Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 07:32 AM
What’s your Thanksgiving style?
I’ve talked to so many people about their plans for the holiday. There are The Travelers, The Stay-At-Homes, The Vacationers, The Road Racers, The Cook Two Thanksgiving Dinner-ers, The Lets-Go-Out-To-Eaters and more. In high school, I remember it was a huge event to go to the football game on Thanksgiving morning. Seeing all those alumni come back from college was a very big deal.
I remember the first time I worked out on Thanksgiving morning. 1995. My mother, my sister and I went to a step class – and it was such a novelty. No one really worked out on Thanksgiving morning back then. At least not that we knew of. Now, it’s so commonplace. Gyms and health clubs everywhere host extra-long cardio sessions and boot camps on Thanksgiving morning so that participants can burn extra calories before indulging. By 2004, I was teaching a Thanksgiving morning class. Still today, my husband and I always find a way to squeeze in a workout somehow. Last year, our neighbors took our kids mid-morning once our turkey was in the oven and we went for a 4-mile run. This morning we are headed to our gym’s Turkey Trot workout: an hour and a half of cardio, boot camp, spin and core. It’s a great way to start the day.
Since we’re hosting a small family gathering (10 people) at our house, we’ve been busy, busy getting ready. My husband’s pumpkin pie came out of the oven at 10 pm Tuesday night. And we’ve been polishing the silver and washing tablecloths that have been in storage. Last year, at a neighborhood book club event, I discovered that in my fairly large neighborhood, only one other Mom and I bothered to use our real china, silver and crystal for the holidays. I know it’s a nuisance to polish the silver, and you run the risk of breaking a glass, but I always figure it’s the only time you’re going to use it! Plus, my Entertaining Grandma (who is no longer with us) taught me to always use it. Why let it sit in the china cabinet gathering dust?
Fortunately for me, my daughter was intrigued by the idea of polishing silver. So I hired her! I paid her 10 cents a utensil.
She did a great job!
That’s a lot of dimes…
Of course, this is what my faucet looked like when she was done!
Yes, I bring out my best dinnerware and then I piece together the biggest table I can so that everyone can eat together – even the kids.
My kids have prepared games this year: pin the feather on the turkey and Thanksgiving Bingo. Check out Crayola Free Coloring pages for ideas to keep your kids busy while you get dinner ready.
I expected that my kids would sack out in front of the TV last night while my husband and I slaved away in the kitchen. Not at all! My kids really wanted to participate in the cooking. They each wanted to make at least one of the dishes all on their own. My daughter made the cranberry sauce.
And my son made Cooking Light’s Roasted Green Beans. All by himself! He cut each and every green bean.
And he doubled the recipe. So it was a great math exercise – doubling fractions! He was very proud of himself. And they both can’t wait to show Grandma, Papa, Great-Grandma and their Aunts and Uncle today the dishes they made.
Yes, I guess we’re in good shape for today.
This year, my kids also want to play Wii bowling after dinner. As my son said, “someone is sure to bowl a turkey!”
I guess over the years, our Thanksgiving style has evolved. Now, we’re a family of four, instead of two. The kids have more of a say in our agenda. Before you know it, we’ll probably be back at that high school football field. My son seems to have his sights set on it.
One thing that never seems to change – we have so much to be thankful for. We truly are blessed. And I am very thankful to all of you who stop by and read here every day. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!
Question of the Day
What’s Your Thanksgiving Style?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: thanksgiving
Tags: thanksgiving
Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at 08:16 AM
I love the Boston Globe. The paper version. While I don’t typically get to really sit down with it until the weekend, I always come across interesting articles – like this one on the historical truth of the first Thanksgiving.
So, today, instead of giving you one of my typical “Wordless Wednesday” posts, I thought I would pay homage to the Pilgrims and score the food that historians think were most likely served at the three-day feast in 1621.
The article points out one thing that is very certain: the feast that was shared by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag in the fall of 1621 was nothing like today’s Thanksgiving dinner. Nothing. No pies, no stuffing, no potatoes. They didn’t even have forks. There are actually people who have jobs such as “Colonial foodways culinarian” and “Wampanoag food historian” at Plimouth Plantation in Plymouth Massachusetts who study these things.
So, what did the Pilgrims and Wampanoag most likely eat during the three days of feasting in 1621? An interesting list of foods, most of which have NuVal scores:
- Venison: NuVal score of 37
- Goose: NuVal score of 26
- Wild Duck: NuVal score of 30
- Wild Turkey: NuVal score of 28
- Lobster: NuVal score of 36
- Eel: NuVal score of 59
- Mussels: NuVal score of 51
- Corn: NuVal score of 91
- Grapes: NuVal score of 91
- Strawberries: NuVal score of 100
- Gooseberries: NuVal score of 82
- Plums: NuVal score of 99
- Parsnips: NuVal score of 94
- Collards: NuVal score of 100
- Carrots: NuVal score of 99
- Parsley: NuVal score of 99
- Turnips: NuVal score of 100
- Spinach: NuVal score of 100
- Cabbage: NuVal score of 96 for green, and 100 for red
- Thyme: NuVal score of 91
- Onions: NuVal score of 93
- Blueberries: NuVal score of 100
- Cranberries: NuVal score of 100
- Pumpins: NuVal score of 94
And no, there was no apple pie. Apples are not native to North America – and the Pilgrims had no access to butter.
So basically, the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag ate all these foods with high NuVal scores and played very physical games much like football for three days. Well, actually, the historians believe that the Wampoanag played the football while the Pilgrims did some military exercises, marching around and such (sort of like a walk after dinner?) In any case, it was a pretty healthy feast.
In any case, I wanted to take some time today to remember that first feast in 1621. Thanksgiving seems to be getting less and less attention year after year. It’s like a blip between Halloween and Christmas. Everyone is just waiting for those Black Friday gates to open. Even the radio stations can’t help themselves. I had to blacklist two stations from the pre-set in my car because they started playing Christmas music on November 1st. So, just as I still enjoy the paper edition of the Boston Globe, I still love Thanksgiving-without-Christmas. Enjoy all that you have to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
Yesterday’s Giveaway
Congratulations to Commenter #6 Sue! You’ve won the Dream Dinners giveaway! Lucky you! Please send me an email at abetterbagofgroceries@gmail.com with your mailing address so that I can ship your prize out to you. Thanks to everyone who entered!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: thanksgiving
Tags: Plimouth Plantation, thanksgiving
Wednesday, November 24, 2010 at 08:07 AM
We’re hosting Thanksgiving this year. It’s not a huge affair – just 11 people in total. And they are not a fussy crowd, so the pressure really is not too bad. However, we did just move less than two months ago, so it’s been a challenge to finish getting the last of the boxes unpacked and to locate my turkey roasting pan, roasting rack and favorite serving dishes.
Enter my mother, who has come over on several occasions recently to keep the kids occupied while I unpack some boxes or iron my new drapes (from Target by the way and yes they are fabulous!)
First she and my daughter worked on place cards…
Those are my Target drapes hanging behind them, but I digress!
And then the next thing I knew, my mother and my daughter had concocted a whole Thanksgiving Day plan to raise money for our local food pantry.
You see, my daughter loves to dance. And she loves to put on a show for everybody.
So, the plan is that she will put on her show, per usual.
But she is going to charge all of our guests $1 and donate the money raised to our local food pantry.
She and my mom even made some tickets.
Now, my husband and I did spend a couple of minutes discussing whether or not it is Kosher to shake down your guests for a ticket sale when they are invited to your home for a holiday meal. We actually could recollect being guests at a SuperBowl party and at a summer picnic and being expected to tip young kids in exchange for beer-fetching. Very entrepreneurial! But our daughter’s dance is for a good cause and hey, it’s just a buck. However, I would love for Miss Conduct to weigh in on this if her holiday hosting schedule allows for some blog-reading today.
So, we will have a dance show on Thanksgiving and hopefully, we will raise about $10 for our local food pantry. I already called ahead and we have drop-off time scheduled for Saturday and they are going to give my daughter a brief tour of the operation. I couldn’t help but think what could happen if all the kids in our town put on a little holiday show for their visiting relatives at either Thanksgiving or Christmas and donated the money to our food pantry. We have a lot of kids in our town!
In the meantime, we have a lot of rehearsing to do tonight! And cooking too! But most of all, we have a lot of thanking to do.
I wish you all a wonderful, happy, healthy Thanksgiving and I’ll be blogging next week!
Yesterday’s Giveaway
Congratulations to Commenter #25 Jo-Ann. You’ve won the Food Should Taste Good Giveaway – 3 bags of yummy chips! Please send me an email at abetterbagofgroceries@gmail.com with your mailing address so that I can get your prize out to you. Thank you to everyone who entered!
Speaking of Miss Conduct…
My friend, Miss Conduct, writes the etiquette column for the Boston Globe. She also has a blog (actually two). She has a great question on there today about holiday cards (pre-printed vs. hand-written notes). So if you need a break from food (and I will be on hiatus until Monday) check her out! She’s hilarious!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: thanksgiving
Tags: thanksgiving
Friday, November 19, 2010 at 06:54 AM
One of the cool things about Moving is that you get a bunch of magazines and catalogs intended for the people who used to own your house. Since the people who used to own our house were retired and we are parents of two small children, the interests rarely coincide. Most of the journals that end up in my mailbox addressed to the former occupant head straight to my recycle bin. However, this week, Saveur Magazine showed up and I loved it!
I think one of the reasons I loved it so much is that my magazine subscriptions have been on a downward slope since having kids. Before Kids, I subscribed to Harvard Business Review and made recipes from Gourmet, Martha Stewart Living and Cooking Light. Now, I get People Magazine, Glamour, Redbook and Boston Magazine. At the hairdresser or nail salon, I read Vogue, Self or Shape. I get most of my recipes on the Internet. So it was a real treat to sit and read a high-brow cooking & food magazine, reminiscent of Gourmet (now out of print).
Surprisingly, while at first glance I thought that Saveur was a cross between Gourmet and Vogue, the articles were actually very useful. My favorite was 5 to try: Holiday Helpers. Listed were 5 Cooking Hotlines that you just might need to consult on Thanksgiving Day. They are:
- Butterball Turkey Talk-Line – 1-800-BUTTERBALL or talkline@butterball.com
- Crisco Pie Hotline: 877/FOR-PIE-TIPS or www.crisco.com
- Kentucky Legend Ham Hotline: 866-343-5058
- Loews Wine Line: facebook.com/LoewsHotels
- Ocean Spray Helpline: 800-662-3263
I know that every year, I visit the Butterball site to plan my turkey roasting. I’ve called them in the past too. The Butterball ladies rock!
So, thanks to the former owner of my house for being a Saveur magazine subscriber. I just might become one myself! And good luck to everyone this weekend as you plan for Thanksgiving!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: thanksgiving
Tags: thanksgiving
Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 07:07 AM
What were your Thanksgiving traditions? I vividly remember spending time at my Grandmother’s 1940′s ranch-style house, spending the morning watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on her big color cabinet style television set (no remote back then) while we colored paper placemats with Crayola crayons. Every now and then we’d sneak into the kitchen to steal a black olive or a stick of celery filled with cream cheese, while the delicious aroma of roasted turkey began to fill her little house. These days, so many parents I know (the kind who are blowing out 40 or so candles on our birthday cakes) are enjoying watching all the Peanuts holiday specials with our kids. I think it’s because they take us back to that time gone by. It was a big night when A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving was on TV. You only had one chance per year to watch it back then!
Now, we own the DVD and my kids love all the Peanuts specials, but there is something about the Thanksgiving episode that is so calming, so peaceful. I even have music from the Thanksgiving special (not just the Christmas music – which is also awesome) on my Ipod. I think it is the calm before the storm that the Christmas frenzy has become. I just love that moment when all the kids climb into the back of the station wagon (without seatbelts!) and sing “Over the River and Through the Woods” on the way to Charlie Brown’s Grandmother’s condominium. What an awesome grandma, he had, by the way! Sure, Charlie Brown – bring all your friends over to my tiny condo on a major holiday with no advance notice!
So, for all you Peanuts fans out there, I have a fun activity to do with your kids: re-enact A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving! We did this last year – on Thanksgiving Day, for lunch, actually, because we were having a late dinner. And this year, we will do it on the Weekend Before The Big Feast. Or, my friend Jodie Fitz, suggests, hosting another family for Movie Night, watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and serving this for dinner. Fun!
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Dinner (with NuVal scores, of course!)
Wheat Toast (choose a 100% Whole Wheat bread, such as Sara Lee Heart Healthy Plus 100% Whole Wheat Bakery which scores a 44on the NuVal scale. Most butters and spreads score a 10 and below, so add sparingly).
Popcorn (you want to make it the old-fashioned way, just like Snoopy did. See my blog post comparing regular popcorn to microwave versions. The score differences are amazing. Orville Redenbacher’s Original scores a 91. Microwave popcorns all score a 28 and below).
Pretzel Sticks (Ok, pretzel lovers, you are not going to like this. Most typical pretzel sticks score under a 10. However, I researched the scores and I found that there are some multi-grain and whole grain pretzel sticks that score better. Try Utz Organic 7 Whole Grain Pretzel Sticks with a NuVal Score of 29or Snyder’s Of Hanover Multi Grain Pretzel Sticks Lightly Salted with a NuVal Score of 31)
JellyBeans (Those you see pictured are Mike and Ike’s which get a whopping NuVal Score of 1. So do Jelly Belly’s, Brach’s and pretty much all the jelly beans I researched. Pure sugar.)
Yes, this year, we’ll be having our 2nd Annual Re-enactment of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Dinner. I guess it’s become a tradition. So, someday, maybe my kids will be blogging about how they remember making toast and popcorn and eating jelly beans every year on Thanksgiving!
Question of the Day:
What is it (food, smells, television) about Thanksgiving that brings you back to a time gone by?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Cooking with Kids, Popcorn, Pretzels, thanksgiving
Tags: Charlie Brown, Peanuts, Popcorn, Pretzels, thanksgiving, Toast
