Don't Forget The Parsley!

Our little Awsumb has always been precocious.  When he was very small and we went out to dinner he would get really upset if the service staff would not address him directly. He liked to order for himself.  One night while we were dining out he placed his order then added, “Don’t forget the parsley!”  He had noticed that when we go out, besides having someone else to serve us a cold drink and no dishes to clean up, that it was the little things that made it special.  Even a small garnish like parsley was an important part of the experience for him.   And it was that small thing that he cared about and didn’t want to miss out on.

 I have since realized that in a child’s eyes, it’s the little things that matter. And sometimes when you remember the little things, they don’t even care about the big things. This is why the large cardboard box that comes with a new toy, bed or whatever might be more exciting to them than the thing we spent money and time selecting for them.

 This is the time of year that I sometimes hear people worry that they can’t do enough for their children for Christmas.  Of course our challenge is trying to make sure our son doesn’t take things for granted.   As an only child he often gets things other kids in bigger families might not.  And although Awsumb has all that he wants and more, there are still things he asks for like and iPad, which he is NOT going to get.  Awsumb has brought up the idea of getting an iPad a few times recently.  And we have strictly told him this is just not going to happen.

 This weekend we put up our Christmas tree and the next morning Awsumb crawled in my bed to cuddle with me.  He said, “Ya know, even if we don’t get anything for Christmas we have such a beautiful tree.  And Auntie and Uncle are coming to stay with us.  We’ll all be together and Christmas will be so wonderful.”  He then paused and said, “As long as we get some chocolate!”  Apparently chocolate is very important to making Christmas special.  “At least a little piece.”

 Just a great reminder that it’s the little things that make memories and make celebrations and  holidays special.  Just like that small garnish of parsley, having a simple treat like chocolate, spending time with family and all those small, simple things are what our children will grow up and remember.  Take the time to make the little memories with your children.  For, it’s these little things that will help them remember that someone loves them.

 So this Christmas don’t forget the parsley, and some chocolate, at least a little piece!

I can't make Jello!

Reason 219 why I will never be a perfect Mormon woman. I can't make Jello. I don't really even know what exactly I do wrong.... but it's never pretty and always has a funny film on it. Remember when they came out with that Sparkling Jello?  I was so excited to try this out and imagined glasses filled with perfectly cut cubes of red Sparkling Jello with a perfect dallop of cool whip as a refreshing dessert after a dinner party... mine  looked more like some sort of plasma.  So, I gave up and I haven't attempted Jello for many years. I will just stick to pudding.

But there is something I have mastered - turkey and stuffing.  Because my father and I worked for the same company, who always sent home turkeys at Thanksgiving and Christmas, I was stuck with more turkeys during the holiday season than I knew what to do with.  Those first couple years were the worst.  There was the time that I started the turkey so early  in the morning (on the advice of someone with a stove that probably didn't work properly!) that we were ready to eat dinner at 10am.  After the year I tried the cooking in the bag method, which I decided was really just steaming the turkey and not for me I found myself harassing old ladies in the grocery store asking them advice about what type of pan they used, etc.

Martha Stewart's Perfect Roast Turkey saved me and after a decade of practice I have my routine scheduled down to the minute!  And of course with the threat of salmonella and campylobacter I run a pretty tight ship and require a special sous-chef  (OK, he's really just a kitchen slave!) to help me avoid as much nastiness as possible and bleach the sink and countertops once I get that bird in the oven!


But the best part of my thanksgiving repertoire is my recipe for sausage sage stuffing.  If you are still using a boxed stuffing (GAG!)  once you try this you will never go back!

Traditional stuffing recipes usually begin with cornbread, rice or stale bread  dressed up with onions, celery, herbs and spices or dried fruit.  The one you prefer is usually determined by what part of the country you grew up. 

Traditional Sausage and Sage Stuffing (serves 12)
10 cups white bread cubes, 1/3 to ½ inch thick
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped celery
2 tbs chopped fresh sage
1 lb sausage (pork or chicken)
½ chopped fresh parsley
3 large eggs
1 tsp salt
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp ground black pepper
7 oz roasted chestnuts, chopped
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1 cup chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350°. Spread bread cubes on baking sheets. Bake until golden brown. Transfer to large bowl. Melt butter and oil in large skillet. Add onions and sauté until tender. Add sage and sauté 1 minute.

Add sausage and cook until brown cooked through, breaking up with back of fork. Cool slightly.

Stir sausage mixture, parsley, chestnuts and pecans into bread cubes.

Whisk eggs, salt, nutmeg, pepper in bowl. Mix into stuffing.

Loosely fill main cavity with ½ of stuffing. Add enough additional broth to remaining stuffing to moisten lightly (about ¼- ½ cup), place in generously buttered baking dish. Cover with buttered foil. Keep refrigerated until ready to bake.

Bake covered about 30 minutes, until heated through. Uncover and bake until top is just crisp about 15 minutes.

And what would Thanksgiving be without my usual rant -  LIES MY TEACHER TOLD ME

This year I am thankful for the woman I love to hate - Martha Stewart, without which I would never have been able to cook the perfect roast turkey!  But even more, I'm thankful to my husband who made reservations at Daniel's so I don't have to contaminate my kitchen with raw turkey!  (The funny thing is that whenever we go out for Thanksgiving Dinner, I still end up cooking a full Thanksgiving spread later on that weekend! LOL!)

Veterans Day - A Day of Thanks

Memorial Day honors service members who died in service to our country.  Veterans Day is set aside to thank and honor living veterans who served honorably in the military either during times or war or peace. 

From the US Department of Veteran Affairs:

WWI or  “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

I celebrate this day with thanksgiving and prayer to all those who have served and are serving today with the intent to spread peace and good will to all!

Thank you to our Grandfathers, Fathers, Uncles and Friends!

Lies My Teacher Told Me

I have talked about one of my favorite history authors before, James W. Lowen. I first discovered his book,
Lies My Teacher Told Me. I told you a little about Lies Across America, which talks about historic sites across America in a previous post about our summer daycations.

Why should we learn about our past? We have all heard George Santayana's famous quote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." But he also said something more complicated, "History is always written wrong, and so always needs to be rewritten."

When I was in college I wrote a paper about history really just being a myth. A history from one point of view is not a complete history. James Lowen tells about a war museum, full of memorabilia, but that chooses to ignore telling the stories behind the war, why we were at war in the first place, or promoting discussion about tactics used by either side and them being ethical or not.

Compare this to the visitor's center at MT. St. Helens, which clearly shows what, why, how and what if it happens again. Think about these two types of museums and ones that you have been to… Which one do you think we learn more from? Which one helps us learn from our mistakes and avoid them in the future? Which one calms fears?

The bottom line is, "War is hell and the United States conducts it, just like any other nation, we too become the devil" (pg. 180) John F. Kennedy said, "The great enemy of truth is not often the lie… but the myth"
Hiding from our past doesn't make it go away. Just like a child who hides from a parent knowing he is in big trouble, punishment eventually comes. "How can we expect our children to develop their own convictions when we ignore those of historical figures?" – Helen Keller

When I was in school, "history" was names and dates. But as an adult I find that history is something we are continually discovering and is best taught as a discussion. As I share history with my child I find myself sorting through myths and legends and hokey stories glorifying historic leaders, searching the truth.

One of the first historical lies we tell our children is about Thanksgiving. Throughout the world people have historically celebrated abundant harvests and I think the idea of celebrating our abundance with family and friends is one of the last holidays that has been relatively untouched by commercialism.

However, I was determined to avoid passing on "the myth of peaceful settlers, inviting some wild Indians over for dinner." 1621 A New Look at Thanksgiving is a children's book that tells the complicated history English settlers and their impact on the Native people that were already here. As the book says, "There was neither cranberry sauce nor pumpkin pie at the 1621 harvest celebration. There were no Indians with woven blankets down their backs. There were no Pilgrims in somber black clothes and tall hats with silver buckles, either. The English didn't even call themselves pilgrims at the time. That's the myth."

The book continues on to tell about the days leading up to that "First Thanksgiving…. The settlers were preparing to have a celebration to give thanks… Four men went out hunting and in doing so began shooting their guns and marching in unison. It was likely that Native people heard the noise, maybe thinking they were preparing for war. A few investigated and called for Massosoit, who then sent a few men out to hunt for deer to contribute to the feast." Years later, painters memorialize this event, romanticizing the facts and hundreds of years later we dress our school children up in tall Pilgrim hats, drab clothes and big buckles made out of construction paper!

Mayflower 1621 A New Look at a Pilgrim Voyage reminds us that, "the Mayflower colonists were not the first Europeans in the Wampanoag territory. Early explores brought trade… they also brought diseases, including plague… killing so many that by the time the Mayflower arrived in Plymouth no Wampanoag were left there. To the colonists, finding tilled fields was a sign of God's favor. They gave little thought to those whose land they were taking over.

Both of these books were a great way to promote discussion about the history of European settlers in America. Check them out! You may also want to check out … The Truth About Columbus and American Exceptionalism

I am thankful to live in a country that lets me freely celebrate and worship how I wish. What are you thankful for?