Did you hear the news? We’ve been cooking up our first of 3 holiday boxes.
First up: a Clover Hanukkah Discovery Box.

With the help of Rabbi Dolinger, we’ve been on a journey through the beautiful, symbolic, and delicious food of Hanukkah. Think sweet potato latkes with Autumn Hills Orchard apple sauce; matzo ball soup made with Macomber turnips from the fields of Hadley; potato leek kugel, beautiful braided challah, jelly donuts from Union Square Donuts, chickpea fritters, yellow rice, stews and salads, even chocolate gelt made here on the East Coast.

I’m not Jewish but I can’t wait to get this box.

In part because it includes my favorite latkes ever. And I’m a sucker for latkes. We started tinkering with Sweet Potato Latkes back in 2012 when we were serving out of food trucks. This year we’re running Sweet Potatoes from Next Barn Over through a 2mm shredder (which is a bit finer than typical), salting them, and squeezing out all of the liquid. The sweet potatoes are achieving an airy/cloudy texture with a nice crispy exterior and sweet-and-savory flavor. We’re making apple sauce from Autumn Hill Orchard apples and sourcing some beautiful sour cream. They are divine.

But it’s not just the latkes I’m excited about. One of the things I love best about holidays is the opportunity to learn from and connect to others. I have a vivid memory of being introduced to latkes when I was 5 or 6 years old. A classmate’s mother came into school to share them. I still have a clear memory of the smell of the oil and I remember listening as she talked about oil lamps and miracles. I felt special to be included in the celebration. I love this about holidays. They connect us to our own past and traditions while allowing us to share them with others.

In that spirit Rabbi Dolinger is putting together a brief guide to Hanukkah traditions and food history that we’re going to tuck in each box.

We’re building this as a box you could eat as one GIANT feast, or 3 separate contained meals, or you could make a number of snackable moments that stretch over one long day or several days. We have 4 distribution days during the 8 days of Hanukkah. Get free delivery inside the I-495 loop. $110 for 2-people, with the option to order for up to 10 people.

You can order now at order.cloverfoodlab.com (the “Boxes” tab)

PS: Our Christmas Box will be available to order next week (stay tuned). And we’ve had some requests for a New Years Eve box which may come in adult and family friendly variants…