For my first ten Thanksgivings or so, my mom made a valiant divorced single parent effort to recreate the original Plymouth Rock feast for her children at home – within the constraints set by her full time day job, her 1960s-1970s smaller than a man's paycheck would be for doing the same job income, and her almost legendary distaste for spending time in the kitchen. This meant stuffing cooked inside the bird (the original "multi-tasking"), Hungry Jack instant mashed potatoes, packet gravy, that wiggly canned cranberry jelly stuff that stays shaped like the can after you dump it on a plate, green bean casserole whipped together from canned green beans, condensed mushroom soup and French fried onions (yum!), and freezer case frozen pumpkin pie topped with Cool Whip...
By my eleventh birthday or so, Mom wearied of the "army of one" approach, and gave in to presenting her motley brood as "guests" at my Uncle Elmer's annual Thanksgiving extravaganza (more on Uncle Elmer in the "ice cream" chapter).
Thanksgiving at Uncle Elmer's fancy suburban ranch house meant crowds of extended family sharing a bounteous buffet of perfect white meat turkey slices served on perfect white platters, mounds of perfect homemade buttery mashed potatoes, candied yams piled high, actual cranberries from the produce aisle, and rows of apple, cherry and pumpkin pies hot from the oven...
I doubt my uncle and his wife ever asked Mom to bring a dish, but she felt compelled to anyway. Hers contributions always stood out – the lone foil-covered, barely picked at casserole in a mismatched baking dish; obviously store-bought cookies on a throw-away plastic tray; a boxed frozen pie, in case the "real ones" ran out...
Then one year, the Holiday Food Gods decided to smile on Mom. Her dark clouds of culinary ennui parted like pages of Reader's Digest falling open to a recipe, the sweet light of inspiration shined down, and Mom discovered her new "specialty..." Ambrosia Salad.
It was a dish perfectly suited to my mother's temperament – easy to make, with reasonably inexpensive ingredients (especially if it's the only dish you're bringing to an event), that tastes like a Herculean labor costing a million bucks to put together...
Mom's Ambrosia was an instant Thanksgiving hit. Though technically a dessert, Mom's mismatched serving bowl was the first emptied, even ahead of the mashed potatoes. Extended relatives whose names we hardly knew made ecstatic faces with each bite and praised the host – who then had no choice but to defer the applause to Mom...
Oh, the glory! The holiday triumph! The crowd begged for an encore performance at Christmas. Mom obliged, and took home her second gold crown. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas for the next twenty years, Mom's amazing ambrosia guaranteed her place in the lexicon of family culinary heroes. Way to go, Mom!
Mom's 1970s Ambrosia salad was made with canned fruit, Jell-O, Cool Whip and real gelatin-laden mini-marshmallows... Eghad! Here in the 21st Century, we can do better! Here's a fantastic Ambrosia recipe, calling for fresh fruit and other healthy, 100% vegan ingredients. If you can't find vegan marshmallows where you live, you can order them online. Or just leave them out. They're traditional to the recipe, but the finished product tastes just as great without them, no worries!
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped
1 cup apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 cup orange wedges, de-seeded and chopped
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1 cup grapes, halved
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
6 Tablespoons lemon juice
3 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons orange juice
1/2 cup soft tofu, pureed
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
2 cups vegan marshmallows, cut into mini-size pieces
Directions:
1. In a large serving bowl, combine the fruit and coconut. Mix thoroughly until well blended. Refrigerate.
2. In a cold medium saucepan, combine the cornstarch and lemon juice. Stir until well blended.
3. Start a medium heat under the saucepan. Add the sugar and orange juice. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 5-10 minutes. Once thickened, remove from heat and allow to cool thoroughly.
4. Once the contents of the saucepan has completely cooled, pour it into a mixing bowl. Add the puréed tofu, grated orange rind, and vegan marshmallow pieces. Mix thoroughly. Move to the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour.
5. When it is time to serve, pour the dressing over the fruit immediately before presenting to your appreciative audience.
6. Collect your gold crown!