Happy Hanukkah

Wishing you a very happy Hanukkah, filled with warmth, family and friends.

(photo by anouschka rokebrand, styling by avenue lifestyle. via avenue)

Shop News

I know it's early, but I just wanted to let you know that my holiday card designs are now available for pre-ordering from my online shop here. For those who like to get an early start on getting organized before the seasonal madness begins...

(art by me)

Happy Hanukkah!

Wishing you a very happy Hanukkah, filled with warmth, family and friends.

(photo by anouschka rokebrand, styling by avenue lifestyle. via avenue)

Handmade Holidays

Pretty and easy to make, this handmade gelt is decorated with cacao nibs, orange zest, and candied ginger before being wrapped up in silver or gold candy papers. Find 24 more Hanukkah dessert recipes over at Martha Stewart here.

(photo: aaron dyer for martha stewart)

Happy Hanukkah

Happy Hanukkah! Wishing you a warm and wonderful holiday with family and friends. Have a lovely one.

(photo via lonny)

Weekend

Happy holiday weekend! And a busy weekend for many of us, with Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa all happening close together this year. May it be a happy one for you, filled with friends, family, good food and good cheer.

(photo: house doctor)

Simple Pleasures

Holiday nibbling. Either sweet or savoury and always a pleasure (in moderation, that is).

(photo by jitske hagens)

Happy Hanukkah

A very happy Hanukkah to you — have a wonderful time celebrating with family and friends.

(cast iron menorah available from Food52 here)

Happy Hanukkah

Wishing you a very happy Hanukkah — may it be filled with family, friends, good food and happiness.

(photo via bhg)

Happy Hanukkah

Happy Hanukkah — wishing you a warm and lovely one with family and friends.

(photo via home trends)

Good Cheer: Hanukkah With Yael

For today's Good Cheer post, Yael Berger shares her recipe for delicious root vegetable and zucchini latkes. Happy Hanukkah!

Nothing says Hanukkah like a batch of fresh, warm, crispy potato latkes and for years this delectable dish has been my go-to when hosting a holiday party or bringing a potluck dish to a friend’s house.

But as with many holiday recipes, potato latkes can be a bit heavy and lacking in the nutrition department. So in the spirit of handmade holiday ideas and sharing a new twist on a holiday tradition, here is my favourite latke recipe adapted to include a variety of nutrient rich vegetables.


Root Vegetable and Zucchini Latkes

Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 1 1/2 hours

Yields 5 dozen small latkes


Ingredients

3 large potatoes
1 large sweet potato
1 medium zucchini
1 large onion
1 white turnip
1 rutabaga
6 eggs
¼ cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp baking powder
Vegetable oil for frying
Salt and pepper to taste


1.     Wash and peel all your vegetables and cut into large pieces to fit into your food processor. You can leave them whole if you choose to grate your vegetables by hand on a box grater.

2.     Grate all your vegetables.

3.     Put grated vegetables into a colander to drain the extra water. Let them sit for 15 minutes or so and mix them every few minutes until you don’t see any liquid left in your vegetable mix.

4.     Start heating your oil in a non-stick frying pan on medium-high heat (or two pans to speed up the cooking time).

5.     Transfer vegetable mix to a bowl. Add eggs, vegetable oil, whole wheat flour and seasoning to the bowl. Mix well.

6.     If at this point you notice your mixture is still too wet, you can add another tbsp of flour.

7.     Using a large tablespoon, spoon the mix into the frying pan. For crispy latkes that cook quickly, keep them small, about 3 inches across.

8.     Once the edges look browned, use a spatula to flip them over, about 4 minutes. Let cook on the other side another 3 minutes.

9.     Serve immediately with sour cream, apple sauce or another other creative topping you can think of.

10.  Enjoy!

— Yael Berger

Happy Hanukkah

Happy Hanukkah! Hope it's a magical one.


(photo via martha stewart living)

advertise on automatism

Thinking of becoming an automatism sponsor? There's a couple of ad spots available for the December holiday season — with rates that are perfect for small creative businesses. Find out more here.


(photo via livingetc)

Happy Hanukkah!

Wishing automatism readers who celebrate it a very Happy Hanukkah. May it be filled with family, friends — and good food like these delectable Nutmeg Doughnuts, too!


(photo by Todd Coleman for Saveur)

Happy Hanukkah

A very Happy Hanukkah to those of you celebrating — have a wonderful holiday with family and friends!

P.S. Some very funny Hanukkah stories by Yoni Brenner on the New Yorker site here. Enjoy.


(photo via Martha Stewart. Find out how to the pretty and modern manzanita-branch menorah shown above here)