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The Pilgrims Feast

Foods Available to the Pilgrims for their 1621 Thanksgiving

FISH: cod, bass, herring, shad, bluefish, and lots of eel.

SEAFOOD: clams, lobsters, mussels, and very small quantities of oysters

BIRDS: wild turkey, goose, duck, crane, swan, partridge, and other miscellaneous waterfowl; they were also known to have occasionally eaten eagles (which "tasted like mutton" according to Winslow in 1623.)

OTHER MEAT: venison (deer), possibly some salt pork or chicken.

GRAIN: wheat flour, Indian corn and corn meal; barley (mainly for beer-making).

FRUITS: raspberries, strawberries, grapes, plums, cherries, blueberries, gooseberries (these would have been dried, as none would have been in season).

VEGETABLES: small quantity of peas, squashes (including pumpkins), beans

NUTS: walnuts, chestnuts, acorns, hickory nuts, ground nuts

HERBS and SEASONINGS: onions, leeks, strawberry leaves, currants, sorrel, yarrow, carvel, brooklime, liverwort, watercress, and flax; from England they brought seeds and probably planted radishes, lettuce, carrots, onions, and cabbage. Olive oil in small quantities may have been brought over, though the Pilgrims had to sell most of their oil and butter before sailing, in order to stay on budget.

OTHER: maple syrup, honey; small quantities of butter, Holland cheese; and eggs

Some perhaps startling omissions from the authentic Thanksgiving menu

Ham. (The Pilgrims most likely did not have pigs with them).

Sweet Potatoes-Potatoes-Yams. (These had not yet been introduced to New England).

Corn on the cob. (Indian corn was only good for making cornmeal, not eating on the cob).

Popcorn. (Contrary to popular folklore, popcorn was not introduced at the 1621 Thanksgiving. Indian corn could only be half-popped, and this wouldn't have tasted very good.)

Cranberry sauce. (Cranberries were available, but sugar was not.)

Pumpkin Pie: (They probably made a pumpkin pudding of sorts, sweetened by honey or syrup, which would be like the filling of a pumpkin pie, but there would be no crust or whipped topping.)

He saw a lot of history

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The world's oldest man, according to Guinness World Records, has died less than two weeks before he would have turned 114. Fred Hale Sr. died in his sleep at his home.

Fred was also in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the world's oldest driver when he was 108. Back then, Hale said slow drivers were his biggest pet peeve.

In 1890, there were only forty-three stars on the American flag when he was born in New Sharon, Maine.

On Friday, twelve days before his 114th birthday, the Maine native died in his sleep at his home in Syracuse, New York.

Thanksgiving salad

I've been asked to bring a salad to our Thanksgiving Dinner this year. And I like to slice some Amish Pickled Beet eggs to put on the top. Not only are they delicious, but I think they add some zip to the salad.

Thought to ponder

For those of us who (Moms and Dads) are raisingteenagers,
have raised teenagers,
or who are now teenagers:

Comments?

Kind of Pricey

Love Cats, But Suffer From Allergies?

ALLERCA Inc. is to Develop the World's First Hypo-Allergenic Cats as an Alternative to Current Allergy Treatments.

This company is now accepting $350 deposits for the British Short Hair breed of cats it plans to charge $3,500 a piece for these cats, which will be spayed and neutered to prevent breeding with naturally born felines.

I wonder how much allergy shots cost?
And are they covered by insurance?

Neighborhood Break-in

Our next door neighbor’s house was broken into on Friday night. The husband is in a nursing home, and the wife is in a rehab center, coming home this Wednesday. And someone broke the door down.

Whoever broke in didn’t make much of a mess, and not much seems to be missing. They did steal the garage door opener.

It’s very disturbing to have something like that happen to people you know and care about, and in your own neighborhood.

I've lived here for about 8 years, and nothing like that has happened in all that time.

Scary

Where's the Complaint Department?

I'm kind of tired and feel a little stressed, so maybe you wouldn't mind listening to my biggest frustration of the day.

I’m sure some help desks are good, so if you are a help desk person, please don’t take offense. I’m only talking about the help desk that I have to deal with. They are so obtuse!

I’ve been working with the help desk to get permissions and mapping for my brand-new back, Tammy for 5 weeks now. This was really important to me, because I can’t go on vacation till Tammy's trained.

Finally today, after the final permission was granted, the help desk person couldn’t help Tammy map the necessary files to her pc.

In total frustration, I got on the phone, and helped her do it myself (we're located at different business sites).

Which just shows that I know more than the help desk folks who were helping me.

What am I missing?

BIRMINGHAM, AL—Nearly 14 months after he said "I do" to his new wife Karen, attorney Robert Diehl, 36, told reporters that he finally feels ready to return to the dating world.

What am I missing? “Recently Married Man Starts Dating again” I don’t understand. I thought dating kind of stopped when you get married.

A Really Good Saturday

Yesterday we went to New York with good friends to see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. It was the first time we had seen them and – Wow – are they fantastic! We stopped for a great lunch, and a little looking around. All in all, it was an excellent nice day.

I expected the show to be good,
but it was unbelievably good