Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah

Tonight is the last night of the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah.

For our wedding, my aunt gave us a Hanukkiah that burns oil. It is the most beautiful on the last night when all eight places have light. (And, notice the snow in the background! Could I ask for a better picture?)

I always like when Hanukkah falls around Christmas, for some reason it feels more festive when everyone is in the mood to celebrate!

On Friday we were invited, for the second time, for Shabbat dinner at Rabbi and Ester Goldstein's house (sorry, no photos allowed on Shabbat). But we had a wonderful time, as always, enjoying the food and the company. The Rabbi also offered some insight into Hanukkah that I had not considered before. He said that Hanukkah is like a metaphor for life for two reasons: 1) a small amount of light illuminates a large darkness, and 2) just like we light another candle every night, we can never stop our efforts in life because the next step always takes a little more. I liked that a lot.

On Saturday Veronika and Freddy hosted a "Latka and Elf" party at their house and I went over a little early to help prepare the latkas. (For those who don't know, latkas are special potato pancakes that we eat on Hanukkah.)

We began by peeling all of the potatoes.

Then we grated them.

Head Chef, Veronika

In between we took some funny pictures.

Sonya Posing

Happy Hanukkah, Freddy!

We mixed in eggs, onions, salt, and flour (Gluten free for me!). It was a group effort.

Veronika and me

Anna doing a good job on the mixing.

And then? We fried 'em!

Kiril took over the messy part.

Kiril on regular and me on the gluten free version.

Finally, they were ready to eat!

Yum!

Part of the feast Veronika prepared for us!

Dessert was even more spectacular! Veronika very graciously and considerately baked me my own gluten free pastry - everyone else had to share a regular one. It was soooooo good. One of the best GF pastries I've had. Veronika, I need to get this recipe from you – thank you so much for thinking of me!

Both in the oven.

Special GF one.

Regular one.

While we enjoyed our dessert we had a group viewing of the movie "Elf," which was actually pretty funny. It was a great night with good friends, yummy food, and fun entertainment!

Today we are having snow, and lots of it, but it's not quite cold enough to stick. Tomorrow's high will be 27°F, but it's supposed to be clear, so we're planning on taking Jake's mom on a tour of the college and Downtown. Count on some photos coming!

Happy last day of Hanukkah!