A Botswana Thanksgiving

We had been assured they were out there, but my search for a turkey in Gaborone – even a small one – was unsuccessful.

No matter. Botswana is the land of beef, and it didn’t take too much convincing for me to switch gears and go with a roast instead. Beef here is high quality and quite inexpensive. For comparison, a really nice T-bone that might cost me $10-$11 at the Good Food Store back home in Missoula runs about $3-$4 here.

So, I ordered a 1 kilo top roast, and we matched it up with quinoa, sweet potatoes, roasted broccoli, freshly baked bread, salad, and, of course, Yorkshire pudding. Roasted pears for dessert. The roast did come out a tad overdone – the tiny little oven in our flat can be fickle and inconsistent with temperatures sometimes.

Good crust on this one.

I love planning out a big holiday meal, even with only three of us on the guest list for dinner. That miniature oven was the big logistical challenge – with only one rack, careful timing was required to get everything on the table at once.

Our friend, and Julie’s fellow Fulbrighter, Sarah – a bright and brave recent graduate from Northeastern University – joined us for the festivities.

Happy Holidays from Botswana!

Oh, and wine.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends, family, and readers back home in the US, or wherever you find yourself around the world.