Tag: cooking

Milk or Water? That’s the Question!
family · My Thoughts · Thanksgiving

Milk or Water? That’s the Question!

Larada Horner-Miller2 Comments
Woman with turkey - milk

Milk or water? That’s the question my Aunt Willie & Mom argued about for fixing turkey gravy. This Thanksgiving I remembered their good-natured disagreement. Immediately memories flooded me of Thanksgivings past.

When I asked Lin what he wanted to do for Thanksgiving this year, he said, “Let’s cook a turkey!” So, we did! I bought all the ingredients needed (yet missed some), and wondered how I would fare with my hurting foot and leg.

The Week Before Thanksgiving

On Monday we got the turkey out of the freezer and put it in the frig. Then on Tuesday Lin put it in cold water in the sink, changing the water repeatedly.

To cut what I needed to do Thanksgiving Day, I made the cranberry sauce from scratch on Wednesday evening. It was at this point that Mom’s presence overcame me. She taught me how to do this, assuring me that it was quite easy. After Lin faced diabetes a few years ago, I traded out the cup of sugar with a cup of Monk fruit. Yes, I smiled once again at being in the kitchen with her, preparing a holiday meal. I felt her presence at my elbow.

Thanksgiving Day – Milk or Water?

Then on Thanksgiving morning, we got up and played our daily two cribbage games then turned on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and watched part of it. I took time away to join my meditation group to ground me for the day. The leader read Mary Oliver’s poem, Gratitude, for the inspirational part before we meditated. I loved all the questions Oliver asked in her poem then answered with nature:

  • What did you notice?
  • What did you hear?
  • When did you admire?
  • What astonished you?
  • What would you like to see again?
  • What was most tender?
  • What was most wonderful?
  • What did you think was happening?
Gratitude by Mary Oliver

Throughout the day, I asked myself, “What did you notice?”

Then I peeled the potatoes and covered them in water. I prepared the green bean casserole and grabbed a shower and dressed.

For years, we have cooked our turkey in a cooking bag in a roaster. It cuts the cooking time considerably and the meat is moist. My cousin, Jan, taught me this trick.

So we got the turkey in the roaster at 11:00 AM. I bought a twenty-pound turkey (yes, just us two but we love turkey!) So, it wouldn’t be done until about 2:00 PM.

Because of that, I delayed cooking the potatoes to mash, but when I did get started my time management worked out beautifully.

Next, I cooked the sweet potatoes in the microwave. You may wonder why! Mom died in March 2013, so I cooked my first Christmas dinner in years that year. I had bought fresh sweet potatoes and we went to Branson. I hate canned sweet potatoes! So, I had to figure how to do them from scratch. So I cooked the sweet potatoes in the microwave, peeled them afterwards. Yes, they were hot and I had to be careful not to burn my hands.

So that tradition started in 2013 for me! And I have continued over the years to this year. After cooking and peeling them, I cut them up and prepared the dish for candied yams, but I forgot to buy the marshmallows to top the dish. I told Lin and he found a container of marshmallow crème in our pantry and I used the crème and it worked.

Then I cooked the potatoes and mashed them. Lin likes them sort of lumpy, so I left them that way.

I put the sweet potatoes and green bean casserole in the oven at the same time. Then I cooked the stuffing (yes, I use Stove Top), but I grilled celery to add something extra to the stuffing. The first batch I grilled, I burned, so I did a second and they turned out great.

I felt Mom smiling. She never judged any mistake I made in the kitchen.

Mom & Aunt Willie - milk
Mom & Aunt Willie

But Mom really came to mind front and center when I got to the gravy. Yes, I made the gravy from scratch. Mom and Aunt Willie had a fun argument going on in their later years: was it water or milk you add to gravy? Being raised by the same mother, this often made me shake my head and wonder—why the question?

As I made the gravy, I asked, “Water or milk?” and laughed. I heard Mom’s sweet laughter echo around the kitchen. I have such fond memories of those two elder ladies joyfully arguing about that question.

Me & Mon - milk
Me & Mom

As I finished up the preparation of the gravy, I stepped back so thankful for all the precious Thanksgiving memories I have: the water/gravy question, fun hours sitting around our round table in Branson, Colorado playing games and laughing, and trips to the Boulder Dinner Theater with Mom and Dad.

Finally,

Yes, Mom joined me in my kitchen this Thanksgiving—in my spirit and in my soul!

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Christmas

My Grandma’s Homemade Turkey & Egg Noodles and Popcorn Balls

Larada Horner-Miller1 Comment

I have two favorite Christmas memories about my maternal grandmother. 

Grandma made all the traditional sweets for Christmas time, but she made something really different that became my favorite. She made popcorn balls for a Christmas treat. I never made them with her because she had to prepare all those goodies before we arrived.

I found a great recipe in the Folsom Garden Club cookbook and have used it every year since. Every Christmas I make two batches of popcorn balls–a red and a green batch. I love making these sweet treats and as I munch on them, Grandma Dickerson comes to mind. I don’t have her recipe, but I have my memories.

The other memory I have is the day after Christmas, Grandma made homemade turkey and egg noodles. She would use the leftovers and the turkey carcass to create the soup. She was of the generation that did not waste a thing, so the carcass was boiled to get the good broth for the soup she was preparing.

Then she would make the homemade noodles. She never used a bowl; she poured out a mound of flour on the table, scooped out the center to make the bowl then started adding ingredients. She would roll out the noodles and cut them and leave them scattered on the table to dry for awhile.

Grandma was a short lady, so I stood at her elbow often watching the process, anticipating the finished product. She knew it was my favorite dish so she spoiled me with this treat any Christmas we were at her house.

The delicious smell of the turkey cooking and the knowledge of the dish coming had my mouth watering. The sampling of the broth, the aroma of turkey cooking and the warmth of the hot soup warmed my heart and soul.

I have never tried to make her noodles–again I don’t have her recipe. I’m not sure she had one. Maybe I should google a recipe for homemade noodles and try my hand at a batch. I’m sure all those years at her side would help me create something special.

Mom was always a part of this special time in the kitchen. Grandma was a great cook and these two Christmas memories warm me every holiday time. It was communal time in the kitchen–three generations enjoying each other around a tradition I miss today.