Traditions are not hard to start. Unless you Google “Thanksgiving Traditions” then it brings up all sorts of overwhelming ideas. A lot of them seem to be crafts. In our family traditions just kind of happen. Most of them revolve around food. Thanksgiving is a big deal for us. We like to celebrate a day surrounded with food and football and reminders to be thankful of our many blessings. And we have a lot. We are blessed with health and every provision big and small, with love and laughter and a deep sense of joy and hope for what will be.
We have not always spent Thanksgiving doing the same things. We have been in many different places for this the most important day of turkey. The one thing we are consistent with is we’re together and we’re with family and we’re thankful. Family isn’t always the people you are born related to either. We have made claim to Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins over the years and some of our closest friends we consider family.
This year we packed up the family, including Max our dog, and ventured over the hills the through the woods to Aunt Edie and Uncle Bob’s house. Just writing it makes me giddy all over again. They are two of my most favorite people in the world and I hesitate to share them with Ozzie and the girls except they should get to have favorite people too. It was Aunt Edie and Uncle Bob’s house in CA that always hosted our Thanksgivings growing up. I loved going to their house. I wanted to live at their house. Although the location has changed the feeling, the food, the cousins and the party that was Thanksgiving has not changed at all. There were 25 of us from 3 generations and the 2 dogs. The cousin dogs got along fabulously!
I was assigned Peach Cobbler as my dish to provide. I have a thing about canned fruits. Not my favorite. So I decided to use frozen peaches. The store didn’t have frozen peaches. It did have a lot of dark red cherries. As I was making my dish my cousin Bobby asked, “What are you making?” My simple reply was, “Peach Cobbler, it’s what I was assigned and I’m obedient but I’ve never made it before.” To which Aunt Edie gasped, “What do you mean? I thought it was Ozzie’s favorite traditional Thankgiving dessert!?” Well yes, that is true except early in my life I learned that if you make lots of great things and your husband has a family favorite that he loves and you will never live up to making it right, then one should just keep making the good stuff and his family can make that favorite dish. This Thanksgiving I made my first peach cobbler except there were no actual peaches involved. Don't get stuck in the details! Bobby declared that what I made was in fact Peach Cobbler and if anyone were to ask, which some did, Bobby would holler from across the kitchen, "IT’S PEACH COBBLER!"
So here is the peach cobbler I made:
1/2 cup unsalted butter (I had salted butter)
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar, divided (I used 1 cup divided)
1 tablespoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup milk
4 cups fresh peach slices (I used 4 bags frozen dark red cherries)
tablespoon lemon juice (I used the juice of one whole lemon)
Melt butter in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt; add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter over butter (do not stir).Bring remaining 1 cup sugar, peaches (or cherries), and lemon juice to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly; pour over batter (do not stir). Bake at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve cobbler warm or cool.
From here on out, someone will be bringing the peach cobbler. The question is, what kind of peaches will they use?
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