A Latke Primer

I don't really know anything when it comes to most "Jewish" food. I don't do gefilte, I dislike both pickled herring and lox, and I've never made most of your Bubbie's famous dishes. But give me a frying pan and some potatoes and I'll make you a latke to write home about. 

We got a piano for Hanukah!

Two nights down...

Since there are still a few days left of Hanukah, and I've heard from a couple of people that they can't ever get their latkes quite right, I decided to pass on my humble knowledge of this famous fried food. I've also had Joe tell me he thinks I was born with a Jewish soul simply based on how well I cook traditionally cultural Jewish food even when I've never made it before, but I guess that's just his opinion.


There's really nothing worse than a mushy, soggy latke. Or one that falls apart in the pan and then just ends up in a million burnt shreds. Or one that's too dry because the potatoes were grated too fine.


In other words, there's a lot of ways to get them wrong. But I'm going to help you get them right, at least the way I do it. Your Bubbie may or may not approve.

Breaking my own rules: not enough onion :(

There are a couple of key steps:


Grate the onion first. The juices from the onion will help keep the potato from browning as you grate it. I usually grate about 1/4 of a medium largish onion per 3 potatoes or so. And every 2-3 potatoes I mix the onion and potato shreds together to coat them all with that onion juice. Don't grate everything too fine or too big either, or your'll end up either with mush or with latkes that don't hold together at all. 

Don't do your nails fancy before this: the fancy won't survive.

Add the salt before draining. This helps release any excess juices from the potatoes, allowing you to really drain them well. This leads to the next step which is:

Drain the mix for longer than you think is really necessary, over a bowl. Start early, and let your shredded onions and potatoes drain over the bowl you will mix everything in for at least an hour. Every 20 minutes or so, go over there and really press the mix down into your colander to squeeze out that juice. Do it again right before you mix up the batter.

Dump off all the juice but leave the starch! At the bottom of the bowl that you have been letting your potatoes drain into, there will be a slime of potato starch. Leave it there and mix everything else into it. This extra starch really helps to bind together the rest of the ingredients. And speaking of starch:

It doesn't look pretty right now, but whatev.

I use flour instead of matzoh, but either one is fine. Finer starch will absorb the excess liquid more quickly.  A couple of Tbsp for every couple of potatoes is a good rule of thumb.


Ditch the egg whites. They don't help bind all that much, and they have a lot of extra water content, which you just spent an hour getting rid of. Keep your whites though, to make meringues or for egg white omelets if that's your thing. Use two egg yolks when your recipe calls for one whole egg, or for every 3-4 potatoes. 

Add extra stuff if you want, just keep the ratio of potato:onion:starch:eggs in mind. I like to add green onions, a little cheese, sometimes celeriac or apples, carrots or sweet potatoes. Mix it up and add different spices too. I've seen good recipes for samosa style latkes and dessert latkes, and even greek inspired ones served with tzatziki. 


Get the oil good and hot before you start cooking, and don't be afraid to use quite a bit. If your pan starts to look dry between batches, add a bit more and reheat before adding more latkes.

Get messy. It's better if you can hand form your latkes: they'll be thinner and crispier than if you just drop a big glob in the pan. I take about a palmful of batter and form it into a disk, then drop it into the oil. After I've filled the pan (but not too many! You don't want them to be crowded or they'll just steam.) I go back and lightly press them down with my spatula.


Cook until golden brown and then flip, just once. If they start to burn before you think they're getting done inside turn the heat down a touch. But don't worry too much about raw insides because you can always finish them in the oven. If you flip them too many times they'll start to fall apart no matter how good your batter is.


Drain as you go, onto a paper towel lined sheet pan in a warm oven. They'll stay nice and crispy for long enough to fry up all the batter so everyone can sit down together.

Sweet Potato Latkes with Cardamom Applesauce and Mascarpone

Your New Fave

Sometimes I have no idea what to make for dinner. Sometimes when I'm planning the menu for the week (Yes, I plan a menu. Or else I would go insane.) I just put "veggies" "salad" "pasta" and then make up the rest later.


This past week I put something like "roasted squash" which could actually just be that. Roasted squash. But we were eating it with pasta so I wanted to jazz it up a bit. (Joe was cooking the pasta, so I figured the other half should be a shining star...no offense Joe.)

I looked around. 


I saw a huge basket of apples and ginger, and thought of the plans for pickling said ginger and making apple pie filling for the freezer.


I saw a bag of walnuts that I pulled out of the freezer with the intention of using them in rugelach for a cookie exchange that I ended up not making it to. 


I saw a glass with a few little branches of rosemary taking a drink, which reminded me to go pick sage out of the garden for the brown butter sauce.


Then, I saw a huge bag of persimmons that I bought that day at Uwajimaya. Unsuspecting persimmons, just hanging out all by themselves in a little persimmon clique over there by the blender.

And I realized, why couldn't I just roast persimmons instead? They have a similar texture to raw squash, firm and crunchy. They're sweet but not too sweet. They're orange. Heck, they're practically a squash camouflaging as a fruit! 


I decided it might be a little bit much to just roast persimmons and nothing else. After all, the squash might feel left out. So I cut up a little baby butternut that had been loitering on the front porch since I harvested it back in October, and while I was out getting the sage I also nabbed a few little branches of thyme. And I threw in a half dozen or so little shallots that have just been begging to get used up. And I tossed in a big handful of those walnuts, with plenty to spare for rugelach, should I ever get around to it. 

A little drizzle of maple syrup, another of olive oil. A pinch of salt, a grate of nutmeg. Into the oven it went. 

I have to say, I was a little bit skeptical, even though it smelled good. There aren't too many original savory persimmon recipes out there (not that roasting fruit is original, or all that savory) but I figured it would at least be unique so I went ahead and stole a bite while no one was looking.


No need to worry! It was delicious through and through, and even Joe liked it. Though he did claim that I had "tricked him" into eating persimmons, which are not his favorite thing. I think this might be my new favorite thing though. Next to everything else new I made this week...

I'm thinking this dish might be the perfect thing to cook to go along a roasted chicken (or turkey, or any other type of meat). I'm also thinking it could easily contain sausage of either the meaty or veggie variety and make for a more hearty dish in and of itself. These thoughts lead me to believe that if you are in charge of a holiday meal coming up, or in charge of bringing some sort of delicious and show stopping side dish that will upstage all the other foods on the table...I mean, a humble side dish to delight the senses without overwhelming the other dishes being served, then this might be the one. It practically cooks itself so you will have plenty of time to make rugelach!


Roasted Butternut and Persimmon Medley
serves about 4 as a side


One small Butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
2 medium sized Fuyu persimmons, peeled and cut into 8ths
5-6 small shallots, cut in halves or quarters
2 small branches fresh thyme, leaves removed
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp olive oil
pinch salt
few scrapes of freshly grated nutmeg


Preheat oven to 400ºF


Toss everything together in a small roasting pan, making sure everything is evenly coated. Place dish in oven, closer to the bottom is better. Bake about 40 minutes, stirring every now to get even caramelization. Serve piping hot.

The Goodies

Recently I decided that my plate wasn't quite full enough and that I should take up a new hobby. One that people get obsessive over and do for ever and ever and love.


Knitting.

Yeah, I know. It's kinda cliche and all that, but honestly, I have this little cutie who totally deserves to have all kinds of awesome things knitted for her, but not too many people to knit them but me. Things like this. Or this totally awesome berry pie hat, which by coincidence was just gifted to Lilli the same day as knitting club, a late birthday present from our friend Meghan.

The knitting club I joined is pretty low pressure if you can ignore the fact that we usually refer to it as a cult. It's with people I was already well acquainted with, so I knew I would fit right in and be comfortable getting help. So far I've been to just 2 meetings, but there's only been 3 since this group even started, so I'm off to a good start with the socializing part. The knitting part is going to take some time. At this Wednesday's circle I discovered that I was actually knitting totally wrong but somehow came out with the right result. What can I say? I've got skills.


Last week there was some delicious white chocolate covered popcorn with cranberries that I ate way too much of. Especially considering that I was eating caramel corn every day. And the fact that it was covered in sticky melty white chocolate. Not exactly the best thing to have coating your fingers when you are trying to use them to hold onto yarn and knitting needles, but that did not stop me from eating too much anyway. There was also some ginger cookies made by the friend who started the group, and they too were addicting.


It's a good thing I finally started that sit-up challenge this week, because I have been eating too much.

Anyhow, for this weeks meeting I decided that I should make a treat, since that's what I do best. To get into the spirit of the season (most everybody else's season, that is) I made delicious brownies. With, you guessed it, candy canes. 

Normally my go to brownie recipe is the one from the cookbook put together by the founders of Chocolate Bar in New York, but I wanted to make a double batch and that would have required more eggs than I was willing to spare (eggs are in short supply around here lately, as most of the chickens are molting so they aren't laying much).

I did a little searching and ended up basing them off of a recipe from the book Bittersweet instead. They are pretty much the perfect brownie, even without the addition of candy canes. If you like your brownies fudgy but not too moist or sticky, these ones are right on target, with an ever so slightly crackly crust and the right amount of chew.

I made them with Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa which I purchased out of curiosity. It's responsible for the deep rich black color of the brownies, which I absolutely love. Somehow it just makes them taste better knowing that they look like a galaxy of candy cane stars.

In the end, I had to pull apart my scarf about 3 times over the course of the evening. One time for each brownie I ate. Oh well, at least I'm good at baking.

Peppermint Galaxy Brownies
adapted from the book Bittersweet by Alice Medrich
makes 16 roughly 2"square brownies, easily doubles


10 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup sugar (original recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups)
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, any type is fine but I used this
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy canes, plus extra for the top


Preheat oven to 325ºF, with a rack in the lower third of the oven. Line an 8" square baking pan with parchment paper, letting it overhang on 2 opposite edges.


In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter without browning. Remove from the heat and add the sugar and salt and stir until well combined. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and combine till it forms a thick paste. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat with a wooden spoon or a spatula after each addition. Add the flour and stir until you don't see any streaks of flour, then beat for an additional 40 strokes. About 20 strokes in add the crushed candy canes, and finish combining. 


Spread batter in pan. Sprinkle on some more candy canes, as many as you like. Don't go too heavy--you want there to be a balance of chocolate and peppermint. Bake about 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with some batter stuck to it, but not totally glopped on. 


Cool completely on a wire rack. Use the edges of the parchment paper to remove from the pan. Cut with a sharp knife, wiping clean on a damp rag before eat cut.

One for every year

Our family wrote lists of the things we are grateful for, one for every year you have been on the planet. Here's my list. It's not complete, but at the same time it's really hard to write a list like this without adding a whole bunch of little silly things.

I hope you all have lots of things to be grateful for, because the world sure is full of beauty.

1. Joe, who’s my best friend and whom I love more than I ever thought was possible.

2. Lilli, who has inspired me to be the best I can be, for her.
3. The rest of my family, for being quirky and keeping me on my toes.
4. My and my family’s continued health. 

5. The full use of my body, especially my hands and eyes.

6. My sense of taste, so I can make others happy.
7. Our home.
8. Having enough and then some.
9. My chosen family--they are some of the best friends around.
10. Scourge, who loves me unconditionally and brings us presents.

11. The chickens. Especially Effie, who was such a hero even though we didn’t know it.

12. To live in Seattle, where we have access to fresh and clean anything we need.
13. The ability to travel freely.

14. People who are willing to enact change.
15. To be left unpersecuted for choosing Judaism.
16. Small farms, food artisans, and food advocates.

17. Neighbors who mind their own business.
18. Hummingbird visitors.
19. Accurate histories of important world events.
20. The internet.
21. My sense of humour.
22. Other people’s recipes.
23. Art and music to make our lives more brilliant, and to help us think outside the box.
24. Free speech.
25. The ability to learn from my mistakes.

26. The natural world.
27. Science.
28. Changing seasons.
29. People who are more patient than I am.

Getting Ready

Fall is definitely a food lover's season. I mean, along with summer and spring and winter of course.


In this crisp, cool season, there is much to look forward to as a person who enjoys spending time in the kitchen and at the table. There is the promise of a warm kitchen when the oven is on to bake or roast. There is the beauty of a steamed up window when you are cooking a hearty soup or a big pot of pasta sauce.

There is the smell in the air when you step outside, the crunch of leaves underfoot. The dirt under your fingernails when you put your garden to bed, and the warm mug that awaits you when you step back inside. 

Maybe all of these things aren't directly food or eating related, but they all play a role in how we experience the world around us, and they all, eating included, help us to connect with that world. 

In our family, keeping kosher is also meant to help us connect in a deeper way, through our food, to our environment, and of course, to God. But you can do that even if you don't keep kosher. You can do it just by being present as you savour a meal, or enjoy a brisk walk in the glow of a late afternoon. 

As you prepare your tables for the feast that many of us will be sharing with loved ones next week, take some time to remember those connections. Try for a day or a week to take them out of the I-take-these-things-for-granted closet in the back of your mind, and embrace them. 

It will make the food taste even better.