Killer kugel

The NYT food section goes wild on kugel today. Among the tidbits I didn't know: the origin of "kugel" is a German word for ball. And I'm tempted to try a Jerusalem kugel made with noodles covered in caramel. But the suggestion of adding veggies and other unusual things to this old-school Ashkenazi dish isn't exactly news. We made half a dozen different vegetable kugels 10 years ago when I worked for Miriam's Table kosher caterers in Toronto, and if I recall correctly from my vegetarian days, there's a carrot-zucchini kugel recipe in one of the Moosewood books. Pretty good, too. Kugel season makes me hungry.