Christmas Gruel

Set aside any former notions that you have when you read the word “gruel.” (Were you thinking middle ages? Hansel and Grettle? Prison?) It turns out that gruel is actually quite tasty and is the Christmas Eve dish of choice in rural Santo Antão.

Scott and I kicked off our holiday celebrations here in Cape Verde by making ‘papa,’ translated ‘gruel,’ with our neighbors. The dish is made from a vegetable of choice- in this case squash, but also commonly made with potatoes or sweet potatoes, along with salt, corn grits, and corn flour. It boils for a long time in order to thicken up and then is slapped onto plates and drowned in fresh cow’s milk. You eat it with a spoon, and It is yummy.

Christmas day in our town was not very different from normal days with the exception of added meat. The holiday here is all about spending time with family, but since most families already live together or very near each other, there were few overdue reunions. The only oddity, then, was the butchering going on all around town.

People raise their goats, pigs, and chickens with the holidays in mind. Since Christmas was our lunch goat’s destiny, I didn’t really feel sad for him. I was nice to him while he was still living, but I didn’t mourn his passing. He was tender and flavorful.

Scott conducted the execution of young Lunch early in the morning, and by 8:00, I was frying up his entrails. We even cooked his sex organs which Scott described as surprisingly tasty. I lucked out; they were reserved for the men only to eat. I did get a laugh, however, of the sight of testicles and a little goat penis being stirred around in the pan. I wished I’d taken a photo.

We dined on coffee, cake, and fried tripe for breakfast. Later in the day we had fresh beans with chicken and goat stew for lunch. As we were leaving in the evening, Scott and I presented our hosts with packages of lotion, a knife, and crayons and notebooks for the kids. They must have liked the gifts because the next day, my friend cheerfully said, “I’m going to get you a present now. And if you don’t like it I’m going to punch you in the face.”

So, all in all, it was a successful Christmas. A little lonely, to be sure, but successful nonetheless.