MOYNA'S RAMBLINGS (5)

TRADITION - A word I've been thinking about as I finish my last batch of spicy almonds. I was thinking about it in relation to the "Traditional" Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. This past Thanksgiving I tried 2 new recipes. One was a potato casserole. We all loved it! So, I've since sent the recipe to family & friends - suggesting they try it this Christmas! Fred & Freddy always have to ask me what will be for our dinner - I'm always trying something new. I'm not the kind of person - the traditionalist - who prepares the same dinner (Thanksgiving or Christmas) year after year, so they always have to ask what we're having. Here in the South, it is "tradition" to have mashed potatoes & gravy - though a lot of people now do smashed/garlic potatoes (breaking from "tradition"), the sweet potato casserole, or the ever-popular hash brown casserole - which is what we usually have. We liked the new potato casserole so much, I've asked our niece if I could bring it to our get-together at Christmas. I will be doing that, and I hope they like it as much as we do.
I also tried a new jello salad - again, breaking from "tradition." It is a little more difficult to find one we all like; Fred likes blueberry, Freddy likes lime (a recipe from my friend Marsha, about 30 years ago. How "traditional" is that - still making this jello salad all these years?!), and I like any flavor that is red - raspberry's great! This recipe uses Coke for the liquid. It was just unusual enough for me to want to try it - AND I LOVED IT!! I'm not a soda drinker, but I wanted to give it a try. You can taste the Coke, but it enhances the flavor of the black cherry. Freddy wasn't wild about the jello - it has nuts in it & he doesn't care for things with nuts, but Fred said it was pretty good (which really surprised me!) - much better than he thought it would be. It's not a recipe I will be able to make often, but it was a nice break from "tradition."
I've never been one to "fit-in" - or be a clone as I say. Why would everyone want to be just like everyone else? In high school, I was always buying, decorating, wearing what would be considered a little different; I even wore the paper dresses which were popular for a year or so - anyone remember those?!! My little '59 English Ford was decorated inside & out with large & small colorful flowers - the "flower child" of Modesto, California!! As I've aged, though, I find myself doing more "traditional" things. I really don't know if it's from getting older or just having lived in the South for 26 years. Southeners are preserved in tradition. I find myself getting pulled in...I try to fight it - when I recognize it! It can be something small - like using white lights at Christmas rather than the multi-colored, or fixing the hash brown casserole year after year. TRADITION, a word I fight, yet find myself becoming more of a "traditionalist!!" Or maybe it's really what my friend Marsha said about tradition back in the 70's - "IT'S JUST A RUT WE GET INTO."