A very American Thanksgiving

The day before Thanksgiving, we were in a charming café with terrible food, watching Glenn Beck, a talk show host on the Fox Network.
The episode's main premise was that the Founding Fathers of the USA had originally meant the country to be based on ‘Life, Liberty and Property,’ but that this last theme had to be changed to ‘Prosperity’ because of the slave issue.
He then went on to echo some conservatives’ view that the Constitution and other historical documents have been misinterpreted, and as such, require new study.
Beck was very concerned that the Pilgrims, whose arrival and eventual flourishing Thanksgiving commemorates, would be very upset if they had seen their ideals trampled upon by the Democrats in general and Barack Obama in particular.
America, he continued, is a country of individuals, whose allegiance is to themselves and their families, and reliance on the government for support will only weaken the nation as a whole.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_protests


In contrast, we felt pretty good about America. Laura and I have both spent many years living outside the country, so it was nice to be back.

Thanksgiving is a flexible holiday celebrated across religions (though you don’t have to bring God into it if you don’t want to) and cultures, so everyone’s welcome to garnish their thankfulness and meals with whatever they please.

The main thing is to stop for a day, to give thanks for all the nice things in we have in our lives. With no gifts or cards.

Oh, and you get to stuff yourself as well, since it’s also a harvest holiday.

Laura brought a delicious selection of cheeses, which she garnished with dates and the crispiest crackers. We wrapped lots of food items (wild Alaskan salmon, sweet potatoes, garlic and onions, chestnuts) in tin foil, and Daniel cooked all of these to perfection in the campfire. I made wild rice and tried to emulate Olivia’s amazing Brussels sprouts, which are cut into strips and sautéed with loads of garlic and seasoning.

We drank wine, tore off Kalamata olive bread, and all was well. Once it was dark, and we were roasting marshmallows, Laura looked at her watch and was shocked to see it was only 6:15.

That’s the thing when you’re camping in winter – it gets dark suddenly and you think it’s bedtime, but it’s always way earlier.

Once we had retired back inside the Airstream, Laura suggested we revive the American custom of going around the table and saying why we’re all thankful.

I started, saying I was thankful for this year off, an amazing opportunity to spend serious time with my wonderful husband and beautiful daughters.

Laura said thanks for the chance to study again (she’s pursuing a Masters in Spiritual Psychology and an eventual Doctorate in Relationship Counseling.

Sophia said thanks for the marshmallows.

Daniel declined to participate in our sappy tradition.

Lulu looked at us all, in pursuit of more food.

Our first guest

Laura, a great university friend, drove up from LA with her dog Claude to spend Thanksgiving weekend with us in Santa Margarita, which is just inland from California’s Central Coast and just north of San Luis Obispo.

This was our first time hosting a guest, so we were excited.

We cleaned the Airstream until it was spick and span, and most importantly, found a campground that would accommodate a tent, a dog and an extra vehicle on our site.

It worked really well, Laura and Claude staying in a tent a few feet from the trailer and all of us having meals and activities together.

Sophia and Claude became bosom buddies, and Laura helped entertain both girls.
We went on hikes, visited a wine tasting room and all caught up.

Their visit also served a practical purpose, since Daniel’s mom Barbara will be joining us for 3 weeks or so in January and February. We still haven’t figured out the sleeping arrangements – the weather is much colder than we had anticipated, and our tent too difficult to assemble day in, day out if we make a lot of stops.

So one night, we tried out an alternative sleeping plan. Laura, Claude and Sophia slept in the Airstream, while Daniel, Lulu and I slept on an inflatable mattress in the back of our car (the backseat folds down).

That turned out not to be a viable solution, so it’s back to the drawing board.

Call for Thanksgiving recipes!

Hi, and sorry we've been out of touch for a while. California's too amazing to look at, and too skimpy on Wi-Fi, so we're way behind.

We promise to have a number of posts - and pictures by Daniel - up in the next couple of days.

For now, though, we're looking for Thanksgiving recipes. Thursday's the day, and our friend Laura will be joining us with her dog Claude for a couple of days.

Here are the parameters: all recipes need to be non-meat and prepared on the stovetop, since our oven doesn't work.

All ideas appreciated!