Different Culture, Mom’s Gone, Betty Crocker Changed, but….

In Argentina, where we lived for 27 years and raised our family, Thanksgiving Day is not celebrated. Ever. Turkey and stuffing are not on any holiday menu. It’s just not part of the Argentine culture. So it came as a complete surprise yesterday, when we were talking about our Thanksgiving meal for this year that our son Adriel (who was born in Argentina and lived there till after he was married) asked for stuffing to go along with the turkey. He said he likes stuffing. I nostalgically remembered all the times we enjoyed Mom’s turkey and stuffing when we were growing up… but Mom’s gone. So I decided to consult her Betty Crocker Cookbook that I inherited. Mom often wrote notes beside the recipes, so I was hoping that would be the case beside the stuffing recipe. Not so. But the recipe looks good, so I put a bookmark at that page and turned to the Roast Turkey recipe.

Mom's Betty Crocker Cookbook

Mom and Dad got married in 1938, so her Betty Crocker Cookbook may well be from the 1930-1940 era. I gasped in horror as I read the instructions for preparing to roast the turkey. It reads:

First of all…
Draw, singe, and remove pin feathers. (Use a candle for singeing; a tweezer or strawberry huller for pin feathers.)
Remove leg tendons (they spoil the quality of meat in the drumstick).
Cut of the head, (ARE YOU KIDDING ME, BETTY??) leaving as much neck as possible. Slit skin down back of neck and pull skin down…then cut off the neck. (YUKKKK!!!)
Completely remove lungs and kidneys….(OK, One more thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season: Frozen turkeys that I don’t have to cut the head off and remove internal organs from!!)

Then I went on www.bettycrocker.com and looked at the Roast Turkey recipe and instructions. It simply says: 1 whole turkey (12 lb), thawed if frozen. Betty Crocker… you changed!

Yes, it’s a different culture for my family. Mom’s gone. Betty Crocker changed…but even at that, what really makes Thanksgiving meaningful is that we can thank Jesus Christ, that He is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8) Everything has changed, or will change. But – praise God! HE WILL NEVER CHANGE!