With over 30 nations represented on board there is a chance that you can experience international cuisine everyday. We have a crew galley that is open and has equipment for multiple cooking stations and cleaning up. During certain times of the day or week you can go in here and find many different people cooking their own 'home' comfort foods or 'favorites' from any cooking style.
Last night I was showing a lady from Ghana and Jamaica how I make bread, and bread rolls fresh from yeast, flour, salt, oil, and a little sugar. (kind of like a home demonstration). During this time they were also cooking their own dinner. No, this does not offend me in the least. I encourage it so people can be more independent of the ships galley and maybe have a better appreciation of what we do for 400 everyday.
[As a side note I have found that people who like to cook for themselves from time to time do not usually complain about the food on the ship...mostly its those who are confined to eating the ships menu everyday because they don't or are unwilling willing to cook for themselves from time to time who complain the most...or maybe they just don't like cleaning up after themselves or have time to do itl.]
Also the guys from Nepal (our security Gurkhas) were cooking at the same time. Let me tell you, these guys are nice...yes sir, no sir, yes chef, good evening chef...it goes on and on. They treat most everyone on the ship with much respect and are always ready to give a helping hand. Very humble in their demeanor. But if there is an emergency, alert, or security issue...Yes, it would be in your best interest to NOT find out what they are capable of.
As I came back after the second rise of the dough (which were formed into rolls after the first rise) my wife and I were offered Curried Chicken (Curry was a Jamaican blend and it was cooked with coconut milk) & fried Plantains by Joyce from Jamaica. And she was in collaboration (preparing food and rice to share) with Comfort from Ghana and she offered us Jasmine Rice with home made Shito. During this time we were offered a stew of sorts (I don't know any Nepalese) from Ganesh & Chitro from Nepal. The stew was like a Brunswick Stew (minus the meat) mixed with some Indian & Thai (?) spices (best I know how to describe it not necessarily what it was)...Wow! Although it was spicy hot, it was VERY flavorful. I could feel the beads of sweat literally popping up on my forehead as I ate more.
Several groups actually get together no matter how big or small and do certain country/culture foods from time to time. You just need to know when to be 'hanging out' in the vicinity of getting fed. Timing is everything. And if you have mastered that 'hungry look' then you should apply it here. The invitation will usually materialize soon after!
Chicken Tortilla Soup
I won't bore you with the bulk preparation but walk you thru a recipe that's close to mine that is from allrecipes.com: chicken tortilla soup -->
INGREDIENTS
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
I omitted the chili powder and use chipotle peppers or roasted cumin instead -- much better taste I think
In order to spice things up consider crushing or using powdered chipotle peppers. Chipotle peppers are smoked & dried Jalapeno peppers, not as hot but great smoky taste.
Also consider using a non-stick pan, dry, heated up for toasting some cumin seeds to add whole to soup or grind up...this develops a greater taste than just adding some cumin powder.
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
Alright, last I checked these following products started becoming more available in grocery stores, I prefer Muir Glen, but I have not tasted the Hunts brand Fire Roasted Tomatoes. *Or see below how to 'oven-roast' your own
- 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken broth
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 cup whole corn kernels, cooked
- 1 cup white hominy
If you are not a hominy person, leave it out
- 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
- crushed tortilla chips
In an earlier post I noted Chili's chips are a good pickup option without costing much and being 'same day' fresh
- sliced avocado
- shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- chopped green onions
DIRECTIONS
- In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in corn, hominy, chiles, beans, cilantro, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, and top with crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheese, and chopped green onion.
* Oven Roast your own tomatoes! Preheat oven to 250°F (120°C). Cut tomatoes in half, toss with olive oil to coat, and place, cut-side down, on a baking sheet. Roast for 1-1/2 hours, until the tomatoes are soft and have just begun to exude their juices. Cool, remove the skins, and pack into a container. They keep for several days, refrigerated. I am sure you can find several uses for them!
Francis
Missing Camera (stolen?)
Well my L60 Samsung digital camera is 'missing'. It has been about a week now and I have checked the only 2 places I keep it, my cabin and the office. So I am not optimistic about it re-appearing anymore.
I checked with 'lost & found', reception, and various other places...so I am now tempted to move it in the category of possibly stolen. SIGH
If you are on the ship and reading this, let me know if you find one that looks like this with a possible black foam type case.
Outcast
To say this tumor was huge is an understatement. I was in the OR as they were cutting away at this 7.5-kilo mass. Dr. Bruce took it off in parts and each part filled these huge metal bowls. Yeme now has an incision line from her ankle up to her bum where it overtakes all of the left side and some of the right side. She will need skin grafting on her bum and she also has a growth over her left eye that needs to be taken off as well so she will be here for a while, lucky for us.
I get a bit overwhelmed when I really think about what it was like for her living with that huge smelly growth. No one touched her, played with her, educated her, or loved her. Yeme looks like a different person now not only because of her surgery but because the nurses, translators, and disciplers have lavished love on this child that she could only have dreamt of. She has visitors constantly. I love her not only because she needs it but because I feel this pull towards her. She has such a sweet, gentle, and helpful spirit. When I did her GINORMOUS dressing yesterday she laid still on her tummy and lifted up when I needed her to and was incredibly patient. I have never met anyone so brave in all my life
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