Thursday, November 25, 2010

Yummy Good!

When I was growing up, my family always enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving meal -- roast turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce (from a can, sliced!), fruit salad, dinner rolls (if anybody remembered to put them in oven!), and pumpkin pie. No green bean casserole for us, although I'm sure we must have had some forgettable vegetable side dish. Unshelled nuts (brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts, almonds) were set out in bowls to be cracked and enjoyed. The same meal, with the possible addition of ham or prime rib, was served at Christmas.

Making the fruit salad was a cooperative effort. On the evening before the holiday, everyone sat around the dining room table, cutting bananas, apples, oranges, pineapple, and grapes to fill at least one large roasting pan. Although we all loved fruit salad, I don't think anyone has carried on this tradition.

When my sister Jennifer lived in Bakersfield, we started some new traditional meals. Neither she nor Mom particularly cared for turkey, so we would have tacos on Thanksgiving, followed by traditional pies for dessert. At Christmas, I would take lasagna for Christmas Eve dinner; it was easy to make ahead and bake when I got there. Now that our children are grown and Jennifer lives in Texas, I think both our families have returned to the more traditional holiday turkey and ham, but Thanksgiving Eve tacos and Christmas Eve lasagna continue as part of my family's traditions.

Whatever your holiday meal, I hope it is "yummy good" as Jackson, our youngest family member would say. (Jackson is the son of Greg and Rana Spurlock Cooper, grandson of Jennnifer.) Best wishes to all for a Happy Thanksgiving!

© 2010 Denise Spurlock

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