Traditions make the world go round, don’t they? I love to have my food traditions be the background to our holiday celebrations. My kids know that on their birthdays they get to pick where we go or what I make for dinner. I love that on the Fourth of July they know they can drink as much soda as they want. And with Halloween they know there will be a hearty soup and bread for dinner before they set out to bum candy off of the neighbors.
I love this soup. I found it in this cookbook YEARS ago. And it is still a family favorite. I make mini cornbread muffins to go along with it. Sometimes I even crumble the muffins up inside of my soup.
Once we have had our fill of Taco Beef Soup and cornbread I get the kids all dressed up as warm as possible in their costumes and we set out. Now that we live in Utah the Halloweens are much drier than they used to be in Seattle. I love that just around the corner at the Walker’s home they are doing their tradition. Mr. Walker LOVES Halloween so much, and Mrs. Walker tolerates it. They have all the blow up decorations you could ever want. In the ally behind their home they set up a little Halloween lane for everyone to walk through that ends up at their son’s back yard where they give out full size candy bars. But before you start Mrs. Walker is handing out cups of hot apple cider.
The traditions that we have each year are what make childhood magical for our children. They are what they will remember when they have their own families and start their own traditions. These traditions will be incorporated into the lives of our family for generations to come. For me, the food is the background of the holiday, but I know that my kids will be reminded of many Halloweens when they smell that soup and cornbread.
