Sofia Abbas

Hi everyone!! I’ve been meaning to post more on here but this semester has been unexpectedly hectic and the time just got away from me. I hope you’re all doing well, and that you’re enjoying the end of the year. This time of year is one of my favorites, especially with all the holidays coming up. My family mostly celebrates Christmas and New Years but, where my parents grew up, it was standard to celebrate every holiday that came around no matter the religion — who would say no to an excuse to take a day off and eat some delicious food? I know not everyone feels this way but, no matter what holidays or traditions you celebrate in December, I’m looking forward to sharing them all with you! 

This November we celebrated Thanksgiving, which is one of my favorite holidays of the year. Rather than thinking of the oft-misused/understood history of the holiday, I think of it as a time to visit my family, cook a bunch of dishes I don’t usually make, and remind myself of everything I have to be grateful for. My writing, and the little community of people who read my stories, is number one on that list this year. Thank you so much for reading and supporting me over the past three years — my life has changed a lot over that time, but writing is always a safe place for me to return to and I’m forever grateful to all of you for that.

My family loves to experiment with the traditional classics for Thanksgiving, and this year we incorporated a new tradition that I started this fall. I love trying out different cooking methods and international recipes, so I’ve been cooking my way around the world one week at a time. I randomized a list of regions in the world and am cooking recipes from a different one each week, to the best of my ability. Thanksgiving week happened to line up with Portugal’s week, so we incorporated a Portuguese turkey recipe and used Portuguese bread for the base of one of our stuffings. The Portuguese bread (Bolo do caco) comes from Madeira and uses sweet potato in the dough — I was a little skeptical that I was making it properly during the process, but it came out delicious in the end! The sweet potato makes the bread particularly soft and tender, and just the bread on its own was a huge hit.

I’m tracking my progress with the cooking adventure on a different instagram account from my usual one, @strawberryspoondrift. I’m not very consistent at posting, because it’s just for fun, but you’re welcome to follow me there if you’re interested! I’ve attached some photos from my Thanksgiving below — no matter where you are or what holidays you’re celebrating, I hope you take time during this busy season to treat yourself and enjoy some good meals!

All my love,

Sofia