Thanksgiving and the New World

I missed some days of posts due to the Thanksgiving and all. So, I want to quick look at how Thanksgiving celebrates the food of the New World. The discovery of all these new foods was such a big deal for the Old World that the entire world should celebrate Thanksgiving and eat only New World foods! In fact, you could also only eat New World foods at Thanksgiving and celebrate foods from the New World that they did not have in the ancient world (except for the ancient Americas that is).

New World Foods for which I am Thankful!

turkey

corn

potatoes

sweet potatoes

tomatoes

squash, pumpkins and gourds

chilies and peppers

eggplant

chocolate

vanilla

pecans

First, a quick look at this list shows how different ancient Italian food was than modern Italian food because so many of the ingredients we think of as Italian did not hit that peninsula until the 1500s. Second, a Thanksgiving meal of turkey, cornbread stuffing, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted peppers and tomatoes, pumpkin pie, and chocolate pecan pie would be a true celebration of the foods of the New World! Hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving!