Latke Update

How did the Jewish people make latkes in the desert! Ignore for a moment the obvious difficulties of sour cream refrigeration back then, I am having a hell of a time making latkes in modern times with modern conveniences. Sure, the box grater helps with the potatoes, but have you ever tried to grate an onion? My recipe calls for grated onion, so I grated an onion and let me tell you, if you think chopping an onion makes you cry you should try grating an onion! I'm bawling like a baby and that just makes the odds of me grating my knuckles into the food rise that much higher. Also, I have to thoroughly dry the potato and onion. I don't have a salad spinner so I am forced to ring out my food in towels. Now my towels are covered with shredded and grated potato and onion, and I'm not sure that's going to be good for my washing machine. Also, I think I lost at least 10% of my food just from it clinging to the towels. And I'm still not sure it's dry enough. But I have it pressed in the fridge, waiting to be coated and fried tonight.

Now, Tom has brought to my attention that I may be inadvertently blaspheming the Jewish religion by attempting to celebrate Hanukkah with no real idea of what it's about. But I don't want to cheapen or mock the religion. I just figure that as long as I'm going to have a Christmas hybrid holiday season devoted to a deity-free sense of love and peace and family (well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad, as peace never seems to mesh with family celebrations) then I may as well borrow symbols and foods from Judaism as from Christianity. (Hell, if I knew a Buddhist dish I'd make it too, but all I know is the prayer for the dead, which I chant under my breath at funerals.)

So, am I being insulting, or am I attempting to teach myself a little bit more about a different belief system? I don't think I'm being any worse than the people who eat Chinese take-out on Chinese New Year.