Potatoes, what it takes...

Freddie brings up usually at least 100 kilos (220 pounds) of potato for 400 plus people.

Hand-picked over by several galley staff. Rinsed. Then the potatoes are machine washed. Yes that's right, machine washed. (no not the potato peeler, we do have an automatic one of those which we may discuss in another post)

Then picked over again. Rotten spots cut off, eyes gouged out, panned up in steamer pans, and then baked. It takes at least an hour maybe more to bake them all. The steamer pans are used so the air circulates more fully when baking the potatoes.

Can you guess which kind of machine we use to clean hundreds of kilos/pounds of potato in one afternoon in order to make a lovely dinner? (leave an answer by commenting)

Sweetness

I have fallen head over heels in love with this sweet 6-year-old boy, Garpueh. When he first came to the ship he barely said a word. I was his nurse for 4 shifts and spent as much time as I could with him. We colored while he was still on bed rest then progressed to playing on the floor with blocks. From the first day, I met Garpueh I felt like he needed a little extra love. It is so fun to see him get more talkative and playful as he recovers from his surgery.

He is on B ward where is Auntie who heard about Mercy Ships, has brought him through the whole process from screening to surgery. She faithfully sleeps under his bed on a mattress and even helps feed one of the patients who could not feed herself.

Both of Garpueh's feet were burnt in a fire when he was a baby. He had a contracture release with a skin graft done. Now Garpueh is scooting around the wards on his pint-size little crutches.

Today I was working on A-Ward and the door opened and little Garpueh came crutching in and he said: " I miss you so I come and sit with you." So Garpueh sat on one of the beds near the nursing station and he colored and I charted. He is just so darn cute I have to give him a ton of kisses.

Some Assembly Required...(hint, hint, Katy)

This Sunday we will have another go at Semi-Vegetarian Night.

What's a semi?  It's when you can eat the whole meal without actually choosing meat because it's an option to go with the rest of the meal. So you can still have a wonderful dinner without relenting to your carnivorous side. (but still, have that option).

Last Semi-Vegetarian Night we had a little confusion. Yes, the potatoes were baked in the oven, but no, I did not mean for them to be peeled. But sometimes it's too late when a mistake is realized, and apparently, I didn't use the English term 'jacket potatoes' otherwise they may have understood me quicker. But no worries...

The real confusion came at assembly.

Apparently, some people came thru the line oblivious to the fact that you should ASSEMBLE, that's right 'build' your potato up with toppings making a wonderful mountain of a meal, loaded baked potato style!!! And after seeing several other people's plates resembling a loaded baked potato realized what they were missing. But it was too late.

So this Sunday we will be having the Mashed Potato Bar with toppings (sorry no martini glass supplied), and side dishes of mixed vegetables and lentils cooked by our very own on-site vegetarian Michal. So just remember...

Some Assembly Required.

Sprinklers work in galley coolers...

Guilty.

** A crew member that allegedly hit the alarm with the corner of a schafing dish/hotel pan while entering the walk-in cooler is currently in custody being charged with 'creating more work that necessary' in the galley **

...accidents happen. Here's the story:

Bread

Yes, it's here...soft, fluffy, delicious bread!

Please give Eddie (our newest baker) your appreciation and compliments on the bread. I have heard many great compliments and comments on the bread already, and so has Peter.

So please remember to encourage your food service staff directly and remember to really appreciate them during their time here.

Response #8 / Signs

SIGN SAYS: When the doors are closed please do not enter. The floors are being cleaned. Thank you!!!

Comment: It would be usefull if the staff opened them after they have finished cleaning the floors.

Fair enough, so lets say that dining room doors are closed until 8:30pm after supper/dinner and you are expected not to enter or open the doors during this time UNLESS the dining room staff leaves the doors open?

A lot of our frustration comes not from what the circumstances are, but If we change the rule, will people actually feel inclined to follow it when they don't follow it now?

Please take into consideration that it takes awhile for the floors to actually dry after being cleaned, and it is a LOT of floor. In addition to that they have a real hard time actually keeping people out so that prolongs the cleaning period, which effects the drying time...

Patience (as in many other departments) is the key/virtue to waiting for the work to be done, and then you have to ask yourself...why do I really need in the dining room? ~ filtered water is available behind the cafe ~

JUST for fun, here are some of the top excuses for not following that particular sign/rule (which are unacceptable by the way):

1. I don't like the way the water tastes from the other filtered source
2. I'm on night shift/or shift worker
3. I'll only be a minute
4. I have a family
5. I am medical/nurse/doctor
6. I have a table tennis/ping pong match
7. I just want to watch the TV
8. I don't have a kettle for hot water to make my tea

*Unless it is a life or death emergency ALL of these excuses have no reasonable bearing for not waiting the 2 hours from 6:30pm to 8:30pm before entering the dining room.

And as always if you have approval by Peter or Ken ahead of time, then yes, it will not apply to you for that period of time. HR, for example has approved time in the dining room (either by Ken or Peter or both) for the new crew on Monday nights after their arrival.

Another great blog...

Another good blog that brings you several great posts that directly relate to Food Service is WHERE IN THE WORLD IS MICHAL (W.I.T.W.I.M) but not only that she covers a wide spectrum of interesting posts relating to her life and thoughts being here on the ship.

Michal also works on one of the kitchen teams with us in foodservice and you may remember I used her permission to copy one of her posts to show you some of our staff in an earlier post here.

Two great posts (among many), one of which is her general account of the cooking team she works on and several food service members, great pictures and description to go with the people: (which you have probably already seen posted here)

Cooking Teams

And secondly a pictorial process of Mercy Chips, or plantains from start to finish...fried up for dinner:

Mercy Chips - plantains, start to finish

But her newest post Mercy Hair is pretty funny too...she has the time (and camera) to take some of the best pictures and creativity to make the blog posts easy on the eyes and a quick read (but of course, she is an artist, and creativity usually tends to come with that sort).

So if you would like to take another look into the world we are now living in beside our own 'humble' views and opinions, pop on over and see some of the great pictures around the ship and Monrovia.

A gentle reminder...

James 4:17 ~ Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

[Click on any picture to enlarge the sign, or comment on the sign]

Some things are universal

It is easy to get caught up in the differences between here on the ship and back at home. The phrases "Only in Africa" or "That's Mercy Ships for ya" or "Welcome to Mercy Ships" are used frequently to express the differences that are obvious. But lately I have found myself saying "some things are universal".
I have compiled a list:
1.Little boys love to play with toy cars, even if they have never even seen one before. They instinctively know how to make very realistic car noises and they always have their cars crash over and over again.

2.As soon as the house keepers/ translators mop the floor someone tromps through it, almost immediately.

3. When kids are surrounded with attention they get spoiled... imagine that.

4. Dr's never use enough tape on dressings.

5. Kids always test the limits.

6. Men pee on the side of the road without hesitation.

7. Women are dramatic.

8. Kid's are super cute no matter where they are.



This is Massa. She is here for plastic surgery due to a burn on her chest and arm pit. Her mama couldn't stay on the ship, so she is a little love bug and loves to snuggle.




A bunch of the patients looking out into the city of Monrovia.



This is Kollie, he is from Guinea and he only speaks French but is easy to communicate with through playing. I learned that is favorite color is blue (he only chose the blue blocks), he loves bubbles, and is a very energetic child. He, like Sadiatu, has a Meningiocele. But he has not had his operation because the Dr. Gary is waiting to talk to a Dr. is Germany about the procedure. Please be praying for Kollie that the Dr's would have the wisdom and knowledge on what to do.



This Sadiatu, she is 18 months old. She had a repair of Meningiocele. She is checking out her new look. I was able to take off her huge bandage that covered most of her face for the last 8 days. She and her mom will fly back to Sierra Leone on Sunday.



This is Alfred, I written about him before. He is very dramatic, but also very smart. When I make him use his crutches and actually get out of bed he waits for someone to walk near us in the hallway and screams "Your killing me". My response was "Alfred, do I have a gun?" He says "no." I say "Do I have a knife?". He says "No." I said " So I am not killing you, I am making you walk to make you strong." He has a crush on one of the nurses, when she is around he is a different kid, he is all oogly googly.

Spunk or Sass

Yes, I have heard the words spunk and sass many times in my life. Sometimes these words were used in reference to me, I think at times it was used as a compliment and other times it was my teacher telling my mom I needed to behave better in the class room. As a teenager that was in detention on more than one Saturday, I often wondered what the difference between the words spunk and sass. According to good old Webster spunk is "to show spirit" ans sass is "to talk impudently or disrespectfully". So that is it, spunk is "life with a spark" and sass is "life with an attitude".
This week I have spent my evening shifts in D ward. Last week I had almost exclussively kids and this week it has been a mixed bag. I had 2 girls both days that were quite the handful. The both were very hot and cold. But todday I will introduce you to Blessing.
Blessing is a 9 year old (who had her birthday on Monday and wore a Tiara all day that had pink flashing lights) who suffers from Noma (Noma is a type of gangrene that destroys mucous membranes of the mouth and other tissues. It occurs in malnourished children in areas of poor cleanliness.) Her lips are now gone and is in the 2nd stage of a 7 stage process in reconstructing her face. Her mom will not let her look at her face in the mirror. I had a long talk with her, I said " I don't know what I would do if I were you. I know I would want to protect my child from a reflection that is drastically changed since the last time she saw her face. But I also think at the end of these 7 surgeries her face is not going to look the same as it did before and is she may not be satisfied with her new face if she has never seen how far she has come." Her mom just listened, shaking her head still not sure if this whole thing is just a bad dream.
Back to the spunk and sass. Blessing's bed is the closest to the nursing station and every time a walk by I get a swat on the butt and I hear the highest pitch squeel followed by giggles. I look over and see this tiny little girl in a bed with a spark in her eye that is full of mischieve. Yesterday I did not have much to do on my shift so she occupied most of my time. She was triyng to teach me a hand clap game that I assume was the Liberian version of Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack all dressed in black, black, black. But it is very hard to understand her so mostly I just did what she did.
Blessing hates the taste of her antibiotics, so when I try to give it she hides under her cover and gives an emmy winning performance. Her mom who sleeps on a mattress under her bed comes out from down under and gives a stern "Drink your medicine, it make you body strong" in her very best mom voice. So while I think sometimes Blessing can be a bit sassy the spark in her eye tells me she is full off spunk, I think we are kindred spirits.

Sea Monkey and Fufu

While reading another blog by a nurse whose post was about kids on the ward, she goes on to explain about a little boy, Alfred, shared his Fufu and Sea Monkey with her...(it *Sea Monkey* was not the focus of the blog, the kids were).  But I (being the food person I am) zeroed in on the Sea Monkey.

*Sea Monkey* according to my Monrovia friends is a large fish (closely related to tuna or dolphin/or may even be tuna or dolphin - this is speculative) That is very dark in color and bloody. 

And just to confirm it I asked our ward cook Ophelia who said, and I quote:  "A very dark meat, from a big fish...like dolphin...".

I thought it would be interesting to some of you out there because in all reality you have probably already ate Sea Monkey and never knew it!

Oh!  You say what about Fufu?  I often forget about all these things as I have had a couple of 'right hand man' in the kitchen usually from West Africa since I started with Mercy Ships in 2001 on the Caribbean Mercy...Ok, let me delve into a small lecture on that one.

Fufu, or fu fu, is a staple food of West and Central Africa. It is a thick paste or porridge usually made by boiling starchy root vegetables in water and pounding with a large mortar and pestle until the desired consistency is reached. [this is basically true and was derived from wikipedia online...now let me deviate to what I personally have found is true in my experience]

In Western Africa, Fufu is usually made from cassava not yams (or at least parts I know something about, like Liberia, Ghana, Benin, Sierra Leone...although the one mixed with plantain seems to be a one of choice among my friends too) sometimes combined with cocoyam, plantains, or maize. In a later post we will get into Banku and Kenkey which are usually fermented before cooking (these are made from the corn maize).  The Liberian Dumboy is made from cassava flour. 

Often, the dish is still made by traditional methods: pounding and beating the base substance in a mortar with a wooden spoon. Places where poverty is not an issue, or where modern appliances are readily available, a food processor may also be used.  Although be ready for scorn because as you may find out, purist do not believe in real Fufu love made in the processor.  But if you make it without the processor It will quickly where your arm out making it for more than 4 people!

In Western and Central Africa, the more common method is to serve a mound of Fufu along with a sauce made from okra, fish, tomato, etc...(which we, Reuben & I renamed it Sanka Sauce years ago ~ more about that in another post) because the sauce has variations and can go by so many names. You pinch off a small ball of Fufu and make an indentation with the thumb. This "bowl" indentation is then filled with sauce, and the ball is eaten. In Ghana and Nigeria, the ball is often not chewed but swallowed whole. In fact, among the older generation, chewing Fufu is frowned upon/not accepted.

So for now ~ "to be continued..." as we cover the upcoming topics of Banku, Kenkey, & Sanka Sauce.

* I am not an authority by any means on West African food or cooking, these are my personal views and experiences as they have happened to me and many of my friends who are from these regions of the world*

Good example ~ My Cooking Team

The following excerpt posted as a picture was used by permission from Michal http://whereintheworldismichal.blogspot.com/ who has her own blog AND works on one of our cooking teams...she has taken pictures and gave commentary on our 'inner workings' in the galley and thought you may be interested to read another view besides mine. Plus she has done all the work which is excellent! (laughing)

[If you go to Michal's blog you may be able to click her pictures for a better view if these pictures are too small for you.]
http://whereintheworldismichal.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-cooking-team.html

Are you up to the challenge?