Cassava Pieless

Well, this year I ran out of time and energy and there won't be any cassava pie to eat or share.  Cassave Pie is a traditional Bermudian dish served at Christmas made from the root of the cassava or yucca plant.  The grated root is moist and acts in a similar way to corn meal.  It is mixed with eggs, sugar, butter and nutmeg and forms a cakey moist bread that is usually filled with a thin layer of pork and chicken.  I have always made mine without meat and for the most part have adapted my mum's recipe that was handed down to her in 1967 by a family friend.  I have passed on the tradition of making the cassava to my 13 year old neice and I always look forward to our time together baking this and other Christmas treats. 

With the onset of an ughy cold and with storm force winds rocking the boat .. baking is the last thing I feel like doing. It is also a very costly dish - with the cassava only coming in 5lb bags .. and the recipe requiring more than a dozen eggs .. of which I only tend to eat a few slices and that's me done for the year.  The rest I share and give to family and friends .. quite honestly .. it's not a cost I can afford this year.   I would be happy to eat it if someone else would make it for a change ... but I have a feeling we will have to go without.

I felt a tinge of sadness at the failure to maintain that final tradition to which I was clinging (since my son no longer wants to do the late night drive to look at lights or watch Frosty the Snowman with me!)... . but that was over in a nano second and I have put it in its place.

Traditions are wonderful activities that honour our culture and our past and should definitely be carried on, passed on and encouraged ... but when we become slaves to our traditions and think we cannot enjoy an occasion without upholding the things we have done in the past .. then the purpose of the tradition is lost.

Some folks tend to focus so much on the details that they lose the sense, purpose or spirit of an occasion.

Surely Christmas should not be worrying about if it is in fact the exact date of Christ's birth ... or how did St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) become entwined with a Christian celebration .. or what other non religious activities have become part of the season. 

Christmas is about honouring whatever this time of year means to you and your family.
If your roots are spiritual then you will find peace in honouring your religion or faith.  If the season is a time for family .. then you will seek out traditions or activities that remind you of past times shared to reignite that sense of togetherness.

Unfortunately this Christmas a lot of families will have their traditions, their expectations and their hopes put on hold this holiday for various reasons ... many are stranded in foreign cities and airports throughout Europe because of flight cancellations.... others are not in the economic position they once were to give as freely as they would like .. yet others are struggling with the death or illness of loved ones.

In the big picture of things ... if the cassava doesn't get made, if there is no Christmas tree this year, if I didn't get a chance to send out Christmas cards to friends and family ... really .. it is not worth being upset over! In the big picture of things .. so what!!!
My son will be with me on Christmas day - which wasn't expected a month ago when there were plans for him to spend the holidays with his father in Europe.  For that I am grateful .. and that is my CPM today knowing that my son is home safe with me and not stuck enroute for Christmas.

I am grateful to have family to share a meal with this holiday. .... even if there won't be cassave on the plate!

 May traditions fill your season as they should and not be the centre of its purpose.  Value them for what they are .. then put them in their place.  Look at the big picture .. not the little mosaic pieces that you have always counted on to make the image.

Wishing you a Christmas season with enough CPMs to keep you focused on the big picture!
:) sun