Truthful Tuesdays Volume Twenty-Four

• Posted on December 16, 2015
• by Jamie Stahl
• in Truthful Tuesday
• 3 Comments.

Today’s Truthful Tuesday: Hannukah, Oh Hannukah!

Last week was the “Festival of Lights” or Hannukah.  It began on Sunday, December 6, 2015 and ended on Sunday, December 13, 2015.  This is probably obvious, since the holiday lasts for eight days.

Like most kids (yes, I am including myself as a twenty-nine year old kid) Hannukah is one of my favorite holidays because of the presents and the food.  Growing up, my brother and I used to LOVE getting Hannukah presents and couldn’t wait to open a new present each night.  I mean that literally.  We couldn’t wait.  We would sneak into our downstairs closet where the gifts were kept and try to open the wrapping paper to see what the presents were.  Then, we would attempt to carefully re-apply the tape and pretend like nothing ever happened as we walked up the stairs.  Of course, my brother ripped some of the paper and at some point my mom caught us in the act.

My parents also had come up with this idea called the “sharing gift.”  The concept of the “sharing gift” was that it was for my brother and I to share.  We each got some separate presents and some for “sharing.”  Maybe things were different in the 1990s, but I’m pretty sure that my younger brother of 3 years and 9 months didn’t have the same interests as me.  Enough temper-tantrums must have occurred causing the “sharing gifts” to become extinct (ask Alex about the Keyboard).

After playing with all of the Power Rangers toys, Creepy Crawlers Oven, Lite Brite, Easy Bake Oven, and Beanie Babies, it was time for the food.  Potato Latkes (or potato pancakes)!  My whole family loved them, and we still do.  Even when it wasn’t Hanukkah we would have them for dinner.  Personally, I’m an apple sauce and sour cream type of girl.   I also like to sprinkle sugar on top of the latkes.  That’s code for pour tons of sugar on top of the latkes and piles of apple sauce and sour cream and mix it all together in a giant disgusting mess on my plate that tastes like heaven.

I remember my grandma and my nana would make potato latkes from scratch that were super delicious.  As I got older, my mom and I started to make them too.  It took a little bit of experimenting, mostly because we didn’t want to house to smell like oil three weeks later, but we seemed to have gotten it down to a science.  The secret was setting up shop in the garage instead of the kitchen!

In more recent years, my mom started making some fancy flavored latkes along with the traditional ones.  I tend to stick to the basics (not so surprising given my picky eating habits).  I’ve also made latkes myself a few times in my apartment.  Just last Wednesday, I made potato latkes using the recipe my mom gave me.  It was very exciting actually, because I got to use my brand new food processor for the first time!  Other than the fact that my eyes were burning like the fiery depths of hell from the onions, the latkes came out pretty perfect.  I had some for dinner that night and brought the rest over to a friend’s apartment the following night for a holiday party.

I’m glad I have this recipe and am continuing the homemade potato latke tradition.  No matter how many times I say that the best part of Hanukkah is getting lots of presents and eating yummy food, the truth is that the best part is remembering the fun times I had growing up and celebrating with my family.  I also remember that one time I ate way too many latkes one night and threw up all over the carpet in my bedroom.  The stain is still there about 9 years later.  Oops.

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