Edible Abstinent Menorah

I saw this greeat idea for edible menorahs on http://www.estherodesign.com/ but it was made with food that I couldn't eat, so I decided to make it with cut up fresh vegetables.  For the flames, I cut slices of carrot into flame shapes. 

I lined up shot glasses in a row with a taller one in the center.  Then I filled each one with a different colored cut up vegetable.  I placed a "flame" cut out of a peice of carrot in the center of each one.  It made a great centerpeice, and a great salad course.

Healthy "Oatmeal Latkes" and a Chanukah Blog Party

On Chanukah many of us who do not go off of their food plans are still busy cooking "regular" food for the rest of their family.  In honor of this I joined the First ever Chanukah Blog party.    If you leave a comment on this or any of the other blogs listed below you will be entered into a contest to win a free Kosher Cook Book.  For more information see below under the recipe.

For those of us who stick to our food plan through thick and thin,  these "Latkes" really do the trick.  They are easy to make and taste "just like latkes".  Even my husband and my daughter tasted them and said that they couldn't believe how much they tasted like regular potato latkes.  The friend who gave me this recipe suggested several alternatives such as grinding dried dates into the mixture and omitting the spices, or use half egg whites and half farmer cheese.  She also told me that she enjoys adding in mashed cauliflower to the mixtures.  The possibilities are endless, the food is delicious, and very healthy.  Enjoy!

2 ounces of oatmeal
4 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup of water
dash of pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika

1) Cook the oatmeal, water and spices in the microwave for six minutes (or in a pot until the oatmeal is soft and the water is absorbed, about 5 minutes).

2)  Preheat a nonstick pan and spray with Pam.

3) Mix the cooked oatmeal with the egg whites.  Drop small spoon fulls of the mixture onto the frying pan and cook until brown and crispy on both sides.

Welcome to our first ever Hanukkah Blog Party, hosted by Leah of Cook Kosher and Miriam of Overtime Cook. It's traditional on Hanukkah to eat fried treats, most notably donuts and latkes, and we've got a fabulous array of Hanukkah themed recipes, treats and crafts from Jewish bloggers all over the world! Scroll down for links to all of the delicious treats. 

To help get everyone into party mode, we have a bunch of fabulous new cookbooks to giveaway! Leave a comment on this post for your chance to win one of:

2 copies of Susie Fishbein's new Kosher By Design Cooking Coach (sponsored by Artscroll)

2 copies of Leah Schapira's  Fresh and Easy Kosher Cooking (sponsored by Artscroll) 

2 copies of Esther Deutch's CHIC Made Simple (sponsored by the author)

Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM on Sunday, December 16th. Limit one entry per person per blog, so visit the other blogs for extra chances to win! 

Prizes can only be shipped within the US. Entries must be accompanied by a valid email address in order to qualify.  Please make sure to include your email address in the comment, or email it to me separately at tioablog@gmail.com.  I need it in case you win a cookbook. :)

How to enter: Leave a comment on this post about what you plan to cook, and what you plan to eat this Chanukah.

Sorry, the contest is over.

This is the second of many fabulous Holiday Blog Parties. If you would like to be added to the mailing list to participate in future parties, please emailholidayblogparties@gmail.com

Stop by the other blogs and check out these Chanukah Themed Recipes:

Latkes:

Jamie from Joy of Kosher made Zucchini Latkes with Tzatziki

Daniel from Peikes Cookbook made Potato and Fennel Latkes Fried in Duck Fat With Chinese Five Spice Apple Sauce

Susan from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen made Squash and Potato Latkes

Samantha from The Little Ferraro Kitchen made Ruby Red Beet Latkes with Cumin

Nechamah from TIforOA Food Ideas made Healthy Oatmeal Latkes

Liz from The Lemon Bowl made Traditional Potato Latkes

Yosef from This American Bite made Latkes & Brisket on Rye

Melanie from From Fast Food to Fresh Food made (I Can't Believe They're Crispy!) Baked Latkes

Laura from Mother Would Know made Three Variations of Sweet and Savory Latkes

Sarah from Crispy Bits and Burnt Ends made Kimchee Latkes

Shulie from Food Wanderings made Baked Panko Sweet Potato Leek Latkes

Donuts and Desserts: 

Miriam from Overtime Cook made Shortcut Cannoli with Chocolate Mousse Filling

Leah from Cook Kosher made 5 Minute Donuts

Estee from The Kosher Scoop made Tropical Fruit Fritters

Melinda from Kitchen-Tested made Sweet Steamed Buns

Amy from What Jew Wanna Eat made Homemade Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Gelt

Avidan from Baking It Up As I Go Along made Orange Olive Oil Cake

Tali from More Quiche Please made Glazed Chocolate Donut Holes

Amital from Organized Jewish Home made Mom's Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

Princess Lea from The Frumanista made Túrógombóc

Stephanie and Jessica from The Kosher Foodies made Beignets

Gigi from Gigi's Kitchen made Bunuelos: Mini Powdered Cheese Donuts 

Esther from Esther O Designs made Edible Menorahs

Patti from No Bacon Here made Hanukkah Oreo Balls

Shoshana from Couldn't Be Parve made Churros con Chocolate

Shaindy from My Happily Hectic Life made Inside Out Apple Crisp

Eve from Gluten Free Nosh made Gluten-Free Hanukkah Sugar Cookies

The Gluten Free maven made Gluten Free Vegan Cake Donuts

Amy from Baking and Mistaking made Mini Cream-Filled French Beignets

Sarah from Food, Words, Photos made Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Victoria from Itsy Bitsy Balebusta made Pure Vanilla Donuts

Vicky and Ruth from May I Have That Recipe made Dulce de Leche and Eggnog cream filled mini sufganiot

Dena from Oh You Cook made Poached Pears in Pomegranate Sauce

Michele from Kosher Treif Cooking made Tiramisu Cheessecake

Sharon from FashionIsha made Sparkly Chanukah Cookies

Appetizers, Soups, Sauces, Drinks and other Hanukkah Food:

Laura from Pragmatic Attic made Caramel Spice Applesauce

Jessie from Bread and Butter made Honey Spiced Hanukkah Martini

G6 from Guess Who's Coming 2 Dinner made Sweet Potato Leek Soup

Claire from I Love Soup made Sweet Potato, Coconut & Lemongrass Soup

Jennifer from Juanita's Cocina made Kugel

Liz from Kosher Like Me made Ready, Stuff Roll!

Shelley from The Kosher Home made Hanukkah Crafts and Printables

Abstinent Fruit Tart

6 bananas
1 cup of applesauce (unsweetened)
5 pears or peaches
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 tsp sugar free vanilla
cinnamon to taste

Grind the bananas, applesauce and vanilla in a blender of food processor.  Spray a 9 by 13 pan with pam (I line it with baking parchment also).  Sread the mixture in a thick layer in the pan.  Slice the pears or peaches and arrange them nicely on the mixture. Sprinkle with cinamon top with blueberries.  Bake at 325 for 2 to 2 1/2 hours until the bottom becomes firm.  Alternatively you can put it in the oven late at night before you go to sleep at 175 degrees and take it out when you wake up in the morning.  Slice it into squares and serve.

Sweetener Free Ginger Ale

One inch of ginger root sliced thin
5 whole cinnamon sticks


Boil Cinnamon and ginger in a pot with about a quart of water for a half an hour at a slow boil.  Cook and mix with water or seltzer to taste.Sweetener

Abstinent Kugel-Just Veg

1 Kabuki Squash

1 Butternut Squash

One large Bag frozen broccoli and cauliflower

2 Large onions, cut small

2 red peppers cut small

Bake the 2 squashes and the broccoli and cauliflower in the oven at 375 for about and hour and a half until they are soft.  While they are baking saute the onions and peppers in spray oil on a slow flame. 

Puree half the onion and pepper mix with the 2 squash insides and spread in a large baking pan.  Puree the rest of the veg with the broccoli and cauliflower and spread on top. Bake for an hour at 350. 

This freezes really well.

Two colored Squah

http://overtimecook.com/2011/09/01/two-colored-squash-with-shallots-and-herbs/

Another great idea from the overtime cook-just use spray instead of oil.

Butternut Squash Fries

http://overtimecook.com/2011/11/17/baked-butternut-squash-fries/

This works if you spray it with Pam instead of mixing it with oil.