Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. You sit with people that you love and eat together. You don't have to exchange gifts or hide eggs. There is no danger of blowing a hand off because of drunken fireworks or a need for pink and red hearts candies. Thanksgiving is just the one day that you are thankful. Thankful for all of the amazing people in your life. The ones that are there everyday, the ones that have slipped away and the ones who are no longer with you. The day to be thankful for the sacrifices that were made on your behalf and the opportunities that you have been given. It's a lovely day.
Thanksgiving is an American holiday. It didn't dawn on me until last week during class that my classmates in Mexico, Canada, Dominican Republic and India weren't celebrating the day. My family is a bunch of Cubans and we Cubanify the fixings for the holiday as wel
l. The turkey is basted in mojo. The stuffing is meat based on bread based. Matter of fact, there is no bread-like product in the stuffing and sometimes we use pork meat to make it, because that is what real red blooded Cubans would do. No vegetables really and espresso for dessert. We add the spices of our heritage and I am thankful that we do. Some years we have thrown in the black beans and rice and fried plantains too because it tastes good. Every year, we swing by the Rohrs to see the other family and enjoy big hugs and warm smiles. This year Heather and Jeff joined us at the grandparents for our meal and it was so wonderful to have my whole family a part of the day. We are blessed people.
This year I was in charge of desserts! Not only did I feel like an grown up but it was fun to wow. I made a very moist Pumpkin Cream Bundt Cake, Cranberry Pear Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie and sugar cookies shaped as Turkeys for the kids. Though, there were some tasty treats, I also learned some import
ant lessons. The next day, instead of fighting the Black Friday madness, I wanted to make a turkey and have some leftovers. So we recreated Thanksgiving with all the fixings for my folks and us. I made a bruschetta appetizer. Turkey made by me, mashed potatoes, yams, green bean casserole, corn, rolls and of course new pies! This time sugar free banana cream and my mom's sugar free pumpkin pie. Two full days of thankfulness and full bellies.
Later on I decided to make my own Christmas wreath! I have several crocheted projects that I am working on, those will soon be posted.
Cuban Thanksgiving and pies and espresso: sounds great! We had chili and garlic rubbed Turkey this year, so it was the same theme.
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