Be Thankful

by Chelsea Rhae Childers Rowan Public Library

After Halloween and before the Christmas tree goes up, don’t forget to be thankful! Every year the spooky costumes and candy bustle in a new desire to be on Santa’s good list. With all the disasters going on around us, it is important to stop and think about how blessed we are. Too often the holidays exhaust our anxieties, bank accounts, and minds! Don’t overlook a chance to be thankful for the blessings all around. Be grateful for the little things we might take for granted such as electricity and running water. Make time to show someone they are appreciated. Thanksgiving began as a day to give thanks for the harvest. What better way to celebrate than to cook up some traditional Thanksgiving dishes? “Thanksgiving Dinner” is generally referred to as a feast. There are too many items on the menu to cover, but here are a few with some history. While the “first Thanksgiving” was not even called that and not annually celebrated until much later, we can’t help but picture the Pilgrims and Native Americans gathered around a big table together. More information on the history of this holiday can be found at the library.

Let’s start with the turkey. William Bradford accounted in his journals that the colonists hunted wild turkeys in the fall of 1621. Since turkey is a uniquely American bird, it became the popular meal of choice after Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. A turkey is usually large enough to feed many people, making it ideal for family gatherings.

Succotash is an authentic Thanksgiving dish combining sweet corn and lima beans. Tomatoes, green or red peppers and okra may be added. The casserole form, with a light pie crust on top, resembles a pot pie. Beans, tomatoes, and peppers were New World foods, distinguishing this dish as American. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language says that the English word “succotash” comes from the Narragansett Indian word “sohquttahhash” which means broken corn kernels. There is substantial historical evidence this was served at the first Thanksgiving in 1621.

Add succotash to your own table this year with my tasty recipe:

Ingredients:

• 6 slices bacon cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 (16 oz.) package frozen or 2 cups fresh butter beans
• 4 ears fresh corn kernels cut from cob
• 4 large fresh tomatoes cut into chunks or 1 package cherry tomatoes halved
• 2 cups sliced okra
• 1 clove fresh garlic, minced
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon basil
• Dash of smoked paprika

Directions:

1. Cook bacon in large skillet and set aside, leave drippings in pan.
2. Sauté onion and garlic in hot drippings over medium heat 5 min.
3. Stir in corn cook about 6 min. stirring often.
4. Pour in chicken broth, beans, and okra.
5. Add butter, basil, and tomatoes. Cook for about 10 minutes or until everything is tender but not mushy and most of the liquid has evaporated.
6. Pour into serving bowl and crumble bacon on top, then sprinkle with smoked paprika.

For a vegetarian option, replace chicken broth with veg broth. Omit bacon and replace drippings with 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Green bean casserole is delicious and has been known to convince most children to eat their vegetables. Invented in 1955 by the Campbell Soup Company to promote the use of cream of mushroom soup, this was the ultimate casserole. It was originally called the Green Bean Bake and contained these six ingredients: cream of mushroom soup, green beans, milk, soy sauce, pepper, and French’s Fried Onions. This recipe is still available at www.Campbells.com.

Pie anyone? The first pies were filled with meat! The colonists would not have had the butter or flour needed for the crust, and certainly not the sugar. So why do we eat pie on Thanksgiving? Sarah Josepha Hale, a widow with five children, was a huge fan of this holiday. She worked as a writer and magazine editor to support her family. Hale lobbied for 17 years for Thanksgiving to become a national holiday as she thought it would help unite the country as a moral benefit for families and communities. Lincoln’s declaration of the last Thursday in November (changed six years later to the third Thursday) as a national day of Thanksgiving was then promoted by Hale when she published recipes for turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. According to Eating in America: A History, "Both squash and pumpkin were baked, usually by being placed whole in the ashes or embers of a dying fire and they were moistened afterwards with some form of animal fat, or maple syrup, or honey." It's likely that Hale was inspired by those stories when pumpkin pie appeared in her culinary descriptions.

Here’s a fun Pumpkin Sugar Cookie recipe, courtesy of Aida Garwood in the Children’s room.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup unsalted butter
• 1 Cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 Cup pumpkin puree

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Mix in a bowl butter (room temperature) and sugar until smooth, at least 3 minutes. Mix the pumpkin puree until smooth.
3. Beat in vanilla extract and egg.
4. In a separate bowl combine baking powder and salt with flour and add a little at a time to the wet ingredients. The dough will be very stiff. If it becomes too stiff for your mixer turn out the dough onto a countertop surface. Wet your hands and finish off kneading the dough by hand.
5. Chill the dough 20 min. Divide into workable batches, roll out onto a floured surface and cut.
6. Bake at 350 for 7 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack. Yields about 36 cookies.

A wonderful children’s book about the woman who saved Thanksgiving is, Thank You, Sarah by Laurie Halse Anderson, and can be found at all 3 branches of the library. A few more seasonally related children’s books are:  All of Me! A book of thanks by Molly Bang, Thank You for ME! By Marion Dane Bauer, In November by Cynthia Rylant, and Run, Turkey, Run! By Diane Mayr.

Thanks for being thankful this holiday season and we hope to see you at the library soon!