Every few years my uncle lends me this book to read to the boys. I like having a special Thanksgiving book to read, as I have always felt Thanksgiving to be a holiday that deserves to be steeped in tradition. As a child, I felt this sense of tradition keenly, as we went about our holiday, but in my adult years, the feeling continues to elude me.
So, I sample things like high school football games, ecumenical prayer services, and baking breads. Last year, I gave up entirely on the tradition idea, and just decided to sit back and enjoy the day. I have to say, it was probably the best Thanksgiving I’d had in a while.
So, ok. I’m feeling no more pressure to find “our” tradition, anymore. But I’d be a fool to ignore opportunities as they present themselves. This book? It’s one such opportunity. This November, the boys and I have already been under Mommy’s Blankie O’ Love once to read about Maggie and Grandmother’s adventure with Mr. Whiskers at the edge of the cranberry bog. And on Friday, we made Grandmother’s Famous Cranberry Bread.
The verdict? Nice. But not as nice as Mom’s. Ironically, Mom tells me these days she just makes the Cranberry Bread recipe from the Ocean Spray bag, instead of her tried & true recipe. Another tradition bites the dust. Is nothing sacred??
Good thing I am the new laid-back-about-Thanksgiving me 😉
OK, my one question is, why does your uncle only lend it to you every few years?
See what Grace has been blogging about: Halloween, and pumpkins, and bears … oh, my!
Oh, I think it’s just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. We’re about 90 minutes apart and don’t always see each other in the fall.
I am having such a tickle today!!! I found this recipe almost 20 years ago in a Ladies Club fundraising cookbook at the home of my employer (in Milwaukee, WI, although the group sponsoring the book was from Connecticut…). Anyway, I LOVE this recipe; when my boss made it, it turned out a little dense, but when I make it, it’s fluffy and rounded (like banana bread!). Silly me, I assumed “Grandma’s Cranberry Bread” was a family recipe, not from a book (so much for copywrite laws!).
Funny! I looked around the internet this weekend to see if it was out there before I posted an image of it, and it’s definitely made the rounds. I even found it on Allrecipes.com!
Hi, I just “found” you over at Beauty That Moves.
My daughter loves this book too, and we plan to pick it up
at our local library today..we reserve it every year. 😉
Happy to have found another NJ blogger.
See what KateinNJ has been blogging about: Unplugged Group Project
Ooh, yes, I get happy to find other jersey bloggers, too! Nice to “meet” you 🙂
And now I’m thinking I should check my library and see if they have any of the other Cranberry books. I knew there was a Christmas one, but apparently there are a whole slew of other holidays, too! (Although, Thanksgiving really makes the most sense to me of all of them)
Oh my gosh! I bowered this book from the library almost 25 years ago for my son! And I make the recipe every year, yum! What great memories.
Thank you,
See what Sonja has been blogging about: I voted! Did you?
Oh, my pleasure. I get a kick out of the fact that it was written the year I was born 😀
[…] How To Make Bread Pudding, Kentucky Hot Brown and a Cranberry Whisky Slush with Holiday Left-overs  CRANBERRY RECIPE  Add comments Aug 222012   Grandmother’s Famous Cranberry Bread Image by lisaclarke Get Mother to help http://www.lisaclarke.net/2008/11/09/cranberry-thanksgiving/ […]