...or at least un-Feldman family when...

Thank goodness Hanukkah has finally come to a close. If it lasted any longer, I might have been forced to walk around pants-less.  While everyone talks about the "Festival of Lights," the "Festival of Oil"  and the "Fry Fest" are usually less talked about.  This does NOT mean, however, that they are less celebrated.

I grew up in a house with a two-doughnut-per-year rule.  During the few years that I followed it (sorry Mom), that would mean that I couldn't get a doughnut both times throughout the summer my camp bus stopped at Dunkin' Donuts if I had already had a doughnut once before (which was usually the case come summer).  Luckily by the time we went to New Orleans as a family, the rule was on hiatus.  I think we reached our two doughnut limit within the first four hours sitting at Cafe du Monde.  When we returned a few years later, the rule was still no where to be seen.  And in Israel, I think it just doesn't exist.

My parents came to visit a few years ago during Hanukkah, and we had quite a few sufagniot (doughnuts--often filled with jelly or other yummy fillings).  It is a holiday tradition to eat food fried in oil (potato pancakes too!) and Israelis go all out with the doughnuts.  This year, they crept up in OCTOBER, even before Christmas decorations and sales in the States.  I, like last year, executed immense self-control, though, and did not partake of the holiday treat until the holiday itself--until the second day of the holiday, in fact.  But from there it was downhill.  I decided I was going to bring sufganiot to work, so of course I had to taste one before investing in two dozen.  The first one I tasted (a chocolate one) was rather disappointing, so I had to have another (a caramel one).  This one was pretty good, so I stocked up.  The count was already at two--done for the year.

The next day, the stock of doughnuts came to work with me.  Vanilla cream-filled doughnuts go really well with a cup of coffee (3), and a doughnut before class is always delicious (a friend and I went halfsies on a caramel one and a chocolate one; 4).  A half of a sufganiah heated up in the microwave while cutting the communal salad  made for a great appetizer (4.5), and the other half for dessert (5) was a must.  And of course, that night at a party I couldn't not have a bite of a fresh doughnut from a well-known bakery (5+).

The next day, there were also sufganiot at work (7+), followed by a short one-day reprieve (if I remember correctly).  The next day though, was a killer.  I had two sufganiyot tasting parties.  At the first, I had halves of four different doughnuts (pistachio, cream, chocolate, and a frosted and sprinkle-y one with an unidentifiable filling; 9+), and then I went out with a friend for the "best sufganiot in town."  And they were delicious.  I had a Belgian chocolate one (10+) and my friend had a halva one.  It was a good note to end on!!  At a party the next night, I opted out of a sufganiah, and I even saved a very highly reputed bakery's sufganiot for next year's taste test.  While two doughnuts a year is a bit of a low allowance, I think staying under ten( or at least 10++) is a good goal.  Below are some pictures from the end of Hanukkah.