I love American Public Media’s The Splendid Table and listen almost every Sunday morning.  So on mid-day Thanksgiving I was thrilled to discover, on our way to my in-laws, that host Lynn Rosetta Kasper was having a special show where in she took calls from listeners. It’s called The Turkey Confidential. 

Yes, she answered the typical questions like, “How do I brown the breast without burning it?” 

She also heard horror stories such as, “My friend put the oven on Clean instead of Bake.”   

There callers cooking for the special vegans in their lives who wanted to know, “What should I serve as their entrée?”

Then there was the Indian American caller.  She and her husband were driving, to where she never said, but she called from her car, not to ask a question and not just to compliment the host on the wonderful show, but to express her love and gratitude for America.  There was sincere joy in her voice as she told Lynn Rosetta Kasper how welcome and loved this country made her and her family feel.

 Her excitement and gratitude when she said, “All our dreams have come true,” were contagious to me, my husband, and the host and crew. 

As I was wiping away tears of my own joy and gratitude for being reminded of why we really celebrate Thanksgiving, and that it is everyone’s holiday, Lynn Rosetta Kasper thanked the caller and let her know she had touched everyone in the control room.  Grown men were crying. 

Lastly, the caller shared that they fix a traditional American Thanksgiving meal but use the leftovers to make Indian food.   Her favorite method is to fry the turkey with rice, garlic, and fresh ginger. 

Like Lynn Rosetta Kasper I was inspired to make, with my leftovers, for the first time, turkey fried rice.  It was really easy to make and it tasted even better than I expected.  It tasted like love and joy and gratitude.