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| Happy Thanksgiving! |
Yes, its Thanksgiving. For those of you living in the United States, here in Canada we have Thanksgiving a month before you do. Why? Because it gets cold up here sooner. If Thanksgiving is about the harvest, and our harvest season ends earlier, it makes sense right? Plus, we get to space out the big holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) a little more, which is nice.
Remember when I was ordering from the Northern Shopper, I said I was going to order some ham? (If you don't, check it out here.) Rather than email or call to ask about the ham on the excel spreadsheet, I decided to "live dangerously"? I was hoping for a small, boneless fully-cooked ham. You know, the "half-hams" that are in every grocery store.
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What I got was Miss Piggy. Vacuum sealed.
I turned to Google, browsed through a few recipes, figured out what I could actually find in terms of ingredients here in the north (another challenge), and settled on this one.
When I lived in Florida my best friend Laura and I would go to Boston Market every other week. It was the best! We LOVED this place. (I actually think Laura indulged me, probably quietly rolling her eyes at my enthusiasm.) One of my favourite dishes was the sweet potato casserole. I would have it as a side with meatloaf, turkey, whatever.
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| I mean, just look at that sweet potato casserole! source |
Leaving Florida was difficult for me, mostly because of the people I left behind, but also because THE FOOD. After I got back to Canada I spent days combing the internet trying to find the perfect "sweet potato casserole" recipe a la Boston Market. They were all too fussy--some claimed to be an exact replica of the casserole but had extra ingredients added in. (Almonds? Pecans? No way.) Others claimed to be better than Boston Market's (not possible). Finally, I found it. I make it every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Its so "not good for you" it should really be considered a dessert. The recipe is here.
Having spent my high school years in the south (the state of Virginia) I LOVE cornbread. To my surprise, there is a take-out joint here that makes it: Big Racks. ("Racks" refers to the antlers on caribou, of course.) So I ordered some to serve with our Thanksgiving dinner! A lot of people up here don't seem to like cornbread (its not a typically Canadian thing to eat, not sure why its available in Iqaluit), so there will be biscuits as well.
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| Mural inside Big Racks. Waiting for cornbread. |
While I made Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, JJ took Captain Jack and Coraline to Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park. This was perfect, as it got the kids out of my hair for awhile. Plus, gave them the chance to run around and build up an appetite. Sylvia Grinnell is gorgeous, with hiking trails and waterfalls on the tundra. Its also a very popular place to fish when the char are in season.
As I've mentioned before, JJ is a physician working up here at the local hospital. Many of the staff are here permanently and have made Iqaluit their home. Others are here temporarily. His current resident (student still finishing medical training) is here from Ottawa for 6 weeks. Another doctor is a locum, which means she is just doing a short-term contract. As they are both staying in town for Thanksgiving, and neither of them have any family in the area, we invited them to share the holiday with us. They brought salad and appetizers (scrumptious cheeses!) to round out the meal.
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| Check out that sweet potato casserole! Yum! |
Next up: You'll find out next time! (It MAY even best a guest author.....fingers crossed!)
Wish I could have been there to enjoy Thanksgiving with you guys. Looks like Kim cooked up a super delicious meal.
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