Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving

     My turkey is stuffed and in the oven. It should be ready to eat in about three hours (it's just under 12 pounds). My brother has just arrived. In a couple of hours it'll be time to start the potatoes and squash. Meanwhile I also need to make the cranberry sauce and I want to whip some cream for the pumpkin pie which will have to bake while we're eating the turkey. The mince pie is already baked, and I've got some sage cheese to go with it. Gravy, of course, gets made once the bird is out of the oven and resting on the platter.

     So now, while I have a moment, I want to wish all my American readers a Happy Thanksgiving; and of course I also extend best wishes to all readers around the globe. We all have our struggles and sorrows, some much more than others, but today let's also try to be aware of all the good things that we enjoy.

     Here's a video of the Catholic Church's ancient hymn of Thanksgiving, "Te Deum Laudamus," chanted by the monks of the Grande Chartreuse Abbey in France. It was sung by Columbus when he made land on his first voyage. For more information and a translation (from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer), see the wiki article. Also, when I have some more time, I'll try to get a video of the magnificent baroque version by Marc-Antoine Charpentier and post it on my music blog. But now I'd better get back to the kitchen.


     Happy Thanksgiving, everybody !


     edit: I've posted the Charpentier videos on my music blog. 

10 comments:

Seth said...

Have a wonderful holiday and enjoy your meal!!

:)

cvn70 said...

Naturguetz

Hey it sounds like a nice meal and i hope th eday ent well for you

Finnally responded to yor email sorry about it being so late

take care and be safe

bob

Peter said...

Happy Thanksgiving!

BrightenedBoy said...

I hope you had a happy Thansgiving. I look forward to reading the blog post.

naturgesetz said...

Thanks for the comments, guys.

The meal went well. The only glitch was that the pumpkin pie had to cool for two hours before serving. And then I didn't want to eat anything else. So I'll enjoy a piece with whipped cream when I finish internetting.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a veritable feast! Wish I could have been their to enjoyed...you'll just have to eat extra for me. ^_^

Doomed But Cheerful! said...

Happy Thanksgiving. We recently had our own family thanksgiving, to celebrate being he for a year, and to mark how nothing too terrible has happened to us (a little recent glitch excepted ... moving on).

So - getting together with your brother over a thoroughly good lunch (I love cranberry sauce - want to swap recipes?) is a great thing, just to reflect over all the good (and there is heaps and heaps of it, despite the constant barrage of 'bad news') and share the cup that cheers.

Happy Thanksgiving, Joe.

It might seem presumptuous, but I think we ALL give thanks for your friendship and support over the last year.

I hope you had a wonderful day. G =]

Dave83201 said...

I'm glad you spent the day with people you love!

Take care, and god bless!

naturgesetz said...

Thanks for the comments.

@ James — I think I may have eaten enough for two in the past few days' dinners.

@ Gurney — I'm glad you could celebrate, and begin to leave the glitch behind.

Me recipe is quite simple:
12 oz. (340g) bag of cranberries, rinsed and picked over to remove overripe berries
1 cup (255ml) water
1 cup (200g) sugar
Bring water and sugar to a boil, stirring as necessary to dissolve sugar. Add berries and boil gently, stirring occasionally, until most berries have popped. (I find it takes at least 10 minutes.) Cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

If I'm feeling adventurous, I'll dust the berries with cardamom and add a bit of dried orange peel to the water and sugar. But that takes it away from the traditional.

@ Dave — And God bless you too.

Anonymous said...

sounds like you had a great time like me. thanks for stopping by the comments and thanksgiving wishes.