Is it too late for a Thanksgiving blog???

Of course Kiwi's don't celebrate Thanksgiving. But of course an American nanny is going to want to plan a Thanksgiving dinner for her kiwi family! So for this special holiday devoted to eating, drinking, and eating some more, I planned a simple dinner for my family and had a few friends show up. Since turkey is uncommon here, I had to resort to baking a pre-stuffed turkey from Foodtown. I had green beans with sliced almonds, mashed potatoes, and "green stuff" which was especially requested by Tim. Green stuff is actually a jello salad --- lime jello, marshmellows, canned pineapple, mascarpone, and walnuts --- served upside down to show off its colors. Gendie whipped up gravy and also some whipped cream for the dessert.
No Thanksgiving is complete without a pumpkin pie, and me being the eager chef I have always been (hahaha yeah right) I decided to make one from scratch.
Now the interesting thing about New Zealand is that not many foods are canned; most people grow their own fruits and vegetables or buy them from veggie stores. But when you are an American and you are using an American recipe, you go to Foodtown and go down the canned fruit aisle looking for the canned pumpkin. You might find that essential ingredient simply not on the shelves. What do you do? You frantically text your host mum and ask her how on earth you are supposed to make a pumpkin pie when there is no pumpkin? She will probably laugh and write you back saying, "Go to the fresh produce section and pick a pumpkin."
How bizarre! So I followed her instructions and lo and behold, pumpkins! For sale! But Halloween has passed! And it is summer here! There were two different kinds of pumpkins; neither variety was orange and they were not really pumpkin-shaped. I slowly took one from the shelf, not having the faintest idea what to do with it.
Turns out, you cut the pumpkin up, boil it, puree it, and there you go! You make the crust, add your own spices and a few other ingredients, and then you bake it!! When it is finished it looks nothing like what you are used to. The pie is not brown, it is orange. The texture is not creamy or flan-like; it is a bit more pulpy - the way a pumpkin should be. It tastes fresh, healthy, and like a pumpkin. After you sink your teeth into a forkful of honest-to-goodness pumpkin pie, you wonder, "WHAT THE HELL HAVE I BEEN EATING FROM A CAN ALL THESE YEARS?"