Welcome to the 2024 Thanksgiving post here at The Itinerant Librarian. This is a small post pointing to some trivia and other small items of interest related to the holiday that I think my four readers may find amusing or interesting. 2024 has been a rough year, and here personally we had a loss in the family this month, so a tad rougher recently. At any rate, we keep going on the best we can. If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you have a safe and happy time. If it is just Thursday for you, I hope you have a good and safe day as well.
Personally we will have a modest celebration and meal at home. We are neither traveling nor hosting, so it will be small and simple in our home. I believe pot roast is on the menu this year as chosen by family consensus. We got away from the "traditional" menu years ago, and it was for the best Now, we just pick something we feel like eating, and we make the meal. In addition, I will be making the traditional Puerto Rican coquito. I will be making a few bottles for some of our family friends; making coquito is one of the small traditions I enjoy from back home that I can easily do during the holidays. It is not difficult to make. If you want to try it, here is a recipe that is close to the one I use (you don't really expect me to reveal all my secrets, do you?). When folks in the States ask me what is coquito I often describe it as Puerto Rican coconut nog, but do note it does not contain eggs, which adds to its simplicity.
So while I am taking a small holiday break for Turkey Day, thanks for stopping by, and read some of the stories below to be entertained until I get back. And if you run out of things to read, well, here is the post from last year, which I am sure has one or two stories that may still be of interest.
Holiday Trivia
- President Biden continues the tradition of doing a presidential pardon for two turkeys. The turkeys' names are Peach and Blossom this year.
- The Library of Congress has a blog post about Sarah Josepha Hale, a woman who helped Thanksgiving become the national holiday it is now. Among her many accomplishments she was also the editor of Godey's Lady's Book.
- The Library of Congress blog also has a post on historical holiday cookbooks. However, it only discusses the books; no recipes are offered at this time, which is a pity. I would have found it interesting to see some old recipes, and so would the Better Half, who enjoys cookbooks and has a small personal collection.
- This is not quite trivia, but it did not fit under the other headings. Via the Prison Journalism Project, here is a story on how a group of inmates celebrate Thanksgiving behind bars. If you like stories about holiday miracles, you might enjoy this tale.
- Ever wonder where the cranberries for the holiday come from? I mean, besides in a can. Well, turns out a lot of them are harvested in Massachusetts.
- J-STOR Daily presents a short history of the turkey in the U.S.
The economy of the holiday
- Turns out that in 2024 the traditional Thanksgiving dinner will be a bit cheaper than last year. The Axios story is drawing from the annual survey of the Thanksgiving dinner done by the Farm Bureau Federation annually (see graphic above).
Holidays advice (and we will be needing it this year)
Given that we just barely survived a seriously contentious election season in the United States, the holidays season is shaping up to be very tense and conflicting for many folks. If you pay attention to media, odds are good you have read at least one of the many articles being churned out giving advice about how to cope with certain family members over the holidays. Personally, this makes me glad we are neither traveling nor hosting, and to be honest, my advice is if you can stay home and don't host anyone who may cause trouble. But if you must go somewhere or host someone who may be trouble, well, here are some bits of advice to hopefully makes things at least bearable. This is just a very small sampling from my feeds from what seems a deluge of advice this season. I'd suggest takes what works for you, and leave the rest.
- Here are some tips from the Associated Press.
- NPR offers three pieces of advice.
- Sojourners also has an advice column. Do note, this one has a bit of a Christian viewpoint (the magazine is owned by a progressive Christian organization). Still, the advice can be applicable to anyone since, for example remembering the principles of love, some things are shared in common no matter your religion.
- Not that I am telling women what to do, but some women are choosing to outright boycott any holiday celebration with people who voted to cut down their rights as women and human beings. You can learn more about this via the Lexington Herald-Leader.
- Traveling? Here is a bit of advice on that too.
- AAA has tips on when is the best time to hit the road for the holiday travel. If you did not leave early, turns out the day of Thanksgiving may be the best day to travel, so if you live near your destination, that may be best. If that is not an option, read to find out what are other good times if you must drive.
- The news are filling up with stories at this time about how airports will be seriously congested with travelers for the holiday. Reader's Digest has a report on which airports will have the longest wait times if you are choosing to fly.
The food
- Are making the traditional turkey? If you bought it frozen, you will need to thaw it, and to do it safely, you need to know when to start thawing it and how. This article from The Hill gives you that information. If you need more details, the article draws upon information from the USDA. Oh, and make sure you do check the temperature before serving it once you cook it.
- Associated Press also has some advice for safely cooking the Thanksgiving meal.
- Cooking the meal stressing you out? NPR asks a top chef for ways to reduce the stress. One tip? Make some of the dishes ahead of time. Yes, you can do that, and the dishes will still be just fine.
- Are you flying with food for a Thanksgiving gathering? I am not sure why anyone would do that, but OK, you do you. If you are traveling with food, read this article to learn what the TSA will allow or not.
- Need some ideas on what to serve, or not to serve for your Thanksgiving feast? Well, here is a dinner poll that shows what are the most popular and least popular Thanksgiving foods. By the way, if you are serving Brussel sprouts, you are an effing barbarian; it is the least popular choice.
- Trying to keep the meal healthy? Yea, I know, a challenge for many, but here are some ideas to make things a bit healthier via The New York Post.
- Speaking of keeping it healthy, this NPR story offers the suggestion of taking a walk after the meal to keep things a bit healthier. It does not have to be a long walk, just some quality time to get some steps in and help your sugar stay under control. This is an idea I certainly favor, and I do this.
- Cocktails, which some may need to help mellow tensions, and mocktails, for our friends who may be on the sobriety journey and/or just choose not to drink:
- The Spirits Business has a list of "10 cocktails to serve this Thanksgiving."
- Enjoy whiskey? Drinkhacker has some suggestions of whiskey and Thanksgiving food pairings.
- Want or prefer non-alcoholic options? Town & Country magazine has a list of 18 Thanksgiving mocktail recipes that look pretty nice.
- The leftovers. For some, these are great. Personally, I do not particularly care for Thanksgiving fare leftovers, other than pie. Turns out this holiday can be seriously wasteful, in large part because not everyone either likes leftovers or knows what to do with them. This is also a big reason why our household gave up on the "traditional" meal and just make food we actually like. Still, for our friends who still do traditional, here are some ideas on what to do with the leftovers.
- Here is a recipe for a one pot meal with leftovers via the Lexington Herald-Leader.
- The Chicago Sun-Times offers ides on how to use every part of the Thanksgiving meal leftovers.
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