Thanksgiving

I know I threw everyone off by implying that the next post would highlight Thanksgiving in Quito, and then instead offering a musical tour of the Fiestas de Quito and singing praises to Carlos Baute, who is currently serenading me thanks to Grooveshark (side note: please don't disappear, Grooveshark!). I delayed the Thanksgiving post mostly because my photos didn't turn out as well as I had hoped almost entirely because I should have used the flash. I hope you'll all forgive me for the quality of these photos.

Our Thanksgiving Feast was a success, despite hosting it on a date that was filled with other things to do due to the Fiestas. My gringa friend Tiffany and I made stuffing (which wasn't burnt- that's just my shadow), pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, and a surprisingly cranberry sauce-like dish that boasted only a few dried cranberries. Our friends brought vegetable breads, baguettes, guacamole, chips, salad, tree tomato juice, beer and wine, colada morada, and a pizza-like dish that was emphatically described as "not a pizza" although it had a crust, pesto sauce, veggies, and was topped with cheese, all in the oven. In the invitation, I specifically listed traditional Thanksgiving food and linked to a blog that listed Thanksgiving recipes in Spanish. Clearly this was ignored.

New year, new gringa co-hostess! T and me holding the Thanksgiving trolls that Mom sent down with Daria

As you're all more than well aware, I only have my hornito and not a full-sized oven, so I went over to a friend's house to use her oven to make the stuffing and pumpkin pie. Both turned out pretty well, especially the pumpkin pie- my first! Tiffany made cranberry sauce using uvillas (translates to "little grape', apparently known as a cape gooseberry) and mora, a not-so-sweet blackberry fruit, and it was delicious!

All in all, our non-traditional Thanksgiving was a success- we enjoyed ourselves eating, drinking, and playing games, which was the best we could ask for so far away from our families!