27 November, 2003

Thanksgiving in Antarctica. What do you eat? Most of this week's emails have asked that very question, and suggested that our menu might include grilled seal or stuffed penguin. Since seals and penguins are protected that was out of the question. Instead, we were forced to rely on whatever we could find lurking on our pantry shelves and in the coolers outside the hut.

Unfortunately, the single-most item found in greatest abundance on our shelves right now is Pasta-Roni. The prospect of an all Pasta-Roni Thanksgiving meal was unappealing-although it would have given us a reason to use the remaining 24 boxes that are still sitting on the shelves. Imagine, we could cook one batch and make it gluey enough to mold together into the shape of a turkey. Best of all, it would already be stuffed! What would you have on the side? Why, more Pasta-Roni, of course. Then there's the possibility of a Pasta-Roni pie crust filled with an appetizing filling made of Pasta-Roni.

While the Pasta-Roni theme sounded pretty good, we forced ourselves to come up with a slightly more interesting menu. The piscivores of the group feasted on marinated, grilled halibut, while the carnivorous component ate steak. On the side we had stuffing as well as real mashed potatoes (a last-minute treat from Peggy at the Food Room in McMurdo) and cranberry sauce-- your basic traditional blend of starchy foods. Dessert was excellent. Our crew is pretty handy with the stovetop oven; Gillian made a pumpkin pie and Darren concocted a mixed-berry crisp. It was an excellent and memorable Thanksgiving dinner on the ice.

Daily Haiku:

Thanksgiving dinner

In our Antarctic seal camp

Don't forget the pie

We thought about stuffing one of the chickens that was lying outside in a snowdrift, but decided that it might have a decidedly rubbery taste.

All the ingredients for an excellent pumpkin pie.

Gillian rolls out the piecrust.

Perfect pies!

Grilling Antarctica-style

Well-fed seal researchers. From left to right: Bob Garrott, Gillian Hadley, Mark Johnston, Darren Ireland, me, Kelly Proffitt