Florida School Celebrates Thanksgiving in September

Sylvia Rodriguez Kimbell Elementary School in the Hillsborough County (FL) Public School District celebrated Thanksgiving with a special school meal on Friday, September 6. In attendance was Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam at the event designed to memorialize a Thanksgiving celebration held September 8, 1565 (more the half a century before the famous one at Plymouth celebrated in November) with Spanish explorers and Native Americans in attendance.

The menu, designed to emulate as much as possible the foods likely to have been served at that 16th century feast, included cocido (a Spanish stew—see below), roasted delicata/acorn squash, calabaza pumpkin soup, pumpkin tarts, orange slices, whole grain biscuits and milk.

Cocido is a Spanish stew that typically contains pork, chicken, beef, carrots, garbanzo beans, garlic, onions, cabbage, pasta and even blood sausage. After the stew is made, the broth s removed and used to cook cabbage and pasta in a separate pot. The meats and vegetables are typically served on a platter after a first course of the pasta.