SWEETNESS AND LIGHT

'Tis the season of lights when Jews commemorate the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, in the 2nd. century BCE.  Rather than being a celebration  of a of the military victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian army of Antiochus IV Epiphanes,  Hanukkah commemorates a miracle. According to the Talmud,  after the Temple had been cleansed, what was left of  consecrated  olive oil was only enough  to light the eternal flame for one day. Miraculously, it burned for  for an entire week. To me, freedom of worship is the  real miracle. As a descendant of Sephardic Jews, Hanukkah is a time of reflection and joy for me.

 To celebrate the sweetness of freedom, I made cranberry relish spiced with cinnamon and jazzed up with golden rum. It  makes a good filling for sufgnayot, the jelly filled doughnut tradutionally served at Hanukkah, but folks who celebrate the winter solstice and Christmas, are welcome to the recipe.I plan to try the same recipe with kumquats instead of oranges.

SWEETNESS AND LIGHT

1 package fresh cranberries

Two oranges, minced

 Three quarters of a cup water

One cup sugar

Half a cup rum

1 teaspoon almond extract

A pinch of grated Saigon cinnamon

Bring water and sugar to a boil. Allow it to boil for ten minutes. Add cranberries, orange, rum, almond extract and cinnamon. Reduce heat to medium and cook for ten minutes, stirring frequently. Let it cool to room temperature before refrigerating.

SOURCING THE TRAPPINGS OF ECUMENICAL FESTIVITIES

Below, leftt--boorzhui tchotkes Lenin would have hated, but Lenin is dead. Painting by Charlie Shobe, bowl, Morocco, red Hungarian (?) cloth, ebay, silver,pre-war Poland, candlesticks, Portugal, lamp, a 79 cent find at the Goodwill. Cat cutouts, England. Painting, Charlie Shobe. Pine cones from our garden. Rocking horse, Germany.

Long ago, a mouse gnawed a hole in the back of the old pie safe below. Now it is a desirable antique.

Left---Portuguese lamp, Goodwill, Murano paperweight from WV flea market, pitcher from K-mart, fish batik from Ginza, in Georgetown, MD. Homely painting, New England flea market, Hanukkiah, Pottery Barn, boxes are gifts friends brought from India and Iran, old Heinrich tureen is from ebay and pewter objects come from Holland via the US Virgin Islands.

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My friend Margaret made us this Winnie the Pooh. He sits on a Big Lots chair. She Who Will Not Be Named gave us the locally made glass ornament.The tortoise shell glass goblet comes from the Goodwill thrift shop. Little houses from tag sales, trees, Big Lots, Eiffel tower ornament, Restoration Hardware.