To Clarify...

My original Current State of Equipment post (the very first one) has caused some questions about how the equipment is running...the equipment in the kitchen is running fine except for oven number 3 seems to have a mind of its own and is real loud (But I posted 2 days later to also say the 3rd oven had been fixed on the 21st of January)...Peter (my boss) told me that the right side braising pan did not work (when I first came) but there was a work order in for it, BUT apparently it was fixed some time back and Peter was not aware of it, so neither was I.

 

These posts are just made as general knowledge and to let the crew know where we stand when we are trying hard to put out quality meals that everyone enjoys, or at least most people enjoy. hahaha!

 

And I have enjoyed Glen L. checking up with us several times to make sure things are running right.  Thanks to Glen we can steam the vegetables again! (that post was on the 29th, the part came in!)  Kevin was fixing the tilt feature on braising pan number 1 when I first started working.

 

Arthur, Kevin, Glen have all been great and have a lot more to do on the ship than serve the galley...but make sure and appreciate them as they have been a great service to us in Food Service! 

Deja Vu Dinner? (this Sunday night)

What is that you may ask?  Its when after a few days you come to Dinner/Supper thinking, 'where have I seen this food recently?' then it hits you like Deja Vu...Oh!  Thats what our dinners have been the last couple of days!  (leftovers, repeats, play-it-again...whatever you call them at home)

Flip Flops... They flip and they flop

Today we had our presale briefing and our captain was giving us the rundown on the rules for sailing. My favorite thing the captain said was about proper footwear during the sail, "Flip flops, they are nothing, they flip and they flop". He has the dryest humor ever and is practically hilarious without even knowing it.

Today was our last day to get off the ship and go into town before we sail to Liberia. SO I went out twice. First I went out with some friends and went shopping and ate a bunch of last minutes snacks that will soon be unavailable. Then I came back to the ship, cleaned up a bit, and went out with some other girls for Mojitos and Sushi. Both were fantastic. When we were leaving the restaurant I heard a bunch of people yelling and realized it was a group of guys from Mercy Ships, one of which was my husband. Tyrone wasn't yelling though, he was busy ducking in his chair. I suppose he didn't want me to suggest he come home early, not that he would have anyway.

CSE

Thanks to Glen for fixing the steam option on #2 oven, he was just waiting on the part to come in!

The Q

Some have expressed problems with the questions, comments, suggestions entry form so I have simplified it even more, you can find it right on the side-bar on the left hand side.

Thanks for letting me know!

Zoo? Brazilians? Black Sand?

Well now I have some pictures up that I can give you a link to and they connect to the following posts in the past:

In this post Stephanie talks about a zoo that is called Loro Parque which I now have extensive pictures on...this trip was given to Mercy Ships crew for a very good discount, we even had a chartered coach bus for transportation there and back, it was in Porto De La Cruz. Which you will also see the birds that flew around during a show that Stephanie was squawking about.  There are many pictures of Mercy Ships crew at the park as well.  People we see and work with everyday on the ship.

The picture album includes spending the day with our 'just returning with new baby' Brazilian friends (originally met on the Caribbean Mercy) Rodrigo, Tatyana, and Estevam (here is an earlier post that alludes to their return). We rode around with them while they purchased items for family living on board. Things like 1400 diapers to last for the year while trying to evaluate the growth of the baby in order to get the right size diapers for the right period of time.

We also stopped by a nice beach...here the sand is black from the volcanoes. Its natural to them, but kind of weird for us.

TENERIFE PICTURES

Tragedy in Santa Cruz Port

Instead of rewriting someone else's work or news, here is a brief post on another blog from the Peet's who are on board the ship also...their link is also on the right hand side of this blog.

This tragedy occurred not to far from the ship.  

Menu Update

Posted for upcoming week end of January to Beginning of February. (on Menu Page)

Land sick no more.

This morning I went up on the sea wall (in the designated area). I brought my ipod and my desire to spend some time with my Jesus. It was more than fantastic. I sat up on the wall with my capris hiked up and enjoyed the sun penetrating into my skin. All I could see was the sun and the waves, the sight was purely majestic. When we lived in Texas I hated that we were so far from the ocean, now each day I wake up to the ocean noises and beauty.

Response #3

About Roast Beef...

From ship to ship and at the IOC we have some similiar cuts of meat and some that range a bit beyond what is normally seen.  So, as you can imagine I have to learn how to work with the food after seeing its various cooking 'personalities' what it will and won't do for me, and what I may have to force upon it by method of rubs, brines, and marinades. 

I am not quite happy with the beef used for Roast Beef yet, and as you bare with me I will be applying other 'tricks of the trade' so to speak to see what I can get this beef to do for me...its much like getting old circus animals to do new tricks for a new ringmaster.

Also, we are looking into getting some horseradish for a nice sauce, we do not have any horseradish at present.

That being said, a nice meat slicer would accomodate us quite nicely...

EMT

Today I attended my first Emergency Medical Team meeting. I didn't really know what to expect. I still am not really sure what to expect. It's intentions is to be similar to a code team. We respond to all medical emergencies and are involved in the the  fire drills. All of this sounds fine, but as we were in our meeting I realized wow, we live in a hospital. Every time there is an emergency a mess of people will respond. This is good and bad. It is very hard to function in an emergent situation with too many people involved. There may be 4 anethesists, 5 surgeons, and up to 50 nurses. Oh my. So for now, I will pray there are no emergent situations and if there is one, I will do my best to fulfill my duties as a part of the EMT. I will also try to remember the famous first line of many medical schools "First do no harm".

Tears of Laughter

Last night Tyrone and I went out with Tatyana, Rodrigo,(Taty and Rodrigo are married and have baby Estevam, 5 months) and Jan (Pronounced Yawn, is married to Elizabeth and has daughter Isabella, almost 2 years) all of which we know from the Caribbean Mercy. We went out in a rental car to our favorite place to eat, we call it the Meter Place, cause all the food comes out on meter boards. We thought it would be easier to take the car than to walk, but we were very wrong. Rodrigo was driving (aka zipping) around looking for a parking space, while the other boys were telling him to slow down, turn port side or starboard side. It was a mess. The whole evening was full of laughter and tears (of laughter). Those boys are a very funny combo, I have heard that the only thing funnier is to add their Australian friend Jon into the mix.

Tuesday Night (late for AFM'rs) - Wednesday morning Surprise!

Surprise!!!  If you are reading this on Wednesday after breakfast you are too late!

Someone volunteered to make pancakes AND I showed Maria how to make cinnamon rolls (w/a glaze) she will be baking/making them for breakfast, so there is a good chance you missed them both if you are reading this after 8am...Well you know.