Saturday Morning Message: Favorite Thanksgiving Food

Good Morning,

This week survivors wrote about their loved one’s favorite foods at Thanksgiving. The opening picture came from Caryn, mother of Nathan,  who wrote, “Nathan and his favorite Thanksgiving meal was always one he prepared himself, beginning with this one when he was in middle school. The last Thanksgiving meal I had was the one he cooked with his Dad in 2010.” There are a large variety of foods that are presented. Enjoy this week’s message.

Photo courtesy of Caryn

Hugs,
Carol Lane
Mother of Bryon

Question for Next Week’s Saturday Morning Message 

Since next week is a short week, there will be a shorter message for Saturday, November 24, so I thought this would be a good time to gather more questions. The questions I look for are applicable to all survivors. It may be something that has troubled you and you would like to hear how others cope or just something you think would make a good question. By sharing coping strategies, together we become stronger. So, this week: Do you have a question you would like to see on the Saturday Morning Message? I look forward to hearing from you.

♫ Song for the Week

Leslie, mother of Eugene sent the song this week which is: “One More Day” sung by Diamond Rio. She added, “Don’t we all wish we had more time.” 

You can send me favorite songs for this song of the week section at online@taps.org. I directly receive all responses that are sent to this address.

Answers from Survivors

Responses from Survivors to last week’s question: What was your loved one's favorite food for the Thanksgiving holiday? How was it prepared?

Photo courtesty of Cindy

 

From Cindy, mother of Jason: I'm answering this as I sit with my son in Old Town Clovis, California. His favorite food at Thanksgiving was pumpkin pie. I always use the recipe on the label of Libby's pumpkin filling and he loved it. His last Thanksgiving at home, after everyone was gone, he took the rest of the pie and ate it with a spoon right out of the pie tin, lol. I miss and love him so much.

From Belinda, mother of Benjamin: Benjamin loved to cook and was good at it. He always teased me about my mashed potatoes.... even if there were no lumps, he teased anyway. For years there is a simple broccoli casserole recipe I’ve used. Benjamin asked for the recipe. He and I had trouble with too much liquid in it when it came out of the oven. I made it last year and wanted so much to be able to tell him, “Son, mom has finally got it figured out.” One day we’ll talk about it.

From Kelsey, mother of Michael: My son and I ate tacos for Thanksgiving. We prepared them together. He cooked the meat, beans and rice while I cut up all the vegetables.

With our tacos in hand we then sat down and watched “Sasuke,” the Japanese athletic competition on TV that inspired American Ninja Warrior. We laughed as we cheered on our favorite competitors. It was our special day to celebrate in our own way. I miss him dearly and have not watched “Sasuke” since his death in 2016.

From Leslie, mother of Eugene: The answer to this question may seem a bit unusual. To know my son, you would say this would be a typical answer, but to the normal person this is not. For Thanksgiving dinner my son most looked forward to the apple and the pecan pies. In fact, he would take a slice of each one before the meal even began. Once he had his dessert, he would then begin the meal. He loved the turkey and especially the stuffing and sweet potatoes, but he couldn’t wait to get back to the desert. He usually made the apple pie from his great grandmother’s recipe that was given and shown to me by his great grandmother years ago.  I had it written down in the tiny little notebook with all the recipes that my surviving son now has. It was the best apple pie ever. The pecan pie was my recipe and he loved that as well. If you knew my son very well you knew he nibbled at the desert before the meal began.

From Samira, mother of Andres: Because we did not have family or an invitation to go to celebrate Thanksgiving, we went to Epcot and ate there together. Each year we ate in a different country. This is the reason I love going to Epcot, because of our memories. Thanks for this opportunity to share.

From Essie, mother of Tysheena: This is a good question since Tysheena was a complete foodie. I can pick one thing, but there are many Thanksgiving dishes she loved. I believe though, my stuffed shells were her favorite. Not a traditional Thanksgiving dish, but she enjoyed it and also helped prepare it with me. I use boxed large shells, sharp cheese, mild cheese and ricotta cheese, with eggs and parsley flakes for the stuffing. For the sauce, I use 2 to 3 jars of Prego or Ragu garden sauce and ground beef with Italian sausage. I bake it for 45 minutes and sprinkle shredded cheese on top and serve. Simple but delicious.

The difference is who makes it. I cook with love, so my seasoning and preparations are done with extreme love and the outcome is always perfect. I brag about my cooking, because I always get great compliments and my family is always happy.

If you would like to send a message thanking the participant in this week’s Saturday Morning Message, send it to me at online@taps.org and I will make sure your thoughts are passed along. Thank you to everyone responding this week and those who read this message.