Celtic Whispers Ezine - Spiritually Speaking......

A Bit of my Family Traditions - Past and Present

Written And Submitted By Crystal LunaRouge

November has a holiday in it that is celebrated by a number of people here in the United States . It is called Thanksgiving Day. It also hosts a number of traditions and rituals (if you will) that are performed during this time within my family. These are not magical traditions and rituals, but in the mundane.

As far as I can remember, my mother was always the hostess for Thanksgiving Day. Each year, family would join us in the family meal and celebration ranging from grandparents to cousins and friends. One of my most vivid memories is my maternal grandmother’s “Rice Dressing”. For years, it was the main thing my mother could get me to eat on that day. It smelled wonderful and my “Ma-mom” (what we called her) would push me out the way as she was walking in the door into the kitchen with her big green tupperware container full of her scrumptious rice dressing. My “Ma-mom” passed away whenever I was relatively young, about the second grade. Her rice dressing and fig jams are the most vivid things I can remember about her. Her cooking these items is the oldest tradition every year for Thanksgiving. I now many years later and still trying to perfect my Rice Dressing and still do not come even close to being as good as hers. Each year I experiment and modify the recipe. I’m getting closer, but its still not “Ma-mom’s”. Boy do I wish she would have written a cookbook to pass along to her grandchildren. Here is where I am at so far…

Rice Dressing Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 pound ground chicken gizzards

1/2 pound ground pork (sweet)

1 bay leaves

2 tablespoons Cajun Seasoning

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 cup finely chopped “Trinity” (diced onions, celery, and green bell pepper)

2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup uncooked rice

2 cups chicken stock

1/3 pound ground chicken livers

Place the oil, gizzards, pork and bay leaves in a large, heavy skillet, preferably nonstick, over high heat and stiring well. Cook until the meat is thoroughly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cumin, then add the Trinity and the garlic. Stir thoroughly, scraping the skillet bottom well. Then add the butter and stir until melted. Reduce the heat to medium and cook. Make sure to stir constantly and scrap the skillet’s bottom well, for 4 minutes. Add the rice and cook, constantly stirring and scraping the skillet bottom, for 4 minutes, when the rice should start to crackle and pop.

Add the stock and stir to loosen or deglaze any of bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes. Stir in the chicken livers, cover the skillet, reduce heat to as low as possible.

Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat leaving it covered until the rice is tender, about another 10 minutes. Do not remove the lid during this time, it is needed to finish cooking the rice. It is done this way to not over cook the livers. Before serving, remove the bay leaf.

Now I am a grown woman. I have a few traditions of my own. The week before Thanksgiving, I conduct an extreme cleaning of my home. I go through our clothing during Samhain and put it in boxes for either storage or donation of articles that will no longer be used until next year when the sun comes out to warm the heart of Gaia (Earth). I also go through our household goods including food to take inventory of what is in the pantry. I figure out what is still good, almost expired, and toss out any food past its expiration date. Then I set forth with my canvas cloth bags to the grocery store and fill them to their brims. Here in Michigan , snow can be seen on the ground as early as October, and have seen possible chances of flurries to come in the upcoming weeks as it becomes colder. When winter comes, I prepare for hibernation. Hence the “big” shopping trips to the grocery store. I don’t particularly care for the snow, but know its one of the ways that the Gaia repairs her body and slumbers to heal and sleep. Also by shopping more in bulk, it reduces my carbon footprint going to the grocery store as well

One of the more fun rituals that my family performs this month is the celebration of “Black Friday”. This is the one of the largest shopping days of the year. During these lack luster economic times, cashing in on a few good deals on this shopping day can pay off in savings. The night of Thanksgiving, my mother in law and I canvas the newspaper’s shopping ads. We compare similar articles of things we want from different stores. We begin compiling out list of “attack” for the next day. Last year I was able to get quite a number of things for my family for a reasonable amount. When I first moved here, I had never heard of this “holiday”. My mother in law was the person that introduced me to the “Mall Madness”. Every year for over a decade now, we do the exact same thing after our Thanksgiving meal. We prepare for our favorite shopping day. This experience I truly feel has brought my mother in law and I closer together and provided us with an opportunity to bond to one another. Every year, it is me that she calls “her partner in crime”. My mother in law is not only my husband’s mother (duh), she is also one of my closest friends. I am thankful that I get along so well with her. This is just a glimpse at some of my family’s traditions. There are many things we do, and I am thankful for each and every one of them.