History of Thanksgiving

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. Most of us know the story about Squanto who taught the Pilgrims, weakened by malnutrition and illness, how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. He also helped the settlers forge an alliance with the Wampanoag, a local tribe, which would endure for more than 50 years and tragically remains one of the sole examples of harmony between European colonists and Native Americans.
In November 1621, after the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford  organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. Now remembered as American’s “first Thanksgiving”—although, the Pilgrims themselves may not have used the term at the time—the festival lasted for three days.

While no record exists of the historic banquet’s exact menu, the Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow wrote in his journal that Governor Bradford sent four men on a “fowling” mission in preparation for the event, and that the Wampanoag guests arrived bearing five deer. Historians have suggested that many of the dishes were likely prepared using traditional Native American spices and cooking methods. Because the Pilgrims had no oven and the Mayflower’s sugar supply had dwindled by the fall of 1621, the meal did not feature pies, cakes or other desserts, which have become a hallmark of contemporary celebrations. They could have eaten lobster, seal and even swan which is way more exotic than any Thanksgiving dinner I have ever eaten or cooked.
 http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving

*This year, I am making the traditional turkey and a beef tenderloin. Look for my preparation post tomorrow and Thanksgiving dinner post Friday.

The Daniel Plan - Healthy Holiday Preparation

The best time to start preparing for a healthy holiday season is now!  The more energy and clarity you have prior to the holiday season, the less likely you are to fall prey to advertisers, food pushers and well meaning  relatives.

• Make a decision today to take control of your health and don’t allow others to blindly lead you to poor health.
• Start every morning with prayer, meditation and journaling at least 5 things you are grateful for. Focusing on what you are grateful for actually alters brain chemistry!
• Serve others who are less fortunate than yourself. Get your family involved a community service project. This will usually do wonders for shifting the focus from gluttony to thoughtfulness and gratitude.
• Be an example to those you love. 
  
• Break your sugar addiction prior to the holidays so you will be less likely to fall victim to gorging on sweet “death” traps.
• Eliminate simple carbs, sugar, pasta, bread, white rice and white potatoes immediately. For most people it takes about 3 days to kill the craving for sugar. For some of you, it can take a couple of weeks.
• To help eliminate the craving for sugar.

 http://www.danielplan.com/healthyhabits/healthy-holiday-preparation-tips/

As Good as it Gets ~ Great-Grandma's Risotto

Price per serving for two: $1.45

Hard to believe the cost per serving for a meal that you could not get in any restaurant. Over the years, like any good cook, I have been perfecting my recipes and I can tell you that this one is better than grandma's.

Actually, I cook more like my Nona - great grandma Antonia. Why? Maybe because she was a frugal cook like me. She and her husband and seven children lived on the other side of the canal in small Italian neighborhood. It was that same neighborhood where I grew up. They lived frugally, I think everyone did on the westside. There wasn't a lot of processed food back then. With so many mouths to feed, they had very little options to pick from and use. Nona could make soup stock from bones if she had to; and, bone marrow soup happens to be very healthy.

That may sound absurd today given the vast amount of food stuffs in every grocery store. However, frugal cooking is not a thing of the past. With ever increasing inflation and financial demands, families will have to become more frugal. My great grandmother knew that. She knew that keeping a stock as a base, she could add rice one day, pasta another day, bacon or side pork with potatoes or polenta another day; and add diced tomatoes (sometimes roasted in a dry skillet) gives you a whole other eating experience that will keep the husband and kids fed and the household up and running.

So, in the tradition of Nona, you will need to buy one pound of fresh ground breakfast sausage. She would have used any ground meat available but often it was a cheap cut ground (sausage) or chopped in tiny pieces. Basically, you can use breakfast sausage (home mix of pork and spices). Take 1-2 tbs of olive oil in a small skillet melted, sprinkle in some dried herb seasoning and once hot enough, add the sausage, breaking it up into small pieces.

You will boil the rice as you would a pilaf... in a stock. Remember the chicken stock I started last Monday, well this evening is another opportunity to use the last of it. In a small cast iron pot, heat your stock. Add 1 cup of Arborio or a Basmati  rice and cook until most of the fluids disappear. Remove the rice, you can ladle it onto the sausage which should be already fully cooked. Turn off the heat under the sausage and let it rest, with the rice resting on top. Into the cast iron pot, I pour in one small can of roasted/seasoned diced tomatoes (you use fresh tomatoes diced and skillet blackened on the edges with a bit of garlic). Turn up the heat and get it bubbly.

 

Re-enter the rice and sausage, stir and cover. Add an extra dash of dried herb seasoning - from the pantry list, rosemary, oregano and mint. While the risotto simmers, grate fresh Parmesan which I add to the rice before serving and or also leave on the table in a small dish. Then, set the table and pour the wine. You can also put out hard salami and cheese.

~Tutti a Tavola!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Price per serving: $.95 + roll with butter/slice of cheese = $1.10

You won't need to buy anything for this soup. Why? Because, it is based on the chicken stock you cooked a few days ago (refrigerated) for future soups.  All you need to buy or take from your pantry are egg noodles of any kind or if you prefer like I do- long traditional egg noodles, which I happen to have in my pantry. I never pay more than 1.09 for a large bag. I also had saved from the whole chicken, used to cook the stock,  half a breast. Today, I will use that half diced to put into the chicken noodle soup.

Take a small stock pot from your cabinet and fill with water and add a pinch of salt to cook the noodles. While the noodles cook, take out enough stock to use for this soup and heat it up. Remember, I always keep the stock pure - no noodles, no rice and no veggies. All of those food items can be added at any moment or day of the week to make 'soup' of the day using that same chicken stock made back on day one of your week.

Once the noodles are done and the stock warmed up, you are ready to serve. I put the noodles, diced chicken breast and stock into my lovely soup tourine/tureen (seen it spelled both ways), sprinkle with fresh dried parsley flakes and serve.

With such a simple dinner, I like to oven toast some multi-grain rolls and put out fresh butter and a few kinds of sliced cheese. 

The Benefits of Rosemary

I have always liked the taste and smell of fresh and or dried rosemary; but, I had no idea that it had so many interesting and healthful attributes.

Rosemary's botanical name is Rosmarinus officinalis meaning 'dew of the sea' which is probably 'due' to its native Mediterranean habitat.

When I was in Italy, I found it growing naturally just about everywhere and I used it everyday in my cooking. I still use it in all my cooking from soup to sauce and even in tea.

Rosemary is easy to grow at home and also easy to harvest and to dry (right in your own oven). Rosemary provides a wonderful flavor to just about anything you cook. It is also touted as a brain booster, as aroma therapy, a memory aid, a hair growth tonic, an anti inflammatory and numerous other health benefits.



Online Source ~ https://foodfacts.mercola.com/rosemary.html

Filet Mignon with Left Overs, Really???

Filet Mignon with leftovers. Yes! 

The price per serving for two is just: $1.85.

You will have to buy:
One package of Scottish Chuck Eye 100% Angus beef. I found a package at my local grocer for 3.77 for two. I did not buy anything else since I had potatoes, for my sweetie, and left over from last Friday for me which was the Greek Fish and Fettuccine with Scalloped Parsnips.

Take from the pantry list:

Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil

Dried Herb Seasoning
Red Pepper Flakes
Garlic Powder
Sea Salt

About two hours before cooking, marinate the steak in balsamic vinegar, olive oil and seasonings listed in a glass dish.

When you are ready to cook, turn your oven to F400. Once heat is reached, put your filets in uncovered. You can microwave potatoes and the left overs just before you take the beef filets out of the oven.

Vola! An awesome dinner in just minutes.

Farfalle with Red Sauce

Price per serving: $2.39 for two people

Farfalle with red sauce is absolutely delicious!
This dish takes all of about 25 min.

You will need to buy:
1 one pound package of ground breakfast sausage. I buy at my local grocer their butcher shop special breakfast sausage as it is not spicy and contains little sage. The taste is very delicate. I pay about $2.99 per pound. You will need to buy a box of Farfalle pasta or 'bow-tie'.  If you do not have fresh frozen tomatoes in your freezer, then you should buy Red Gold whole tomatoes and chop them as you remove from the can. I am still fortunate to have a few bags of fresh frozen in my freezer. I just love the taste of tomatoes from the garden, even when frozen the sunshine is sealed in. In earlier in the day, I took a package from the freezer to thaw. Also, if you don't have any Parmesan cheese in your pantry or a large onion, you will need to make that purchase.

Take from the pantry list:
Coconut Oil
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Onion
Fresh Dried Herbs
Parmesan Cheese 

I get the water going right away since the red sauces with pork sausage cooks quickly. Take out a large stock pot, fill with water, add a two pinches of salt and get a high flame/heat under it. Chop your onion and then take our our covered skillet and melt 3 tbs of coconut oil and the same of olive oil. Add the chopped onion to the skillet. Then add your sausage and fresh dried herbs: rosemary, oregano, and mint. Cover and let simmer.

Remove tomatoes from their freezer bag or can and cut into smaller pieces if you don't like the bigger chunks. I prefer bigger pieces of tomato for this recipe, not diced; but you can cut smaller chunks.

Check your water, should be time to add pasta to the now boiling water. Stirring occasionally and also the red sauce. Set the table because dinner will be ready. Once the pasta is 'al dente', drain under cold water, but not for long. Pour out the pasta onto a large low lipped serving dish and pour over the pasta the bubbly red sauce from your skillet. Sprinkle fresh grated Parmesan on top and a few sprinkles of dried parsley.

I put out on the table grated Parmesan and a bottle of olive oil, some like a little extra, as I do!
This meal can feed up to six people.