The Meaning of Thanksgiving: A Time for Reflection plus a Recipe
Orange, red, mahogany brown and gold; those are the colors of Thanksgiving. As a child I loved creating a centerpiece of purple grapes, red apples, oranges and nuts still in their shells. The house filled with the scents of roasting turkey, baked yams, and apple pie as I waited for family and invite guests to arrive. Always, my parents would invite one or two single friends to join us.
A holiday unique to the United States and Canada, the day devoted to family and food celebrates the harvest. (Canadian Thanksgiving is in October because Winter arrives earlier than in the USA.) The name, Thanksgiving, says it all. It’s a time for reflection and a time to give thanks. Not associated with any specific religion, it’s a national holiday that for many immigrants, became a way to re-assert their connection with their new home. At least that’s what my mother always told me, that while everyone doesn’t celebrate Christmas in the same way or at all, they can all have a day of Thanks.
You do not have to eat turkey. Part of the fun is sharing favorite foods. Vegetable enchiladas, macaroni and cheese, shrimp cocktail, spaghetti and meatballs, arugula and beet salad: I’ve had all these things and more at various Thanksgivings. I’ve cooked a goose, a duck, prime rib, and a turducken (deboned turkey/duck/chicken). I’ve made cracker stuffing, cornbread stuffing, oyster stuffing, and sausage stuffing. The idea is to relax, don’t overthink what you serve, and get everyone to help. The best Thanksgivings are the ones where every attendee brings a favorite dish to share, a dish made with love. This is the idea behind Friendsgiving, where friends gather for their own pre-Thanksgiving Feast without worrying about family dynamics.
Sadly in my opinion, Thanksgiving is being short-changed in the rush to put up Christmas decorations. Already where I live in Maryland, the Christmas wreaths, trees and lights as getting set out an entire week before Thanksgiving. The idea of “harvest” décor has been combined with Halloween. All around me as I harvest the last of the tomatoes and beets, the emphasis is on red, green, silver and gold.
Merchants are promoting all the Black Friday deals. Holiday shopping has gone into full gear. What a shame people can’t savor a Thanksgiving for a few days without worrying about their Christmas list.
Not that families don’t make special food to share during the Winter Holiday Season. One type of dish I always liked, that I don’t make that often is noodle kugel. This year’s Winter theme for Instant Noodles Literary Magazine was “Holiday Noods.” My response to the call-out was to write a brief essay about Holiday Noodle Kugel. When the Winter issue goes live, I will add a link so you can read it here. What I did not include with my essay was the actual recipe,. Kugel would make a nice addition to your Thanksgiving table, particularly if you want a meatless dish. Scroll down below the writing prompt and you will find my recipe.
For a WRITING PROMPT: I’m going to provide advance notice that the spring theme for the Instant Noodles Literary Magazine is the word . What ideas does the word evoke for you? Are you thinking about being hip, cool and up on “current” events or are you traveling on an air “current.” Where does the word take you? Try writing a story about yourself, something you observed, or something entirely imaginary. Use the word as the impetus for a poem. As one of the contributing editors I look forward to reading your submissions!
Using the word current in a fashionable context, one of the food trends for 2025 will be a return to childhood favorites. So I share my recipe for Noodle Kugel as a nostalgic addition to a Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas or New Year’s dinner table.
RECIPE FOR NADJA’s SAVORY NOODLE KUGEL Ingredients
12 oz. wide egg noodles
8 oz. sour cream
16 oz. cottage cheese
4 tablespoon olive oil (approx.)
1 small minced onion or chopped bunch of scallions
1 small clove garlic, minced
3 eggs
Fresh chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Bake
Cook the noodles al dente according to package directions and drain.
THEN: Beat eggs until frothy and add sour cream, cottage cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Sautee garlic and onions in generous amount of olive oil. When soft and golden mix those into the egg/cheese mixture along with parsley. Add the cooked noodles and pour into a greased pan (not too shallow). Bake 35–40 minutes, until casserole is set and the top is browned.
THANK YOU for reading. Have fun and if you haven’t already signed up to follow me, it is FREE. And please, if you like my writing, you can support my efforts by buying a copy of my chapbook RECIPES FROM MY GARDEN- Poetry, Flash CNF and Short Essays (Old Scratch Press Sept. 2024) a great gift to yourself and for friends at $8.95.
Originally published at http://nadjamaril.com on November 25, 2024.
