Happy Thanksgiving/Eid Said!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am sitting in my flat at the moment trying to get as close as I possible can to the space heater without burning my sweat pants. While the weather outside is still very much tolerable (especially considering that I’ve spent the last 22 winters in the Midwest), but the houses, which are made completely of concrete and limestone block, are cooling quickly. The concept of central heating doesn’t exist here so for the time being, we’re relying on space heaters until diesel is delivered and we can operate the iron heating apparatuses in our rooms.

Thanksgiving was bittersweet. It was the first time that I’ve really missed home. Despite being vegan, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays as it is one of the few times in my increasingly busy life that all of my family and friends are in one place. Also, Thanksgiving is not celebrated here, and in many respects it not only marks a holiday of gratitude, but also the official beginning (as my mom adamantly asserts) of the Christmas season. Much appreciated cards and mail have flooded my mailbox this month, and I am so thankful for these. It’s so great to have something to open and read familiar handwriting.

The sweet part of Thanksgiving came in spreading the holiday spirit in preparing a meal for three of our close Palestinian friends. The idea came after I was surfing the foodnetwork website for couscous recipes when I came across a picture of what looked like (and ended up tasting like) the best apple pie of all time. As I called in our friends to take a look at this culinary masterpiece, they looked at each other in confusion – they had never seen nor tasted pie before! From here Bethany and I made it our personal mission to bring the wonders of not only pie, but Thanksgiving as a holiday to the West Bank.

It’s important to note that Beth is a vegetarian and I am a vegan, so though we still had slight objections to the idea of cooking meat, we knew that we wouldn’t do Thanksgiving justice without it. Also, it’s important to note that the Muslim mega-holiday, Eid Adha, a time where older Muslims typically make their once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca. Traditionally Muslim families slaughter cows to celebrate. To learn more about the pilgrimage, read this article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/11/28/hajj.bridge/index.html

And so began the grocery shopping adventure of a lifetime….

Turkey is not a common entrée here. Yes, it can be purchased like deli meat, but I was seriously mistaken when I thought I could buy a frozen turkey for $0.40/pound like I could at Super Wal-Mart. So after a failed attempt to buy a turkey, Beth and I settled on two two-pound chickens from the butcher’s section at the grocery store. When he asked us if we’d like anything cut off, my first instinct was “la shukran” (no thank you), but upon closer inspection, I realized that the heads were still on the chickens and there was no way that I would be able to stomach preparing chickens without all of the necessary appendages removed. I’m so glad I spotted it before we left the store or we may have had a meatless Thanksgiving.

Another challenging ingredient to find was dairy-free butter. I am still following strict vegan guidelines here and because Orthodox Jewish tradition requires its followers to separate their animal products, I figured a butter substitute wouldn’t be that difficult to find. Again, I was seriously mistaken. After visiting what seemed like visiting a baker’s dozen grocery stores, our coordinators brought us to a giant grocery store in Jerusalem where I found a kind, English speaking, Orthodox Jewish woman who helped translate the Hebrew on the container.

Going to the grocery store in Jerusalem was a brief flashback to my life in the US. One thing I’ve missed while in Israel/Palestine is convenience, there are rarely grocery stores that sell both groceries and produce under one roof. I never thought I would say this, but going to a mega stores with thousands of square feet of inventory never felt better. There honestly was something satisfying about knowing that I could buy both asparagus and pillows at the same store.

So, we had found the two most difficult ingredients and the rest was tracking down out-of-season produce and other assorted sides.

And so began the adventure of making Thanksgiving dinner…

We prepared our delicious apple pie and my grandma’s homemade corn recipe on Wednesday night. It was quickly brought to our attention that we had no pie pan or measuring cups. Thankfully after a few calls home to my mom we ended up measuring by using tea cups and other bowls and cups that was “close.” We ended up finishing both the pie and the corn at 3:30 am, but it was definitely worth it the next day. I think my pie would give my grandma’s a run for its money J

The next day we were looking to tackle the rest of our menu: 40 clove garlic roasted chicken, green beans with caramelized onions and toasted almonds, vegan stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, and apple pie. The chickens posed the largest challenge as neither of us had ever cooked meat like this and that neither felt very comfortable salting and peppering the bird and giving it a “butter massage.” I ended up preparing the chicken and I think it further affirmed my meatless lifestyle.

All in all, apart from the chicken we had a completely vegan Thanksgiving and I did sneak a taste of the chicken and I’m quite impressed with myself. We had a great time sharing a bit of our culture with our Palestinians friends over familiar foods and a much loved holiday. I am truly thankful for the contribution these friends have made in my time here and it was very meaningful for me to express my gratitude.

Thanks for reading. I love comments!!

Laurie