Spotted! 10-Minute Puppets author Noel MacNeal on the Sesame Street parade float! What, you don’t see him?

Here, I’ll give you a hint: He’s hiding inside an eight-foot two-inch tall bright yellow bird. Now do you see him?

Noel MacNeal is a regular Muppet and Sesame Street performer, and this Thanksgiving he scored the awesome gig of being Big Bird on the Sesame Street float! Says Noel: “Turkey Day was great. Got to be a big bird before eating a big bird!”

Here’s Noel, outside the Bird but still in the nest, with fellow Sesame Street character Abby Cadabby and her puppeteer, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph.

And here’s his book, with a hue to rival those yellow feathers, and a quote on the cover from the puppeteer who created Big Bird!

To celebrate the release of Sandra Boynton‘s latest book, Amazing Cows, we’re featuring videos from some of the most creative Boynton-lovers on YouTube!

Today’s video is from a dog lover who uses the song Snuggle Puppy as the soundtrack to a video tribute of her favorite canines.

Meet Sandra Boynton, watch her musical stage show, and see her amazing artwork exhibition, all this Saturday from 12-2 at Books of Wonder (18 West 18th Street, New York, NY)

Crescent Dragonwagon, author of Passionate Vegetarian and The Cornbread Gospels, has written a moving piece on the Vermonter’s ritual of planting garlic before the frost that’s also a meditation on love, loss, and the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Check it out here.

Loyal followers of the Workman blog will remember WorkMan, our resident superhero, and are no doubt wondering what he’ll be doing this Thanksgiving. What do superheroes do on Turkey Day? Well, I can’t speak for where all of them might be (Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Wayne Manor) but WorkMan has personally let me in on his plans. With the day off from his editorial intern activities, WorkMan will concentrate on what he does best: making the world a better place. On this Thanksgiving Day, you may find him tackling any number of activities from How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist. Here’s a sampling:

• Thanking the Troops: LetsSayThanks.com gives kids (and their parents) an easy way to send a free patriotic postcard to military personnel serving abroad. Pick a postcard on their website, write your message, and Xerox will print the card and send it overseas. You can also send a virtual thank-you card to a service member through Defend America (ourmilitary.mil, click on “Thank the Troops”). These cards let solders know that we’re thinking of them here at home and appreciate their sacrifice.
• Making Poverty History: Cofounded by U2 front man Bono, the ONE Campaign (one.org) is a powerful grassroots organization that works with policy experts, activists, and political leaders to find solutions to global issues like AIDS, malaria, climate change, and extreme poverty. This campaign does not ask for your money, only your voice. Take one minute out of your day to visit their website and sign a petition to fight against these devastating problems.
• Wiping Away Shopper’s Remorse: IGive.com is a charity mall with over fifteen thousand organizations to choose from—from Action Against Hunger to your local YMCA (you can nominate your preferred charity if it’s not already on the list.) When you make a purchase through iGive, the retailer puts a percentage in your account. You can then redirect those funds to a partner charity. OneCause.com is another charity mall (with merchants like Dell, Disney, and Sheraton), where you can earn money for causes like American Forests and the American Cancer Society.
• Sweet Gestures: Do your macaroons come out perfect every time? Donate your cookies and other baked goods to your local Meals on Wheels (mowaa.org). During the holidays and for every birthday, volunteers provide homebound seniors with special goodie bags called We Care Packages—decorated shoeboxes or paper shopping bags filled with edible treats, toiletries and small personal items. Packages can also include a personal note with well wishes from volunteers. Visit their website to find your local Meals on Wheels chapter and look under the Volunteer Opportunities tab.

Impressive list, WorkMan! But you don’t have to be a superhero to change the world. Many of these activities can be done in 15 minutes or less, faster than the time it takes to get through holiday gridlock. There are plenty of ways to help others on a daily basis without having to donate millions or become a full-time volunteer. Pick up How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist (or if your a kid, Do Something!: A Handbook for Young Activists) to figure out how to start and discover hundreds of little to no-cost ways to make a difference. Trust me and WorkMan, “doing good” is just as satisfying as pumpkin pie or your Aunt Cindy’s cranberry sauce, and the best part is you don’t have to choose between the two!

–Editorial Intern Justin would like to wish everyone a Happy (Merry?) Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday–the mix of food and family always wins me over–but all of the cleaning, entertaining, and cooking that lead up to the day itself can make even the most cheerful chef a bit cranky.

Jessica Harper, the Crabby Cook herself, has your back. Watch Jessica’s casual take on Thanksgiving cooking–a foolproof cranberry sauce recipe–below, then read an excerpt from her upcoming book The Crabby Cook.

The Crabby Cook Cookbook by Jessica Harper

For a lot more crabby fun, visit Jessica Harper at TheCrabbyCook.com.

On the holiday, young hands can stay occupied with this project — and the resulting turkeys make great placecard holders! Just tuck a little card, with each diner’s name, behind the turkey’s head. (Don’t do it too many hours before dinner is served, or grease will leach onto the paper!)

Photography © Kevin Kennefick

Turkeys
Excerpted from Candy Construction by Sharon Bowers
Copyright © 2010 by Sharon Parrish Bowers
Used with permission from Storey Publishing
What You’ll Need:
Nutter Butter cookies
Chocolate Mortar or 1 can store-bought chocolate frosting
Mini marshmallows
Mini chocolate chips
Candy corn
Red fruit leather or red decorating gel
Fudge-striped shortbread cookies (two for each turkey)

What to Do
1. For each turkey, lay a Nutter Butter flat on your work surface. For the eyes, put two dabs of mortar on one end of the cookie and press two mini chocolate chips into the wet frosting. For the beak, trim off the tip of a candy corn and mortar it in place. Cut a little strip of red fruit leather and glue it alongside the beak, letting it dangle down beneath to serve as the wattle. If you don’t have fruit leather, you can use a squeeze of red decorating gel.

2. With mortar, glue the back of the Nutter Butter to the front of a fudge-striped shortbread cookie. Use more mortar to glue candy corn to the back of the striped cookie. Place the candy corn so that the fat ends radiate outward.

3. With a thick dollop of frosting, glue the Nutter Butter and fudge-striped cookie in a standing position on a second fudge striped cookie that is lying flat. It helps to sort of nestle the rounded base of the Nutter Butter into the hole in the middle of the shortbread cookie.

Fun Variation: These goofy turkeys are even cuter if you have the brown “Indian corn” candy corn (with brown ends instead of yellow), which is sometimes available in late fall. (If you see it, stock up!) Or be sure to save some regular candy corn from Halloween, because Thanksgiving will be here before you know it.

This is one project where using a few dabs of peanut butter in place of frosting is fast, easy, entirely appropriate, and even totally tasty. Be sure to use creamy peanut butter, not crunchy. Also, do not use the natural kind, which is less sticky because it’s grainier and oilier, lacking the sugar and emulsifiers that smooth out other types of peanut butter.

Though not a traditional Thanksgiving dish per se, Myra Goodman’s Roasted Butternut, Fennel, and Cranberries recipe from The Earthbound Cook epitomizes autumn, while also combining several ingredients that are commonly used around the holiday.  If you feel like trying your own spin on the dish, substitute in other winter vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, cipollini onions, shallots or yams. If you’re looking to make a vegetarian or vegan dish, the pancetta can be eliminated.

Serves 8-10

3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 6 cups)
3 large fennel bulbs, halved lengthwise, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 3 cups), fronds reserved
3 crisp apples such as Fuji or Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 2 cups)
3/4 cup dried cranberries, preferably organic
1/2 cup (4 ounces) finely minced pancetta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon chopped reserved fennel fronds or fennel pollen
Coarse sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400˚F.

2. Place the squash, fennel, apples, cranberries, and pancetta, if using, on a rimmed baking sheet.

3. Place the olive oil and maple syrup in a small bowl, and whisk to combine.

4. Pour the oil mixture over the vegetables and toss to coat. Add the thyme and fennel fronds, and season with coarse salt and black pepper to taste. Spread the mixture out. Do not crowd the vegetables as this will cause them to steam rather than brown—use two pans or cook in batches if necessary.

5. Roast the vegetables until they are lightly caramelized and tender, 30 to 45 minutes. As they are roasting, shake the baking sheet or stir the vegetables occasionally so they develop a crisp crust on each side.

6. Transfer the vegetables to a warmed platter and serve immediately.

7. Refrigerate leftovers, covered, for up to 3 days. Reheat over low heat or in a microwave before serving.

Watch Allen Kurzweil’s brand new Potato Chip Science video which just had its world premiere this morning at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.

This morning, Workman will be livestreaming our first event.  Tune in right here to watch  Allen and Maz Kurzweil, the creators of Potato Chip Science broadcast at 10:15 am est, and 11:30 am est direct from Discovery Theater, part of the Smithsonian Associates program in Washington, D.C.

Tune in to see demonstrations of fascinating science experiments (or “snacktivities”) and the not-to-be-missed premiere of a hip-hop video from Allen Kurzweil and his kid-scientist crew.

Click here to watch live video of Allen and Max Kurzweil at the Smithsonian.