So, This Is Thanksgiving

Americans love their holidays, and none is more "American" than Thanksgiving. In the year1621, after surviving a brutal year colonizing the new world, pilgrims invited the native americans to join them in a feast of harvest bounty. After 400 years, the origins of the first Thanksgiving no longer matter to most folks. Now, the holiday is just about family and food. 

So, here is a typical Thanksgiving feast, courtesy of my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law.

First, the good china is brought out, and the table is decorated....

Next, every available burner is put to use on the stove. The oven is filled  early in the morning with a turkey. When the turkey is done, rolls, sweet potatoes and dressing have to cook....they are the last things to get done.

Here, there are potatoes boiling for mashed potatoes, fresh green beans are cooking, and a creamy mushroom sauce is simmering.

There are usually so many dishes and desserts that there is hardly enough space to even set them all out in one spot. This is the small table in the breakfast nook. There are four pies, a cake, and cole slaw, along with the uncooked sweet potato casserole and the rolls, all crowded together.

When the turkey comes out of the oven, it has to sit and breath for just a bit before it is carved for the table. I am not sure, but I think this turkey is about a 18 to 20 pound bird.

I am not sure why, but only the men carve the bird....which is fine with me. The women usually start the meal in the wee hours of the morning, so by the time the turkey comes out of the oven, they are glad for any help they can get.

Here is the result of a whole day in the kitchen....

clockwise starting at noon:  green bean casserole with mushroom sauce, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, cauliflower and cheese sauce, and cornbread dressing.

There is no way to eat all the food that has been prepared, so the host family has left-overs for several days.  Yummy!

This is basically all Thanksgiving is about...

There are still some people who remember that the purpose of this holiday is to thank God for his care and his provisions, and I am one of those folks, but when you get right down to it, there is no arguing that most people just focus on the food.

So, I want to take a moment and thank God for all he has blessed my family with. We appreciate all his care, the health he has given us, the family and friends that surround us, and the blessing of living in a beautiful land....
Happy Thanksgiving!