Thanksgiving!

I look forward to a mouth-watering turkey sandwich all year. And there are other treats saved just for this time of year also, or if we do happen to have them at some point throughout the year they still have to be included in the Thanksgiving Day meal.

When Rog and I married, our traditions merged. I brought some of my southern country-style background into the menu and of course he had some favorites that I picked up, like green bean casserole. Can you believe I never had a green bean casserole before I was married? Many of the dishes are recipes handed down to me from my mother and grandmothers.

Thought I would share our meal and invite you to share yours. I love hearing about the different family traditions. And I hope you have them. If you don’t, then start this year. It’s something your children will look back on and want to pass down. The generational connectedness is so very important. We need a sense of where we came from and who we are. It strengthens identity. It may be one reason so many young people, and even adults, struggle with issues of acceptance and belonging. God established the family and ordained it. Scripture has much to say about a generational heritage. If you have a godly heritage, thank Him for it. If you don’t, determine you will be the beginning of one for those that come after you. And hopefully you are sitting down together for a family meal more than once a year!

Harding Thanksgiving Menu

Turkey with stuffing and giblet gravy
ham
mashed potatoes
potato salad
sweet potato casserole
green bean casserole
collards
squash
deviled eggs
dinner rolls
cranberry relish
pumpkin pie
chocolate cream pie
coconut pie

While some people stuff a turkey, I never have. My grandmother always baked her stuffing separately, so even if I use Stove Top (which I usually do) I use chicken broth instead of water when I mix it and I bake it until crusty brown on top. The potato salad is a mustard potato salad. My grandmother always put bread and butter pickles, canned at home, in hers. But my boys didn’t always care for that so I modified it a bit. I just stir in some vinegar to give it a little kick (sorry guys, I may never have divulged that secret before!).

The sweet potato casserole was borrowed from a neighbor while in Bible college, the days when we used each other’s ovens and washer/dryers and whatever else was needed! She had family coming and was running out of room in her oven. Not everything was done so she came over and put that casserole in my oven. It smelled so scrumptious I had to have the recipe. We had always included candied yams before so this was a delicious and different way to still include them. My son Seth claimed this dish as a favorite. I remember his first Thanksgiving away from home, calling to ask, “Mom, I need to know how to fix the sweet potato casserole.” Thank you Wendy!

The collards and squash were southern garden delights. I laugh when some people don’t even know what collards are! My grandmothers, and my mother after them, would season the collards with the ham hock from the ham. Have you ever heard of pot liquor? It was the broth made from the ham hock and collards when they cooked down. My maternal grandmother loved it. The squash were actually summer squash that had been frozen when first picked. They were thawed, then fried with bacon and onions with lots of pepper. I’ve not grown a garden since I left home. Well, we did make a couple of attempts, but I don’t have a green thumb. I try though, to have collards and squash on the table each year if at all possible. Thankful for farmer’s markets and frozen foods!

As you can see, this was simple fair. When I was younger, the ham for my family came from my grandpa’s smokehouse. He raised his own hogs and every fall there was a “hog killing” (thus many dishes with bacon or ham). The vegetables came from the garden. And the potatoes had their own field. Before the first hard frost, my granddaddy gathered the grandkids together to dig potatoes. He would break up the ground with the tractor. We would walk behind, digging hands and toes in the cool dirt. When a bushel basket was filled, it was set aside until he came back around later with the tractor and wagon to pick them up.

There are some things I just can’t replicate. But though the process may be different and the recipes varied a bit, it’s the idea of a family heritage being enjoyed and passed down that’s important. It’s also about knowing that we’ve created a few traditions of our own. I happen to love pumpkins and anything made from pumpkin. So I always make bread…and I use fresh pumpkin. Roger’s maternal grandmother baked pumpkin and zucchini bread, and apple cake. Those recipes came from her. It fascinated me that she baked them in coffee cans! I never used a coffee can, but I did bake lots of pumpkin bread. I found a recipe for a cream cheese orange marmalade spread to use with it. Oh I can taste it now with a cup of hazelnut coffee! We would munch on the bread and some ham for breakfast while watching the parades and waiting for everything else to be prepared. My turkey had cooked overnight so my oven was free. A vegetable tray with some cheese and crackers kept “the pickers” away (everyone that wanted to come by and sample the fixings because they were starving!).

By the time the meal was done and everyone was fat and happy it was time for football. Four boys with four different favorite teams always guarantees an exciting afternoon! Of course we had a family team also, so there was still some unity among the fan craziness. And everyone is a commentator. In fact, it was our three year old granddaughter who recently made the comment while watching the Redskins play, “these guys need some professionals to play!” Out of the mouth of babes; I guess they weren’t having the best day.

Our situations have changed. My love for the holiday hasn’t. My grandparents have all passed on now and I’m left with wonderful memories. We don’t get down to my folks for Thanksgiving much anymore. In fact, they spend it at their cottage at the beach. We’re not always able to have our own children in for the holiday either. Sometimes they can be home; sometimes they are sharing it with others. But the connection and closeness is not affected by the miles between us. In fact, it is stronger in spite of it. It takes some effort, and my daughter-in-laws are better at it than I am. They’re all so sensitive to the fact that we love “seeing” our children and grandchildren and spending time with them. So we talk a lot, we share on facebook, they send pictures and cards. They let the kids call. And I love seeing the traditions they are building now with their families. I look forward to my mom calling me faithfully every Sunday morning on the way to church, even if it goes to voice mail when I’m not in range, I know she’s called. I call her back as soon as I can. These are the things that matter.

Enjoy a beautiful Thanksgiving Day. Appreciate the opportunity to purposefully be thankful to God for all His great blessings. And be careful to consider the eternal as well as the temporal when rendering up thanksgiving to Him, not only for all He has provided materially, but for who He is and all He has done. Tell your children that family and friendships are gifts from God. Be thankful for them and never take them for granted. Share stories. Share the meal. Share memories. Pray together.

“I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the wonderful works that He has done. For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; that the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children, that they may set their hope in God and not forget the works of God but keep His commandments.” Psalm 78:2-7

“So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, Will give You thanks forever; We will show forth Your praise to all generations.” Psalm 79:13

And later that evening when you eat that turkey sandwich before heading off to bed, think of me…I’ll be having one too.