Our Secular Hanukkah

No one in my family, immediate or extended, is Jewish, but I love Hanukkah. I grew up surrounded by Jewish peers who bragged about their eight nights of presents, and while that sounded great, I had Swedish tomtes leaving me treats and surprises from December 1st through the 24th. I was more drawn to the menorah, which struck me as very elegant, and also to the food. Oh, the food!

Does every culture have a fried potato dish? Every culture that eats potatoes, that is? In any case, latkes are friggin' delicious, and when Westley came home from preschool singing a song about latke-making and dreidel-spinning, I decided we should celebrate Hanukkah this year. In our own, non-traditional, completely secular way.

Westley helped me make the latkes. He enjoyed pushing the onion, potato, and carrots down into the food processor. He stirred the vegetables around with potato starch, spilling just a little bit. When I got down the canister of brown rice flour, he said, "Can I do that?" I used an ice-cream scoop to dish out roundish blobs of potato mixture into Westley's hands. He sang his preschool song as he flattened them into patties: "Take a potato, pat-pat-pat...!"

Non-traditional, highly-nomable gluten-free, vegan latkes...

...and even less traditional baked latkes.

Westley doused at least one of his latkes in ketchup. I'd wanted to get all super-festive and make butternut squash soup and some kind of nut pate, but we settled for a side of simple, roasted cauliflower.

After dinner we played dreidel with pennies. I wasn't able to snag any vegan Hanukkah gelt, but next year? Chocolate coins for all!

"Baruch zemahn shel simhah, z’man shel or tikvah laohlahm."(Blessed is the time of our celebration, time of light for hope in the world.)

Happy Hanukkah!

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