Books We Love Insider Blog: CowboyRomance

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Thursday, November 28, 2024

Thanksgiving Traditions: Family Gatherings, Canned Cranberry Sauce, and The Turkey Pardon By Connie Vines

Once again, it's that stressful yet joyous time of the year. A time we paw through the mountain of frozen turkeys at the local market, praying the one we select will thaw before Thanksgiving Eve.

Each year, Americans in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November.

The preparation of the turkey varies from family to family, state to state, and from traditional to new and improved. And then there is a time-honored tradition that I can't explain or truly understand.

The Turkey Pardon

Each year at Thanksgiving, the president receives a gift of two live turkeys. At a White House ceremony, the president "pardons" the National Thanksgiving Turkeys so they live on a farm.

Fortunately, for the young children and miffed mothers, it takes place several days before the "families' turkey" roasts in the oven.

The Meal

Since my childhood was nomadic, my menu is a combo of southern cooking, cornbread dressing (I do not stuff the bird), collard-green with diced bacon, sweet potato pie, and mashed potatoes. However, my mother's family was Czech. In other years, I made potato dumplings topped with sour kraut, date snack, and my favorite cookies. Kolaches. It is not the yeast roll type in the southern states, but the buttery/creamy cookies you see in Chicago, IL.

And a can of cranberry sauce...

The WishBone

We can delve into this tradition at another time.

Let's focus, instead, on the can of cranberry sauce.

I was never a fan of canned cranberry sauce. Everyone is familiar with the Jelly-like creation, which slides, giggles, and slides off your plate when cut.

The History: Marcus Urann, a Massachusetts farmer and lawyer, created the first canned cranberry sauce in 1912. It appeared on the market in 1941, allowing the product to be sold year-round.

As a child, it appeared on the dinner table every holiday. I vowed to banish it from the world when I became an adult.

Well, I'm sure you can guess what happened...

I married. My husband, from Louisiana, loved fried catfish and preferred canned cranberry sauce to my homemade version (which was delicious, by the way). We compromised. He never asked me to prepare or eat catfish. (It tasted like muddy water, even after I soaked it in buttermilk.) And I never complained about his canned cranberry sauce.

Of course, our sons loved the canned cranberry sauce but agreed with me about the catfish.

FUN FACTS:

🦃A ripe cranberry will bounce.

🦃All turkeys and chickens have wishbones.

🦃Canadians celebrate their own Thanksgiving every October.

🦃Abraham Lincoln declared a national day of Thanksgiving in 1863.

🦃The first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held in 1929.

I hope you enjoyed my post.

Holiday shopping time and Black Friday Events with huge markdowns begin the day after Thanksgiving here in the US.

BWL is having a can't-be-beat sale on all of their EBooks!

From now until Christmas Day (at midnight), the Elves will be busy delivering your purchase. 🧝 🦌🎅🎄

Happy Reading and Happy Holidays,

XOXO

Connie

(the link is below the photo)

Holiday Book Sale!!

Where's Connie?

https://bookswelove.net/vines-connie/

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blogger, Website and

I'm also on Substack connievines.substack.com

Monday, December 28, 2020

It's National Chocolate Candy Day! Celebrate by Leaving Sticky Hand Prints Everywhere! By Connie Vines

NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CANDY DAY is today.

For Chocolate Devotes, this is a Jackpot day, second only to Valentine's Day!

December 28th!

National Chocolate Candy Day offers an opportunity for us to polish off the last of the specialty candies we received as gifts. Celebrated on December 28th, the day points us to the truffles and chocolate oranges tucked into stockings.

Remember to check those boxes of candy that may or may not have guides to help us choose cream-filled or ganache.

The word “chocolate” comes from the word “xocoatl” or “chocolatl.” Mayan “school” means hot or bitter, and the Aztec “atl” means water. Chocolate comes from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia and grows in Mexico, Central America, and Northern South America. The earliest known documentation of using cacao seeds is from around 1100 BC.

But before it was ever made into a sweet candy, it was ground into a beverage. In ruling class society, the beverage was used for medical purposes.

In 1828, Dutch inventor and chemist, Coenraad Van Houten, developed a way to produce chocolate in solid form. His hydraulic press made it possible to remove the cocoa butter from the cacao. His invention leads to producing a powder opening the way for the first chocolate confections. It’s thanks to Van Houten we can enjoy the variety of chocolates we do today.

Chocolate Facts

Whitman’s produced their first box of chocolate in 1842.

In 1847, British chocolate company J.S. Fry & Sons combined cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and sugar producing the first edible chocolate bar.

The invention of the conching machine by Rodolphe Lindt in 1879 ushered in mass production of the creamy treat.

The first chocolate Easter egg was made sometime in the early 19th century. In 1875 John Cadbury introduced his first chocolate egg.

When Allied troops stormed the beach of Normandy on D-Day, part of emergency rations and in soldiers’ packs included the D ration bar designed by Hershey Chocolate company for the U.S. Army.

Americans consume 12 pounds of chocolate each year (5.4kg per person).

Australians consume 32kg of chocolate person person per year.

The British consume an average of 11kg per person per year (3 bars a week).

Canadians eat an average of 6.4 kilos of chocolate a year, which, based on an average bar size, is at least 160 chocolate bars per year, per person.

The Swiss were the top consumers per capita, with each person eating an average of almost 12 kilos a year. That is 26 pounds! Wow!!

When someone says 'chocolate' this is what my mind locks onto:

Who doesn't remember, and still love, this classic "I Love Lucy" episode filmed at See's Candy?

If you love chocolate, you may wish to join in on the celebration.

HOW TO OBSERVE #ChocolateCandyDay

There are so many different kinds of chocolate candy.

What’s your favorite?

Do you enjoy a piece or two or three?

Do you have leftovers?

How do you plant on celebrating National Chocolate Candy Day this year?

Are you hosting a family/ Social Distancing chocolate candy party? This is the perfect way to taste and sample all the varieties. A way to discover new favorites.

Or how about a Zoom tasting event--that's one way to gauge the effects of a 'sugar rush' on your family, friends, and co-workers.

Here's a little known candy fact.

Did you know the center of a Butterfinger Candy Bar contains melted Candy Corn, peanut butter, and finely chopped salted peanuts? Yep. I always ignore the Candy Corn during Autumn , 'cos I don't like/or eat candy corn (or so I thought) Butterfinger Candy Bars happen to be one of my faves!

I'm not a fan of marshmallows but this recipe is delicious. I pour it into a large Thermos and it will stay hot all day! Perfect for an chilly outdoor adventure or sitting in front of a blazing fireplace.