Thankful for Thanksgiving

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. A time to count our many blessings, but also a time to be with those we love and enjoy feasting together with. Somehow, it just doesn't seem right to celebrate the day without thanking a woman in particular who has at least 2 very well-known endeavors attributed to her name. She spent 40 years of her life writing editorials in her American Ladies Magazine and to Congressmen as well as lobbying five presidents in order to establish an official day of thanksgiving. Thank goodness, Abe Lincoln, finally listened and in his Proclamation of Thanksgiving of 1863, declared the fourth Thursday in November as our nation's annual Thanksgiving Day. Sarah Josepha Hale, America's first female magazine editor, worked long and hard for this day to come, and not surprisingly, even today women everywhere work long and hard to make Thanksgiving dinner happen on dining room tables all across this country of ours.

The Delmar family had the usual Thanksgiving fare, turkey with all the trimmings. My mom has become the official turkey baker and potato salad maker and I am now known for my amazingly delicious recipe of Corn Pudding...my only contribution to the feast. I mean it's the least I can do in keeping with the original Thanksgiving meal that for the most part probably consisted mainly of maize. I used to cook this dish in the oven, but have found that it cooks just fine in the microwave in half the time. So, if you want a really good corn dish that's easy and everyone will want seconds for, here 'tis...

Glenda's Corn Pudding: (feeds 6)
1 can creamed corn
4 eggs
1/2 stick of melted oleo margarine
1 & 1/2 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of sugar

Directions: Beat eggs thoroughly in a 2-quart microwavable bowl. Add all other ingredients and blend. Heat on high in microwave for 20 minutes. Serve immediately. This is best eaten when it's warm.

Another great corn recipe that my mom treats us with is her Fried Skillet Cornbread....yum, yum! This one is incredibly easy and cooks up quick on top of the stove. Here's the recipe:

First, pour some oil in the bottom of a cast iron skillet (preferably flat or with low sides). While the oil is heating up, mix 1 cup of self-rising yellow corn meal, 1/2 cup of flour, and just enough water to blend thoroughly. The more water you add the thinner the cornbread will be. Test the oil with a drop of the meal batter to see if it sizzles. Pour the batter into the skillet. It'll cook like a big round pancake. Watch for the edges to get crispy, then flip the entire flatcake over and cook till beautifully brown. Serve hot and cut the cornbread like a pie adding butter to the inside of each slice. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it!

This year at the Delmar Thanksgiving table in Pensacola we enjoyed the fellowship with a special family friend, Rene Schmidt, who with his beloved wife, Virginia in 1969 began and maintained for 25 years an evangelistic and teaching outreach ministry of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, called the Greenhouse. Virginia has since gone on to glory and Rene now lives with his three dogs in a mountain home in Ridge Haven, North Carolina. My sister-in-law, Glenda, (Glenda Delmar the first) who originally was called as a Christian Education leader to Coral Ridge eventually felt led to work full-time at the Greenhouse. The Schmidts were like Glenda's second set of parents and she was like their daughter since they had no biological children of their own...just lots and lots of spiritual children whom they led to the Lord over those many years. The Greenhouse was also the place where Joe came to know the Lord and was the instrument God used to introduce him to Glenda, his future wife. Joe and Glenda then worked as a ministry team teaching progressive Bible study classes at the Greenhouse for over 20 years. It's estimated that attendance at the Greenhouse averaged 18,000 people each year! Isn't it awesome to see God's providential hand in the everyday dealings with His people? So, I'm personally thankful for Thanksgiving that on days such as this, we can take time to spend time with folks whom we don't see as often as we'd like and can reminisce about the past, talk about the present and dream about the future.

PS. For those of you who may have strayed from the turkey tradition to perhaps lamb chops instead, you can thank Sarah Josepha Hale for her second well-known endeavor, you know it and love it..."Mary Had a Little Lamb". And now you know the rest of the story.