Malke used pepper, but Yentel objects to that too, and uses salt, as always. Next Malke used flour, but Yentel uses bread crumbs like always. 'Who ever heard of using scallions instead of onions!' She uses an onion, as always. His wife Yentel says, 'Some secret recipe.' The recipe calls for 5 potatoes and 2 eggs. He writes down everything she does.īerel gives the paper to his wife. To ensure that he will again eat latkes that taste like clouds, he hides behind a tree outside Malke's kitchen until she starts cooking. Finally, Berel the shoemaker could stand his wife's heavy latkes no longer. In their memories, the Chelmites remember Malke's latkes tasting even better than they did.

As a young bride, she would let people taste them, but afraid that people could taste each of her ingredients, she closed her doors to all but her own. 'I may be a poor woman, but I make the best latkes in Chelm, and I'm the only one with the recipe,' she says. Malke, the tailor's wife, guards her recipe with her life. While we may love it, it's simply not our holiday.In this darling tale of Chelm, where the not-so-wise-men live, everyone has their recipes for Chanukah latkes. But, neither my husband nor I were raised celebrating Christmas and we don't celebrate Christmas in our own home now. I enjoy seeing all the decorations, learning about the family traditions of our friends and watching the Nutcracker performed by the San Francisco Ballet.

I love Christmas and the beautiful story of the nativity. I always walk away from these exchanges marveling at the assumption that everyone in the world celebrates Christmas and that any child who lacks a Christmas Tree must surely be deprived.

A look of pity creeps into the faces of these strangers when I tell them that, instead of Christmas, we celebrate Hanukkah. I smile sweetly (to cover my slight grimace) and confirm that, indeed, we do not celebrate Christmas. You should see the looks of incredulity, perplexity and slight horror on their faces when he answers with a funny grin, 'I got nothing for Christmas.' They look back and forth from his face to mine, having trouble imagining how this could be so. after Christmas) it often occurs that kind, well-intentioned strangers will ask my older son what he got for Christmas. When we are out in public during the latter days of December (i.e. It's not easy to be a family which does *not* celebrate Christmas.

Malke's Secret Recipe by David A. Adler