Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was another event that really brought us together. It started as a way to make up for all the North Americans missing Thanksgiving at home and ended up being also a chance to come together and share traditions.

After Halloween (and because I was willing), I became the de facto organizer. Luckily, I had lots of help. It was a potluck affair, but we still provided the turkey and helped those who wanted to bring “traditional foods”. People made trips to markets and butchers, worked in the kitchen and my adopted mother cooked the turkey for me! And let me tell you, finding a turkey in November in France is not easy. Most butchers don’t stock turkey or geese until Christmas time and if you can get them, they are expensive. Cranberries were nowhere to be found. In the end we found a smallish turkey for the traditional bird and used pre-cut turkey meat as filler. Cranberries and airelles made a delicious sauce and we even found yams/sweet potatoes (I don’t remember which).

So, as organizer I started the party off with a little toast. I even managed to give most of it in French. I wanted to share just a bit about the tradition and meaning behind Thanksgiving (hint- It is not just America’s love of food). I said something about an opportunity to stop and be thankful for everything we have. Someone in the crowd said “But we’re poor” and I answered that in family, friends, and experiences we are all rich. And everyone cheered and the party began. I remember freezing that moment as I spoke French standing in front of a room filled with people from all over (France, England, Trinidad, Russia, Spain, Canada, Germany, Australia, Mexico, America, Reunion Island...). It is a toast and an evening I will never forget.

[Prepping the Cranberry Sauce]

[Stir it up]

[The Beautiful Bird]