Kosher Cuisine Show #11 – Chanukkah Special. This is the original script for the show. Some of the non-essential text may have been edited out of the final version that aired on Lexington Community Radio due to time constraints. Also, some off-the-cuff comments may not appear in this script.  The script appears in its entirety for both 11a and 11b versions of the Bandcamp edition.

First Segment

Hava Nagila Music Intro [35 seconds then fade…]

Hello, everyone! This is Leah Kiser and you’re listening to Kosher Cuisine. This is a show about food safety, international kosher recipes and amazing music from areas around the world. This week is Chanukkah, so I will interrupt our regularly scheduled series to give you some great latke recipes, some holiday music, and get on my soapbox a bit.

A lot of people consider Chanukkah to be the Jewish version of Christmas, just because of the time of year it occurs. The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar like the Muslim calendar, but unlike the Muslim calendar it has a self correcting mechanism, which in ancient times was the Aviv Search. Aviv is ripe barley. It is necessary to have some ripe barley in order to observe Passover correctly. So during the month of Adar, about 15-30 days before the month of Nissan is supposed to begin, that is, the new moon before Passover was expected, the priests would send a delegation out to the fields to see how the barley was coming along. If it was nearly ripe – great! Passover can happen on schedule. But if it wasn’t, say, the winter ran colder and longer than usual, or it was very, very rainy and the crops were late, a leap month would be inserted. You may have noticed names of things on the Jewish calendar tend to not be very exciting, and sure enough, the leap month is just called Adar Bet, the second Adar.

In modern times, we use the calendar developed by the famous Rabbi Hillel, which just inserts a leap month every so many years to straighten things out. The result is that Passover is always in the spring, and Chanukkah is always in late fall or early winter. There are not fixed dates for Jewish holidays, though, on the western calendar because there is still a mismatch between new moons every year and the solar calendar. So Chanukkah can overlap Thanksgiving or overlap New Year’s Eve – it has happened both ways before.

You might recall from our regular series on Jewish Holidays the story of the miracle of the lamp oil that was substituted for the real story of the defeat of the Greeks who had invaded Israel, taken over, and outlawed the practice of Judaism. The Greeks were quite confident that their culture was superior and that Jews were just a backward province of people that needed enlightening and would eventually join the dominant culture. Sadly, that opinion persists today among many Christians and Muslims, too.

And, of course, the atheists are waiting for all of us to “come to our senses” and adopt their culture of secular humanism. The philosopher David Hume declared that anybody’s personal experience of a miracle was insufficient evidence to prove the existence of God, angels, or unseen dimensions of reality where they may hang out. But I think there are far too many people of every religious background that have experienced miracles to discount them all. There simply *are* things that could not and should not have happened according to the laws of nature, medicine, and science as we know them.

But I don’t think God micromanages the world the way some people believe, and I do think that free will means we are free to royally screw up our personal live, the society around us, and even the planet. And we are, most certainly, screwing them up. And we are not entitled to miracles. Even the Sages of old said it was ridiculous to rely on a miracle as your plan for solving a problem. The world’s problems need to be solved by us, here on the ground. That is the essence of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world. And as one sage taught us, “while we are not expected to finish the work ourselves, we are certainly not excused from working toward the goal.”

So this holiday season, do some good in the world. One option is to cook for the homeless and disadvantaged, and there are many charities and programs around town where you can do that. I myself cook at least once a month to prepare a dinner for the disadvantaged at a local church in an underprivileged part of town. Choose something you like to do, and do it for others on a regular basis. That is the real spirit of the season.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s ok to celebrate – just celebrate mindfully. We’ll talk more about that in a bit. For now, let’s talk about the main food dish of Chanukkah, latkes. Latkes. Potato pancakes must have been developed very shortly after potatoes were brought from the New World to Europe. Some of the earliest known recipes come from Italy, actually, and were made with ricotta cheese. But they were quickly adopted by the Ashkenaz, and some brilliant person invented latkes which immediately became very popular and were adopted as the culinary dish of Chanukkah, since they require a lot of oil to fry.

Here is a basic latke recipe. This says it will serve six. Well, good luck with that. I would say you need at least one large potato per person if you’re feeding grown men and teenage boys.

You will need: 2 pounds of potatoes, or about 2 large potatoes.
2 large eggs
Salt, and
Oil for frying. I use peanut oil, but any high-heat tolerant oil would work.

Wash the potatoes, and use a vegetable brush if you have one, or a clean sponge will work. The recipe says to peel the potatoes, but I never do. Cut off any bad spots on the surface, and then grate the potatoes. You can grate them by hand, or use a food processor. Next, rinse them in cold water, then drain them and squeeze or press them between towels to get as much water out of them as possible. This may take several towels and several passes to accomplish. Don’t skip this step. It’s tempting, but don’t do it. You need the potatoes to be as dry as possible to stick together and to fry properly.

Whisk the eggs with a sprinkle of salt, and add them to the grated potato bits. Stir well. Meanwhile, fill the bottom of a large flat frying pan with oil and preheat it.

So, take the bowl with the potato mixture and use a large tablespoon or smallish serving spoon to scoop out a ¼ cup or so of the mixture. I use two spoons, one to scoop and one to push the mixture off the spoon and into the frying pan. Drop the mixture into the hot oil and flatten it out a bit. Lower the heat to a simmer – if the pan is too hot your latkes will burn and stick to the bottom without being cooked all the way through. When one side is golden brown, use a spatula to turn it over and brown the other side.


When it’s crispy all over, lift out and drain on a towel. That’s it.
That’s the basic recipe. These are usually served with applesauce or sour cream. The sour cream can be jazzed up with chives or other seasonings, too. And the recipe itself can be modified to your taste in several different ways.

One option, which we use a lot at home, is to grate a parsnip and a carrot along with the potatoes. Many people add grated onion.

If your mixture seems to floppy and isn’t holding together well, you can add potato starch or matzah meal to help stabilize it.

You can also add all sorts of herbs, depending on what else you are having for dinner, you can season the latkes to go with the meal. Lots of people add parsley, for example, or just add anything you love. The only limit is your imagination.

And, speaking of imagination, here is the uber Chanukkah song, the one by Adam Sandler. Enjoy!

[Track 1 – The Chanukkah Song 3:38]


Second Segment

Welcome back to Kosher Cuisine! So, one of the main activities for both kids and adults is the dreidel game. Kids play it for candy. Adults play for…whatever. The Hebrew word for dreidel is sevivon, which, as in Yiddish, means “to turn around.” Dreidels have four Hebrew letters on them, and they stand for the saying, Nes gadol haya sham, meaning A great miracle occurred there. In Israel, instead of the fourth letter shin, there is a peh, which means the saying is Nes gadol haya po — A great miracle occurred here.

The rules are fairly simple. It’s a “winner take all” type of gambling game, and it goes like this:

1. Any number of people can take part.
2. Each player begins the game with an equal number of game pieces (about 10-15) such as M&M’s, pennies, nuts, chocolate chips, raisins, matchsticks, etc. Strip dreidel starts with whatever clothes you have on.

The Hebrew letters on each side of the dreidel have meanings. What comes up when you spin the dreidel determines your next move.
3. If you’re playing for candy or money or other physical items, at the beginning of each round, every participant puts one game piece into the center “pot.” In addition, every time the pot is empty or has only one game piece left, every player should put one in the pot.
4. Every time it’s your turn, spin the dreidel once. Depending on the outcome, you give or get game pieces from the pot. If you’re playing strip dreidel, you gain or lose pieces of clothing. It’s a good idea to have a few hats, scarves, and gloves in the pot to start the game.
So, the meanings of the letter are:
a) Nun means “nisht” or “nothing.” The player does nothing.
b) Gimmel  means “gantz” or “everything.” The player gets everything in the pot. In strip dreidel, there is usually an agreement that this means 2 articles of clothing taken off.
c) Hey means “halb” or “half.” The player gets half of the pot. (If there is an odd number of pieces in the pot, the player takes half of the total plus one). In strip dreidel, there is usually an agreement that this means 1 article of clothing off.
d) Shin (outside of Israel) means “shtel” or “put in.” Peh (in Israel) also means “put in.” The player adds a game piece, or a piece of clothing, to the pot. In strip dreidel, the player puts one piece of clothing back on.
5. If you find that you have no game pieces left, you are either “out” or may ask a fellow player for a “loan.”
6. When one person has won everything, that round of the game is over!
And while you’re playing dreidel, you might want to eat latkes. Here’s a quick and dirty latke recipe in case you want to spend the holiday evening actually partying instead of cooking all night.

First, make some mashed potatoes in advance, say, the day before, and refrigerate them. Take 2 large potatoes, 1 large parsnip, and 1 large carrot. Wash everything thoroughly. Peeling is option – I usually don’t. Cube the potatoes, the parsnip and the carrot and put in a pot. Just cover with filtered water, and boil about 25 minutes until everything is very tender.

Drain several minutes so that most of the water is removed, then put in a bowl. Add one stick of organic butter or earth balance, depending on whether you’re having a meat meal or a dairy meal when you plan to eat the latkes. Mash everything together. You can use a hand masher or a mixer, either way. Let everything cool, either for an hour or so on the counter if you’re going to use them the same day, or overnight in the fridge.

Now, sprinkle the top of the potatoes very generously with:
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Paprika
Salt and pepper
And parsley.

Whisk two eggs, and have some potato starch, matzah meal, or flour handy.

Mix the eggs in with the potatoes, and add the dry meal if necessary to make very stiff peaks. You want it pretty thick, so that it will hold up a spoon you stick into it.

Next, heat your oil in a deep skillet or small deep fryer. When it’s hot, take one spoon and scoop up a generous dollop of mixture, and using another spoon push it off into the hot oil. If you’re using a skillet, use the back of the spoon to flatten the dollop a bit. Fry until golden, drain on a towel, and serve warm. These latkes are usually served at our house with ketchup, mayo, or a remoulade sauce.

Now, for I thought about playing the South Park Dreidel song next, but it’s 2:00 in the afternoon and there might be kids listening to this. Suffice it to say, it’s not really safe for work, either. So here’s a less riske version featuring Ed Shepp, followed by a modern take on an old Yiddish song called “sov, sov, sov - sivivon,” which means “spin, spin, spin” featuring Cobe Jones & Yehuda Solomon.

[Track 2 – The Dreidel Song 1:57]

[Track 3 – Sivivon – The Dreidel Song 3:15]

Third Segment

Welcome back to Kosher Cuisine! Jelly donuts, called sufaniyot in Israel, are another popular dish for Chanukkah.

You will need:

1 scant tablespoon (or 1 package) of dry yeast
4 tablespoons of sugar, preferably organic
3/4 cup of lukewarm organic milk or warm water, depending on whether you are serving these with a meat meal or a dairy meal
2 1/2 cups of all-purpose unbleached flour, preferably organic
A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
2 eggs, separated. That means carefully crack the eggs, and using the shells to corral the yolks, let the whites ooze out into a small bowl. When all of the white has dripped out, then put the yolks into a separate small bowl. They also make a little hand-held thingie to separate eggs, but I have never used one.
You will need 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) of butter or earth balance margarine, softened – depending on whether these are being served with a meat meal or a dairy meal
Get some jars of your favorite jam, like Apricot or strawberry preserves
You’ll need some confectioner’s sugar, to sprinkle on top
And, of course, some vegetable oil for deep-frying
First, mix together the yeast, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and the milk. Let it sit for a while to make sure it bubbles. This is called “proofing” the yeast. If it doesn’t bubble, your yeast is dead and you need to try again with a new packet.
Sift the flour, or fluff it with a fork, then mix it with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, the salt, the cinnamon, the egg yolks, and the yeast mixture.
Knead the dough until it forms a ball. Add the butter or margarine, then knead some more, until the butter is well absorbed. Cover your bowl with a towel and let the dough rise overnight in the refrigerator.
Now, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch on a lightly floured board. If you’re doing a dairy meal, use a clean dairy board. If you’re doing a meat meal, use a clean parve board or a meat board.
OK. Cut out the dough into 24 rounds with a biscuit cutter, a juice glass, or any object about 2 inches in diameter. Take 1/2 teaspoon of preserves and place in center of 12 rounds. Take a basting brush, dairy or parve or meat as is appropriate, and brush some of the whisked egg whites around the edges of the round shapes. Now, do the edges of the remaining 12 rounds, and put the remaining rounds on the top of the rounds with the jam. Finally, press down at edges, sealing the egg white wash together. Crimping with the thumb and second finger is best. Then let the donuts rise for about 30 minutes.
Finally, heat 2 inches of oil in a large flat skillet. Drop the doughnuts into the hot oil, about 5 at a time. Brown them on both sides. , Then drain on towels.
Last but not least, roll the doughnuts in sugar.
And while you’re frying them, here are some traditional Chanukkah children’s songs. These are from an organization called My Torah Learning, which has a great website and sells CDs, books, and toys for teaching children to observe the Jewish Holidays. These two tracks are songs that have been sung by children for generations, and sometimes by adults, too. Enjoy!

[Track 4 – Hanukkah O Hanukkah 2:41]

[Track 5 – Who Can Tell? 2:54]


Fourth Segment

Welcome back to Kosher Cuisine! I mentioned earlier that Chanukkah is often considered the Jewish version of Christmas, but this irritates me. I will confess that my family was one of those that observed Christmas when I was a child – purely as a secular thing, including Santa Claus. But when I became a parent, I decided to do things differently. We still celebrated Christmas with my grandparents while they were alive, but we told our kids that Santa Clause was a game people played with dumb little kids, and we were sure they were so smart they would catch on very quickly. They were satisfied with that explanation – though I’m sure they went around causing mini-crises among their little friends who still believed in Santa.

But as I got older and worked more in nonprofit and social justice, I began to truly question Christmas. I even wrote a blog about it a few years back, which I will quote for you now.

I would like to present a shortened version of a post that I had written back in 2005. However, I think it is still pertinent for today, economic crisis notwithstanding. Many people will put themselves into debt this holiday season - without ever questioning what messages doing so will send to their children.

A lot of Secular, Reform and Intermarried Jews observe the Christmas holiday. They don't, of course, go into the religious elements of Christmas - but they do all the "secular" parts. They attempt to justify this by saying it is not "really" a religious observance, or by saying that it's become an American cultural observance, or by saying that it's harmless fun for kids. Why? So "the kids aren't deprived of their opportunities." Yes, someone actually said that to me.

Opportunities?

Parents tell children the lie - yes, LIE - that "good" children whom Santa Claus "loves" will get gifts - which means, of course, whether it's ever stated aloud or not, that these parents are teaching their children that POOR kids, whose parents can't afford the fashionable expensive gifts, MUST be "bad." Bad by definition. It also teaches kids that their parents are liars. (And then they wonder why their kids become obnoxious teenagers and disrespect them.)

Is a custom founded on lies, deceit, consumerism, racism and class discrimination really something we should be passing on to our kids today - whether they're practicing Jews or not?

And since when is nihilism a desirable character trait? These kids don't ever have to save up half the year to buy gifts for others - no, that's "too much" to expect of children. The parents, however, "must" either save or go into debt so that their children are not "deprived." Deprived of what, exactly? The parents never really ask what it all means, once the religious aspect is removed.

Actions speak so much louder than words, class. Your little brothers and sisters, your nieces and nephews, and your own children are not, in fact, stupid. They have eyes and they can see. And all those things you ignore and pretend don’t matter - well, they do matter. And you knew that when you were a child, when somebody else got all those great holiday gifts that you didn't get - your secular or gentile classmates, or the rich kids whose parents made Chanukkah into another version of Christmas. Remember when someone else got a trip to somewhere great and you didn't? Or when someone else looked down on you because "Santa" obviously doesn't love you as much - or if your family was known to be observantly Jewish, your gentile neighbors or classmates teased that "Santa" didn't love you at all.

This is simply not acceptable in this day and age. Sadistic children's "opportunities" like Christmas need to be flushed down the toilet where they belong.

So instead of doing Christmas, do something else. Go to a soup kitchen and volunteer. Or stay home and play a board game with your kids for a change. Be a rebel - stand up for real values, not crass greed and nihilism. Celebrate the holiday season with restraint and discipline, not hedonism. If nothing else, if your family has been observing Christmas simply tell your kids the truth about "Santa" and explain the concept of a budget to them. Help them make a very short list of gifts that stays within a small budget. If you’ve been treating Chanukkah like Christmas, do the same with a list of 8 small reasonably priced gifts. Make it a learning opportunity, not a greedfest. Make it an opportunity to teach compassion for others, not indulge in greed for the sake of greed.

If you've heavily invested in the lies in the past, you’ll have egg on your face, yes. But better to be honest up front than to perpetuate the lies. Lies only go to bad places, and nobody, secular or religious, needs to go there.

We need to be truthful with our kids not just about Christmas, but about limited resources, about how commercialism and consumerism is a messed up way to run a society, about the evils or racism, classism, and discrimination, and about the real meanings of the holidays, which were never intended to be about getting gifts at all, but about a spirit of giving so that everyone on earth can enjoy the festival time and share equally.

Now, if you found that a bit depressing, cheer up. As Maya Angelou reminds us, before, we did what we knew. Now that we know better, we can do better. Tikkun Olam. And finally, here are two tracks from a group called the Maccabeats, who do nice parodies of pop music in the form of songs for Jewish holidays. These are for Chanukkah. The first is called Candlelight, and the second is called Latke Recipe.

[Track 6 - Candlelight]

[Track 7 - Medley


Thank you for listening to Kosher Cuisine. Next week we will have some more great international food and music and we’ll talk a bit more about food safety and kashrut.

This is Leah Kiser wishing you Sabbath peace, this week and every week. Shalom.

[Hava Nagila fade…]