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On the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, there is a ceremony called Tashlich, when Jews traditionally go to the ocean or a stream or river to pray and throw breadcrumbs into the water.

Symbolically, the fish devour their sins.

Occasionally, people ask what kind of breadcrumbs should be thrown. Here are some tongue-in-cheek suggestions for breads, which may be most appropriate for specific sins and misbehaviors.

• For ordinary sins........................White Bread
  For complex sins.........................Multigrain
  For twisted sins.........................Pretzels
  For sins of indecision...................Waffles
  For sins committed in haste..............Matzoh
  For sins of chutzpah....................Fresh Bread
  For substance abuse....................Stoned Wheat
  For use of heavy drugs..................Poppy Seed
  For petty larceny.......................Stolen
  For committing auto theft...............Caraway
  For timidity/cowardice..................Milk Toast
  For tasteless sins......................Rice Cakes
  For ill-temperedness....................Sourdough
  For silliness, eccentricity.............Nut Bread
  For not giving full value...............Shortbread
  For unnecessary chances................Hero Bread
  For war-mongering......................Kaiser Rolls
  For jingoism, chauvinism............. Yankee Doodles
  For excessive irony...................Rye Bread
  For erotic sins.......................French Bread
  For particularly dark sins............Pumpernickel
  For dressing immodestly...............Tarts
  For lechery and promiscuity...........Hot Buns
  For promiscuity with gentiles.........Hot Cross Buns
  For racist attitudes..................Crackers
  For causing injury to others..........Tortes
  For sophisticated racism..............Ritz Crackers
  For being holier than thou............Bagels
  For abrasiveness......................Grits
  For dropping in without notice.........Popovers
  For overeating........................Stuffing
  For impetuosity.......................Quick Bread
  For indecent photography..............Cheesecake
  For raising your voice too often......Challah
  For pride and egotism.................Puff Pastry
  For sycophancy, brown-nosing..........Brownies
  For being overly smothering...........Angel Food Cake
  For laziness...........................Any long loaf
  For trashing the environment..........Dumplings
  For telling bad jokes/puns................Corn Bread
  
  
  Feel free to send anything you want others to share... anybody have any gefilte fish jokes??

(Definitely NOT your grandma's gefilte fish. I've made this one for the past 2 years)

Once a shapeless gray lump, the traditional Jewish dish is being dressed up with sauces and baked into terrines.

Tricolor Gefilte Fish © 2003, The Baltimore Sun 9/24/03
Makes 10 to 12 servings

• two 22-ounce loaves plain gefilte fish defrosted in wrapper
  one 22-ounce loaf salmon gefilte fish, defrosted in wrapper
  2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
  1 lemon
  6 cucumbers for horseradish wells, plus 1 extra-long cucumber for top garnish (optional)
  prepared horseradish (optional)
  mayonnaise (optional)
  lettuce (optional)
  yellow pepper (optional)
  
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick vegetable spray. Give it a heavy, even coat. Open each of the 3 gefilte fish wrappers.

Add the dill and juice from lemon into one of the plain gefilte fish loaves. Mix thoroughly so the dill is dispersed evenly. Set aside.

Using a thin spatula, spread the other plain gefilte fish into an even layer in the bottom of the springform pan. Top with an even layer of the salmon. On top of the salmon, spread an even layer of the lemon-dill fish mixture.

Cover the pan with foil. Bake for 1 hour. If the fish does not look set in the center, remove the foil and bake 5 minutes longer.

Let cool and refrigerate overnight. This can be made a few days in advance.

As an optional garnish, slice a long unpeeled cucumber by hand or by mandoline into paper-thin slices. Lay the slices in concentric circles around the top of the fish. Release the sides of the springform pan. Or serve as individual servings, cut into wedges like a pie. Trim any brown edges.

Cut the cucumbers into 2- to 3-inch pieces. Hollow out the center. Mix a few tablespoons of the prepared horseradish with a little mayonnaise to make a pretty pink sauce. Fill the cucumber wells. Serve a slice of fish on a piece of leafy lettuce with a cucumber well. You can decorate each plate with tiny squares of yellow pepper.