Thanksgiving 2011

We celebrated Saturday-After-Thanksgiving at our house in Oshkosh with family and friends--lots of food, my "new" $5 rummage sale China (Thank you, La Voisine), and these glorious cranberries.

Wanna know what we DO with these cranberries? Try this recipe.


Unca "Rainbow" Ray, My Mom and Dad, Seth, Rosita, The Family Jage, and Rieko the exchange student from Japan. We had a houseful with a cheery fire and a full table. CL even got up early to put the turkey in the oven by 7 am. My Mom and Dad experienced round-abouts for the first time. I guess we should have warned them about the changes to the area roadways ... Oops!


Unca "Rainbow" Ray


My Dad with a Beer and a Broccoli (What a goofball!).

Wild Rice Cranberry Salad

Here's the recipe for my very favorite Thanksgiving dish. I've been making it every year for several years now. There's always a lot left. Few other people seem to know just how tasty it is, so I'm happy to have the left-overs! We're getting ready for the annual Saturday-After Thanksgiving Feast at our house, so we haven't really celebrated yet ... My husband cooks. I just do appetizers and side dishes.

I got the recipe from Ann B. in Madison about 10 years ago. I have modified it only slightly.

Wild Rice - Cranberry Salad

1 cup wild rice
2-3/4 cups water
1 pat of butter
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped (1 T dried)
4 green onions (scallions), chopped
1/2 c olive oil
1 cup pecan halves, chopped
Rind of 1 orange, grated
3/4 c. orange juice
black pepper, freshly ground

Combine water, butter and wild rice. Simmer about 40 minutes until the rice starts to open out. While the rice cooks, combine mint, cranberries, orange rind, juice and scallions. Let stand. When rice is done, drain in collander. Add olive oil to rice. Combine all ingredients except pecans. Let stand for at least 2 hours for flavors to blend. Just before serving, add the pecans.

This is one dish that gets better with age!

In Northern Wisconsin, the Native Americans grow and harvest the wild rice I buy. I'm a little concerned because I had heard that the crop this year was not very good due to lack of water on some of the lakes this year ... Global warming in our own back yard.

Thanksgiving

Here's is Oliver's Thanksgiving Turkey, made at school with markers and a coffee filter. I love the effect so much, I'm trying to figure out how to apply it to cloth as a dyer's technique! It makes a nice sun-catcher, and everyone should have a little kid-art on their house!

Thanksgiving IS my favorite holiday because it's about food and family and being together. It's not about presents, but presance. It's not really about religion, either.

A celebration of ABUNDANCE, not only of food, but of the other riches of life.

What am I thankful for? All the usual things :
* A wonderful partner--I can't imagine a better match for me :-)
* A loving and supportive family (Ma and Pa, Gramma)
* A bright kid
* A decent job that supports my quilting hobby
* A warm fire to sit by on a cold winter's night/day
* A wonderful dog with a story of her own (though we may never know her true past, she has a good life now)
* An ice rink with uniform and regular ice most of the year (I know this one is not environmentally friendly, but then neither is heart surgery, which would probably eventually be the alternative if I did not skate)
* A place to call home

As Glen Phillips sings with Toad the Wet Sprocket, "I will not take these things for granted."