The 8 day Jewish festival of Hanukkah celebrates that there was enough oil to cook in, and light the winter nights. There were no potatoes in the ancient world, and many cultures made "latkes" whether Jewish or not. The original fried treats were most likely made with barley, salty cheeses, turnips, kashi, and then in the 18th century... potatoes! Latke making season is in sync with the end of the olive oil harvest. It was not so important what they were frying, but how pure the oil was they were frying in. This was a celebration of temple quality, fresh pressed, pure olive oil and its many uses.
 
Winter season is dark, cold, and genrally a drying time of the year. It is also a great time to use fresh pressed "temple quality" oil on your skin. Organic olive, coconut, sesame or joint healing ayurvedic mahanarayan oil will help your body keep its luster through the season.

SWEET POTATO GINGER LATKES
Adapted from Plant Based Yogi's Grandma Bogart's Recipe
Ginger is the perfect flavor counterpoint to the sweet potatoes.
This recipe sings with apple sauce!
 
Ingredients:
1 pound sweet potatoes or yams (about 2 medium), peeled
4 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk*
1/2 cup all-purpose flour*
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
non-gmo organic vegetable oil for frying
applesauce

*can be made non-dairy milk & with gluten free flour 

Shred the sweet potatoes with the shredding disk of a food processor or grate them by hand, and place in a large bowl. Stir the ginger into the potatoes. In a separate bowl mix together the eggs, milk, flour, baking powder and salt; fold into the potatoes until mixed.
 
Lightly coat a nonstick cooking pan with oil over medium-high heat until it sizzles instantly when a small amount of batter is added. Drop 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter into the oil for each pancake and flatten slightly with the back of a wooden spoon, making 3-inch pancakes. Cook until golden on the bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. If the pancakes cook too fast or too slow, adjust the heat. Turn and brown the other side, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove to a tray lined with paper towels.
 
Serve hot, with applesauce, or reheat in a 400 degree oven until hot and crisp. Yields about 10 pancakes.

SUCCULENT ZUCCHINI LATKES
with an amazzzzing Lemon Cumin Yogurt!
 
Add a little color to your Festival of Lights with zucchini pancakes. Lighter than potato latkes, they are their Mediterranean cousins.
 
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups plain nonfat yogurt
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
~
3 lb zucchini
1 1/3 cups panko*
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
About 1 cup non-gmo organic vegetable oil for frying

*can be made with gluten free panko
 
Prepare the yogurt suace first. Spoon yogurt to 1/2-inch thickness onto several layers of heavy-duty paper towels. Cover with additional paper towels and let stand for 5 minutes. Scrape/scoop yogurt into a bowl using a rubber spatula. Combine with the next 5 ingredients (through 1/8 teaspoon pepper), cover and chill.

Grate zucchini using medium shredding disk of a food processor. Transfer to a bowl and toss with 2 tsp salt. Let stand 30 minutes. Squeeze zucchini in batches in a kitchen towel to remove as much liquid as possible. Transfer zucchini to a large bowl and stir in bread crumbs, eggs, marjoram, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.
 
Preheat oven to 200°F. Heat 1/3 cup oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Scoop 2 Tbsp mixture per latke into skillet (6 to 8 per batch). Flatten with a fork to form 2 1/2- to 3-inch pancakes. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side (adding more oil as necessary).

Transfer to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet and keep warm in the oven until ready to serve. Makes about 36 latkes.

#BodyMindGifts #IngredientsForJoyAndWellness
#WinterSolstice #ritual #temple #quality #recipes

If you are like me, sensitive to processed cane sugar, you will love this recipe. It tastes so good! You can even eat it for breakfast, as it is easy to digest and doesn't give you the sugar blues. I like it with banana slices added to the bottom & top of the bowl, pouring the pudding in-between. You can also bottle the dry mix and give it away as holiday treats for your friends and loved ones. Everyone from children to adults will love this healthy treat.

Ingredients:
1 cup powdered coconut milk
1 cup powdered date, maple, or coconut sugar
1 cup organic cornstartch
1/2 cup cacao powder
1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder
1 3/4 cups almond milk (or more depending on how much pudding you will make)
1 banana - optional

In a large mixing bowl blend all the dry ingredients together. Seal and save for later or to give as gifts.

To make the pudding, add 1 3/4 cups almond milk + 1 cup of the dry Cacao Pudding mix to a a pot. Whisk to blend while bringing the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and stir constantly for about 5 minutes, or until it is the consistency of mousse or pudding, whichever you prefer.

If you want, slice one banana and add slices to the bottom of each small serving bowl, pour your pudding on top, then add banana slices to the top of each serving. Let rest 5-10 minutes or place in the fridge and let cool completely.

Pictured below is my holiday gift version of this recipe, Reindeer Mousse Pudding. I bought little red noses, eyes and pipe cleaners at the crafts store and used a hot glue gun to add in the faces. The pipe cleaners are twisted around the top with smaller pieces twisted into each antler.

#BodyMindGifts #IngredientsForJoyAndWellness
 #diy #vegan #milkbottle #holiday #gifts

This superfood vegan *egg* nog is sooooo simple to make, tastes delicious, is good for you, & will have your non-vegan friends begging for more. You can keep it kid friendly or add a dash of rum or cognac for your naughty friends on cozy cold winter nights. For parties I double or triple the recipe the night before, as the flavors really shine the next day. I also use it as creamer for my Immune Boosting Yogi Chai.

Ingredients:
1 cup cashews
3 cups purified water (or 2 1/2 cups purified water + 1/2 cup rum or cognac)
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract, bean powder or 1 stick of vanilla
1 apple, no seeds - peeling is optional
1 pinch to a tsp each of: cinnamon, fresh ground nutmeg, & cardamom

Blend, strain (I use my nut milk bag) to make it silky smooth, sprinkle a little nutmeg over each class before serving & ENJOY!

#BodyMindGifts #IngredientsForJoyAndWellness