Dia de Accion de Gracias (Thanksgiving)

Attentive audience getting organ meat off a spoon
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Thanksgiving is of course an American (and OK, Canadian) holiday, not celebrated in places outside those countries, like Ecuador. I have had several special experiences over the years celebrating Thanksgiving with other Americans at times I´ve been overseas, and it is fun to get creative about the meal, especially since turkey is a fairly uncommon commodity in most places outside the U.S.

For us this year in Cotacachi, however, we decided to undertake something a little different to commemorate Thanksgiving. We took our inspiration from the Spanish name for Thanksgiving: Dia de Accion de Gracias, which is literally "Day of Action of Thanks." The action part really struck us as important and meaningful. Not merely to reflect and give thanks with each other, but to demonstrate thanks in our town through some simple actions.

Hamburgers and beer for an all-American dinner
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We decided to make treats to share with both special people and special animals in our lives here in Cotacachi. To keep in the spirit of the Thanksgiving flavor palate, we decided to make pumpkin cookies to share with people. (And, not really in any particular flavor palate but what is yummy to dogs, we decided to buy a variety of organ meat at the local meat vendor to share with the street dogs.)

We found a pumpkin cookie recipe on the internet, but of course it called for canned pumpkin, something not available here. Undeterred, we walked to the open-air food market and bought a huge piece of squash. It was originally some gigantic vegetable, and the vendor would cut it into whatever size portion you wanted. It was already chopped into about half when we got there, and we bought the whole remainder. It probably weighed five or six pounds, and we just threw it in our backpack, shell and flesh and seeds and all.

Frankie, our unexpected dinner guest
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We had also looked up all the handy Spanish words for organ meat vocabulary: liver, heart, kidney, intestine, etc. We visited the meat vendor, with giant red hunks of carcasses laid out uncovered--no plastic wrap, no evil styrofoam trays--just real, straight-from-the-cow (or pig) flesh. We bought two pounds of mixed organ meat stuffed into a plastic bag and carried it home with the giant squash.

At home, we cooked the squash on the stove to make our own "canned pumpkin" equivalent. We don´t have cookie sheets, so pressed the bottom of a big frying pan into service. We wrapped the cookies in bundles and attached handwritten notes: "Feliz Dia de Accion de Gracias. Gracias por su amistad." Then we set out, cookie bundles and containers of chopped meat  in hand, to say thanks to the people who have befriended us here, and also to offer a special treat to the dogs.

Happy Thanksgiving, in Cotacachi
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At home later that evening, we actually decided to cook up what is a very American meal as part of our celebration of this American holiday (they just don´t normally go together): hamburgers and beer. And to our delight, our new doggie friend, Frankie the Blue-Eyed Dog, appeared on our doorstep right around dinner time, so we had a guest at the table too.

Gracias, Cotacachi, for being such a beautiful, peaceful, safe and special place to live! (Click on the "view more photos" link to see the rest of the pictures.)