Food Season is here

November is here and that means the big meals are on the way. Many of us will be partaking in a number of celebrations that culminate in long naps. For a lot of folks the end of every year brings closure to loose ends, ritualistic familial gatherings and traditional holiday disasters. Luckily (for the fortunate ones) the end end of the year also brings large quantiities of food.

So we've been having some debate recently with several people about Thanksgiving because we were thinking about doing a little get together here in BKLYN with some friends over the the Thanksgiving holiday. They all balked when we told them that we wanted to roast a Duck and maybe a bit of pork tenderloin, with collard greens and corn. "Where's the turkey...","...only chinese people eat duck...", "...that's not thanksgiving food..." were some of the responses we got.

I tried to point out that the Pilgrims didn't have most of the things we associate with Thanksgiving dinner and that our current Thanksgiving holiday was pretty much created by Sarah Josepha Hale in the 19th century to bring parties indoors and create a celebratory atmosphere for mothers and families. She wanted people to "...sit down together at the feast of fat things."

Here, here, fat... it's a good thing (in moderation)

So I'm thinking of making the menu traditional (more in line to what the pilgrims probably ate)

Seafood: Cod, Eel, Clams, Lobster
Wild Fowl: Wild Turkey, Goose, Duck, Crane, Swan, Partridge, Eagles
Meat: Venison, Seal
Grain: Wheat Flour, Indian Corn
Vegetables: Pumpkin, Peas, Beans, Onions, Lettuce, Radishes, Carrots
Fruit: Plums, Grapes
Nuts: Walnuts, Chestnuts, Acorns
Herbs and Seasonings: Olive Oil, Liverwort, Leeks, Dried Currants, Parsnips

Not sure where I'd find crane, eagles and seal... maybe Chinatown.

What Was Not on the Menu

Surprisingly, the following foods, all considered staples of the modern Thanksgiving meal, didn't appear on the pilgrims's first feast table:

Ham: There is no evidence that the colonists had butchered a pig by this time, though they had brought pigs with them from England.
Sweet Potatoes/Potatoes: These were not common.
Corn on the Cob: Corn was kept dried out at this time of year.
Cranberry Sauce: The colonists had cranberries but no sugar at this time.
Pumpkin Pie: It's not a recipe that exists at this point, though the pilgrims had recipes for stewed pumpkin.
Chicken/Eggs: We know that the colonists brought hens with them from England, but it's unknown how many they had left at this point or whether the hens were still laying.
Milk: No cows had been aboard the Mayflower, though it's possible that the colonists used goat milk to make cheese.

Source: Kathleen Curtin, Food Historian at Plimoth Plantation via the history channel.

Here's an interesting NYTIMES article: Thanks, lady.

Finally, whatever your leanings are toward food, gatherings and celebrations; remember to be in the moment and enjoy it all. Because there is so much to enjoy.