Feeding the Masses

Do you or do you not feel that cooking for anyone but yourself is like, 'feeding an army'?  I do. But now after reading this blog, I think that, I might not be feeling that way so much anymore! Pancakes for a thousand? At West Point? where everything is perfect and disciplined?

Check this out:



http://www.esquire.com/features/food-drink/huge-food/army-food-0311

How many of us have never complained about a meal that we were served? Ditto.

Yet most soldiers have always had a reason to complain. Since the beginning of organized military, feeding the soldiers has sometimes been such a huge task, that keeping them healthy, satisfied, and full, ranked last priority (if at all) on the mess hall to-do list.

Back in the day, and even now, military meals have either been ignored, completely dismissed, or the brunt of hundreds of jokes.

A former Veteran told me that when he was in service 47 years ago, most cooks and meals were referred to as, "Gut Cheater". Another man at a VFW dinner told me, "The word was, and still is, 'anything will go down with Tabasco'." A round of laughter broke out as those at my table joked about military meals of the past.... if they could be called "meals". Nutrition was never a concern, but filling the gut was the goal even if it was not always possible. Overweight soldiers were unheard of because overeating and lack of exercise just didn't happen. And many had suffered starvation.

These days, however, body fat is a concern for the military. According to Jim Gourley via blog: http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com, "...one in every three service men or women are obese". 

Even if overeating is not the culprit, lack of exercise, cheap, low-quality food, and available junk food is. 

In Fort Rucker, Alabama, I've

In Fort Rucker, Alabama, I've seen cooks throw lard on the short-order grill line. Is it too much to ask to get something without trans fats, please?

STARBUCK

4:59 AM ET

June 3, 2011

Growing up in the 60's and 70's it was very common for a parent to say to a child, "Do NOT take more than your stomach will hold!" OR "There are starving kids in China!" (some parents said, "Africa"-- my parents preferred China for some reason.

Photograph with caption "Cafeteria Lines in Mess Hall

 at Naval Barracks Area," U.S. Naval Ammunition 

Depot, Hastings, Nebraska., 1944?

Taking a closer look we can see that the sign on the wall 

says

that 'any wasting of food will be followed with disciplinary 

action'. (can that advice even be comprehended by kids 

these days?)

Help Feed Someone Besides Yourself

I have been in the situation where I did not know how I was going to feed my family. I can live on apples and potatoes but children need nutrition.

Even though I had always given to food shelters and food drives over the years, when it came my time to get help, it was not so easy.

Check out the link Below. Snickers is willing to give out two meals to every bar code that you enter. Watch for "specially marked" bars.


http://www.snickers.com/default.htm


Here is their partner:

http://feedingAmerica.org/

Kitchen After-Laughs

Kitchen disasters are fun stories to tell and to hear about. I call them, "after laughs" because nobody laughs 'till long after the disaster.


My worst kitchen disaster was when I was about 23 years old. I started 4T of oil and three kernels of popcorn sizzling around in a heavy pan (for those of you who have no idea how to make popcorn grandma's way, you wait until the three kernels pop, then you add a cup of corn and swirl it around until it is popping like crazy, reduce the heat and keep shaking until the popping stops).


Because I had a mild case of 'attention deficit' (before it made the news and after I found out that it can come in handy when one has screaming toddlers) what do you think that I did right then?


Guess.


I went outside to help my son and I forgot to go back into the house.


Soon the black fog came rolling out of the kitchen window, I ran to the scene which, by now, was flames shooting two feet above the pan! and like a silly young girl, I grabbed the pot, ran outside with it, and flung it down into the gully!


Thankfully, I did not trip over the dog with the scorching oil and nobody was burned. 
I was able to repaint my kitchen that week to cover the horrible smell.


However, my four-year-old son had to enlighten all the neighbors, my family, and friends as to why I was painting my kitchen.
"Momma almost burned down the house and all she was making was a snack!"


Years later, I learned that in a case like that, a lid dropped on it would have stopped the drama quite quickly with little risk to me, my son or the dog.

Camp Cooks and Lumbarjacks

Taken from: Wexford County Historical Society & Museum online album

I am always amazed when I think about the days when providing a meal was so much more than prepping food and turning a knob. And in a camp like this, the cook was under a lot of pressure to satisfy...these men worked hard and burned food faster than race cars and gasoline.

Progressive Dinners

A "Progressive Dinner" is when a group of 6-15 people get together and go as a group from house to house..eating a full-coarse meal along the way. 

Four people (or couples) agree to welcome and serve in their home, one portion of the four coarse dinner to the guests.

The appetizer at the first home

The dinner salad at the second home

The main dish at the third home

The dessert at the fourth and final home

It really is a lot of fun! It is not that big of a deal to prepare just one portion of a meal even if it is for up to ten people. It's a great way to make new friends and get to know each other better.