the eight days (& nights!) of hanukkah

Happy Hanukkah/Chanukah!

My favorite response to the holiday? Always vegan challah!

    

The loaf was hot from the oven, so it steamed up the lens of my camera.

I usually use this vegan olive oil flaxseed challah recipe,

though this time I mixed it up & added 1 head (about 11 cloves) of roasted garlic

& topped the dough with fresh cracked black peppercorns in lieu of seeds.

"This 'double loaf' (in Hebrew: lechem mishneh) commemorates the manna that fell from the heavens

when the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years after the Exodus from Egypt

according to Jewish religious belief" (source).

Okay, so, I'll admit it, I'm not Jewish. However, I took a special interest in Jewish Studies courses when I was at UC Santa Cruz & have a special place in my heart for Jewish history & tradition. Though I am nothing more than a gentile (a shiksa, perhaps?), an old professor once called me an "Honarary Jew" - & I will cherish that title for as long as I shall live.

Latkes, Manischewitz wine, matzoh crackers, vegan egg nog, & dark chocolate chunk cookies after the page break...oh, & an award-winning video featuring yours truly.

Latkes for breakfast! 

with tofu scramble (EVOO, extra firm tofu, spinach, yellow onion, tumeric, asparagus, shredded carrot, 

garlic salt, fresh cracked black peppercorns, avocado, & hot salsa) 

& a toasted English muffin topped with mashed black beans.

It's not Hanukkah without the Manischewitz!

My boy & I didn't see the cherry at our local grocer's,

but we definitely polished off a bottle of grape & a bottle of blackberry this week

(on two separate nights! promise!).

I don't think I'm quite ready to attempt vegan matzoh ball soup

(I don't know why it intimidates me so much - perhaps it's a fear of the matzoh balls falling apart?),

but matzoh crackers have many other delicious uses (Pie crust! Jewish s'mores!).

As for me, I have some avocado, cream cheese, halved grape tomatoes, 

cookie butter, fruit preserves, & dark chocolate dreams peanut butter...

Yippee!

I finally tried out this vegan Matrioshka Eggnog from the PPK!

Thick & creamy - tastes almost like melted ice cream.

Call it "Beg Nog"...'cause you'll be beggin' for more!

There's something about December that begs for chocolate chip cookies!

Just this morning, I baked some vegan dark chocolate chunk cookies -

I modified this recipe by substituting cornstarch for tapioca flour 

& chopping up an XL bar of dark chocolate to replace the chocolate chips.

Keith & I recently won first prize in the Blue Button Video Challenge! A Hanukkah Miracle! 

We definitely celebrated with Manischevitz & several sighs of relief.

Happy Holidays! Keep warm!