Remember the Peanuts movie where Charlie Brown and Snoopy invite friends for Thanksgiving? They serve the only food they know how to make: toast and popcorn, with a side of pretzels and jelly beans.
Well, this year, instead of being frustrated that my kids refuse to eat almost all normal foods, we decided to embrace the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
Gavin and Lucy both seemed truly thankful for their feast of snacks, Skittles, toast, and Kraft Mac n' Cheese.
The parents had a nice traditional Thanksgiving dinner, including brussels sprouts that were surprisingly good (trying -- in vain? -- to set a good example for the children). This year, for a change, I used a Vermont cookbook that called for apples in almost everything. The apple stuffing was delicious, and the cranberry-apple conserve made the house smell divine. But I did find myself missing the sausage and sage in the stuffing, and the conserve tasted more like a rich, colorful apple butter than cranberry sauce. Next year, I think we'll go back with the old recipes for the grown-ups' Thanksgiving. But I have a feeling that Charlie Brown will become a tradition into the future for the kids.
