Five Ways to Make This Thanksgiving a Latino Thanksgiving
Here’s a round up of Thanksgiving ideas to make your Thanksgiving a Latino Thanksgiving
1. American Latinos have a very different relationship to Thanksgiving because of their unique history.
No Spanish speaking countries celebrate this holiday because they weren’t colonized in the way the United States was. America’s history created an entirely different set of cultural traditions that separate the US from Latin countries, but also brings new and diverse traditions that speak to all of our Latin cultures and roots, food being one of the main displays of that diversity.
This photo of my family at Thanksgiving pretty much says it all. We’re not fancy during the holidays, we’re not going to win any awards for taking a great family selfie, but we are going to make some great Mexican food with our turkey!
What would Thanksgiving be without tamales or enchiladas right next to the turkey at the dinner table? I remember thinking it absolutely normal to have tamales, enchiladas, empanadas and rice alongside Thanksgiving turkey, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. We usually skipped the stuffing and cornbread in favor of our own flour tortilla carbs and that was our version of Thanksgiving.
Only in my elementary and middle school years…Read more: How Will You Celebrate Your Latin Heritage This Thanksgiving?
2. The Ortega family shares fond memories of a multicultural Thanksgiving.
We over-packed the car and drove to New York City to visit my husband’s family for Thanksgiving.
As with my packing, I’ve been known to over-dramatize the difficulty of traveling with small children. In spite of all that, our family is not alone: Thanksgiving weekend remains the most traveled time of year in the United States, as relatives separated by distance return home to take part in the yearly feast.
Growing up, one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions was playing a chaotic game of Leaf Football with my brothers, cousins, and uncles, wreaking havoc on our yard and its organized piles of autumn leaves.
We enjoyed the traditional meal—my favorite side dish is sweet potato casserole—and I’d often make the family participate in some gratitude activity, like each person writing out a blessing on a paper turkey cutout and affixing it to a poster board.
My brother John hated watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade; I loved it.
Now my children have the opportunity to watch the legendary New York parade in person…Read more: Turkey and Tamales: Appreciating a Multicultural Thanksgiving through Stories and Food
3. Eating vegan doesn’t have to mean missing out on big flavor. Here’s the perfect Thanksgiving recipe to prove it.
Happy Holidays everyone! This is a time for cheers and reuniting with some who may have not
seen all year. As we know vegetarianism and veganism are on the rise as we gain more clarity
on the climate and other impacts of food farming and become more knowledgeable on how
food works in our bodies affecting, not only each one of our cells, but our energy and vibration
as well.
I wanted to share with you a vegan recipe that will make sure you have any and all
of your guests covered.
Ingredients:
5 sweet potatoes (your choice if peeled or unpeeled)
1 or 2 red onions (depending on size)
5 garlic cloves minced
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
3 tbsp of olive oil
And you can add to taste: Rosemary, salt and pepper or other hers such as thyme
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS…Read more: Healthy Vegan? Thanksgiving Holiday Recipe – Vegan Baked Sweet Potato
4. How to make Thanksgiving leftovers something to be thankful for!
While on a call with Chef Lorena Garcia, I asked her to share what her all-time favorite recipe is. She laughed and said it’s like asking which one of your kids is your favorite child. What she did say is that the arepa, a staple of her home country, Venezuela, might just be one of her favorites.
Chef Lorena Garcia’s life as a chef, entrepreneur, cookbook author, media personality, cookware designer and restauranteur has been a celebration of the cooking and passion for food that she grew up with in her native Caracas, Venezuela, with the international flavors and culinary techniques she amassed as a young chef working in some of the world’s finest restaurants.
The simplicity and comfort of the basic arepa is something she serves as a “bread basket” at her restaurant, Chica, and yet, the ability to turn it from a basic table staple into a upscale dish depending on what you do with it makes it amazingly versatile. These light and fluffy disks are ever present in Venezuelan and Colombian cuisine. Somewhere between an English muffin or gordita, they can be eaten warm with butter as a snack, or split in half and stuffed with cheese, meats, or other tasty fillings. These are to Venezuelans what baguettes are to the French! They are as adaptable as they are delicious. They can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a tasty snack….Read more: Give a Latin Twist to Thanksgiving Leftovers with Arepas [Recipe and Video]
5. Yes, you read that right. Pickling refers to marinating food in an acidic mixture (usually with white vinegar).
Whether its drinks or food, unique and unusual side dishes make the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays special…this one foots the bill on both accounts!
Ingredients
2 pounds (about 10) unripe green banana (the greener the better)
2 large onions chopped small.
½ cup white vinegar (can be substituted with apple cider vinegar)
4 crushed garlic cloves
10 sliced Spanish olives or 2 tablespoons of capers
