CRANBERRY THANKSGIVING

Today is slated for cooking, and Traditional Family Recipes rule the day!  My potatoes, for a yummy potato casserole that my mother-in-law handed down (and which my children won't ever allow me to deviate from!), are almost boiling. Meanwhile I have a quick minute, before starting on my sister's delicious recipe for a spiced Zinfandel cranberry sauce, to share about a fun children's book by Wende and Harry Devlin, appropriately titled Cranberry Thanksgiving.

Cranberry Thanksgiving is the story of a young girl named Maggie who lives with her Grandmother near a cranberry bog in New England. Maggie and her Grandmother traditionally each invite a guest to their Thanksgiving feast. But this particular year, Grandmother almost loses her secret recipe for cranberry bread to one of the guests. (The book includes the secret recipe.) This classic was published in 1971 and is a traditional family read for many families each year - you can read it while the cranberry bread is baking.



Cranberries are amazing little powerhouses of nutrients and they go a long way back in the history of the traditional Thanksgiving meal.  Long before the Pilgrims came to North America, the Indians combined crushed cranberries with dried deer meat and melted fat to make pemmican - a convenience food that would keep for a long time. As the Pilgrims began to settle and thrive, cranberries became a staple in their lives as well.

Contrary to popular belief, cranberries do not grow in water. Instead, they grow on vines in impermeable beds layered with sand, peat, gravel and clay. These beds, commonly known as "bogs," were originally made by glacial deposits. Normally, growers do not have to replant since an undamaged cranberry vine will survive indefinitely. Some vines in Massachusetts are more than 150 years old! (Cranberries are also grown in the Pacific Northwest.) Photo sources and more information here.


Well, I'm off to start my cranberry sauce!  Scroll down for the recipe below, or find it here (it's not a secret recipe, like the Grandmother's)...

SPICED CRANBERRY SAUCE WITH ZINFANDEL

INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 cups red Zinfandel wine
1 cup sugar
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
6 whole cloves
6 whole allspice
2 cinnamon sticks
1 3x1-inch strip orange peel
1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
PREPARATION:
Combine all ingredients except cranberries in medium saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced to 1 3/4 cups, about 10 minutes. Strain syrup into large saucepan. Add cranberries to syrup and cook over medium heat until berries burst, about 6 minutes. Cool. Transfer sauce to medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate until cold. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Three Legends from Tomie dePaola

Tomie dePaola, born to Irish and Italian parents in 1934 in Meriden, Conneticut, arrived in this world near the end of the Great Depression and grew up during World War II, before television became a substitute for radio in American homes.  He recounts how his family appreciated books and creativity...

"Growing up before television," dePaola once commented, "I had what I can only consider the good fortune to be exposed to radio and I never missed that wonderful Saturday morning show, 'Let's Pretend'. I have always felt that that particular program, plus the fact that my mother was in love with books and spent many long hours reading aloud to my brother and me, were the prime factors that caused me to announce to my first grade teacher that when I grew up I was going to make books with pictures." 

I think the main reason Tomie dePaola's picture books are so popular is that his simple illustrations, with their bright colors and a folk art style, appeal to the child in all of us.   All for ages 4-8.

The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. This vivid retelling of an old Texas legend reveals how the Indian paintbrush, the state flower of Wyoming, first bloomed, and how a young brave (Little Gopher) dreams of creating a painting that will capture the beauty of a sunset.



The Legend of the Poinsettia. Distressed because she has no other gift to offer Baby Jesus, Lucida carries into the church an armful of weeds, each of which suddenly becomes "tipped with a flaming red star"-marking the miraculous blooming of the first poinsettias.  Based on a Mexican folktale.

The Legend of Old Befana This is a delightful reading of a favorite Italian Christmas story about an eccentric old woman (like Russia's "Babushka") and her never-ending search for the Baby King.




TOMIE DEPAOLA BOOKS FROM MY  "Forty Books For Forty Days" LIST:
My First Christmas This cute board book for babies and toddlers shows the joys and traditions of Christmas.


The Friendly Beasts (an Old English Christmas carol) I remember fondly this familiar carol from my childhood.  And I'm sure more than one children's Nativity play has been based on it! You can click here to see Tomie's illustrations, accompanied by the carol that is performed by Tennessee Ernie Ford.