in a bowl, without using any animal products.  So I took to the internet and started my research on the subject.

Luckily I found quite a few hits on the topic.  I looked through a bunch to find the easiest and least time-consuming ones, and came across one that looked the least complicated.  (I’m not one who likes to fuss in the kitchen for very long.)  I’m happy to report that for our Rosh Hashana dinner, we all enjoyed Matzo Ball soup, in addition to a “Meat Loaf” made out of lentils.  The soup was not quite the same as “Grandma Marsha’s,” but it was a huge hit.  You’d never know it was a fake!  Here is the the recipe I used to recreate the favorite part of our holiday meal.

So holiday traditions can still be maintained, and enjoyed, vegan style.  But even if you’re not preparing a special meal, there are many great vegan recipes to try.  If you are looking for a new Vegan cookbook, here is one I’ve recently borrowed from HCLS that I’d recommend: Chloe’s Kitchen: 125 easy, delicious recipes for making the food you really love the vegan way

Wendy Camassar is an Instruction and Research Specialist at the Central Branch of the Howard County Library System.  Prior to joining HCLS, she worked as a freelance makeup artist for several years.  She enjoys hiking with her family, exercising, reading, and organic foods and skin care products.

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