Chef Alex

Alex was so excited about Thanksgiving. His pre-school had gone on and on about it, so he had all these expectations. Therefore we thought we should make an effort and try and make it special. The main fare for Thanksgiving dinner seems to be exclusively turkey, but chicken is an acceptable second choice. Most people roast a whole turkey and some have a family recipe that has been handed down. There are all these other side dishes that you can have as well, like sweet potato mash with marshmellows on top (wierd huh). Alex made a picutre in pre-school which was laminated by the teacher. At the top it says "Thanksgiving 2005", below that the kids got to glue pictures of fruit and veggies into a "horn of plenty" shape - the symbol of Thanksgiving. In The States, Thanksgiving is celebrated in November and honours the pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving. In Canada it is held in October (obviously) and is celebrated to return thanks for the harvest - hence the horn of plenty thing. Under the horn of plenty picture, is a statement of what each child is thankful for; Alex's said, "Alex is thankful for his shoes". I had a bit of a chuckle at that. I asked him why he was so thankful for his shoes, and his reply was simple and practical, "they keep my feet dry" ( it rained on the way to pre-school that day). Alex was a huge help in preparing the meal. He wanted a hand in everything, but we did manage to limit his input to brushing the turkey with oil before it went into the oven; scooping up the cubes of potato and putting them into a pot to boil; helping to set the table; putting the cranberry sauce into a serving dish; and blowing out the candle at the end, which according to him, "was the best bit".