in the kitchen, on the job: Thanksgiving

Posted by on Nov 14, 2010 in in the kitchen, on the job, pc-romania, veronica | No Comments

So we’re to that time of year again when David and I alone keep the town’s dairy economy going.  During Advent (and Lent), the Romanian Orthodox in our community fast. And their fast makes Catholic fasting seem easy peasy.  In essence everyone becomes vegan for a month in preparation for the big pig kill and meal at Christmastime.

Post (or the fast) starts this Monday. Last year, when we had our big volunteer Thanksgiving here in Moldova, none of my Romanian colleagues or beneficiaries participated because it was post. This year, armed with my cultural knowledge of the season, I talked with my director about having a Thanksgiving meal, made by the beneficiaries and me before post.

We had our meal this past Thursday — Turkey with stuffing, glazed carrots, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, and pumpkin pie. While I was quite stressed and tired (I got up at 5AM to get the turkey started in the oven), it was wonderful.  All the pictures from our feast are here, but here are a few of the bird.

I even made mini pies that I shared with my intermediate adult English class and I took a few mini ones over to the piata to share with my man who found tasty pumpkin for me.  David said I got looks from other piata people like I was crazy, but I think spreading peace and thankfulness through pie should be added to Peace Corps’ mission.

We’ve got big plans this upcoming weekend with our T-day ’10, Moldovan edition for our volunteer friends.  So stay tuned for that craziness and tastiness.

3 Comments

  1. Gretel
    November 14, 2010

    Saving the world, one pie at a time. That works. As always, I’m awed and inspired.

    Reply
  2. Pumpkins, Queen Marie, the Church, Thanksgiving and the Professor Gets His Drink On « I'm More Romanisian Than You!
    November 15, 2010

    […] I found this awesome blog from two American Peace Corps people who had a little cultural sensitivity and cooked a […]

    Reply
  3. Dan Ratliff
    November 16, 2010

    Thanks for your comment on my blog. We plan to go to Botosani to visit Jake Schulman-Metz, a fellow Fulbrighter. There are 6 of us here in Cluj. Possibly in December. Email me and we can coordinate our visit; I’d love to see what you are doing.

    Reply

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