That's what I typed last night on this post. Nothing more.
I'm sure you've gotten your fill of Thanksgiving posts, blogs, articles, photos, texts, emails, black Friday advertisements... Well, make room for one more, kid. Thanksgiving: Spanish Edition.
Pues, España no celebra el día de acción de gracias... Just kidding, I won't type my blog post in Spanish. Spain doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving. They don't know the story of the Pilgrims who came to America. They don't know about the short-lived friendship that was formed. Nope. They ran a news special about Americans in Madrid celebrating, but they still made us all come in to work. Stating the obvious if you will. School was great. It was one of the most interesting days at school, even.
Spain wouldn't know what to do with Thanksgiving. They'd probably eat Iberian ham and watch soccer after the meal. Can you imagine it??? Well, I can, actually... that's every day in Spain ;) Oh, stereotypes!
But now I'm getting side tracked (are you shocked?!?).
Yesterday started around five o'clock in the morning. I guess I was like a kid on Christmas. Sadly, I didn't have visions of sugarplums dancing in my head. I had visions of turkeys, cranberry sauce, stuffing, etc... They may or may not have been dancing. They totally were.
After an eventful day at school (I had my picture taken several times, I became a business owner, and some students went above and beyond in an activity [there were tourist photos photoshopped with their faces on them... as a family, as a married couple, and small children... hilarious]), I went home and started cooking. I started around 3:45.
I whipped up some stuffing and got started on the turkey. It was a tricky little thing. After attempting to further de-feather it, I gave up, rinsed the thing off, and started stuffing it. Fun, right??
I have no idea what I'm doing.
It was interesting to put this in our oven. The oven is like a huge drawer. I had to set it diagonally to fit.
Next, I got started peeling potatoes. I've tried helping with this task before. It usually ends with Mama saying, "Kirt, just go stir the green beans... and DON'T eat any yet!!!"
I was determined not to spend forever on these things. I think the vegetable peeler in my hands was enchanted. I suddenly became a potato peeling champion! About an hour later, I had some super tasty mashed potatoes ready to go.
I love real mashed potatoes
The hard part had to be over, right? Well, at this point, the girls were home. I can't imagine being a mom and trying to cook. I'm glad I got that all done before they got home.
The gravy was easier than I ever imagined. Thanks for the recipe, Mama!!
The pumpkin pie patiently waiting.
Meat thermometers are rare in Spanish homes. I asked all the other teachers about finding one yesterday. They all gave me strange looks. Cooking an entire turkey isn't common here at all. Luckily, Tiger has my back! I love that store.
All done!
Please be tasty!!
I forgot to take a picture before I unstuffed it. So, I put some back in and snapped this. Yeah...
Green bean casserole. We would have had more onions on top, but the girls and I kept eating them before putting it in the oven!!
Stuffing
I've never been a big fan of this, but if you're doing American Thanksgiving, you simply have to have this stuff.
The feast!
From the other side of the kitchen
My host family tried everything! Sweet tea included.
At laaaaaaaaaast!
Before we ate, I did what my family does: We went around the table and said something that we're thankful for. Side note: this all took place in Spanish. I'm very proud of myself.
Claudia was thankful for her family and friends, and her mom.
Alex was thankful for her friends and her amazing sister.
Miriam was thankful for the happiness of her family.
I was thankful for my family: Spanish and American.
The cleanup was brutal. Miriam did most of it though. We talked about what was in each of the dishes and how we both enjoy cooking, but hate the cleanup. We also talked about the traditions of Thanksgiving in the US. I really enjoy all of the conversations we have.
Thanksgiving meal in Spain was a success. I even had leftovers for breakfast and lunch! It's almost like being in the good 'ole US of A. I might even go shopping today. I have a feeling that it won't be the same as American Black Friday, but I can't really create my own crowd of shoppers...
Mission accomplished
Happy Thanksgiving from Madrid! I hope you enjoyed time with your loved ones.
CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Xoxo,
Kirstyn
No comments:
Post a Comment