Thanksgiving, Again.

It is a little difficult to avoid giving you a Thanksgiving story today – and why would I want to anyway? Before I give you today’s historical Thanksgiving menu, here are the links to previous Thanksgiving posts, in case you should want to thoroughly revise the topic before we proceed.

Over a dozen historical Thanksgiving menus are included in the following four posts: here, here, here, and  here.

Five posts have covered Thanksgiving pies:
Pumpkin, Pecan, Cranberry, Apple, Mincemeat.

Other Thanksgiving foods featured in the past have been:
Succotash, Sweet Potato,Vegetarian ‘Mock Turkey’,Turkey, Cranberry Sauce, Turkey Dressing,

We have also had fun with:
Thanksgiving breakfast.
Thanksgiving Ideas for the Bride Housewife.

Now, as the military seem to be under-represented in the posts for this special day, here is the
Thanksgiving Day menu for 1945 from U.S.S. PC-1138, in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii.

Celery and Ripe Olives

Cream of Tomato Soup

ROAST TOM TURKEY

Vegetable Dressing Giblet Gravy Mashed Potato

Fruit Cocktail

Pie Plum Pudding

Nuts Candy

Cigars and Cigarettes.

For the today’s recipe, I give you a military quantity of Cream of Tomato Soup from the U.S. Navy cook-book (1920). I doubt that the military were doing it much differently a couple of decades later when the men aboard U.S.S. PC-1138 enjoyed their turkey and cigarettes in 1945.

CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP
10 gals. stock
20 lbs.tomatoes
3 lbs. onions
5 lbs. flour
3 lbs. milk
1/8 oz baking soda
5 lbs. bread for croutons.
Boil together the tomatoes and onions until they become a pulp, then mash and strain through a fine colander; add to the stock and thicken well with a white roux. Simmer for 30 minutes; then add the soda and then the milk. Season and serve with the croutons. The consistency of this soup should be that of a good thick cream.

Quotation for the Day.

What's a soup kitchen?
Paris Hilton.