One of the many things that I appreciate about living in an arctic region is that this is a place where one of man's oldest instincts - hunting for survival is preserved. And when a hunter hunts his prey it's not to live out a violent game or killing for thrill. It's meant for the survival of a specie. Ours. A few months ago, I read a novel partly set somewhere in Alaska and there was a part that dealt a little bit about seal hunting..that seals know their purpose is to be hunted, killed and ultimately be fed to humans but it was a process that was done with great respect from the part of the humans that part of the ritual of killing seals is to get their bladder and throw it to the ocean to symbolize the release of their souls. I am not sure if I am retelling that accurately but my point is, with that kind of perspective on hunting for survival and eating meat, the arctic then is one of the best places to be a carnivore.
Today is Sunday. I was planning that after hearing mass I would take a leisurely walk and head off to the restaurant at Nova Inn because I heard that food was good there..and there where some items in the menu that I wanted to try like whale blubber and caribou salad. And after eating I was also planning to do more walking and go to Northmart to buy groceries. It was a little bit windy when I stepped out of the chapel and it made me rethink if walking would be a good idea. Fortunately, one of the Filipinos in church was also going to Northmart and offered me a ride. So I decided to put my plans for going to Nova on hold for now and just went straight to Northmart. This turned out to be a good move since I found out that they actually sell beef, chicken and fish there that does not necessarily move my wallet to tears.
And that's how I came to decide that today I was going to make steak. My friend in the US sent me some seasoning called Vegeta and she said it's a good sprinkle to add to steak rub. Since I got here I have used this Vegeta on most anything I make..from omelette to baked chicken but I have been dying to use it for steak using the recipe and technique that my friend's husband taught me. Until today, I have been buying groceries at Arctic Ventures and supply for meat, chicken and fish was limited and expensive. Happily, this was not the case at Northmart so I got to buy my (hopefully) one week's supply of chicken, fish (salmon) and of course beef I can use for making steak.
I was shaking with excitement when I got home and got all my ingredients ready. I didn't want any tinge of guilt cloud my ascent to meat heaven so for side dish I decided to saute some vegetables that I actually like (asparagus and mushroom) and I promised myself I will only have oatmeal for dinner. Now I am the kind of person who's got very selective retention for information and instruction. If it's something I am not interested in, no matter how important or crucial it is for me to retain the information - chances are I would forget. But if it's something I am passionate about no matter how trivial or unnecessary the data, I would store and super glue it to memory. So when I was visiting my friend a few months ago and her husband (who makes the best steak ever) gave me some pointers on how to make delicious steak, I had his instructions etched on my brain and it's now permanently tattooed there somewhere in my cerebral cortex. I watched and remembered how he did it, it's now a movie I can replay in my mind at will for future reference. And the bonus of course was that my friend was kind enough to send me that miracle seasoning that her husband uses for his steak.
Save for that few minutes when the smoke detector alarm went into frenzy, my first attempt at making steak here in Iqaluit is, I should say with all honesty and modesty, a hands down success! I followed all the dos and don'ts my friend's husband taught me..how long to cook it if I like it medium (and I like it medium, never ever over done - part of the thrill in eating steak for me is sucking the juice out from the tender meat), to never poke it with a fork or anything sharp just to check if it's done and to let it stand for a few minutes before slicing to trap the heat and juice and allow it to go towards the core of the meat - - I took all the minute details to heart and for that I was rewarded with a delicious, juicy, tender, melt in your mouth home cooked steak! Yes indeed, I am a happy carnivore!
Even if I wanted to devour it right away like a hungry hunter, I had to remind myself to let it stand for a few minutes. Patience is a virtue and I got my just reward!
Of course I made some effort to create balance, thus the mushroom and asparagus.
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