Giving Thanks, Argentina style!

I had long accepted the fact that I probably wouldn’t get to celebrate Thanksgiving during my year in Argentina, as this holiday to give thanks to the Native Americans in the U.S. for teaching our pilgrims how to cultivate the local crops and thereby avoid starving to death, is obviously totally unique to North America and is not celebrated in Argentina. But as the 28th of November drew near, and Thanksgiving e-cards from family and friends began to bombard my in-box, thoughts of stuffing and cranberry sauce and turkey and pumpkin pie began to bombard my brain and I began looking for recipes on-line.

Although I couldn’t find turkey, cranberries, or even pumpkin in this far off land, I managed to make delicious alternatives that more than quenched my craving for Thanksgiving dinner. Instead of turkey, I baked a chicken, stuffed with beer instead of stuffing (ever heard of “Beer in the Rear Chicken”?) that came out succulent and bursting with flavor. I did actually make stuff, but instead of with the mix most people buy at the store in the U.S., I made it completely from scratch, even drying out the cubes of bread myself and adding local touches such as dried figs and walnuts to the concoction. Instead of cranberry sauce (which is my favorite part), I used fresh cherries, de-stemming and de-seeding them in big splatters my self, before adding a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon and simmering it over low hit. And this cherry sauce was truly out-of-this world. For dessert, instead of pumpkin pie I baked an “un-pumpkin” pie with a local squash and sweet potatoes – again delicious.

In the end, I was so glad I decided to do Thanksgiving, as I had recently missed my host mom’s birthday while traveling with my in-laws, and my host sister was about to move to Europe, and this gave me a chance not only to celebrate Mari’s birthday and say farewell to Lula, but also a wonderful opportunity for me to give thanks to them for making me a part of their wonderful family.