I know everyone probably has tons of leftover Thanksgiving fair today, with plenty of turkey and stuffing and yams and cranberry just sitting in the fridge waiting for you, and that chances are there wont be much action in your kitchens today, but I thought I’d tempt your tastebuds a bit, pa jode’ na’mas.
Y despues un flan y un cafecito.
Do we have to pick one?
back when my father was alive, my mom would take the leftover turkey and make turkey croquetas for him..
I couldn’t decide on any of them, until I saw the last option…pick one and serve it to me!
What no Picadillo?
I saw a show on PBS yesterday about how important food was to Cuban culture. It discussed various things from the superior sugar cane on the island to home remidies for sicknesses(which I got a good chuckle at) to how Cuban food actually came to the US in the 19th Century. It also went into detail of how vital the Grandmother was to the family. Forgive me but I don’t remember the Spanish word for Grandmother!
I loved how they described an entire neighborhood as basically being one family. What fascinated me was how when one person was sick, people would take turns watching them so they would never be alone. That was very touching.
Just hearing people talking about how much love and warmth there was in Cuba and how food was so instrumental in unifying everybody really made me wish such a place still existed today. It also made hungry!;-) Good thing it was Thanksgiving Day!
I must say, I’m not even Cuban and seeing this just gave me such a warm feeling inside. Food and family are very important to us Italians too and I think that’s one thing we really have in common.
What? No camarones echilados with arroz blanco, frijoles negros and maduros? I’m a Cuban vegetarian, so I don’t eat meat, although I do enjoy seafood. And I love my seafood. I love calamares en arroz tinto and tostones, I love paella which is Spanish, also, Cuban,a direct inheritance from our Asturian and Galician grandparents, etc.. And I love Cuban desserts; pudin diplomatico, flan, dulce de fruta bomba, etc…
That’s cruel, man.