Was your Thanksgiving dinner when you were a youngster different than what you celebrate now? Mine was. Mother and Dad are gone as are my two brothers. Back in the day that was it, just the five of us. We seldom had company during the dark days of the Great Depression. It was just the five of us and Banjo, our supposed Beagle.
Mother would start planning the feast about a month before. She would have been fattening that old Rooster. He was expendable. Produce from the garden, canned or stored in a cold frame would round out the meal. You know, you can keep carrots and parsnips in the ground all winter if they are well covered with straw.
Mother grocery shopped at the store once a month. That was how Dad was paid. She would barter eggs and any veggie she could spare. Imagine shopping like that? No way.
We never had turkey at our house. An expendable chicken was the star of the meal. That was the one of few times Mother prepared mashed potatoes. The rest of the year they were either boiled, baked or fried. She was a whiz with bread dressing. It was stuffed into the bird and baked. Not in a pan to be baked separately. Mother had a green bean casserole, not like the ones you see now. For a salad she would slice yellow onions and cover them with a brine of salt, vinegar and water. If there were any tomatoes left that were stored in newspaper, one would be sliced and served. Biscuits rounded out the meal. Her homemade biscuits were heavenly, light as a feather. Some would be served with home churned butter, while the rest were covered with chicken gravy for a side dish. Bread and butter pickles rounded out the meal. Dessert was pumpkin pie, of course and lemon meringue pie if she had a lemon.
This was one of the few times grace was said at our house. My brothers and I didn’t understand who we were addressing, but no matter, thanks were given. That was it. No company, just us and Banjo. We kept him fed by sneaking scraps under the table for him.
We would eat remnants of the feast for several days. Mother was a whiz in laying a spread when there didn’t seem to be much to fix. Even that was a step up from our usual fare of fried eggs, fried potatoes, canned veggies and cornbread.
So when you sit down to dinner this thanksgiving day be thankful for family and friends and the bounty God has given you. It really is a time to count your blessings. Happy Thanksgiving!