Tuesday, November 10, 2009
French Fry Pizza to Freezing Cold Hike
Today was pizza day. The first pizza I saw put together by the AM crew was this crazy french fry pizza.
Then they had the guts to use our precious Fritos and rare sour cream. Lunch break...
Outside the kitchen lots of work is going on.
Next to the back loading dock they are digging a giant hole where our new freezer will be put in. Our kitchen is made to feed 550 and we are feeding 1,100. It is too small for what we do, but we get it done.
Back inside I see Leon playing with the corn starch and water... eh Emma?
My order was to be the man in charge. I let Leon have fun playing with the chicken stir fry, Tayna did a brocolli and cheese soup with the leftover cheese sauce I made for the mac n' cheese, and Pat and I worked on the rice, sweet n' sour shrimp, Seitan stir fry. Seitan is new to our menu and they tell me it has never came out good. I poached it for 2 hours, let it set for 1/2 hour, tossed it in a simple seasoned flour batter, then deep fried it in an inch of sesame and canola oil. I put it ontop a bed of rice noodles and brocolli, sliced carrots, and green beans. Topped it with homemade sweet n' sour sauce. After the first half hour all our shrimp was gone, the rice was almost gone, stir fry was halfway gone, and soup was halfway gone. I started to sweat knowing that we had 2 more hours of service. Then the dining attendants come running with empty pans and tell me they've never see a rush this big before. Ya... and today was the Sous left me in charge. I go back to my boss boss and ask her what's going on, she tells me that a new flight has just come in with 150 people and they are starving. Much less we have no fresh stuff for the salad line, so salad line is shut down. I run slowly to the leftover shelf in the cooks box and start pulling everything off shelf.... black beans... rice... okay I'll mix that with some onions and make a terriyaki black bean n' rice medley.... au gratin potatoes.... cheese sauce.... okay I'll mix the cheese sauce with the au gratin potatoes and make cheesy potatoes... salmon... terriyaki... easy, terriyaki salmon.... 3 hotel pans of curry chicken... okay I'll throw some terriyaki on that we'll have terriyaki chicken... 3 more hotel pans of plain chicken... I put sweet n' sour sauce on those. By the end of the night I ran through 5 entree dishes (15 2''-hotel pans total) and 3 side dishes (8 2''-hotel pans total) just to have food on the line. I followed every instruction given, including measurements, and was swamped so bad that we were getting really low after only 30 min. of service. It was a blast, thank goodness for leftovers and heck for once we had no food waste. Everyone was happy
After work I attended the all-hands energy conservation meeting held by the station manager.
After that I made my way to the Crary Science Center to get my Outdoor Safety training just so I can hike the McMurdo trail system.
Those two huts are the dive huts. Scientists drop down a hole in the huts and study the marine wildlife beneath the McMurdo sea ice cover.
Inside Crary....
Science posters...
In the lecture hall I peered through a telescope to the icefield runway.
Class
After the outdoor safety lecture I decided to.... well... go outdoors.
Hey what's that...
Wind turbines :) Cool
I veered off the road onto the Ob Hill loop trail.
McMurdo Station
Then they had the guts to use our precious Fritos and rare sour cream. Lunch break...
Outside the kitchen lots of work is going on.
Next to the back loading dock they are digging a giant hole where our new freezer will be put in. Our kitchen is made to feed 550 and we are feeding 1,100. It is too small for what we do, but we get it done.
Back inside I see Leon playing with the corn starch and water... eh Emma?
My order was to be the man in charge. I let Leon have fun playing with the chicken stir fry, Tayna did a brocolli and cheese soup with the leftover cheese sauce I made for the mac n' cheese, and Pat and I worked on the rice, sweet n' sour shrimp, Seitan stir fry. Seitan is new to our menu and they tell me it has never came out good. I poached it for 2 hours, let it set for 1/2 hour, tossed it in a simple seasoned flour batter, then deep fried it in an inch of sesame and canola oil. I put it ontop a bed of rice noodles and brocolli, sliced carrots, and green beans. Topped it with homemade sweet n' sour sauce. After the first half hour all our shrimp was gone, the rice was almost gone, stir fry was halfway gone, and soup was halfway gone. I started to sweat knowing that we had 2 more hours of service. Then the dining attendants come running with empty pans and tell me they've never see a rush this big before. Ya... and today was the Sous left me in charge. I go back to my boss boss and ask her what's going on, she tells me that a new flight has just come in with 150 people and they are starving. Much less we have no fresh stuff for the salad line, so salad line is shut down. I run slowly to the leftover shelf in the cooks box and start pulling everything off shelf.... black beans... rice... okay I'll mix that with some onions and make a terriyaki black bean n' rice medley.... au gratin potatoes.... cheese sauce.... okay I'll mix the cheese sauce with the au gratin potatoes and make cheesy potatoes... salmon... terriyaki... easy, terriyaki salmon.... 3 hotel pans of curry chicken... okay I'll throw some terriyaki on that we'll have terriyaki chicken... 3 more hotel pans of plain chicken... I put sweet n' sour sauce on those. By the end of the night I ran through 5 entree dishes (15 2''-hotel pans total) and 3 side dishes (8 2''-hotel pans total) just to have food on the line. I followed every instruction given, including measurements, and was swamped so bad that we were getting really low after only 30 min. of service. It was a blast, thank goodness for leftovers and heck for once we had no food waste. Everyone was happy
After work I attended the all-hands energy conservation meeting held by the station manager.
After that I made my way to the Crary Science Center to get my Outdoor Safety training just so I can hike the McMurdo trail system.
Those two huts are the dive huts. Scientists drop down a hole in the huts and study the marine wildlife beneath the McMurdo sea ice cover.
Inside Crary....
Science posters...
In the lecture hall I peered through a telescope to the icefield runway.
Class
After the outdoor safety lecture I decided to.... well... go outdoors.
Hey what's that...
Wind turbines :) Cool
I veered off the road onto the Ob Hill loop trail.
McMurdo Station
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Saturday Runway, Sunday Food Funday
On Saturday my task was to bring food out to the runway station. The runway houses all the C-17s, C-130s, Hercs and science planes. One scientist explained to me how he was doing Ross Sea survey via his plane and sonar. They will use satellite measurements to verify their survey. The sonar is useful because it can penetrate through the ice, which can be a couple miles thick in some areas. Once they get a depth reading with corresponding coordinates (GPS) and record all the information with data loggers. Back in the lab they can unravel all the numbers with cartography software (GIS) and create digital elevation maps of the sea floor beneath the ice. Anyways...
On our way we saw Erebus puffing a bit.
It's amazing how last year this exact same galley was 2 miles North of us at the Willy Field airfield. Nothing lasts on the Ice without skis.
The back of the beloved cook truck.
First thing we do is unload and unpack.
I check out the line and make sure it's clean, put ice in the ice bath, turn on the steam-tray line, etc.
Since Saturday was Turkey burger day I brought out onions, tomatoes, and lettuce to slice.
Let's eat.
Haha my fork-antena rig job is still in operation.
The view from runway.
The big red building below is the runway kitchen, dining room, and morgue.
A splendid day on the Ice :)
Upon arriving back to the station I grab a bite to eat of the eggplanta strata, delicious!
After work I made my way to the gym. What do some do on their day off... play frisby in 20 degrees.
The gym is more eco-friendly this year. In fact, the entire station is way more eco-friendly. I will do an entire post on McMurdo's conservation efforts.
Volcanic dust eh?
Late Night Boxing has started again. Saturday nights I get the gym all to myself.
Next morning my task in the kitchen is to make homemade mac n' cheese :)
20 lbs. of dry elbow macaroni... cooked in a 60 gallon steam kettle.
I plan to make the cheese sauce out of three different cheeses: swiss, havarti, and gouda.
Messes are attracted to me, or am I attracted to them?
Remember this side dish has to be for 1,000 people. I plan to make 22 2-inch hotel pans.
I layer it as following: scoop of macaroni and cheese sauce, shredded cheese, another scoop of macaroni and cheesesauce, shredded cheese, broken up potato chips, lots more shredded cheese, and top it with paprika and finely chopped chives (or you can use parsley).
After it is baked I put it into the shams (hot boxes) to stay warm.
There she is.
With that we had salamon...
Brisket with rosemary sauce.
Pizza.
Walnut brownies.
Peach Cheesecake Pie.
After work my sous chef tells me she is going to be out tomorrow. She tells me we are all out of fresh vegetables and tomorrow is stir fry night. She points out that the menu calls for a sweet and sour seiten stir fry of some sort. Everyone except Leon is new to the PM crew... she said I'm in charge. I dug through our freezer, if lucky there should be enough frozen veggies to piece together a chicken and seiten stir fry tomorrow. We will be cutting it close on our ration of shrimp (150 lbs.), but have leftover brisket, chicken, and mac n' cheese. Ontop of that we have to get the place cleaned up for the food inspector who is comming shortly and prep for tomorrow. I'm excited. On my way out of the kitchen I saw the first Skua of the season.
Did I mention that it's currently -5 degrees with windchill and snowing?
On our way we saw Erebus puffing a bit.
It's amazing how last year this exact same galley was 2 miles North of us at the Willy Field airfield. Nothing lasts on the Ice without skis.
The back of the beloved cook truck.
First thing we do is unload and unpack.
I check out the line and make sure it's clean, put ice in the ice bath, turn on the steam-tray line, etc.
Since Saturday was Turkey burger day I brought out onions, tomatoes, and lettuce to slice.
Let's eat.
Haha my fork-antena rig job is still in operation.
The view from runway.
The big red building below is the runway kitchen, dining room, and morgue.
A splendid day on the Ice :)
Upon arriving back to the station I grab a bite to eat of the eggplanta strata, delicious!
After work I made my way to the gym. What do some do on their day off... play frisby in 20 degrees.
The gym is more eco-friendly this year. In fact, the entire station is way more eco-friendly. I will do an entire post on McMurdo's conservation efforts.
Volcanic dust eh?
Late Night Boxing has started again. Saturday nights I get the gym all to myself.
Next morning my task in the kitchen is to make homemade mac n' cheese :)
20 lbs. of dry elbow macaroni... cooked in a 60 gallon steam kettle.
I plan to make the cheese sauce out of three different cheeses: swiss, havarti, and gouda.
Messes are attracted to me, or am I attracted to them?
Remember this side dish has to be for 1,000 people. I plan to make 22 2-inch hotel pans.
I layer it as following: scoop of macaroni and cheese sauce, shredded cheese, another scoop of macaroni and cheesesauce, shredded cheese, broken up potato chips, lots more shredded cheese, and top it with paprika and finely chopped chives (or you can use parsley).
After it is baked I put it into the shams (hot boxes) to stay warm.
There she is.
With that we had salamon...
Brisket with rosemary sauce.
Pizza.
Walnut brownies.
Peach Cheesecake Pie.
After work my sous chef tells me she is going to be out tomorrow. She tells me we are all out of fresh vegetables and tomorrow is stir fry night. She points out that the menu calls for a sweet and sour seiten stir fry of some sort. Everyone except Leon is new to the PM crew... she said I'm in charge. I dug through our freezer, if lucky there should be enough frozen veggies to piece together a chicken and seiten stir fry tomorrow. We will be cutting it close on our ration of shrimp (150 lbs.), but have leftover brisket, chicken, and mac n' cheese. Ontop of that we have to get the place cleaned up for the food inspector who is comming shortly and prep for tomorrow. I'm excited. On my way out of the kitchen I saw the first Skua of the season.
Did I mention that it's currently -5 degrees with windchill and snowing?
Friday, November 6, 2009
Welcome to Food City
The next day after my arrival I get straight to work. Here I am at 5 AM and 15 degrees F. It's actually not that cold.
The bakers. My bestest buddies.
Chix for 1,000.
Some faces from last year, here's the deli queen Becca.
Mostly new faces.
The food line.
Orientation.
:( I love pineapple coconut cheesecake.
8,000 - 10,000 lbs. of freshies a week. Nearly twice as much as last year. Raytheon has extended their contract and that means we get plenty of freshies!!! I was so excited to hear that we would be getting tons more fresh stuff, and then all the other chefs looked at me and frowned, as if more freshies makes us work more or something.
Then I found Leon. The craziest character in the bunch, he specifically asked me to bring down Marilyn Manson's 'This is Halloween' song.
Chop some bacon.
Hurry guys we only have a couple hours.
Towards the end of the day I migrated back to my fav. cool spot in the kitchen, the salad room. There I chopped about 20 cases of lettuce in 45 min., enough to feed our station for dinner and part of lunch with salad demands.
Progress is witnessed by how big your fort is, or so that's my rule. I've had forts three times as big as this.
The bakers. My bestest buddies.
Chix for 1,000.
Some faces from last year, here's the deli queen Becca.
Mostly new faces.
The food line.
Orientation.
:( I love pineapple coconut cheesecake.
8,000 - 10,000 lbs. of freshies a week. Nearly twice as much as last year. Raytheon has extended their contract and that means we get plenty of freshies!!! I was so excited to hear that we would be getting tons more fresh stuff, and then all the other chefs looked at me and frowned, as if more freshies makes us work more or something.
Then I found Leon. The craziest character in the bunch, he specifically asked me to bring down Marilyn Manson's 'This is Halloween' song.
Chop some bacon.
Hurry guys we only have a couple hours.
Towards the end of the day I migrated back to my fav. cool spot in the kitchen, the salad room. There I chopped about 20 cases of lettuce in 45 min., enough to feed our station for dinner and part of lunch with salad demands.
Progress is witnessed by how big your fort is, or so that's my rule. I've had forts three times as big as this.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Going Off-grid in Tropical Paradise - Belize
No I'm not tropical paradise in Belize anymore, I'm in freezing cold Antarctica. Even here at McMurdo Station we're trying to be more off-grid and self-contained. I'll discuss Antarctic conservation later. Here is my guest post regarding my journey to Belize for Cheap Airline Tickets at:
http://cheapoair.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/going-off-grid-in-tropical-paradise-belize/
Enjoy!
http://cheapoair.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/going-off-grid-in-tropical-paradise-belize/
Enjoy!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Journey to the Ice
Here we go boys and girls. My last night in New Zealand and the journey to McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
Somebody made a drink after me... kids don't try this.
My fav. Japanese restaurant to date.
Yummy squid.
At 5 AM this morning we are called out to the Antarctic Centre to get on our plane.
A little more reorganizing.
To board the plane we have to have all our ECW gear on us.
Security line.
I wish.
Final smell of trees. That sun ain't ever going to go down until I'm about to the leave the Ice.
Our briefing.
Exciting.
Bus ride to the C-17.
Free lunches.
Once your in there's no turning back unless of course the weather turns bad.
Pick a seat, any seat.
I like this one.
5 hours later the pilot says we've touched down and ready to deboard.
Hey Erebus, how's things doing?
Getting into our Delta Shuttles to head to the station for yet another orientation.
My baby.
My dorm is straight ahead, much more spacious than my room last year at MMI.
Random shot of someone shoveling snow out of the old bowling alley.
Time to unpack, unwind, and tomorrow I start work at 7:30 AM. Let the games begin.
Somebody made a drink after me... kids don't try this.
My fav. Japanese restaurant to date.
Yummy squid.
At 5 AM this morning we are called out to the Antarctic Centre to get on our plane.
A little more reorganizing.
To board the plane we have to have all our ECW gear on us.
Security line.
I wish.
Final smell of trees. That sun ain't ever going to go down until I'm about to the leave the Ice.
Our briefing.
Exciting.
Bus ride to the C-17.
Free lunches.
Once your in there's no turning back unless of course the weather turns bad.
Pick a seat, any seat.
I like this one.
5 hours later the pilot says we've touched down and ready to deboard.
Hey Erebus, how's things doing?
Getting into our Delta Shuttles to head to the station for yet another orientation.
My baby.
My dorm is straight ahead, much more spacious than my room last year at MMI.
Random shot of someone shoveling snow out of the old bowling alley.
Time to unpack, unwind, and tomorrow I start work at 7:30 AM. Let the games begin.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Last Day and Night in Christchurch, NZ
Our flight to the Ice was cancelled for today. This gives me 24 more hours to enjoy the food and biology of Christchurch. Gonna eat it, drink it while I can, because once I hit the Ice goodbye civilization and all it's luxuries.
Yesterday we picked up our extreme cold weather (ECW) gear.
I will never relinquish my board shorts! They still smell like the tropical islands and sea of Belize, don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing...
The US Air Force will be hauling us down there on a C-17.
Operation Dragon Sushi. Eel and roe ontop, cheese in the middle.
As if Dragon sushi wasn't enough how about Unagi Eel? I know of a special Japanese restaurant, hidden above the main downtown courtyard. Everytime I come to this town I eat here. The feng shui of the interior and the aroma of fine Japanese foods is a magnet for me. I inquired about whether or not the Unagi eel food production is sustainable... it's not, and this will be my last time I eat this amazing dish. It's too good to be true anyway, I'll stick with duck tonight.
Today I woke up around 7 AM and went running (literally) around town for a few hours.
Art Centre
I agree with this, but buying internationally can be of benefit in some cases. For example, one may invest in a foreign product if it is more sustainable (agriculture, livestock, processing, transportation, packing, etc.) in comparison to other nations. Investing into green foods from wise producers empowers sustainable development. The eel I bought and ate from Japan is not sustainable and does not help out local farmers, therefore I will move on from that dish. Let me also say that New Zealand's dollar has rose to an annual record high due to their depencies on the Asian economies that are on the rise. Buying from Asia helps Asia economically as a means of off-shore investment for New Zealand, and as a result a bridge is created by which New Zealand can receive foreign investments (i.e., tourism from Asia, exports to China and so on). International trade markets are positive if they create two-way streets.
Fun and workout in the park.
A springtime morning.
Golfers.
Gardens.
A class by the river.
Oh the memories of the tropics. Coconuts and bananas, Gibnut and red snapper, hammocks and rum... I can't keep thinking like this, the nostalgia of paradise will drive an island boy insane. Must only think snow and ice, penguins and cold, cold and snow, cold, at times really cold, no trees, no bugs, no allergies, no suntan, no swimming, no fishing, no iguanas, no rum, no hammocks, no darkness, cold.
Rose gardens.
Today's lunch is Pad Thai with Chicken, an orange, and a kiwi. The Asian food here is by far some of the most authentic I've ever had.
Yesterday we picked up our extreme cold weather (ECW) gear.
I will never relinquish my board shorts! They still smell like the tropical islands and sea of Belize, don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing...
The US Air Force will be hauling us down there on a C-17.
Operation Dragon Sushi. Eel and roe ontop, cheese in the middle.
As if Dragon sushi wasn't enough how about Unagi Eel? I know of a special Japanese restaurant, hidden above the main downtown courtyard. Everytime I come to this town I eat here. The feng shui of the interior and the aroma of fine Japanese foods is a magnet for me. I inquired about whether or not the Unagi eel food production is sustainable... it's not, and this will be my last time I eat this amazing dish. It's too good to be true anyway, I'll stick with duck tonight.
Today I woke up around 7 AM and went running (literally) around town for a few hours.
Art Centre
I agree with this, but buying internationally can be of benefit in some cases. For example, one may invest in a foreign product if it is more sustainable (agriculture, livestock, processing, transportation, packing, etc.) in comparison to other nations. Investing into green foods from wise producers empowers sustainable development. The eel I bought and ate from Japan is not sustainable and does not help out local farmers, therefore I will move on from that dish. Let me also say that New Zealand's dollar has rose to an annual record high due to their depencies on the Asian economies that are on the rise. Buying from Asia helps Asia economically as a means of off-shore investment for New Zealand, and as a result a bridge is created by which New Zealand can receive foreign investments (i.e., tourism from Asia, exports to China and so on). International trade markets are positive if they create two-way streets.
Fun and workout in the park.
A springtime morning.
Golfers.
Gardens.
A class by the river.
Oh the memories of the tropics. Coconuts and bananas, Gibnut and red snapper, hammocks and rum... I can't keep thinking like this, the nostalgia of paradise will drive an island boy insane. Must only think snow and ice, penguins and cold, cold and snow, cold, at times really cold, no trees, no bugs, no allergies, no suntan, no swimming, no fishing, no iguanas, no rum, no hammocks, no darkness, cold. 
Rose gardens.
Today's lunch is Pad Thai with Chicken, an orange, and a kiwi. The Asian food here is by far some of the most authentic I've ever had.
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