Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving, a day of gratitude and one of my most favorite holidays. I love to prepare all of the traditional Thanksgiving dishes and like to try a new dessert or side dish otwo each year. Imagine my disappointment when my beloved stove broke down this week and my even greater disappointment when the service repairman had to order the part which will not be in for two weeks. What to do?

We are hosting a dinner for 12 today and had to improvise quite a bit. My mother will be cooking the turkey and stuffing and bringing it over (along with her famous chocolate cream pie). We had to (gasp) buy some side dishes and pies, which was very hard for me. One of the things that I am grateful for is my crockpots! I ended up roasting six butternut squash in two of them, and also partially cooked the following dish in another. This recipe is for my dad, who says that we are part Native American. My dad is retired, but still works hard every day. Yesterday, he brought over a whole truckload of wood that he cut himself for us. He and my mom constantly make our life better and wonderful and and I grateful for the childhood that they provided for me and my siblings. They surprised us all the time with things for us that they always wanted but could never have when they were children.

This recipe came from a little book called The Plimoth Colony Cook Book, of course, a bit revised. Having spent last weekend in Plymouth, MA watching the wonderful Thanksgiving parade and touring the Mayflower, I am very inspired to work hard and be thankful, like the Pilgrims.

Indian Pudding

4 cups milk
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 cup dark molasses

3 eggs

1 teaspoon ginger

2 tablespoons butter

Scald milk, stir in cornmeal, add molasses, ginger and butter. Let mixture cool for a bit and whisk in eggs. Pour pudding mixture into a buttered casserole dish and place into a large slow cooker. Cook for 3-4 hours on low, or until pudding is set.

An old Plymouth Colony receipt says: "Take the morning's milk and throw into it as much cornmeal as you can hold in the palm of your hand. Let the molasses drip in as you sing 'Nearer My God to Thee,' but sing two verses in cold weather."

Enjoy your Thanksgiving day! Oh, and don't forget to reflect on thanks and gratitude and make sure to tell someone you are grateful. I am grateful for you!

Also, I am grateful for my gifted parents most of all, my wonderful and gifted husband Doug, Molli, Kelly, Carey, Jesse, Jake, Eli, Val, Mark, Mike, Missy, Uncle Dave and all the rest of my family and friends. I am also very thankful to live in our home which we love so much and to be warm and have good food to eat. Blessings!