Foto Flip Friday – November Theme: “Travel Eats” (Week 5)

Yikes! I screwed up! I thought last week’s FFF edition was the final Friday of November, but… nope. Turns out I started the November Travel East theme a Friday too early (i.e. on Friday, 31 October) so… we now have *FIVE* Travel Eats Fridays of flip-floppin’ digital postcards.

Needless to say, what with starting a 2nd EFL teaching tutorial this week, and celebrating my native land’s Thanksgiving holiday, I’ve been pretty rushed. So… when I woke up this morning and realize that I still had to find (not to mention digitally whittle) a few more Travel Eats postcards, I uh, panicked and thought… O.k. why not simply post pics of my delicious eats from yesterday’s Thanksgiving dinner, yes?

The best part is that (for the first time in 3 years) I now have a full-blown KITCHEN, complete with an OVEN! So I could actually COOK a semblance of my traditional childhood Thanksgiving eats.

However, as I had to teach two tutorials on Thanksgiving I only had time to have a nice T-day “almuerzo” (lunch) with a chum before class, and then cooked up the traditional turkey, et al vittles when I got home at 6:30. Nonetheless, my little dinner turned out seriously delicious, and I shared half my (heavenly!) pumpkin pie (made special for me by Johathon, the chef at the nearby “Soup’s On” cafe) with my gringo neighbors beneath my feet (the Apple Crisp ala Mode was divine Melissa, and that bitty taste of your childhood “cornbread ‘n biscuits” dressing, Denton was A.MAZE.ING!)

Now then, without further ado, I present to you all – a few pics of my 2014 Thanksgiving dinner:

First, my delectable appetizer:

(simply mouseover the image and watch the *magic!)

* Well o.k. for those viewing in IE, not so much a magical “flip” as a fading change. If you want to see the flip/flop, try viewing in Chrome or Firefox.

And for dessert – no way did I have time to make a pumpkin pie from scratch (not to mention unearth a pumpkin and the spices here in Ecuador), so I asked my new Ecuadorian friend (and chef extraordinaire!) if he could possibly whip me up some sort of pumpkin pie.

The result? OMG, not just any ol’ pumpkin pie, but a heavenly, super light pumpkin tart that truly is the best I’ve ever tasted:

And finally, the works – my entire T-day eats: Baked turkey thighs (I have always favored the dark meat over the white), stuffed portobello mushrooms, mashed potatoes, green beans, a bit of cranberry sauce (I prefer whole cranberries minced in a blender with an orange, but alas even canned jellied was a major find here in Ecuador), salad, and a glass of wine.

O.k. now, that’s really and truly a “Travel Eats” wrap!.

Tune in next Friday to see what new Foto Flip theme I’ve chosen for December.

About the Author

Dyanne Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion,and I’ve always lived life “like-a-kid-in-a-candy-store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been: This ain’t a dress rehearsal, folks!