A week of Thankgiving...Day 3 (Thanksgiving Recipe)

When I was a junior in college, I went on a short term missions trip to Honduras. It was the first (and only) time that I visited a third world country. We stayed in a small village. We slept in a building made out of cinder blocks with a cement floor...grand accommodations compared to the mud and grass huts that the villagers lived in. While we were there, we worked with the local people to build a church/community center.

The thing that I remember most about the trip is how generous the people were. The same people who watched us eat our dinner with hunger in their eyes, would bring us fruit and bread all day long. The children played with things like old bicycle tires and sticks with string tied to them as if they were the most wonderful toys in the world.

We weren't supposed to share our food or give the people anything because in the past when this happened, hundred and hundreds of people had come from miles away hoping to get food and medical attention. When they learned that there were not provisions like this available, the atmosphere had become dangerous and there had nearly been a riot. Several of us washed our clothes and left them in trees to dry hoping that the people would take them. They hung for days and nobody touched them. We were so surprised...in this country people who have plenty steal and yet these people who were wearing nothing but rags and desperately needed things, did not.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and as I look through my recipe box for the recipe for a very indulgent carrot casserole, I find myself thinking about that place that I visited over 13 years ago....and I am thankful.

I am thankful that I live in the United States, a land of plenty. A land where most of the poor have much more than the people I met in Honduras (I understand that there are many homeless in this country...I have worked as an advocate for the homeless...I am not making light of the many social problems that exist in this country). A land where there is medical care and it is accessible. IA land where grocery stores never have empty shelves. A land where most children only go to bed hungry because they chose to not eat their dinner.

With that, here is my carrot recipe. If it's too late to make it for Thanksgiving, than you MUST try it for Christmas. It is amazing!

Carrot Casserole

1 lb sliced, cooked carrots

2T flour

1 T baking powder

1/4 t Cinnamon

3 eggs

1/2 c butter

1 c milk

3/4 c sugar

Put all ingredients into a blender or food processor and puree'. Put in baking dish, bake at 350 for one hour or until firm.

I usually double the recipe....make two separate batches and bake it in the same large pie plate.