Thankful for Thanksgiving!

Although our Thanksgiving celebration took place on Saturday this year instead of the customary Thursday, we still managed to enjoy all of the traditional eats and treats savored on this festive holiday with some of our dear friends from our IMD days, Ayin & Winnie. Despite the fact that Winnie is American, her family experienced a more Asian menu for the holidays, and as a Malaysian, Ayin did not grow up observing this holiday at all. Because of this, I wanted to make this meal even more special so they could experience the joy that we find on this particular day. The occasion also brought back wonderful memories of our Thanksgiving the year we lived in Switzerland as the American IMD students & spouses worked together to make a traditional meal despite not having traditional ingredients. Thankfully, London made the process a bit easier, and I only struggled finding a few items on my grocery list.


The other hurdle I faced in preparing the meal dealt with my dietary restrictions. Ken’s one request was to have a pecan pie while I looked forward to praline sweet potatoes and my mom’s cornbread dressing. Knowing that I couldn’t use sugar (white or brown), karo syrup, white bread or white flour left me scratching my head. After much pondering and tweaking of recipes, I managed to make the pumpkin & pecan pies with honey and whole wheat crusts and the dressing with wheat instead of white bread. The praline sweet potato recipe concerned me the most. The topping, made up of pecans, flour, butter & brown sugar, is supposed to crumble onto the top of the potatoes. Since I substituted honey and whole wheat flour in the recipe, my topping was gooey, not crumbly. As it bubbled away in the oven, I held my breath not knowing if the outcome would meet my expectations. However, the first bite left me feeling certain that Heaven must serve praline sweet potatoes every meal. They tasted divine!


Along with all of the smells and tastes that brought back years of delightful memories, we finished the evening thankful for the many wonderful friends and family who have added so much to our lives. Winnie and Ayin thoroughly enjoyed themselves and relished the typical foods found within the American Thanksgiving menu. The only bitter sweet moment came when I realized that after big helpings of seconds, we didn’t have many leftovers to nibble on for several days. Still, I felt so thankful to have shared Thanksgiving and my love for it with cherished friends.