HAPPY THANKSGIVING
By Pam Froman and Karen Trachtenberg
My all-time favorite holiday has always been Thanksgiving. It's football heaven - and no doubt, that almost sick feeling I get from being so full feels perfect once I'm able to recline on a soft couch and turn on the Thanksgiving Classic.
The beauty of Thanksgiving is it's a totally secular time to emphasize togetherness and family, and each family does it differently. Despite any current political climate, it's a yearly reminder that we as Americans are fortunate to have the luxury of existing and thriving here, while observing unique customs and worshipping the way we choose to without being harassed or persecuted.
We all know the Pilgrim story - Plymouth Rock. Indians, and of course the feast. Their story is one that inspires today's staple dishes: turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce. But is that the only way to celebrate a Thanksgiving meal? Certainly not every American is a cookie cutter. We come from different backgrounds and cultures. That is what makes America so great. And that is what we should be thankful for.
Ways to Have a Memorable Thanksgiving
What would Thanksgiving Day be without the NFL Thanksgiving Classic, or College Football's Rivalry Weekend? Depending on whom you ask, Thanksgiving is memorable to different people for a variety of reasons.
Sarah Thurman of Encino states, "After our Thanksgiving meal (with a fully-dressed roasted turkey and an outrageous whipped cream pumpkin pie of course), my family starts decorating for Christmas. Also, a feel-good movie (of the romantic comedy or family type) always makes for a good post-meal activity. If there's time, we take a long walk through our neighborhood and look at the Christmas decorations that have already gone up."
Or why don't you skip town and do something completely different? Carrie Jones of Santa Monica says that this year, she'll be spending time with her husband at a luau in Maui on Thanksgiving Day with her in-laws.
If You Don't Eat Meat
Not a turkey eater? There are several alternatives to spending the day eating fowl and one of them is right here in California: The Celebration for the Turkeys on November 22. This event, being held at Animal Acres, 5200 Escondido Road in Acton, Calif., is specially tailored for vegans and other non-animal eaters looking for a very alternative Turkey day.
At Animal Acres, vegans gather together and eat a traditional non-animal meal. Then, they feed the turkeys! The festive day starts with a tour of the Animal Acres animal sanctuary, which houses farm animals like cows, pigs, turkeys and chickens and advocates a vegan lifestyle.
The day begins with a tour of the sanctuary and is followed by a "Feed the Turkey" ceremony, in which turkeys are fed salad, pumpkin pie and stuffed squash. After the turkeys are fed and stuffed (no pun intended), guests enjoy a totally vegan Thanksgiving dinner, including veggie turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, autumn veggies, cranberry sauce and pumpkin spice cake. Tickets are $35 per person. For more information, please visit:
http://www.animalacres.org
For those who do not want to cook, but prefer staying at home, Real Food Daily (with restaurants in Santa Monica and West Hollywood) offers a full vegan menu for pick-up until Thanksgiving Day. Details can be found at http://www.realfooddaily.com/
Follow Your Heart Restaurant in Canoga Park will also feature a Vegan Thanksgiving Menu for pickup (and will also serve a dinner on November 25-26). For information, visit http://www.followyourheart.com/marketandcafe.html
Who Wants to Cook?
Let's say you would love the Thanksgiving with all the trimmings, but you just don't have the time, energy or skill to create one. Don't overlook a restaurant pick up service. Many restaurants present a yummy meal for takeout. . Everything can be delivered to your door. It's a more expensive way to go so keep your guest list small. You can also set a budget, order most of it, and ask friends to bring a side dish and wine. The order items usually are shipped frozen, uncooked, and oven ready so all you have to do is turn on your oven and set a timer.
Some options include Gelson's, which offers a Jumbo Turkey Dinner ($154.99). The meal includes Roasted Turkey, Corn-bread Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Vegetable Medley, Turkey Gravy, Cranberry Sauce, Gingered Yam Soufflé, and Dinner Rolls.
http://www.gelsons.com/
Wholefood's Market Traditional Turkey Dinner ($99.99) has a menu including Pre-roasted Turkey, Savory Herb Stuffing, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans with Shallots, Turkey Gravy, Cranberry Relish, Dinner Rolls and Maple Herb Butter.
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/
Honey Baked Ham makes the HoneyBaked Turkey® & Turkey Combos. ($103.00) The menu includes an 11 lb. Whole Oven-Roasted Turkey, 2 quarts of Made From Scratch Stuffing, 1 quart of Turkey Gravy, one package of White Bean Soup Mix, a 2 lb. wheel of Baby Swiss cheese and gourmet wafers.
http://honeybakedham.com
So sit back, eat, and relax
Calvin Trillin's Thanksgiving Dinner
Calvin Trillin's wonderful philosophy is that since Columbus discovered America, and Columbus was Italian, a true Thank-sgiving meal should be Italian, preferably Spaghetti Carb-onara instead of turkey. To dress it up a bit, make Salmon Spaghetti Carbonara! Or to stick more closely to a 'true' Thanksgiving theme, add some chopped cooked turkey (or chicken) instead of the salmon.
Un-Thanksgiving
Like vegans, American Indians have a nontraditional perspective on Thanksgiving. For many, the day is less a celebration than a commemoration of what was lost. Once known as Un-Thanksgiving, the Indig-enous Peoples' Thank-sgiving Day Sunrise Gath-ering on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay has been held since the 70's, not long after an Indian group occupied the island in a 19-month standoff. Homage is paid to those who have died defending native lands, and activities include traditional dances by Indian groups from around the country and the world, including the Aztec nation, as well as speeches and prayers by Indian advocates like the actor and writer Floyd Red Crow Westerman.
The event is called the Sunrise Gathering for good reason. The first boat to the island leaves Fisherman's Wharf just before 5 a.m. on Thanksgiving. Despite the hour, in past years more than 3,500 people have attended, filling boats that make numerous trips to the island.
''We've had to turn people away,'' says Andrea Carmen, executive director of the International Indian Treaty Council, which runs the event. ''There's just not enough boat space.''
"I-Only-Have-24-hours-off-for-Thanksgiving"
Even if you leave work Wednesday night and have to be back Friday morning, it doesn't mean you have to skip the whole holiday, and it also means you may have more choices than having a party yourself or going to someone else's house. You can do a paired-down version of the big feast for yourself and your friends-less work but just as much food, fun, and laughs! Find out which friends and other "strays" are in the same time constraint as you and invite them. Tell everyone to come mid-afternoon (you only have 24 hours and you may as well make the most of it)…the only thing they have to bring is a side dish, wine, and a celebratory mood. Make a turkey breast instead of the whole turkey, buy pies, and serve wine and cheese early in the day. Light candles, get some fun games going like charades and scrabble…have friends bring their iPods and take turns playing different guest's play lists.
Give Back
There are over 8,000 homeless people in the San Fernando Valley alone. What better way to spend Thanksgiving than by reaching out and helping them? Here are some ways to donate your time:
San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission offers an Annual Great Thanksgiving Banquet for the homeless and displaced. You can donate a turkey, or volunteer to cook or serve the food at the event. Giving back is a great way to give thanks. San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission,13422 Saticoy St., North Hollywood.
www.erescuemission.org
VCLA - Volunteer Center of L A / Assistance League of So. Cal. is recruiting for about 160 volunteers to assist with assembling and delivering Thanksgiving meals to homebound seniors and disabled people who do not have families nearby. Interested volunteers will be delivering meals at three different areas in the San Fernando Valley, the west valley, mid valley and east / northeast valley areas. Volunteers are needed from 8 am to 12:30 pm on Thursday morning, November 27, 2008. 8134 Van Nuys Blvd., #200, Panorama City.
http://www.vcla.net
In the end, whatever Thanks-giving means to you, it is no doubt a favorite of many, and just the ability to spend time with family and friends is what is truly important. In some ways, we are all like the Pilgrims. Many of us face a daunting trek to get home, but once there, everything melts away as we sit down, together with our families and friends, breaking bread and stuffing our faces around the Thanksgiving table.
Happy Holidays!
Plan Your Own Fun Thanksgiving Reenactment
At your reenactment you can plan a lot of activities!
Dress up. Everyone can dress up as a Pilgrim or Indian. Use that leftover Halloween makeup and paint your face. Staple some feathers to a cloth headband for an Indian headdress. Make a construction paper hat for your pilgrims and dress them in black and white. You'll have a feast that feels authentic for the kids.
Quizzing. Give your kids a history lesson. Hand them out some facts about Thanksgiving. Then plan a game where each team pits their knowledge of the history for prizes. Your kids will never want to learn so much.
Cook like an Indian
Do you have a fire pit in the backyard? Take some traditional Thanksgiving food and have kids cook over the fire. Then tell the kids how their culinary skills are how the Indians did it in the original Thanksgiving. Top it off with some yummy s'mores.
Attack!
The weapons of Thanksgiving can lend to some very fun projects. Take craft materials (construction paper, glue popsicle sticks) or anything else you can find, and have your little pilgrims/Indians create their own versions of muskets and bows and arrows.
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