If you’re an American, this Thursday, you will sit down with family and friends to some rendition of a Thanksgiving dinner. Or you might decide to give Mom/Dad (whoever the cook is) a break and go out to eat this year. If you are carnivores you will consume great quantities of turkey, ham, giblet dressing, oyster dressing, stuffed deviled eggs, and football. If you are vegetarian you will consume delicate, beautiful, tasty dishes made with all the food groups except those that had faces. Football optional.
A bit of trivia: Historical records strongly suggest that shellfish, geese, ducks, swans, and venison were the meats of the first Thanksgivings....then referred to as the Fall Harvest Celebration which traditional lasted 3 days. Here’s how Edward Winslow described the first Thanksgiving feast in a letter to a friend:
“Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruits of our labor. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which we brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others…………”
So venison was a major ingredient, as well as fowl, but that likely included pheasants, geese, and duck. Turkeys are a possibility, but were not a common food in that time. Pilgrims grew onions and herbs. Cranberries and currants would have been growing wild in the area, and watercress may have still been available if the hard frosts had held off, but there’s no record of them having been served. In fact, the meal was probably quite meat-heavy. Likewise, walnuts, chestnuts, and beechnuts were abundant, as were sunchokes. Shellfish were common, so they probably played a part, as did beans, pumpkins, squashes, and corn (served in the form of bread or porridge), thanks to the Wampanoags.
Take a moment this Thursday to be thankful for whatever you value in your life. And I’m not talking material things. Be thankful for your health, your family, friends, your faithful pets, and your crazy in-laws. Be thankful for the food before you….many Americans will not enjoy the plentiful bounty that will be brought to your table. And don’t forget to tell the little ones a story or two!
I myself am thankful for this brain and imagination that I’ve been blessed with. I am thankful for life’s road that led me to this place…not Savannah (lol). I am talking about the path that led me to a creative place where I can dream, imagine and write every day. I am a perfect example of ‘it’s never too late‘ to begin writing. When I retired at age 58 it was then that I began to write with a purpose, to create plays, stories, and poetry.
What am I having for Thanksgiving? I’ll probably roast a boneless Turkey breast, open a can of whole berry cranberry sauce and make a small Caesar salad…..and write!
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”
In addition to my twice weekly blog I will also feature an interview with another author once a month. These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Janet Evanovich, Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Tasha Alexander, Patrick Taylor, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Cathy Lamb, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Raymond Benson, Andrew Grant, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, Walter Mosley, and many others.
So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Patrick Taylor joined us in November. Heidi Jon Schmidt will be under your Christmas tree. Raymond Benson will be my January author. Slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. Raymond Benson is my January author. Sherryl Woods in our Valentine author. Janet Evanovich is March’s author.
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