Websites & such...

I have mostly used frontpage to do most of my website work...no code to write and pretty much get anything cool added or on my website.  BUT nowadays they have stopped updating frontpage (I think maybe since 2003) and I am trying to grow with everything else in order to keep up...

I have all this great coffee cup software that can do almost anything so I am trying to use its many different stand alone programs, and they even kind of jive together.  Right now I am working with the blog feature which is pretty nice.  It is real light and less of a hassle than all the other software that you can have on your own host.  Like:  Wordpress (I changed my mind about this obviously), nucleus, pmachine...

This software was a free download for using Lunarpages as my website host and domain name server...you can check the prices and things and see if its right for you.  I really just needed a good host but now that i have been playing around with this software and learned a few more things like php and mysqul databases...whew, now I am having fun!

So bare with me as you may not be able to access things from time to time.  As a side note, did you know that Books-A-Million has wifi now?  Yep, and if you have one of their BAM cards (which is only 15$ a year - good for discounts too!) you use the number on the card and get the wifi for free.  That would be worth 15$ a year...especially the one I like to visit when I am at home.  Nice plush chairs, no hassle, 50cent (not the rapper) coffee for life if you buy one of their coffee for life cups.

Yeah, life is good sometimes....then you go to a third world country.  And it gets better...you realize you CAN live without all this STUFF.  And you enjoy and appreciate it more when you come back to visit on breaks and fund/support raising trips.  Oh, and by the way...I borrowed the BAM card and coffee cup from my father.  Yep, good ol' dad.

Here's to ya!  While I sip my Vanilla Nut Coffee and upload this post.

Foodaphilia: FlufferNutter Cake

Ever had those tasty peanutbutter and marshmellow fluff sandwiches in that store bought sliced white bread? Re-live your adult dream with this cake...
Foodaphilia: FlufferNutter Cake

Appreciation Dinner

This week I will be going 'home' to Alabama to host and cook an appreciation dinner for friends and family...mostly members of my home church.

What is a home church? The church you feel you have embarked from and/or originally hailed from. I feel that most jobs and traveling have always been temporary relocation's, of which I will relocate again next year to Sierra Leone. Care to join me?

Hopefully I will leave behind an existing business 'launching' to be able and look back to see them survive and actually provide a small base of financial support for my mission/charity/humanitarian/volunteer work...call it what you will, nobody pays me for it. ( lest I forget, my wife is also part of this, I usually just speak for myself on this blog, force of habit). I work for Mercy Ships, in case you didn't know already...or are new to my blog.

Well lets see...back to the dinner, if you feel this would be something you are interested in (financially supporting my wife and I) this is fully covered at our website tyroneandstephanie.com. AND there is also a link at the bottom of the blog to donate and receive a tax receipt/credit for giving to a charity.

If you are going to be in the Huntsville, Alabama area please drop me an email telling me you would like to attend and I will be expecting your presence at the dinner!!! All the information and a map is supplied VIA the website.

Our catering company is currently developing specialty products for National online sales, as well as local cakes and baked items for the holiday seasons. That can be accessed thru ExclusivelyYoursCatering.com.

If you are coming to the dinner I'll see you this Sunday!!!

Fat Boy ~ A moment of truth

I have never been skinny. Ok, maybe when I was seven or so...

During middle school, high school, and my pre-college (running around) days I was basically a 'fat boy'. My weight came close to 280 in my young teens...my mother may not remember it that way, but I do! And if I could find those pics I would post them so you can see the difference. But right now I can't find them.

I am 6'2" and have successfully kept my weight between 200 and 220 for the last 10 years or so...but lately I have found that my clothes are becoming tighter and I feel less active. And I will not be buying new clothes just to fit in them!

If I don't do something to change for the long term I may find myself out of the 'big boy' stage and back in the 'Fat Boy' stage again...and that is unacceptable to me. Because I don't believe in dieting. Dieting meaning that 'commercial' plan of doing something to lose weight. No, everyone has a diet. Whether it be junk food, carnivorous, or vegetarian (just to name a few) everyone one, has one.

Possible reasons for this weight gain could be...less activity in my job. I still work hard, but till I get back on the ship I will be missing about 500 steps to run up and down a day. Not to mention your muscles always balancing out the sway and roll of being on a ship (and you can sweat to death in Africa or the Caribbean).

And there could be that period of time from 6 to 8 months where I neglected the gym all together because of too much going on: moving, starting a different job, getting married. I have been back in the gym for months now...but I gues I get frustrated because the weight loss doesn't seem to happen as fast as the weight gain.

Further contributions could be that now I work in a kitchen full-time and also work a second job catering. We are also working on some online products for sale. I think I realized that I probably sample/taste more calories then most people eat in three well balanced meals. How does that happen? You ask. Easy...spoonful of this, bite of that, few pinches and slurps everywhere else...then you get hungry and eat too!

I think I am on the right path to recovery but it sure is taking longer than I want! And during this time it is actually depressing and unmotivating when you can't seem to see results.

Plus, how many of you out there have vowed to change your diet but everyone and everything around you deters you from the lifestyle? You got to get tough, tell people NO! Tell grandma that you are already overweight and that YES, one more cookie will hurt! Because everyone will 'one more' you to death, literally.

All that being said I think I am going to implement more aggressive measures in my diet and exercise to find the balance I want. We'll see how it goes...donut anyone?

Kaze Shabu Shabu

Tucked away in Boston's Chinatown where Boylston turns into Essex, about two blocks down there is a restaurant called Kaze Shabu Shabu.

This quickly became a favorite of my wife and I. An induction top separates you and a guest, or many guests. After ordering the meats of your choice (beef. pork, chicken, seafood) you then order the noodles (4 or was it 6 different kinds?) of choice, or rice if you prefer. Then you need to decide what broth you would like, pick from 12. Pick two, they have split bowls. There is also a platter that comes out with it; vegetables, fish cakes, tofu...

I am still amazed or perplexed at how they get away with serving raw chicken & pork without some kind of violation of health department codes. But it did not deter me from trying it...actually I thought it was quite brilliant. The chicken and pork I ordered in the above picture (my wife ordered seafood deluxe) came out shaved and rolled about poster board thin. And frozen. Both cooked up fairly quick in the bubbling brew of broth (say it quick five times).

Once person said they would not suggest this 'hot pot' dish/entree for children under 10, but I would say not under 12 and definitely make sure you are a 'neat' eater. Or maybe bring along a Red Lobster bib till you get experience in using the tools and slurping your way along.

Check out the shabu shabu 101 & tutorial, I believe you will find it interesting: Shabu 101 & 3 step program.

Continued Education

Sorry that I have not posted anything of note lately as I am on continued education in Boston (some may call it 'vacation').

Yesterday I was at Harvard observing all the alumni reunions while dining on some local fair and Stephanie did a little shopping (as to be expected)...but then again, so did I.

I am a sucker for massive book stores, and small quaint 'used' book stores as well. The kitchen shops just don't hold my attention anymore. I have not seen really anything new in awhile (or at least not new that I would want to buy) and all the small kitchen 'shops' prices seem to be dreadful.

Its like being in a store with a lot of stuff you know you really like, and maybe want, but its much cheaper online or at Target and Wal-Mart. And I AM NOT going to buy it just so I can say I bought it in Boston at the "" store. Just so I can 'one-up' a friend of mine in competitive conversation. And you know what I am talking about...

example: oh last year I just got this darling shawl at Ann Taylor's in Boston (now what was really said is this= I went to Boston, I have great taste, I can afford to travel to Boston just to shop at Ann Taylor's because I have money,--unless of course you are bragging about getting it on sale, then it shows how shrewd you are if you really did get a bargain and that's a better 'bragging' point)...

(now my turn) that's funny I bought my wife the same one at the flea market last Saturday right here in town. -- See, kinda makes one look stupid just to have a 'bragging' conversation piece.

Now of course if you bought an item that may have only been available in that area, now that's something to brag, boast, and 'rub in' about. And along those lines I have a few restaurant experiences I will share later that are only available outside of where I live right now (in the South)...and some are only in Boston.

So maybe later after I have time to compile my study notes and 'continued education' materials I will post with some of my knowledge and wisdom.

AFM Galley/Kitchen

A first hand look at the kitchen aboard the Africa Mercy. There are a few things that need to be worked out as they start feeding 400+ crew of Mercy Ships!

Appreciation Dinner - Food Politics (pt 1)

Last night we had an Appreciation Dinner for our crew. I must say that I didn't actually make it to the ceremonies/meal (I was on the phone with my wife, you understand?).

We did a pretty good meal for just using available things on board (and for those of you who are on board, I thought our meals were 'special' every night?).

We made~
Braided loaves of bread filled with complimenting herbs served with a garlic butter.
Peas with sliced onion and garlic, a hint of sesame. (hey, what can I say? We need to creatively use up leftovers)
Lemongrass-White Wine Risotto
Sweet Soy Salmon Fillet
Lemon-Thyme Chicken Breast

For Dessert~
We had all kinds of toppings available to us, and brownies were made so...make your own Sundae Bar

Pretty good menu line-up for a missions ship don't you think?

I wanted to make some side notes on the food just from general speculation:

• As I was smelling the aroma from the risotto I realized that even though it was savory(the rice dish), the lemongrass puts off an aroma that reminds me of a pudding, or sweet lemon tea...what do I mean by pudding? If I was to do a dessert with a rice pudding I would think that the aroma of lemongrass would be very complimentary for a sweet dish. For those of you who don't use lemongrass, we have it here on board in big bags of dried bundles. I use it by steeping the lemongrass in hot water, then using the liquid in dishes, like ladling it in the risotto.
• For the chicken breast we used a basic brine but then added a small bit of Lemon Essence to it. A sauce was also made, very light (liquid speaking) and strong in taste. The chicken came out of the oven very juicy and on the 'medium' level for toughness. But as the 'holding' time progressed I think the chicken breasts got tougher. You may say that happens when slow heat is pushing the liquid out, but I say that we just need a better quality chicken. Although I must remind you that we are on a budget so sometimes a little extra cutting and manipulating of the chicken is better than spending more money. But not always.
• The salmon was good but it probably could have been moister (is that a word?...maybe more moist?). It was baked and I did not have enough pans or room to have a single layer of fish cooking in each pan so in order to get it all cooked some pieces 'dry out' and/or cook quicker than other AND the recipe was adapted from a 'flat-top' or 'BBQ' grill recipe...so we do what we can, right?

This is not a restaurant, or even a cafeteria/camp kitchen...so if we have anything by the way of being 'posh' or 'lush' in essence rest assured it was a gift, blessing, donation, and/or bargain price in nature. We are also not on the 'cheap' level altogether. We supply the standard protein, starch, and veggies with a few extras thrown in here and there (and if we can't buy adequate bread we bake our own, hard to buy bread while sailing!)...and sometimes there are donations or monies set aside just to produce a 'special' meal or occasion.

There are however Captain's Lunches, Media Functions, Pastor Conferences and/or Breakfast, and Dignitaries that come on board for which there is allotted monies for making these functions nice or fancy, so to speak.

When local government officials (lets say for instance the Lady President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf) come to visit the ship, and remember now, they have most likely given you free port space, free water, and other great amenities...wouldn't it be good to be a gracious host?

Yes, of course we are supplying free services estimated in the thousands of dollars and life changing operations and relationships that far outweigh the cost of any port 'fees'. But I think it would be nice and respectful of us to show our hospitality to someone and/or government that doesn't have to acknowledge you at all if they choose not too. Its kind of like confirming or acquiring a 'right of passage' to the things you need entry or permission to, the 'meeting' of the 'handshake' to get started, are you understanding my explanation?

Its kinda hard doing mission/humanitarian work if you can't even get in the country. Wouldn't you say?

So yes, I believe its good to have monies/funds/budgets set aside for these things. This hospitality is expected in most realms of 'politics' and salutations on this level.

I will pursue the 'thoughts' on this area further at a later posting...this will probably be enough to think about for now.

Agree? Disagree? Post a comment.

Did you know its fake?

Hocus-Pocus, and a Beaker of Truffles

By DANIEL PATTERSON
Published: May 16, 2007

In many restaurants across the country, the truffle flavor advertised on the menu comes not from the actual product but from a laboratory-made ingredient.

synthetic ~ The truffle oil used in many restaurants does not get its flavor from truffles. It is a mix of olive oil and chemical compounds.

Tenerife Pics

SPAM!!!

Picked up some of this energy drink in Rotterdam...Lawsuit anyone?

Rotterdam and food

Rotterdam was great!

It was busy the whole time...over 800 visitors/guests coming on board Sunday and 1200 visitors/guests on Monday(estimated). Dutch Mercy Ships office and Rabobank were onboard for a look at Mercy Ships thru media, tours, and testimonies from some of our leaders and founder Don Stephens.

But for me...well lets just say it was more cooking. We are now baking fresh bread for the crew since we will be doing quite a bit of sailing now, two weeks with a stop here and there. Audry and I put on a lovely breakfast sunday morning with a southern twist (because I could). Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Biscuits & Gravy and all the other things like dry cereals, oatmeal, and fresh fruit (and coffee, tea, orange juice, things of that nature) were put out by the dining room crew.

I don't really want to run down the whole menu for the last couple of days but to mention a few things. Five dutch volunteers came in for the lunch on monday to help us with the preparation of 'lunch' dutch style. We have various rolls and buns (sesame, poppyseed, wheat, cinnamon raisin -no, not the dessert kind in the U.S. more like dinner rolls-, etc...) that were prepared with ham and gouda (cheese that is pronounced here in Holland as How-Dah with a throat clearling hard H) that we americans pronounce as goo-dah. They like one slice of meat, and one slice of cheese. They do not like it piled up, and they also like the bread buttered. Some sandwiches were made with just the Brie (another different kind of cheese) and no meat on them. Also the addition of thinly sliced cucumbers, lettuce, and tomato were involved. Now I am sure that I have not covered all the diferent kinds of sandwiches and ways they prepare them, but this was just to give you a good idea. Also potato chips as we call them are usually eaten as a snack, and not with a meal...so no potato chips. They did however eat a 'salad' that was very close to a potato salad that we enjoy in the U.S. but it was more like our potato salad made with mashed/whipped potatoes.

Later that evening we prepared some hors d'ouevrs (appetizers) including bitterballen with is unique to the Dutch. Bitterballen is like a thick roux with veal added to it, chilled, rolled into balls (little smaller than golf balls) then breaded and fried ...usually served with our yellow mustard. Very iteresting indeed! But it tastes great! I was surprised at how simple they were in concept (at least to me) but I must confess that it would have been to many to make with little time to do it so we bought them frozen locally and fried them in the fryer. But this will be a neat thing to try out at home or for guests with a great culture and story to go behind/with it.

Maybe as I have time we will talk about other great dutch snacks like fries and peanut sauce (or mayonaise is a big sauce for fries too, I find the mayo' to be a bit different though) and I will certainly get around to talking about my favorite, Stroopwafel!

* Bitterballen are a savoury Dutch meat-based snack, typically containing a mixture of beef (minced or chopped), beef broth, flour and butter for thickening, parsley, salt and pepper. Some recipes also include nutmeg and/or curry powder. The ingredients are combined and cooked, then refrigerated so the mixture can firm up. Once firm, the filling is then rolled into balls roughly 3 cm in diameter, and battered in a breadcrumb, milk and egg mixture and deep-fried. They are typically served with a ramekin or small bowl of mustard for dipping. Popular on Dutch pub menus, bitterballen are very similar to kroketten in their ingredients and preparation/cooking methods, as well as flavour, though kroketten have a distinct oblong sausage shape, with a similar diameter, so kroketten are larger.-- Wickipedia

** Bitterballen Recipe

...cook, chef, culinary sponge, traveler, volunteer, missionary.

http://tyroneandstephanie.blogspot.com

Quick Summary of whats happening these last 3 days!

The day I got here I was met outside by some hootin' and hollerin' (my fan club) mostly just by 'deckie/officer' friends that I already know (ok, so maybe it was only 2 people that recognized me while they were outside loading cargo).  Probably Jan (Dutch pronounced yawn) and Rodrigo (Brazilian) and was greeted inside by a few others that I knew.  Everybody was still very busy getting things done because they moved the ship to downtown Blyth a half hour after I got there...which was nice because where we were was just dock and soot everywhere.

 

I got my loads of paperwork filled out, explained, and/or oriented (the usual hassle that I will skip explaining the rest).  Rob Miller helped carry all my stuff to the room why his wife Denise got my stuff taken care of there at the reception.

 

There was quite a bit of 'catching up', chatting, and meeting new people before I ever got to my room...and then after I saw it I went to explore the kitchen and met a few more people.  I spent quite a bit of time trying to get a vague orientation of how the kitchen/galley was set up and then walked around the ship with various people while they talked and showed me things.  I got to see Isabella (which you have probably saw a picture of on my blog, Jan and Elizabeth's baby girl) and that was a treat because I have only seen her in pictures but know here parents real well.  There is plenty more to talk about on the personal level but let me go on to a general day 'run-down' to catch you up to speed.

 

I stayed up till late on the day I got here, May 2nd.  Thus staying awake for at least 36 hours straight.  Hard to sleep on planes that don't really account for your legs if you are over 5'8" tall?  But that (staying up late) helped me get my sleeping schedule straightened out and I was up early the next morning for devo's and meeting time...I then moved right into lunch which is pretty basic right now.  It is a lot of prepared sandwich meat and cheeses, salad 'stuff', and a fresh made soup right now, later I am not sure what the format will be like.  Dinner was Shrimp fettuccine Alfredo with mixed vegetables.  I made fresh rolls and bread for dinner, both white and wheat.  Audry (lady that is Chief Cook right now) was happy to let me pick what I wanted to do and has been a joy to work with (probably because she lets me do what I want, hahaha!).  Plus she is able to get some sleeping in and hours off since I have been here.  Glen (Chief Steward) and his wife Pam are nice and fun to work with, Peter who will be taking over Glens position later is great too (I already knew him from the IOC).  As far as I can tell right now its just Audry, Pam (Glen's wife), and I doing the cooking and/or meals with some people working in Pantry/Dining room.  But right now the count is low, 160 people?  But you can still see why there's not much room for time off.

 

So Friday morning I was up at 4am making fresh cinnamon rolls just trying to give the crew a 'treat' before getting the ship all ready to sail.  Then we had a big meeting (typical before sailing) safety instructions, rules, prayer, singing, etc...like a devotional, ship sailing instructions, and the latest 'word' on anything rolled all into one.

 

Used the mixed veggies from dinner night before and left over Alfredo sauce to make a cream of vegetable (went over quite well, it was all gone) just adding in some chicken stock and seasoning to finish it off.  I did a chicken breast (that was brined), stir-fried rice, and vegetable for dinner with a nice Thai Peanut Sauce.  That went well too...having to finish off the meal with some mashed potatoes after the rice disappeared.  I must say that in between getting some much deserved rest Audry did the stir-fried rice and vegetables...I am not trying take all the credit, I have just been enjoying being able to do the meals and menu's.  I will not officially come as Chief Cook till January...I am just helping out for the Maiden Voyage this time.

 

The kitchen has some great new equipment but it is quite a change because it is separated out more (not sure if I like it) and the new equipment takes some different pan sizes than I am used to cooking with,  For example:  Those big sheet trays that fit in most 'restaurant' style or commercial ovens do not fit inside of these.  For some reason we have a 'Blast Chiller' but somehow its not quite working right yet.  The ovens are pretty cool, cook by baking, steaming, or combination of both AND the rack that is in the oven rolls out of the oven unit, so like maybe after cooking ten pans of meat you could roll it all straight to the cooler at once, or prepare all the meat at once and roll it right into the oven door close it (which seals) and start cooking...and of course all methods of cooking are convection (or to put it simpler; has fans to circulate the hot air or steam in it).

 

BUT everything is new or fairly new (yes, even including some of the sinks and stainless steel walls).  So there are systems to work out and put in place,routines, more stuff from the Anastasis coming on, etc...

 

I spent some time in our four freezers, coolers, and dry storage areas down below in the ship getting supplies and trying to 'size up' the organization and placement of stores for future reference (makes work easier too) so I won't be running around for more days than I have to looking for everything.

 

In between all this we had some fire, boat, and other assorted drills...sailing off from Blyth...and several pre-warnings on the fire system from units in the galley (there are still some issues to work out in the galley fire sensors/detectors)...and earlier this evening they played a movie in the international lounge tonight (forgot what it was, didn't go see it because I was trying to do some blogging/email).

 

Ahhh, really to much to type at this point, and I am severely tired...

 

I forgot how much I miss sailing and how much it makes me sleep good...but I have to say I miss my wife more!

 

Oh yeah, just for point of reference I am 7 hours ahead of central time in the U.S. so if its 1pm your time in the Central Time Zone, then it is 8pm for me.  I think my blog times are still posting at Central Time Zone too...so figure out when I wrote this!

--
...cook, chef, culinary sponge, traveler, volunteer, missionary.

http://tyroneandstephanie.com