Roast turkey

We all have troubles but this is a time to give thanks for family and friends, a home, and an income. We in cleveland can also give thanks that this area of the country is rarely subject to natural disasters such as earthquake, tornado, and flood.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it is about being together with those we love. It’s also about food and tradition. Over the years, I have learned that every family has ethnic traditions as well as family traditions that have been incorporated into the feast.

My family is an excellent example. My mother’s family was German so we always had sauerkraut with our turkey. We had candied yams but my husband’s family had mashed yams with marshmallows on top so we incorporated that dish.

Being from Baltimore, which is crab country, we start Thanksgiving Day with a lunch of Maryland crab soup and crabcakes, both being my mother’s recipes.

Dinner is served at 6. Roast turkey is the star. I make a wild rice stuffing but my daughter and her family love cornbread stuffing so she brings that. My cousin, who is married to an Indian, brings a vegetable curry and a tofu turkey as well as our grandmother’s cranberry relish. Her daughter brings macaroni and cheese because she and our grandchildren love it.

Italian friends of ours have told us that their Thanksgiving always includes pasta. Food is so much more than nourishment, especially on Thanksgiving. It’s really about sharing and love.

My love to all of you.

Perennially,
Bobbie