Thanksgiving Day Symbols - Beans
Posted on November 16, 2008
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Thanksgiving Day Symbols - Beans:Beans are a special symbol of thanksgiving. Native Americans are believed to have taught the pilgrims to grow beans next to cornstalks. This was so that beans could grow and use cornstalks as their pole. Thus American beans are also known as ‘Pole Beans’. Famously known as one of the ‘Three sisters’, beans are a part of thanksgiving feast.
Thanksgiving Day Symbols - Cornucopia
Posted on November 16, 2008
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Thanksgiving Day Symbols - Cornucopia:Cornucopia is the most common symbol of a harvest festival. A Horn shaped container, it is filled with abundance of the Earth’s harvest. It is also known as the ‘horn of plenty’. The traditional cornucopia was a curved goat’s horn filled to brim with fruits and grains. According to Greek legend, Amalthea (a goat) broke one of her horns and offered it to Greek God Zeus as a sign of reverence. As a sign of gratitude, Zeus later set the goat’s image in the sky also known as constellation Capricorn
Thanksgiving Day Symbols - Cranberry
Posted on November 16, 2008
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Thanksgiving Day Symbols - Cranberry:Cranberry, is a symbol and a modern diet staple of thanksgiving. Originally called crane berry, it derived its name from its pink blossoms and drooping head which reminded the pilgrim of a crane. The name was later changed to what is popularly known as Cranberry. Pilgrims soon found out a way to sweeten the bitten cranberries with maple sugar. Ever since cranberry sauce is a permanent companion of turkey during thanksgiving feast.
Thanksgiving Day Symbols - Corn
Posted on October 18, 2008
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Thanksgiving Day Symbols - Corn:Corn is one of the popular symbols of thanksgiving. It came in many varieties and colours-red, white, yellow and blue. Some Americans considered blue and white corn sacred. It is said that native Americans had been growing corn a long time before the pilgrims arrived in their country. The oldest corns date 7000 years back and were grown in Mexico. Americans taught pilgrims how to grow corn and help them survive the bitter winter of 1620. It is certain that corn were a part of the first thanksgiving dinner.
The tradition continues and corn finds its place on every dinner table world over during thanksgiving dinner. Ornamental Corncobs are quite popular during the festival. They are used to decorate dining tables and make harvest wreaths- A popular gift item among Americans. Ornamental popcorns are also widely used. Corn reminds us of the importance and heritage of the famous harvest festival. It also remains America’s foundation of ‘Modern-Agriculture ‘.
Holloween Story and Customes
Posted on October 14, 2008
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Hi, would you like to know the history of Holloween? Let’s see the introduction below:
Halloween is an annual celebration, but just what is it actually a celebration of? And how did this peculiar custom originate? Is it, as some claim, a kind of demon worship? Or is it just a harmless vestige of some ancient pagan ritual?
The word itself, “Halloween”, actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, “All Hollows Day” (or “All Saints Day”), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year.
One story says that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living.
Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.
Probably a better explanation of why the Celts extinguished their fires was not to discourage spirit possession, but so that all the Celtic tribes could relight their fires from a common source, the Druidic fire that was kept burning in the Middle of Ireland, at Usinach.
Some accounts tell of how the Celts would burn someone at the stake who was thought to have already been possessed, as sort of a lesson to the spirits. Other accounts of Celtic history debunk these stories as myth.
The Romans adopted the Celtic practices as their own. But in the first century AD, Samhain was assimilated into celebrations of some of the other Roman traditions that took place in October, such as their day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, which might explain the origin of our modern tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween.
The thrust of the practices also changed over time to become more ritualized. As belief in spirit possession waned, the practice of dressing up like hobgoblins, ghosts, and witches took on a more ceremonial role.
The custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1840’s by Irish immigrants fleeing their country’s potato famine. At that time, the favorite pranks in New England included tipping over outhouses and unhinging fence gates.
The custom of trick-or-treating is thought to have originated not with the Irish Celts, but with a ninth-century European custom called souling. On November 2, All Souls Day, early Christians would walk from village to village begging for “soul cakes,” made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars would receive, the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. At the time, it was believed that the dead remained in limbo for a time after death, and that prayer, even by strangers, could expedite a soul’s passage to heaven.
The Jack-o-lantern custom probably comes from Irish folklore. As the tale is told, a man named Jack, who was notorious as a drunkard and trickster, tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Jack then carved an image of a cross in the tree’s trunk, trapping the devil up the tree. Jack made a deal with the devil that, if he would never tempt him again, he would promise to let him down the tree.
According to the folk tale, after Jack died, he was denied entrance to Heaven because of his evil ways, but he was also denied access to Hell because he had tricked the devil. Instead, the devil gave him a single ember to light his way through the frigid darkness. The ember was placed inside a hollowed-out turnip to keep it glowing longer.
The Irish used turnips as their “Jack’s lanterns” originally. But when the immigrants came to America, they found that pumpkins were far more plentiful than turnips. So the Jack-O-Lantern in America was a hollowed-out pumpkin, lit with an ember.
So, although some cults may have adopted Halloween as their favorite “holiday,” the day itself did not grow out of evil practices. It grew out of the rituals of Celts celebrating a new year, and out of Medieval prayer rituals of Europeans. And today, even many churches have Halloween parties or pumpkin carving events for the kids. After all, the day itself is only as evil as one cares to make it.
Thanksgiving Day Turkey Song
Posted on October 13, 2008
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O turkey dear
O turkey dear
How lovely are thy feathers
O turkey dear
O turkey dear
There could be nothing better!
We celebrate Thanksgiving Day
By putting your carcass on display.
O turkey dear
O turkey dear
You thought we were friends who came to greet you.
O turkey dear
O turkey dear
We gathered here to eat you!
O turkey day
O turkey day
The family is all together
O turkey day
O turkey day
We’ve over come bad weather
Seeing the family is so fab
We’ll see ya’ll again in rehab.
O turkey day
O turkey day
We’ll drink away your memory.
Thanksgiving Day Symbols - Turkey
Posted on October 13, 2008
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Thanksgiving Day Symbols - Turkey:The celebration of Thanksgiving will be incomplete without the legendary Turkey. It derives its name from the ‘turk turk’ sounds it makes when scared. Turkey was at one time being considered as the national symbol of America. Benjamin Franklin felt that turkey was the right choice because it was a good runner and had a sharp sight. A bald eagle later became the national symbol of America.
First Thanksgiving Feast
The famous ‘Turkey’ adorns the table of every household as a main course during the celebration. The customary dinner reminds of the ‘Four Wild Turkeys’ served at the ‘First Thanksgiving Feast’.
It is said, that pilgrims had a feast consisting of cooked turkey after their first harvest in the year 1621, which popularly came to be known as ‘First Thanksgiving Feast’. It continued for three days and included ninety Indians. There is however no evidence to prove that turkey was cooked during the first feast. It could have been Venison-flesh of a deeror wild goose meat.
According to folklore Queen Elizabeth of 16th century England was chewing a roast goose during a harvest festival. During the meal, she got to know that the Spanish Armada, on its way to attack England had sunk. In the joy of good news, she ordered for a second goose. Goose became a favourite bird at harvest time in England. However, when the pilgrims arrived in America, they replaced the roasted goose with roasted turkey as main course as it was easier to find and in plenty.
Today, every house cooks turkey as the main dish during the celebration. It is the main mascot of the modern-day thanksgiving. The festivity completes with the customary ‘Turkey Song’.
Thanksgiving Day Symbols - Pumpkin
Posted on October 13, 2008
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Thanksgiving Day Symbols - Pumpkin:Another modern staple at almost every Thanksgiving table is the customary ‘Pumpkin Pie’. It is not sure whether pumpkin was one of the dishes in the first thanksgiving dinner. Pilgrims probably made a pumpkin dish sweetened with honey or syrup. They were however a part of all traditional meals long before the arrival of pilgrims. Pumpkin leaves were also used as salads. According to historians, other seasonal vegetables included squash. People at that time were not particularly fond of vegetables, they were mostly meat eaters. Pumpkin is one of the important symbols of the harvest festival and has been an American-favourite for over 400 years now.
Thanksgiving Day Recipes 2
Posted on October 12, 2008
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Thanksgiving Day Fun - Thanksgiving Day Recipes:VEGETARIAN RECIPES
» Pumpkin Soup
» Vegan Gravy
» Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Vegetarian Recipes
We have some very interesting recipes for vegetarians. Enjoy thanksgiving day with these tasty dishes:
Pumpkin Soup
Preparation Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups soup stock
1/4 cup margarine
1 medium white onion
3 or 4 cups cooked pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper (optional)
Method of Preparation:
Chop the onion coarsely. Melt the margarine in a large saucepan. Saute onion in melted margarine, add salt, pepper, and red pepper (optional). Cook until the onion is dark brown but not burned, on low to medium flame. Stir frequently and keep covered.
Add the cooked pumpkin and stir in the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for at least 45 minutes, covered, on low to medium flame.
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Vegan Gravy
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3-6 cloves of garlic, minces very well
2-3 slices of chopped onion
1/2 cup white flour (maida)
4 teaspoons nutritional yeast
4 tablespoons soya sauce
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 or 6 white mushrooms, sliced
extra flour or cornstarch (optional)
Method of Preparation:
Pour vegetable oil into a small saucepan. Saute garlic and onion in it for about two minutes on medium flame.
Add flour, yeast, and soya sauce to make a paste. Add water gradually, stirring constantly. Bring the gravy to a boil on medium to medium-high heat, stirring constantly — the gravy has to boil for it to thicken. Add pepper. Stir in the sliced mushrooms, if desired. Add salt,
If the gravy is too thin for your taste, add one or two tablespoons of flour or small amounts of cornstarch to thicken it.
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Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Preparation Time:30 minutes
Baking time :60 minutes
Ingredients:
350 gms firm and drained tofu (Low calorie paneer)
1 cup of cooked or canned pumpkin
1 to 1 1/4 cups brown or golden sugar
4 teaspoons blended “pumpkin pie spice”
OR: 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon ground dry ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoons nutmeg powder
Salt to taste
1 pie crust
Method of Preparation:
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Blend tofu in a food processor or with a blender until smooth and cream-like. Add the cooked pumpkin and blend some more. The result should be a light orange-colored paste with no lumps of tofu.
Put the paste into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar, salt, and spices. Mix well and spoon it into the pie crust; decorate with cheerful shapes of leftover crust, if desired. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until the crusts are dark brown .
Thanksgiving Day(37)
Thanksgiving Day Recipes
Posted on October 12, 2008
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» Cranberry Chutney
» Traditional Turkey sandwich
» Turkey Pizza
» Roasted Turkey with Butter Glaze
» Cranberry-Pecan Stuffing
» Ice Cream Pumpkin Pie
» Crab and Shrimp Stuffed Turkey
» Delicious Baked Turkey
Pineapple Cheese Salad
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
2 cans tinned pineapple chunks, save the juice
1 - 2 cups small marshmallows (optional)
250 gms cheese (paneer)
l egg
2 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch (mixed with 1/4 cup water)
l tbsp. sugar
Method of Preparation:
Put pineapple juice, cornstarch mixture, sugar in a bowl and blend. Add beaten eggs to form a smooth mixture. Cook on slow flame, stirring continuously until the mixture thickens. Let the mixture cool, then add pineapple chunks, small marshmallows and cheese. A tasty salad is ready to eat
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Cranberry Chutney
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
1 Packet (12 ounces) fresh cranberries
1/2 Cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 Cup sugar
1 Teaspoon nutmeg powder
1 Teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 Teaspoon pepper
1 Teaspoon cumin powder
Method of Preparation:
Cook cranberries, vinegar and sugar on high flame in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin and pepper. Simmer and keep stirring until the mixture is of thick consistency.
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Traditional Turkey Sandwich
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-20 minutes
Ingredients
1/2 cup cream cheese/mayonnaise
4 teaspoons brown mustard
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, if desired
1/ tsp ground cinnamon
8 slices Whole Wheat Bread, toasted, if desired
4 leaves curly leaf lettuce
3/4 pound thinly sliced Turkey Breast
1 large apple, cored,cut in 8 rings
Method of Preparation
For Cheese Spread: In small bowl, mix together cream cheese, mustard, dried cranberries, walnuts and cinnamon.
For sandwiches: Spread each slice of bread with cream cheese spread. Top 4 slices with lettuce leaves, turkey and apple rings. Complete sandwich with remaining bread.
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Turkey Pizza
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Baking time : 20-30 minutes minutes
Ingredients
1 baked thin pizza crust (12 inches)
1-1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 can Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic and Oregano
1 cup chopped leftover cooked turkey
1 can sliced black olives
1 cup parmesan cheese
Method of Preparation
1.Preheat oven to 450°F. Place crust on ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
2.Top with tomatoes, turkey, artichokes, olives and Parmesan cheese.
3.Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
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Roasted Turkey with Butter Glaze
Preparation time: 30-45 minutes
Roasting Time: 3-4 hours
Ingredients
1 14- to 16-pound turkey
1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons snipped fresh marjoram or 2 teaspoons dried marjoram, crushed
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1/4 cup bourbon
Salt to taste
2 teaspoon Pepper
Fresh herbs (optional)
Method of Preparation:
1.Combine butter, brown sugar, marjoram, and lemon peel in a small mixing bowl for glazing.
2. Put turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. separate turkey skin from breast meat, with your hands, taking care not to tear the meat or skin. Spread half of the glaze over the breast meat under the skin.
3. Melt and cool remaining glaze. Stir in bourbon. Brush mixture over outside of turkey. Season turkey with salt and pepper. Pull neck skin to back and fasten with a short skewer. Tuck drumsticks under the band of skin that crosses the tail. If there isn’t a band, tie drumsticks to tail. Twist wing tips under back.
4. Insert a meat thermometer in the center of an inside thigh muscle. The thermometer bulb should not touch bone. Cover turkey loosely with foil. Roast in a 325 degree F oven for 3-3/4 to 4-1/4 hours or until thermometer registers 180 degrees F. After 3 hours, cut the skin or string between drumsticks. For browning, remove foil in the last 30 minutes of roasting Turkey is done when drumsticks move very easily in their sockets and their thickest parts feel soft when pressed. Remove turkey from oven and cover loosely with foil. Let stand 15 to 20 minutes before carving. garnish platter with fresh herbs and kumquats.
Makes 12 to 15 servings.
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Cranberry-Pecan Stuffing
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Baking Time : 30 minutes
Ingredients
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped pecans or hazelnuts
1 teaspoon dried sage, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup margarine or butter
6 cups dry bread cubes
Method of Preparation:
1.Saute celery and onion in margarine or butter in a saucepan . Remove from heat. Add sage, thyme, and pepper. Place dry bread cubes in a mixing bowl. Add celery mixture, pecans, and cranberries. Add the 1/2 cup chicken broth, tossing to moisten.
2.Use to stuff one6 to 8-pound turkey. (Transfer any remaining stuffing to a casserole, adding the 1 to 2 tablespoons chicken broth, if desired, for additional moistness; cover and chill casserole until ready to bake. Bake the casserole, covered, in a 325 degree F oven during the last 30 to 45 minutes of turkey roasting until stuffing is heated through.) If stuffing is baked in the turkey, the internal temperature of the stuffing should reach 165 degrees F.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
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Ice Cream Pumpkin Pie
Preparation Time: 20-30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 packet prepared pie crust (available in market)
1 packet vanilla ice cream (softened)
1 can pumpkin
1 cup whipped cream
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Method of Preparation:
1.Fill pie crust with ice cream; freeze until solid.
2.In a bowl, mix pumpkin, whipped cream, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt.
3.Spoon mixture over frozen layer of ice cream in crust; freeze until solid. remove pie from freezer and place in refrigerator one hour before serving. Slice and serve with additional whipped cream, if desired.
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Crab and Shrimp Stuffed Turkey
Ingredients
2 tbs of Butter of your choice
7 cups of Water
2 tbs of Salt
3 cups of Stovetop stuffing
4 cups of Crab meat
4 cups of small sized Shrimp
Method of Preparation:
1. Mix the shrimp, crab and the stuffing mix together.
2. Keep it in a bowl and place it in the refrigerator.
3. Put the turkey in the pan. Put the water, salt and butter in the pan with the turkey.
4. Place in the oven for 2 and a half hours. Take it out and bast it with more water and the drippings.
5. Put back in the oven for another 2 hours.
6. Take back out and take your turkey baister and suck about 6 cups of drippings out and place in a bowl.
7. Take your turkey stuffing and very slowly mix with the turkey drippings until moistened to your liking.
8. Take and place your turkey stuffing in your turkey and finish cooking it until done.
Thanksgiving Day Recipe by Rebecca
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Delicious Baked Turkey
Ingredients:
One un-stuffed Turkey
2 large bottles of kraft zesty Italion salad dressing
Method of Preparation:
- Place turkey in roasting pan, pour salad dressing over the bird. Cover with foil and bake 12 - 14 hours at 180 - 200 degrees.
- Uncover and turn heat up to 35 - 375 degrees and bake for an additional 1/2 hour or so, until golden brown.
- Basting is optional, but not necessary. The bird will literally fall off the bone when you try to remove it from the pan, and literally melt in your mouth. Left overs make awesome sandwiches, enchiladas soups and spreads.
- Do not stuff the turkey, and cut a small portion off the bird (before using dressing), or save giblets for gravy and or stuffing.
Tips:
My wife and I found out the hard way that Italion salad dressing does not make a good gravy or stuffing. If stuffing is desired just bake it in a separate dish. By the way, left over turkey is never a problem in our house since starting this …. guests usually take a giant plate home with them.
Thanksgiving Day(36)
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