el dia de gracias

although a bit early, we celebrated thanksgiving this year in the most traditional ways. well... as traditional as you can amidst 85 degree weather, the lack of family, and teaching a full week, while living in far away Honduras. our "thanksgiving" morning started with the ever popular (american) football game. jason played, and i babysat adorable and sweet natalie (the daughter of two of our co-workers). we all made the short trek to E.I.S.'s main futbol field, dressed in opposing white and black to battle it out. the heavy rain and mud-soaked field only added to the thrill of the game. jason's team, the black team, tasted sweet victory after a goal made by your's truly. he even punctuated the goal with a full out front flip into the end zone. go jason! here's a quick shot, documenting the crazy teachers who thought a muddy football game would be the perfect start to our thanksgiving.

i was super excited to try out a few new recipes to serve at the foreign hire thanksgiving dinner hosted by the CNA apartments. Jackie helped me bake the very popular Iced Pumpkin Cake Cookies and Chocolate Covered Macaroons. We spent hours Friday night stirring, mixing, tasting, dropping by spoonfuls, frosting, and more tasting of these delicious, sweet treats. The cookies were a HUGE success. My favorite quote of the night, "This Pumpkin cookie brought tears to my eyes, as I re-lived my childhood", added to the chorus of compliments I received all night for our baking. Here's a picture of our dessert table, and the links to the "All Recipes" description. Enjoy... they're delicious!

I also made the following Carrot-Pineapple cake, also feature on "All Recipes". http://allrecipes.com/recipe/carrot-pineapple-cake-i/detail.aspx It was extremely moist, probably due to the crushed pineapple, freshly shredded carrots and sweetened coconut mixed right into the gooey cake batter. The double-layered cake was frosted with a basic cream cheese and coconut frosting. Carrot shavings and crushed walnut topped it off as a beautiful garnish to showcase its irresistible flavor. The quote of the night, "This was the absolute BEST carrot cake I've ever tasted", coupled with, "This puts my grandmother's carrot cake to shame, please don't tell her!" added to my enjoyment of the process. I was so glad that my efforts were able to please so many people, and were so thoroughly appreciated. I mean, Jason enjoys EVERYTHING I cook, but then again, he enjoys MOST EVERYTHING he's ever eaten. He's not the most critical voice when it comes to food :)

My last creation, another take on the traditional sweet potato dish, was also a big hit! I started with boiled and sweetened orange yams (VERY hard to come by in Central America). Then I layered them in a clear, glass baking dish with the following enhancements to "candy" the dish: brown sugar, pecans, coconut, and honey. I can't remember the exact measurements, likely because I didn't use any :). My favorite kind of cooking involves wondering what ingredients I have in the cupboards, that would help to achieve the flavor I'm going for. In this case, mission accomplished. After about 45 minutes of baking, I removed the gooey and crystalized sweet potatoes, topped them with a few mini marshmallows at jason's request, and sprinkled fresh coconut and pecans to enhance its "curb appeal". They were, surprisingly, the only traditional sweet potatoes at the dinner, so this added to their popularity among both the Americans and Canadians alike. Thanksgiving dinner was a very nice evening together as friends. We cheered each other, sang a Thanksgiving song, shared stories, and took some time to enjoy the efforts of our friends to provide a night of normalcy and tradition, in an otherwise abnormal and always changing lifestyle.

from me and jason... happy thanksgiving to all! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. (1 Chronicles 16:34)