Our first Thanksgiving in our new home

Do you have a favorite holiday?  Mine is Thanksgiving.  Perhaps it's because I have many happy memories from the holiday growing up: laughter, games and family.  But I like how there is no real purpose other than gathering together with family and friends and eating a meal together and recalling things you are thankful for. And just last week we celebrated our first Thanksgiving here in the Philippines.  It was a wonderful time!  Let me tell you about it.....

 The Food

Of course we had turkey.  As you might imagine turkey here is rare.  But thankfully I found an (overly priced) imported butterball turkey in the grocery store I usually shop!  There were only 3 turkeys in the freezer.  And even one week later there are still 2 turkeys left.  Allan did a little research online and found that for next year we can go to a local farm and kill our own turkey for half the price!  We would have to clean and feather it ourselves though.  Wouldn't that be an adventure?  ha ha... it would sure make for some great photos.  ;)

As I was making the menu I picked a few that my family usually always eat to make it feel like Thanksgiving, and of course also included my personal favorite Thanksgiving dish, green bean casserole!  I had to use local ingredients and produce to make the dishes but it turned out well.  For instances I made sweet potato casserole with local kalabasa (squash) and kamote (white sweet potato), both of which are not exactly like the ones from the States but it tasted wonderful!

 And the finished product (with a drawing of pumpkins by Jakob propped in the background)

And I made my mom's homemade stuffing recipe that her mom used to make.  It was fun making a recipe that has been passed down through the generations.  (But somehow it didn't quite turn out the same, Mom.)  As I was sauteing the onions and celery in butter I realized how the base of Filipino dishes varies at this very point.  Instead for most Filipino dishes you start with sauteing onions and garlic in oil.

Another local "import" into our Thanksgiving menu were the dinner rolls.  We used "pan de sal", the common, delicious, freshly baked, melt-in-your-mouth rolls they have here.  We often eat them for breakfast or snack, so it was a little different having them with dinner.  But this is one thing you must try when (not "if") you come to visit us. :)

 For a small appetizer I picked up a "keso de bola" or "queso de bola", which is a ball of cheese sealed in red wax.  I understand it is a popular staple on the menu for the midnight feast (noche buena) they have here on Christmas Eve.  So because of that they are already starting to fill the shelves at the market.  They looked so pretty on the shelf, and my own grandma used to make a homemade cheese ball for Thanksgiving, that it reminded me of home so I bought it!  ha ha... I wasn't exactly sure what you are suppose to do with it, but we sliced it and served it with crackers.  

We also had corn pudding.  It was a new recipe I found online.  It was okay, interesting really.  But I felt like I had to include some sort of corn dish in the menu if I was to properly represent the pilgrims!  ha ha... not even sure if they had corn at the first thanksgiving.  But all of the pictures you color in school as a kid includes corn.

We also had pumpkin pie and banoffee pie for dessert.  Have you had banoffee pie yet?  It is wonderfully delicious!  And it confuses me why it is not yet popular in the US.  Maybe you can help make it popular.  It is a dessert with minimal ingredients, no baking required and includes ingredients that the American palate would like!  A graham cracker crust, with bananas mixed in dulce de leche cream and topped with whipped cream and chocolate!  How can you go wrong?

The Preparation

One of our guests asked Allan what the American holiday was all about... his answer went something like this:

“So what’s Thanksgiving all about?”

“It is sorta like Magellan and the Philippines only in reverse.”

“Really, what do you mean?”

“Well, when the pilgrims landed in America instead of the natives rising up and killing them, they all sat down together and had a meal together.”

Since I was going to be the lone American at the meal I wanted to be ready in case anyone asked me what Thanksgiving was all about or wanted to quiz me on my historical facts.  So I used History Channel to help assist me in summing up the key points about Thanksgiving and its history.  I learned that the first thanksgiving feast most likely had shell fish, and probably lobster.  Hmm.... that's a delicious idea!  We do live in a country with over 7,000 islands.  Lobster might be cheaper than that imported turkey we ate.  Perhaps next year we have lobster and crab?

And for fun, I also did a quick research on how to say "Happy Thanksgiving" in Tagalog.  And the proper greeting would be "Maligayang Araw ng Pasasalamat", which translates to Happy Day of Thanksgiving.

 The Guests

Food and history facts would be incomplete without guests to share them with.  Two families were men who attend one of the classes from the training center and also attend the same bible study as Allan.  Another family is a local pastor who teaches alongside Allan at the training center.  And another a personal friend of mine.  

Our guests brought wonderful dishes to share as well!  My one friend, Joanna, is Scottish and married to a Filipino.  Our boys are close in age and we have formed a friendship.  She brought a creamy potato soup that she said has historical significance since it was "created" during the wartime years.  

Another friend brought this beautiful dessert:

The name of the dessert is "brazo de mercedes", which translates to Mercede's arm.  When sliced it looks like this:

Remind you of anything?  An egg perhaps?  Maybe that's because it is made with mostly eggs.  The white outer layer is a meringue made from egg whites.  And the center is sorta creme brule custard, also known as "yema" made from egg yokes.  How clever is that?  I read that the story behind yema is that is started during the Spanish rule when the Spaniards used egg whites and shells on stone walls to make them more durable.  The egg yokes were discarded so the Filipinos used them to make dessert, yema!  Delicious and educational.  :)

   

Another friend brought cassava cake.  A common dessert here made with cassava.  Cassava is the third largest source of carbohydrates (after rice and maize) in the tropics.  Each country seems to use cassava in different manners.  Here in the Philippines they mix it with coconut milk, eggs and butter.  This version had cheese sprinkled on top!  Mmmm.

Food plus friends equaled a wonderful time!  The kids laughed and played together.  The adults discussed a range of things from theology to insects.  Jakob said it best as we were all gathering at the end of the evening to pose for a group picture, "This was the best day ever!  Can we do this tomorrow and the next day?!"  Hmmmm perhaps.... I did learn that the first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days.