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Thanksgiving traditions old and nuevas
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"The First Thanksgiving" Jennie Brownscombe
The Thanksgiving table looks the same year after year. The people around the table change. Over the years there have been additions and subtractions, but the food is always the same. If my grandmothers who have been gone for decades came back to life they would know what will be on the menu Thanksgiving Day.
The essentials of the meal are:
Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed potatoes
Cranberries
Pumpkin Pie
If I were given the responsibility to procure the food for the family feast, I would go to Albertson's at 323 S. Broadway. Everything I need would be there. But what if I were adventurous and wanted to try a different grocery store? Would I find what I need?
The first stop was Pacific Ocean International Supermarket at 2200 W. Alameda Avenue which caters to the Asian community and has items that can't be found anywhere else in town. Much of what is on the shelves was unknown to me and labels are often written in various Asian languages, but the staff was very friendly and eager to help. The meat counter had duck tongue, chicken feet and pig ear. One of my grandmothers would have loved this place. She used to make something called scrapple which is all the spare parts of a pig baked in corn meal mush and served with maple syrup. It was delicious, but I never wanted to know what was in it. I asked the guy at the counter if he had turkey and he didn't but he did have duck. Duck works as a substitute. Stuffing would be no problem as they have bread, eggs from various birds, onions, celery and spices. I found potatoes or khoai tay as it is labeled by its Vietnamese name. There were no cranberries, but palm fruit in heavy sauce works as a substitute. They don't sell pumpkin pies or have pre-made pie crusts or all the ingredients to make a pie crust easily, but they do have pumpkins and nutmeg and other spices so something can be improvised.
Thanksgiving dinner as purchased from Pacific Ocean would be:
Duck
Stuffing
Mashed potatoes (khoai tay)
Palm fruit in heavy sauce
Mashed spiced pumpkin
The next stop was Avanza Supermarket at 1320 S. Federal Boulevard which caters to the Latino community. It looks like any other grocery store except everything is labeled in English and Spanish, the walls are painted in bright colors and the elevator music has a Latin beat. It carries a product line that is similar to Albertson's, but the meat, produce and bakery departments carry products like those found in Mexico and Central America. The staff was friendly and helpful and when I asked for turkey at the meat counter, I was told they will have it beginning November 13. Everything else needed for Thanksgiving was readily available. I could shop there and no one would know it came from a Latino market. But why go to a Latino market if you don't take advantage of the specialty items they have?
So I came up with what would make a great meal:
Duck
Hominy
Green Chile
- Or combine them to make a posole
Tortillas
Palm fruit in heavy sauce
Pumpkin pie
Will the family accept this as a new Thanksgiving tradition? Probably not, but it might make a fine American meal for another time.
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