Welcome to the blog for Colgate University's interdisciplinary course on food. This is the place to keep up with what students in the course are experiencing in their work at Common Thread Community Farm and through their everyday encounters with food.

Monday, September 26, 2016

It's That Time of Year

Although it is still September, it feels as though the Holidays are approaching as we enter into Autumn. Considering the fact that the pumpkin spice latte is in season at Starbucks (which I know because I had two over the weekend) shows we are past the days of Summer. As the leaves begin to change color soon and it gets a bit nippy outside, I could only begin to think of Thanksgiving. Many families have various traditions around the holiday season and there are some things that are essential to do over this time. Fortunately, my family is very close and we all live on the North East side of the country. Since my mom has three sisters, there are ten grandchildren on my mom’s side and one great-grandchild, with whom I am all very close with. Additionally, my dad has two sisters so I have a few other first cousins on his side of the family with whom I am also close with. Thanksgiving is always a fun time to be around family, be home, and be out of school. I am always Nostalgic about Thanksgiving and the Holiday season.
Each year, we would alternate who hosts Thanksgiving amongst my mom and her sisters. However, when Thanksgiving was at one of my aunt’s houses in Rochester, NY, I would have two Thanksgiving dinners because my Abuelita, my dad’s mother, lived about 15 minutes away. Thus, we would go to my Abuelita’s and then to my aunt’s house. This meant not only double the food, but double the leftovers.
Thanksgiving is definitely one of my favorite holidays not only because of family, but also because of the food. I have a very large appetite and am not a picky eater in the slightest—I take after my dad. At both my aunt’s house and Abuelita’s house, we would have a variety of foods. Some dishes were a necessity to have each Thanksgiving. My Abuelita was Colombian so she would make dishes such as paella, arepas, flan, sancocho, etc. We would also have generic dishes such as a turkey, macaroni and cheese (potentially my favorite), stuffing with raisins, sweet potatoes, and apple pie with ice cream. Although I am mildly allergic to apple, this pie is worth the itchy throat that resulted afterwards.
Whenever my mom’s side of the family convenes, certain immediate families are expected to bring certain dishes. One of my aunt’s is in charge of ham with pineapples and the sweet potatoes with marshmallows. This aunt is known for being late even if we tell her we’re meeting earlier than we actually are. Therefore, the ham and the sweet potatoes are typically the last dishes to arrive. Each year, we place bets on when my aunt will arrive, each putting a dollar into a pool, and whoever is closest to the actual time she arrives wins the jackpot. Another aunt and her family are responsible for mashed potatoes, desserts, and ice cream to “cut the sweetness” as we say. Another aunt is responsible for rice, the turkey, and the rolls. My grandmother is responsible for the macaroni and cheese, which usually includes large chunks of cheddar cheese. Moreover, my mom is responsible for the sweet potato pies, the greens, the stuffing, and the gravy that we get from Williams Sonoma. When we all gather, we usually play games, play music, chat, watch football, and enjoy being together. We all are together very few times throughout the year because many of us are in college so this is a special time of the year. I can’t forget to mention the leftover, which is a big part of the experience. When it comes to this, I’ll admit I can be a tad greedy. I usually claim the macaroni and cheese, stuffing, sweet potato pie, and ham. There’s generally enough food prepared so that each family can bring home a good portion of all that was made. To conclude, even though Thanksgiving isn’t for quite some time, I’m already imagining the wonderful aroma of candles blazing and pies baking as we sit around the dinner table surrounded by delicious food (and good company).

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