Isn’t bad enough that every year I have to swim thru the anxiety of how to spell Channukah? Seriously, I have never spelled the word the same way two times in a row. Even the different “spell checks” can’t agree. Then there is this… the central festival food for the Holiday is latkes(that’s potato pancakes to you heathen)! Latkes! A side dish!! This is something to build a holiday meal around? That’s fine with me… give me a plate of hot latkes, a quantity of sour cream and I’m a happy citizen. Then we can sit around the table, play the dreidel game for 2 minutes and listen to our arteries congeal.
The dreidel game I can do without; but I confess, I love latkes… healthy or not. But now we have to endure countless recipes trying to make the dish healthy. In theory not a bad idea… too bad that these healthy recipes strip away the flavor and the fabulous greasy character that make the dish so desirable.
But Martha Stewart was not to be deterred by traditional-latke-lover-naysayers. From her kitchen we have a latke recipe that replaces potato, onion and other essentials with tofu, shredded bean sprouts and shallots. Oh, yum (I think it’s time to convert)!
I have seen the end results of this recipe, and I can think of at least three alternative uses for the finished product: A replacement for a “cow chip” in a cow chip throwing contest; A wedge to place in back of a tire of a ten-wheeler to keep a truck from rolling backward on a hill; Make a single pan-size one, and use it as a seat cushion for those recovering from hemorrhoid surgery.
Thank you Martha Stewart!
And to add cheer to the Festival of Light this year, you can go to YouTube and watch Keith Richards play the dreidel song! I’m a happy guy! Happy Holidays to all!
