Take Back the Kitchen’s Alma Schneider shares her fabulous potato latke recipe
I love latkes for Chanukah, but it’s the fried carbs I can do without. What’s a girl to do? Well, how about change the ingredients to beets , carrots, parsnips and yams? I feel Jewishly virtuous already! Enjoy….
Potato Latkes (or beet with yams, carrot with parsnip):
4 large baking potatoes or red potatoes, peeled and grated or shredded in a food processor (can also get creative with some shredded carrot, shredded sweet potato or zuchini thrown in there in place of some of the potatoes) or use one shredded large beet with one large shredded yam plus separately, one large shredded carrot with one medium shredded parsnip
1 1/2 small onions, finely chopped or processed in a food processor
4 rounded TBS flour
2 beaten eggs
pinch baking soda
pinch of salt (more to taste after they are done)
2/3 cup canola oil
12″ frying pan (I use cast iron)
In a big colander, add shredded potatoes and onion. Press out as much of the liquid as you can. Transfer to a large bowl and add the beaten eggs and stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add dry mixture to wet and stir until combined.
On a cutting board or plates, mold some latkes, I do 3-4″ wide, about 1/2-3/4″ thick.
Place skillet over medium to high flame. After a minute or two, add the oil. Let heat up for a few minutes and when you throw in a piece of the potato and it sizzles, you are ready to fry!
Place in as many latkes as will fit in the pan by sliding them off the plates with a spatula, allowing an inch or so of space in between so you have room to flip them and so the temp. of the oil won’t go down too much. This higher temp.will also keep the latkes from getting overly greasy and soggy.
Line a plate with paper towels. Fry for about 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown and then place on paper towel lined plate. Eat immediately with the traditional sour cream or applesauce or any other condiment. In my house it will most certainly be sour cream and ketchup, although I also tried them with my apple cider reduction which was phenomenal…
For more great recipes, visit Alma at Take Back the Kitchen.
Introducing the Holi-Daze Issue Of Project You
We’ve been working like elves these last few months and are beyond thrilled to share our latest issue of Project You featuring contributions by some of our favorite blogging moms, including Dawn and Elizabeth at Partybluprints, Sarah at Genesis Moments with photos by JoLynne at Musings of a Housewife. Kelly at Centsible Life offers fabulous tips on saving money during the holidays, while Julie at Wii Mommies shares how you can stay fit even when you’re feasting on holiday food.
Plus, we’ve got tips on how to celebrate the holidays the eco-friendly way; a celebrity profile of “The Talk” co-host Sharon Osbourne and an inspiring interview with Mommy Niri. What are you waiting for? Dive in and enjoy!!!
ABCmouse.com… Learning can be fun kids!
After three years in development, testing with 10,000 families and many educators, a new educational website was recently launched for children ages 2 – 6. The goal of this new and unique learning experience is to “help children build a strong foundation for future academic success by providing engaging educational content that supplements and supports preschool, pre-k and kindergarten programs. The site’s comprehensive curriculum, developed with leading education experts, includes all generally accepted subjects of early childhood education–with each subject taught through a wide range of learning activities.” That’s all fine and good but what really matters is what my 3 year old son and 6 year old daughter think… They loved it! First they each got to pick an Avatar of themselves and a specific teacher which was so much fun. Then I got to pick what level they should be at- that way they will be playing games and learning at their correct academic level. It is so easy to navigate, very colorful and pleasing to look at.
I love the fact that it is child safe with no advertising, no pop-up ads and no external links. It makes me feel more comfortable if I have to walk away for a minute, I can leave them and not worry what they may accidentally click on. The program keeps track of the child’s achievements and even awards them tickets. It really makes learning fun. There is also a way to get extended family involved with the site’s easy-to-use, safe and secure, proprietary messaging system through which the child can share completed educational lessons and artwork, as well as send and receive audio, video, and text messages. Family members can also record and save the readings of books and stories for the child–a feature especially loved by grandparents who may live far away from their grandchildren.
It amazes me how young children are so obsessed with using the computer (i touch, i phone, i pad, blackberry etc…) and that most 2 year olds can use a mouse like a pro! But that’s the world we live in today… so since my kids are always begging me to “play” on the computer I am so happy to have this new site they can go to and play away. I don’t need to tell them they are actually learning, right? 😉
Subscription options for ABCmouse.com are $7.95/month and $79.00/year. You can also give a gift certificate which would make a great holiday gift!
For more information visit their website at www.abcmouse.com