Today is Schwenkfelder Thanksgiving, Pennsylvania Dutch Thanksgiving (but ‘shh-WEN-ken-feld-er’ is way more fun to say!). The Schwenkfelders are a group of early German-Protestant settlers who have been celebrating their own Thanksgiving since 1734, way before Thanksgiving became an official American holiday in 1863. It was a meal to celebrate their freedom from religious persecution, but the settlers had nothing to harvest so the traditional Pennsylvania Dutch holiday consists of bread, water, butter, and apple butter…soooooo basically prison lunch. 

I’m all about celebrating heritage properly and staying true to traditions, but is there any way we could add some turkey to this spread? What about candied yams? Green Bean Casserole? No?

What about pie?