Happy Thanksgiving, Ya'll!
While this year had been strange in so many ways, in other ways nothing has changed.
Pandemic or not, time continues its forward march. Fall has ushered in the holiday season, and with that comes the bittersweet emotions that can often accompany special days.
Memories of holidays past and loved ones lost can be overwhelming on a normal year. Add that to the losses and hardships caused by Covid as well as the divisive political landscape in our country, and one may wonder just how successful we will be celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow.
When thinking about gratitude in difficult times, I love this quote from Kak Sri, "Gratitude is an art of painting an adversity into a lovely picture."
This is a great mindset to have, but is not always easy to pull off.
Having lost many loved ones, I sometimes find myself longing for the past. At these times I think of my grandmother, and how she coped with loss.
She showered our family with love. In being present for us, she helped create the happy memories that would teach and sustain us.
She painted her adversity into the vivid stories that she told us. Times of hardship and hunger, an early childhood spent in an orphanage, and suffering later years during the depression.
She didn’t tell these tales with a "woe is me," attitude but one of having persevered and moved on to better times.
As my sister, Stacey, sat with our grandchildren today doing arts and crafts, I thought about how blessed we all are.
We are finally together after almost a year apart. Stacey's daughter, Sommer, is getting ready to have major surgery, while her granddaughter, Haven will soon give birth.
We are all worried about the virus and the implications if anyone becomes infected. Above all, we are grateful for this time together.
The grandkids played with their arts and crafts, aware that things are different now, too. Not so different, however, that they couldn't sit on the patio and paint beautiful pictures.
I took advantage of Stacey's time with them by getting a head start on tomorrow's dinner.
Food is my language of love, and the paints with which I will create my picture of gratitude.
There is the shrimp mirliton dressing, a laborous must-have at our most important family holidays. Perfected by Grandma way back when, I carry on that tradition with more than a little ambivalence.
Then there are the newer things. A corn casserole utilizing Jiffy cornbread mix and canned corn.
From what I understand, this is an iconic dish that had graced Thanksgiving tables for decades.
Why we were so late to the party, I have no idea.
What I do know is that this is a super easy, rich and creamy carb of the best (worst) kind. It is a perfect Thanksgiving indulgence, and one that I share with you today.
The shrimp mirliton dressing is coming in a future post, I promise. Writing about it has proved to be just as laborous as making it.
For tonight, I'm grateful to give you a simple dish.
I called this Jiffy Crack Corn because this is a dish I will eat until every morsel is gone. I hope you love it, too.
And one more thing. Thanks to you, dear readers, for having indulged me during this past year by reading my blog. I am so grateful to you!
Jiffy Crack Corn Casserole
1 stick of butter, melted
1 cup of sour cream
2 eggs
1 can of whole corn, drained
1 can of creamed corn
1 box Jiffy Cornbread mix
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9×12 inch pan.
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
Pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the casserole is set and the edges are brown.
Slice into squares and serve.
Serves 8 to 10
Note:
There are many variations of this recipe around.
Some people add cheese or green chiles.
Some people omit the eggs or use low fat sour cream or margarine.
This is a flexible recipe that adapts easily. Make it your own!
**Stacey says leave it alone. It's delicious as it is.**