IMAGINING THANKSGIVING IN A TUSCAN VINEYARD

You all know I live in one of the most-southern states of America.

How on earth would I be planning Thanksgiving in a Tuscan vineyard?

Well; if you have a good imagination; anything is possible!

We pulled this off with Thanksgiving by the Sea; so why not Thanksgiving in a Tuscan Vineyard?

SOME TUSCAN STYLE DECOR

Actually; Thanksgiving in a Tuscan vineyard COULD BE easy to do.

I’ve been enthralled with the whole Tuscan style of decorating this year; so I’m just going to  tweak what I already have on hand.  The results COULD BE pretty amazing.

This year we are going to have Thanksgiving just as if we were living in the middle of a Tuscan Vineyard.

For a few hours in November; no one will ever be the wiser.

Our eyes will feast on a Tuscan table.  Blessing our ears will be Italian dinner music; Chianti, actually. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPxlCFPHUOk.   All of our taste-buds will be residing in another country which loves fresh from the earth, rustic and spicy comfort foods.

Then our hearts will enjoy the essence of the vineyard that God created (our very fruitful family.)  We will even have a scripture prayer about the bounty of the grape harvest to go along with it all.  https://allpoetry.com/poem/2414785-VENDEMMIA—The-Italian-grape-harvest-by-Shenton.

BEING THANKFUL FOR THE HARVEST

You know I’m getting very happy with this plan.

It seems to fit the year that we have traveled through.  We certainly have a lot of harvest to be thankful for this year.

VINEYARD LIFE

I love everything about a vineyard.

Vineyards always make me think about eternity.

As a matter of fact I studied a scripture passage from Leviticus 26 today that spoke about the abundance of blessings which will come to those of God who remain obedient to His will.  The passage spoke of a grape harvest and the seasons of harvesting that are tended in a vineyard.

I thought it would be perfect to print those scriptures out and put them at each plate on our Thanksgiving tables. (I’m using the word “table” in the plural because we will be decorating three tables this year and probably have from 17 to 20 guest.)  I want to give each person a card with this scripture passage written inside.  This will be our prayer for dinner.

My kitchen is not so large.  Squeezing in that third table is going to be complicated.  However, we will look on this as a challenge instead of a set-back.

It doesn’t matter if the furniture is a little wonky as long as the company is excellent; right?

A SURPRISE AND A SALE

Just as I was thinking we would need to be a bit flexible; I found this perfect little side-bar on sale at a shop in our town which was going out of business. (How I will miss that shop because I did so much seasonal purchasing from them!)

It was nice to find this little side-bar for the price of a song.  The small bar was one of the last items they had to sell.

Somehow I got it in the back of my SUV and drove off with a plan to paint a few now blue wooden bar stools black.

Here is a photo of the side-bar.

Doesn’t it look Italian/Tuscan to you?

It will be just perfect for Thanksgiving in a Tuscan vineyard once I get the bar stools painted black.

This small bar will be just what I need for seating two more people.  Later when I don’t need extra seating, I can turn the side-bar around the other way and use it for a serving bar.   It has the same smoked glass as my  kitchen table.

Perfect for Thanksgiving in a Tuscan vineyard.

I’m liking the plan so far for seating.

I have two more old wooden bar stools I can paint black to match these.  Then I will set each of them in the corners of the room at each end of the bar for a little more extra seating.

Seating problems solved; that was almost too easy.

USING WHITE TO BEGIN THE TRANSFORMATION

So how will we start this magical transformation from a southern kitchen and living space into a Tuscan Vineyard Kitchen and living space?

I think the color scheme is of the utmost importance.

What trending color scheme is popular for a Tuscan decorating style?

White.

We need white on the walls and wood on the floors.

White on the furniture and white on the doors!

Sorry; I’m beginning to should a bit like Dr. Seuss.  Anyway, the “white” factor is pretty important here.

Plus, it offsets all the black in the kitchen and the dark cabinets.  The white will be a great backdrop for many colorful Italian styled dishes.  Let’s scatter some pretty sun flowers here and there.

ACCENTS

Accents will come in the form of green plants, seasonal vegetables, and lots of purple (in all of its shades.)   We will add some wild fall flowers tumbling into vineyard style pots and containers.

There will be wine.

I’m told the best way to have an Italian Thanksgiving is to accent it with Chianti wine served in the traditional, classic way.  That would be a bottle nestled inside a straw basket.

If you are really familiar with the Italian traditions you can call this wine style by its known name of “fiasco.”   We have learned that Chianti received its name from the region where it is made which is a certain area of Tuscany; of course.

Let’s have a bottle for every table.  The straw baskets of wine will be a great natural accent.  We can scatter little wooden trays of cheeses and extra things to nibble on among the bottles.

Therefore; we will be using a few baskets in our decor.  The baskets will help to carry on the theme of the Chianti region that is so well loved.

RECALLING THE BLACK ROOSTER STORY

There is something else about the best form of Chianti; the Chianti Classico wine has a mascot; a black rooster. It all started about 800 years ago when the people in the region were feuding over the borders of their land. They decided to settle their disputes by having a race by using a rooster and a horse.

Each town would pick a rider.  When their rooster crowed they were to wake up, mount their horse and ride as fast and far as possible. Where the two riders met would be the boundry line dividing the lands.

The Sienna side of the country picked a white rooster.  The village got him ready by feeding him a lot of food.  They thought by doing this that he would wake up happy and crowing and looking for more of his good food very early on the morning of the ride.

The Florence side of the land picked a black rooster.  They starved him until he was very skinny.  This was in hopes that he would be unhappy and not sleep.  Therefore; he would wake their rider earlier in the morning with his constant crowing because he was very hungry and complaining.

You must remember they had no alarm clocks in those days; hence the need for a very dedicated rooster.

As the very important day of the ride for the marking of the lands came about; the black rooster woke up crowing loudly.  His rising was much earlier than the well-fed white rooster.

The Florence rider jumped quickly on his horse and went happily off to claim his territory for his people. Reporters say the Sienna rider had only gained 12 kilometers when the Florence rider caught up with him.  When he saw his side had won the Florence rider did a victory dance right in front of the Sienna rider.

THE BLACK ROOSTER PREVAILED

The use of the skinny black rooster had prevailed!

That black rooster was honored by the people of the land putting his image on all of the wine they produced from that day forward. The date was back in the 1300’s.  You will still see the little black rooster on Chianti wine labels of today. The black rooster surrounded by the gold circle is the best choice of this particular brand of wine.

Yep; you guessed it. We have been on a quest to find a few black roosters to finish our decor.

GROW THE GRAPES AND WATCH OUT FOR THE LITTLE FOXES

Of course; we need to add grapes to our tables.  What is a vineyard without the little foxes that try to sneak into the crops and take their own share? We are including some foxes too.

Now we know white is a desirable color (is white really a color or just a base?) Also, we know baskets and black roosters and grapes are going to fit right in.

LEMONS

What else should be we be thinking of as we turn our kitchen, dining room and living area into a Tuscan Thanksgiving Vineyard?

Lemons!

You can’t go to Italy without trying some Limoncello.  We will tell you how to make that for yourself in the article with our recipes which will show up right after we post this one.  Here is the link though:  https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/thanksgiving-recipes/.

That will be our after-dinner drink; as well as an item added to our dessert table.

In the meantime, we found a little vineyard fox to put into a bowl full of lemons right beside the front door.  He looks lovely there.

SURPRISES HAPPEN AROUND THE HOLIDAYS

All of this decorating is panning out just great; but guess what happened after I had the plan and the recipes all together?

Wouldn’t you know it, for no apparent reason (my husband says it was grease in the bottom of the oven that I had not yet cleaned out before I pre-heated for our next meal) my awesome convection double-wall ovens sparked a flame.  Smoke filled the kitchen!  When things finally calmed down; I had a wonderful oven that would no longer work.

Great!

My famous words are “I’m flexible.”

Flexible is one thing; but it won’t cook Lasagna for Thanksgiving in a Tuscan vineyard.

I’m holding my breath that we can replace the ovens before the big day; which isn’t very far away now.  It is doubtful that will be possible.  I’ll have to move on to Plan B.   You might enjoy reading my next article entitled:  How to have Thanksgiving Dinner in a pretend Tuscan Vineyard when your oven doesn’t work.

Funnier things have happened; but I don’t remember when.  I’ll figure this out.  You know I’ll be writing about it too.

This all actually ties in with the little foxes we have used.  If you don’t watch out, those little foxes will steal your joy.  The trick is to enjoy their slyness, but not let them ruin your vineyard.

Our vineyard is good at chasing those little foxes that steal your joy away.  I know we will come up with some pretty creative solutions for cooking.  No little foxes will keep our joy away.

A word I had from a sweet older Italian lady  came to mind.  She lived next door to us when we first married.  Her advice was this:  “Never worry when your plan gets changed unexpectedly at the last minute.  It only means that God has something better in store.”  Thank you Mrs. Kubizyn. I’m trusting your good advice today.

In the meantime – if you are interested, I’ll soon be creating a post with my original menu for the Tuscan Vineyard Thanksgiving Feast.  Browse through them if you are thinking of venturing off the beaten path of the traditional turkey dinner this year:  https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/thanksgiving-recipes/.

At least they will be helpful to someone.

You know; I’m still thankful. I’m sure God is going to work all of this out in a beautiful way.

I’ll catch you afterwards and we will talk!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

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