Dia de Gracias

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Hands down. Family, friends, food...what else do you need in life? Yes, I now live in Spain. Is that going to stop me from having Thanksgiving dinner? CLARO QUE NO! (Of course not!)

The American students at my Academy are conveniently all friends. We all decided that we will be having a Thanksgiving and divided up dishes to make. I will blog the actual event later, but the process has actually been quite an experience. The majority of flats here for students come without ovens. Why? We have no idea, so this was quite a hurdle. Only two of the twelve attendees have ovens, and yes, they have been already hard at work.

The other thing that makes this experience interesting is the obvious: Ingredients. What do we need first and foremost? That's right: a turkey. Can we find one? Everyone already was mentally prepared to just have a ham at the table. How Spanish! We got confirmation via Facebook (ah, technology...) that as of almost midnight, we were the proud owners of not one, but three turkeys. Success! Apparently big turkeys are an American thing. In Spain, if you can actually find one, they are just ...well...smaller.

The good news is that Spain loves their squashes (at least here in Southern Spain) and I easily found a pumpkin. (Sidenote: The pumpkins here in Spain are wildly different from America. They are smaller, more "squash"-like, and their skin is super thin. Nothing like the tough, thick skins we were used to. I could not wait to taste it.) Now for the part I hate: crust. Ask anyone and they will tell you Charlie is the master at doughs. It must be the Italian in him. I, on the other hand, am not gifted in the baking department. The entire time I was working with dough I wanted to pull my hair out. All I could think about is Charlie and Jenny, two masters at the art of baking. It came to show its face quite quickly that, even more so than ingredients, the biggest difference between a Thanksgiving in America, and a Thanksgiving in Europe, is making everything from scratch. No Pillsbury. No Caro. No Libbys. Nothing. As I pulled the pie out of the oven, my friend Sylvia and I gazed at it in contemplation and awe. The entire pie before us was built 100% from the ground up. You don't realize how many ingredients you rely on (like canned pumpkin, pre-made crust, or Cool-Whip) until you have absolutely none of them. Even the butter was different: It came from Ireland because the Spanish only use oils. It made me feel kind of sad, actually. This is the way Thanksgiving should be; foods, fresh and natural, made totally from scratch. Ironic that I had to move across the world to truly appreciate the real meanings of Thanksgiving. Sylvia and I did steal a nibble of pie that had stuck itself to the counter. Amazing. Delicious in every way possible. Fresh roasted pumpkin, home-made dough, Moroccan spices... I don't think I have ever tasted anything like it.

There is an open-air market on Tuesdays in my pueblo. I have written about this in previous posts, but this visit was extra special. My favorite vendor gifted me with free herbs just because I am a regular. How fantastic when I needed some for stuffing! He also gave me a deal on castañas, or chestnuts, and laughed when I tried to walk away with the entire crate. Come on ...It is not fall without chestnuts. I also got a Spanish lesson in ordering produce. For the first time, I actually needed a "bunch" of carrots. So, I asked for a "rama" de zanahorias. I asked if "rama" was the correct word (it is usually used for flowers) and they said "yes". It is one of three possible words and they taught me how else I could ask for carrots in the future. Que Guay! I adore these funky Spanish terms. And I love that they always are willing to help me out with the language. I guess that is all they can do when they speak no english. I sadly forgot already what the other terms were, but I am glad the word in my head was correct. When I ask for my next "rama", I will always remember my first Spanish Thanksgiving.

So tomorrow is the big day. I am very much looking forward to hearing how someone made "Green Bean Casserole" without a can of Campbell's soup. And I am also curious on where people actually found turkeys. Oh the stories ...just another culinary adventure in Spain!