Moose Jaw Minute #8: Happy Thanksgiving! No, seriously...

The sun is rising later and descending slower.  We had about two weeks of yellow bursts on the trees here in Moose Jaw and now, thanks to gusty winds, those bursts have dropped to the ground leaving me with a barren vision outside my home office window.  Yes, friends, fall is upon us! 

Fall is my favorite time of the year...I love the crunch of the leaves on the ground, trail running in the cold, football (go Steelers!), pumpkins in front of the stores, pulling out warm sweaters, and darker days.  While we haven't had much of a fall in Moose Jaw yet (it was colder when I arrived at the end of August than it is now), I have been assured that the string of warm days we are experiencing will not last much longer.  I sincerely hope not.  I'm a sucker for cider, cozy blankets, carving pumpkins, stews, and...well, general fall-i-ness.

Along with October in Canada comes Thanksgiving...Canadian Thanksgiving.  This year, Thanksgiving falls on October 11 and we are planning on celebrating the day before with friends and food.  I will be baking a traditional apple pie (an Evans family recipe) and Dave will be making quite possibly the best cornbread I've ever eaten...a dupe of the cornbread you can snag at Bandera in Chicago.  YUM!  Canadian Thanksgiving really revolves around giving thanks for the closing of the harvest.  Martin Frobisher is the gentleman responsible for getting the whole celebration thing off the ground in this country in 1578 after a safe return to Newfoundland following a failed attempt to find the Northwest Passage.  While the First Nations people of Canada have been celebrating the close of the harvest for many years, Frobisher's return was cause for a party, and party they did...like it was 1599.  Did their party come with football?  I think not, but now it does with the Canadian Football League hosting a double-header known as the "Thanksgving Classic."

Evans Apple Pie (recipe not for sale)

And now, for your eating pleasure...

Cloned Bandera Cornbread Recipe (supposedly makes 16 servings...I say it makes one...for me).

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 (15 ounce) can creamed corn (or make your own)
2 ounces green chili peppers
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
4 eggs

Directions:

Prep:  10 mins
Total Time:  50 mins

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees (if you have a skillet, you'll want to cook it in that, otherwise, we use a pie pan)
2. Mix flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder.  Set aside.  Melt butter and combine with sugar, creamed corn, and chilis.  Mix to combine.  Add eggs one by one and mix until well blended.  Add cheese.  Fold in flour mixture until mixed well (clumps are okay!).
3. Carefully remove cast iron skillet from oven (if you have one), and coat top and sides with vegetable oil.  Pour in cornbread batter.
4. Bake 30-45 minutes or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Recipe adapted from Food.com (http://www.food.com/recipe/Bandera-Cornbread-Clone-291454)

EAT, ENJOY, GIVE THANKS...

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!