Chanukah sameach (and the Pumpkin Latke Recipe)!

- December 23, 2019

His mother’s favorite of his pieces was the elaborate Chanukah menorah with the rampant Lion of Judah he’d made when he first started crafting his own designs. The holder for the shammes that lit the oil in the eight other lamps leaned in slightly, but she swore she would have it no other way.

“It’s eager to perform its task,” she’d say every year with a smile as his father lit the first light.

--[WIP] Untitled Chanukah historical novella

Happy Hanukkah! Chanukah Sameach! No matter how you say it (or spell it) the Festival of Lights is a special time around the world. In the Northern Hemisphere the Jews gather at the darkest time of the year to kindle small flames in the cold night, while in the Southern Hemisphere they wait...and wait...and wait for sundown to light the chanukah menorah (and have a cookout at the beach). Regardless of how it's celebrated, the festival commemorates the victory of the weak over the strong, the small against the mighty, and faith in the face of tyranny and oppression.

This year I made a special Sephardi treat, pumpkin pancakes (aka latkes). They're fried in oil as so much of the food is for the holiday, and offered the members of my family allergic to gluten and dairy an alternative to the more traditional sufganiyot, jelly doughnuts. By request, here's the recipe:

SEPHARDI CHANUKAH PUMPKIN LATKES

1 16 oz. can pumpkin
1 cup 1:1 substitute Gluten Free flour (Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur Flour both offer a brand)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
oil for frying

1. combine all ingredients into a thick batter

2. heat oil in skillet

3. drop tablespoons full of batter into oil. When bubbles begin to form in batter, turn latkes and cook until golden brown

4. serve hot