This is Tip 4 of our listener feature. This week we are sharing tips from some of our past guests about creating a memorable Thanksgiving. Please visit here to read her entire question and her fabulous start to having a most meaningful holiday with her family.
Tip 4 from Kate Hannigan Issa of Good Fun.
Thanksgiving can be a great time to get outside and forget about homework, the job, the hustle and bustle of everyday living. And in many parts of the country, it's a great way to truly savor the final days before snow moves in.
If you're having a small Thanksgiving with just your immediate family, you can plan the dishes a few days in advance to allow for time out of the kitchen, playing in leaf piles and taking long walks. And with an eye toward the meal, have the kids collect beautiful leaves to decorate down the center of the table.
Once you're back in the kitchen, have everyone choose one part of the meal to be in charge of, so every family member feels as if he and she is contributing. Space out the cooking shifts if the kids are little to keep the stress to a minimum. This allows for fun while making sure real food reaches the table. And who knows, you just might be laying the groundwork for annual family traditions. Kate was given the Jell-O job in kindergarten, and she carried it out until after college.
For a final suggestion for making the Thanksgiving holiday special, try baking loaves of pumpkin bread to share with neighbors -- particularly the elderly or families with very young kids. While volunteering at a food pantry might seem the perfect family activity to make Thanksgiving more special, often volunteers must be at least 11 years old to help. That leaves many families out. So a simple act of baking can bring the family together in the kitchen, but for the common purpose of doing something special for somebody else. And pumpkin bread is an easy, delicious Thanksgiving treat.
Here is a pumpkin bread recipe I snipped from the Chicago Tribune. It makes three loaves at a time:
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 55 to 60 minutes
Once you're back in the kitchen, have everyone choose one part of the meal to be in charge of, so every family member feels as if he and she is contributing. Space out the cooking shifts if the kids are little to keep the stress to a minimum. This allows for fun while making sure real food reaches the table. And who knows, you just might be laying the groundwork for annual family traditions. Kate was given the Jell-O job in kindergarten, and she carried it out until after college.
For a final suggestion for making the Thanksgiving holiday special, try baking loaves of pumpkin bread to share with neighbors -- particularly the elderly or families with very young kids. While volunteering at a food pantry might seem the perfect family activity to make Thanksgiving more special, often volunteers must be at least 11 years old to help. That leaves many families out. So a simple act of baking can bring the family together in the kitchen, but for the common purpose of doing something special for somebody else. And pumpkin bread is an easy, delicious Thanksgiving treat.
Here is a pumpkin bread recipe I snipped from the Chicago Tribune. It makes three loaves at a time:
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 55 to 60 minutes
3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs, beaten
1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons each: baking soda, salt
1 teaspoon each: baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2/3 cup water
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat sugar, oil, eggs, and pumpkin with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large bowl. Set aside. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
2. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture, alternating with the water.
3. Transfer batter to three greased 9-by-5 inch loaf pans. Bake until dark brown and bread springs back when touched in the center, about 1 hour.
4. Cool in pan for 5 minutes then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
1 cup oil
4 eggs, beaten
1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons each: baking soda, salt
1 teaspoon each: baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2/3 cup water
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat sugar, oil, eggs, and pumpkin with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large bowl. Set aside. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
2. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture, alternating with the water.
3. Transfer batter to three greased 9-by-5 inch loaf pans. Bake until dark brown and bread springs back when touched in the center, about 1 hour.
4. Cool in pan for 5 minutes then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Thank you to all of our guests who have contributed these helpful tips. And thank you to Osheta for submitting such a fabulous question and her amazing ideas. Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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