A Thanksgiving Filled with Garden Love

Every year, I celebrate Thanksgiving at Deberah and Jerry's house with their family, friends and my mother. Above, you see why, "what a spread!" We usually have some dish picked from the garden and this year was no exception. The southern cornmeal dressing includes onions, sage, parsley and thyme fresh from the garden, picked Wednesday morning.

You may notice there are two dishes of dressing, one regular and the smaller oyster. Oyster dressing was a favorite at my Granny Smith's famous feasts and we keep the tradition alive on Thanksgiving. My mother always oversees the ingredients and how the dressing is made.

Also on the menu is smoked turkey, smoked ham, sweet potato casserole, broccoli casserole, creamed yellow corn, carrot salad, tossed salad, rolls and cornbread. Even if your a picky eater or on a diet there was something to suit your appetite.

 "Rattlesnake" green beans was one of our best producers in the garden this year, as you see from the big plate above. Deberah added some crispy dried onions after they cooked for a little twist of the traditional "green bean casserole."

Some gardeners believe collards shouldn't be picked until after the first frost. This is a first for our Thanksgiving meal that I remember, since we've already had several frosts fall on the garden. Fresh and also picked Wednesday, plus because we mulched so well, they were no problem to clean.

And of course, you can't forget the condiments like cranberry sauce and the pickles seen above, Deberah put up from the garden in a big gallon jug.

Last, but certainly not least was the blackberry pie made from wild blackberries grown in my yard. It was hard to choose which dessert to gain that pound I lost over the year, but I did eat a small slice of blackberry pie with a spoonful of whip cream on top, plus a slice of the apple caramel cake. Also seen above are pumpkin and chocolate pies, let's don't forget the carrot cake.

Anything from the garden makes the work worth the toil, but when your able to share it with family and friends, it truly becomes a garden "filled with love." Hope you had a blessed turkey day!


Until next time.....

Happy Gardening 2012!


Posted by Wilma Smith