Bluegrass Farmers Market

December is a month filled with celebration! The first one would be Hanukkah or Chanukah...no matter how you spell it, it is a time for our Jewish friends to celebrate the Festival of Lights! It is a joyous time that begins tomorrow at sunset on December 16^th and lasts for eight days. The menorah has eight candles and each night during the celebration an additional candle is lit using the ninth candle called the shamash. On the first night, one candle plus the shamash candle is lit and so on through the eight days of celebration. By the eighth day all of the candles including the shamash candle are lit. Candle lighting brings a time to be joyous and enjoy family and friends. That includes gifts, playing the dreidel game and of course, feasting! Most traditional foods served are cooked in oil to commemorate the fact that there was not enough purified olive oil to keep the temple lamp lit for one day but a miracle happened and it lasted for eight days, which is how long it takes to purify the oil!

Mind you, I am not Jewish and am only passing on the education that I got while researching Hanukkah. It has been fascinating and I look forward to learning more. Most of all, I enjoy sharing the different foods during each celebration...I hope you do too.

From our farms to your homes,

Karin

So, what are some of the traditional foods served during Hanukkah? Like I said, it has to include oil so look for potato latkes and deep fried donuts. Hopefully you still have some potatoes from the market stored in a cool cellar...here's a basic recipe.

Traditional Potato Latkes

6 potatoes

1 small onion

4 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Grate potatoes in food processor using the shredder blade.

Squeeze out the liquid through a colander.

Add the rest of ingredients and mix well.

In a deep pot or deep frying pan, heat oil very thoroughly.

Drop batter by the spoonful and fry until golden on both sides.

Pat with paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Serve warm with applesauce or sour cream.

Or maybe you still have some of those wonderful market sweet potatoes...here's another version.

Sweet Potato Latkes

1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and

coarsely grated

2 scallions, finely chopped

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 cup olive oil

Stir together potatoes, scallions, flour, eggs, salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a deep skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking.

Working in batches, spoon 1/8 cup potato mixture into oil and flatten.

Reduce heat to moderate and cook until golden brown.

Transfer latkes to paper towels to drain.

Optional: Serve with 1/2 cup sour cream mixed with 1 tablespoon maple syrup.

And, everyone needs some sweet stuff to end a meal...

Fried Sweet Dough

1-1/2 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon instant yeast

7/8 cup of warm water

Mix all ingredients together.

Let the batter sit for three hours until it has doubled or tripled in size.

Heat oil in a frying pan.

Wet your hands and tear off plum-sized pieces of the dough. Stretch them a bit and form a hole in the middle.

Fry on both sides.

Drain on paper towels and then sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

Serve immediately. These are wonderful with a spoonful of strawberry jam on top!

Wishing all who celebrate the Festival of Lights a joyous holiday with family and friends!