Chanukkah, oh Chanukkah...

It's here! It's here! Chanukkah is finally here! We light our first candle tomorrow at sundown! And make LATKES!!

What? Really? You don't know what latkes are?? Well, bubbelehs, let Bubbe rectify that situation right now.

Latkes (pronounced "lot'-kuhs") are the ultimate yum in GF/CF/SF kid-friendly food! They're a bit like hash browns. Only bigger. And we eat them for dinner. There are all kinds of variations on original latkes, but traditional latkes are simply potatoes fried in oil with a bit of salt and pepper and an egg to hold it together. Onion if you like it. (Bubbe likes it.)

They can be eaten plain, or with jam, or sprinkled with sugar, or for those who can do dairy, with sour cream. Sour cream AND sugar. Pumpkin butter. Apple butter. Ketchup. Mayonnaise. Really, whatever you want to put on it! But traditionally they're topped with jams, granulated sugar (the texture of the sugar is a sensory pleasure), and/or sour cream.

Historically, latkes are a tradition that comes out of Eastern Europe. At winter time, there wasn't a lot of flour or fresh vegetables, but root vegetables, tubers, they were still in plentiful supply. So potatoes feature rather prominently in Jewish food for winter festivals.

And remember, Chanukkah is the festival of light (from oil), and so we eat foods fried in oil, so potatoes + oil = latkes.

So I won't keep you in suspense any longer, bubbelehs. Here's a traditional latke recipe:

• 3 large potatoes
• 1 small onion
• 2 beaten eggs or equivalent egg replacer
• 2 tablespoons GF flour (whatever you have on hand or just leave it out)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pinch pepper
• 1/2 cup oil

Wash the potatoes very well, but don't peel them. Grate coarsely into a bowl. Grate in the onion. (Use a grater, not a food processor.)

Add the beaten eggs, flour, salt, and pepper. Let the mixture sit for ten minutes to thicken. Pour off excess liquid.

Heat the vegetable oil for one minute in a frying pan, then drop small spoonfuls of the mixture into the pan. When the pancakes are brown around the edges, turn and fry them until the other sides are crispy. Drain on paper towels.

Not to your liking? Want something more unusual than the traditional? Maybe you'd like one of these.

Chappy Chanukkah, my bubbelehs!