Comdr. Duane G. Wolfe, CEC, USNR

I learned yesterday that shipmate and brother-in-Christ Duane Wolfe was killed Monday in the line of duty in Iraq. Duane and I served together in Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 17 in the 1980s and early 1990s as chief petty officers. He later promoted in to the officer ranks in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Cmdr. Duane G. Wolfe, 54, of Port Hueneme, Calif., died May 25, 2009, from injuries suffered as a result of an improvised explosive device attack on his convoy southeast of Fallujah. Wolfe was assigned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Gulf Region Division in Iraq.

Jeep Jamboree USA looking for cook

I'd apply for this job myself if I wasn't busy during August. The job will be the perfect challenge for an experienced camp cook with a love for the Sierra Nevada high country. Here's the classified ad for the job:

COOK-Rubicon Trail cook needed for trips over the Rubicon Trail during the month of August. Must have prior food service experience & references. Submit resume to Jeep Jamboree USA, PO Box 1601, Georgetown, CA, 95634.

This information comes from the Mountain Democrat, Monday, May 18, 2009.

Navy cooks test field skills at Seabee Rodeo

By Naval Air Station Jacksonville Public Affairs

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (NNS) (5/20/09) -- The Third Naval Construction Regiment Seabee Rodeo was held aboard NAS Jacksonville April 28-May 3, and the competing teams were Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 14 of NAS Jax, NMCB 23 of Fort Belvoir, Va., and NMCB 24 of Redstone Arsenal, Ala.

"Each team competes in general military skills, uniform appearance, physical training and readiness, construction skills, marksmanship and other skills," explained NMCB 14 Commanding Officer Capt. Joseph Hinson.

To simulate being deployed, competitors bivouacked in tents and dined on MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). Events took place throughout the day and night with teams competing in events representing every aspect of Seabee life — such as personnel inspections, close order drill, land navigation, erecting tents within a secure perimeter and command operations center exercises that simulate attacks on their base.

They also participated in practical rate exercises that test the skills of the individual Seabee. Construction mechanics had to build a working cabinet with sink. Engineering aides surveyed construction sites. Equipment operators were tasked with loading and unloading a tractor onto an 18-wheeler flat bed. Steelworkers welded and cut sheet metal, and utilitiesmen erected lights and ran power cables. Other rates attached to Seabee battalions, such as storekeepers and culinary specialists, had events of their own.

The "Iron CS Challenge" mimicked the Iron Chef television show — but with some aspects geared more toward cooking on deployment rather than in a regular galley kitchen.

"This is the second running of the Iron CS Challenge. We try to set the same tone and environment, as they would encounter in the field. They get limited resources and a surprise item, which today happens to be a tomato," said Culinary Specialist Chief Michael Farrell of NMCB 23.

"Competitors have to create a meal around that tomato and only have 2.5 hours to prepare, cook and serve the meal. The skipper and the commodore will evaluate each chef's creation on taste, presentation and creativity. The winner is presented with the Iron Culinary Specialist Trophy that they will keep until next year's rodeo."

Hinson continued, "After six days of friendly but serious competition, we tally up the scores to determine our rodeo champion. They take home the trophy until the next year's rodeo."

Staff from the 3rd Naval Construction Regiment, headquartered in Atlanta, judged the events. At the end of the competition, NMCB 23 came out on top — winning both the Iron CS Challenge and the overall Seabee Rodeo.

Cooking trailer for sale in Kentucky

I reveived this email from Biscuit the other day. Friends of a longtime Yahoo Dutch Oven Cooking group member Jim Harper are selling his cooking trailer. Know as Tapscrew to his friends, Jim passed from this life on February 5, 2009.

Although I didn't know Jim, he must've been a great camp cook.

Photographs of the trailer are posted here.

Here's Biscuit's description of the trailer:

My friends in Kentucky are selling Tapscrews cooking trailer. Below is a discription of trailer.

Please contact Biscuit at n5hbb@yahoo.com for more information and photos.

The price is $1,500.

Trailer Description

This customer cooking trailer is 5' x 8'. It has rear stabilizers on both sides, is wired for light and ready to travel. It is made of water resistant material and can be removed from the trailer for storage.

Cook prep area is 6' in length with a sink and side counter. Also a fifteen-gallon water tank with a battery operated pump to move water from storage to sink. Waste is collected under trailer and can be dumped.

There is storage for all things Dutch Oven, pots, fires buckets (not included). There is also room for tents, chairs, and other large items. The trail is new, used only 3 times.

Chuck wagon boxes: 3 different boxes

Box measures: 30" (w) x 13" (d) x 24" (h). Drop in lids form the closure for the box. Inside of lid is covered with Formica to provide added work space. One box has storage for dry goods, while another has storage for utensils. Boxes are made of beautiful wood with handles for easy transport.

Biscuit

Vegetable lasagna with roasted zucchini and mushrooms

I an not a vegetarian, nor do I see myself becoming one. The closest I come most days is with my morning cereal with milk and sugar. Other than an occasional meatless meal, I eat meat every day at lunch and dinner.

(Of course, I'm talking about being an ovo-lacto vegetarian, not vegan.)

A vegetarian meal is one where I simply leave the meat out of the dish that I'm cooking. I don't make any effort to make a special vegetarian dish. Any item without meat, like a slice of cheese pizza or scrambled eggs with hotcakes, qualifies as a vegetarian meal in my mind.

I just made the best lasagna ever last night. While I still relish an aromatic tomato-based lasagna with three or four layers of quality Italian sausage sandwiched between layers of ricotta and mozzarella, roasted diced zucchini and crimmini slices did a very good job of substituting for the sausage.

I will use this recipe this summer at camp. I'll be able to use vegetables on-hand to vary the layered dish each week or two. I should be able to purchase no-boil lasagna noodles from Sysco.

Pre-cooking the vegetables drives out excess water and adds flavor. The biggest flavor boost comes from the caramelization of the natural sugars in the vegetables.

Pair pre-cooking technique to the moisture content of the vegetable. High-moisture vegetables, like eggplant and zucchini, are best sauteed or roasted. Blanch, chop and saute low-moisture vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower.

Vary the vegetables as desired: Substitute 1-pound diced eggplant for mushrooms. For spinach and mushroom lasagna, saute 1 pound sliced crimmini mushrooms with a small amount of onion. Season and remove from skillet. Add 10-ounces (12 cups) chopped spinach leaves to skillet and saute until wilted. Season and combine with mushrooms.

VEGETABLE LASAGNA WITH ROASTED ZUCCHINI AND MUSHROOMS

You need 16 no-boil lasagna sheets (approximately 3-1/2- x 7-in.) for the recipe. It takes 4 sheets to cover the bottom of a 9- x 13-in. baking pan. Depending on the size of the lasagna sheets and the baking pan, their may be some overlap.

1 pound zucchini, diced small
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
15 ounces ricotta cheese
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3-1/2 cups tomato sauce
8 ounces no-boil lasagna noodles
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

To roast zucchini and mushrooms, toss vegetables with olive oil and garlic. Spread vegetables in a thin layer on 1 or more greased sheet pans. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast vegetables in a 400-degree F. oven for about 35 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Yields 3 to 3-1/2 cups roasted vegetables.

Combine ricotta cheese, eggs and parsley until eggs are incorporated in cheese mixture. Season with pepper to taste. Set aside.

To assemble the lasagna, spread 1/2-cup tomato sauce over bottom of 9 x 13-in. baking pan. Lay 4 lasagna sheets so they cover the completely tomato sauce. Spread 2/3-cup ricotta over noodles, 1-cup vegetables evenly over ricotta, 2/3-cup tomato sauce evenly over vegetables and 1-cup mozzarella cheese and 3 tablespoon Parmesan over sauce.

Repeat layering noodles, ricotta mixture, vegetables, tomato sauce and cheeses 2 more times. For the fourth and final layer, lay the final 4 lasagna sheets over the previous layer. Top with remaining 1 cup tomato sauce, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 2 heaping tablespoons Parmesan.

Cover pan with large sheet aluminum foil greased with cooking spray. Bake covered 40 minutes in 375-degree F oven. Remove foil and continue baking 15 minutes until cheese brown in spots. Remove and let rest 10 minutes. Cut into 8 (2 x 4) or 15 (3 x 5) portions as desired.

Bakery scales and pizza

I have long advocated the use of scales in the bakery. Measurement by weight is more accurate the by volume. This is especially true for the dry ingredients like flour.

The actual weight of a cup of flour, for instance, varies considerably. A cup of sifted bread flour weighs about 4 ounces while a cup of unsifted weighs about 4-3/4 ounces. The difference is considerable when working with multiple cups of flour.

For consistent results, bakers weigh most of the ingredients. This includes the water and most other the wet ingredients. Although a "pint is a pound the world 'round," liquid measures vary in capacity, unlike scales.

The dough comes together nicely when weighing the ingredients. You'll achieve the right balance between flour and water (usually in the neighborhood of a 3:2 ratio by weight). If the dough is a little loose, you can work some additional flour into it.

After using a mechanical portion scale for 10 years, I purchased a digital scale last month. The digital scale is convenient. To measure, set a measuring container on the scale, press the tare button and it's ready to go.

To add a second ingredient without removing the first, press the tare bottom again and add the next ingredient. This method is helpful when you're going to sift the dry ingredients together.

I purchased the My Weight 7000DX digital scale (pictured) from Old Will Knot Scales on the Internet. The scale has a capacity of 7,000 grams or 15.45 pounds. With the right-sized measuring container, you can weigh enough flour for 15-pound batch of bread, pizza dough or pastry.

I plan to take the scale with me to camp this summer (without the bowl). Its slender profile easily fits inside a duffel bag with a few other must-have baking tools, like a dough cutter, plastic bowl scraper and lame.

CHEESE PIZZA

This recipe makes enough for 4 (10- to 12-inch) pizzas. It'll yield 24 to 32 slices, depending on how you slice the pizzas. You can double the recipe when using the 5-quart Kitchen Aid mixer.

I provided baker's percent so you can adjust the recipe to fit the needs at your camp.

1 pound 12 ounces bread flour (100 baker's percent)
1/4 ounce instant yeast (.9%)
1/2 ounce table salt (1.8%)
1/4 ounce sugar (.9%)
3/4 ounce olive oil (2.7%)
1 pound warm water (57%)
3 ounces pizza sauce
4 ounces shredded cheese

Place flour, yeast, salt and sugar into 5-quart mixer bowl. Mix dry ingredients using paddle attachment. Replace paddle with dough hook. Knead dough for 15 minutes on medium speed.

Use widow pane test to determine if dough is kneaded long enough. Pinch off a small piece of dough and slowly stretch it like pizza dough. As you gently pull and rotate the dough, stretch it until a thin, translucent membrane forms. If it tears easily, continue kneading for a few more minutes and test again.

Roll pizza dough into a smooth ball on counter top. Place into a stainless steel or glass bowl. Add a little olive oil to the bowl and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and ferment 45 minutes, until double in size.

Place the pizza stone onto bottom of a cold oven and turn the oven to its 500 degrees F. If the oven has coils on the oven floor, place the tile onto the lowest rack of the oven.

Split the pizza dough into 4 equal parts, about 11 ounces each. Flatten into a disk on counter top and then fold the dough into a ball. Let dough relax 5 to 10 minutes.

Work with 1 dough at a time. Flatten dough with hands on a slightly floured work surface. Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick.

Turn and stretch dough until it won't stretch further. Let relax 5 minutes and then continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired diameter, 10 to 12 inches. Flatten edge of the dough where it is thicker.

Dust pizza peel with light coat of cornmeal. Place pizza on peel. Brush with light coat of olive oil. Spoon on tomato sauce and sprinkle with cheese.

Slide pizza off the peel onto pizza stone. Bake 7 to 10 minutes until cheese is golden and crust has browned. Remove pizza from oven with peel. Rest pizza about 3 minutes before slicing.

Cut each 12-inch pizza into 6 or 8 slices as desired.

Messman Chronicles added to Navy Professional Reading Program

Here's a book review from the U.S. Navy Supply Corps Newletter:

The Messman Chronicles by Richard Miller is the latest work added by the Advisory Group to the Navy Professional Reading Program Supplemental Reading List.

A synopsis of the book from the Navy Professional Reading Program Web site states that despite racial discrimination and second-class status within the enlisted corps, the U.S. Navy’s mess attendants, officer’s cooks and stewards compiled a proud legacy of combat service in World War II.

The heroism of a few like Doris "Dorie" Miller became well known to the American public, but most have long been forgotten. This book tells the story of those thousands of unheralded sailors of African descent who served in frontline combat with fellow "messmen" of Filipino, Guamanian and Chinese ancestry from the first day of war to the last.

Messmen and Stewards were recognized for their service during a ceremony held at the Naval Academy in September 2008. The Messmen Memorial Marker is a tribute to the messmen and stewards who served with distinction at the Naval Academy midshipman's mess.

Both the ceremony at Annapolis, Md., and the addition of The Messman Chronicles to the reading list highlight the accomplishments of U.S. Navy mess attendants, officers' cooks and stewards, and add to a proud legacy of service for today's Culinary Specialist community.

Spearheading the effort for the ceremony and addition to the reading list was Master Chief Culinary Specialist (SW) Thaddeus Wright, Commander, Naval Surface Force, Atlantic Fleet (CNSL) , Force Culinary Specialist. With the support of SURFOR leadership and the Navy's Chief Petty Officer Mess, CSCM Wright was committed to make sure that the contributions and combat service of the Messmen would not go unnoticed.

Capt. Dana Weiner, CNSL Force Supply Officer noted, "I did not appreciate how challenging it was to get a book added to the Navy's Professional Reading List, but Master Chief Wright’s persistence was relentless, not unlike the Messmen featured in the book."

The Navy Professional Reading Program was developed to encourage a life-long habit of reading and learning among all Sailors. The books included in these collections can provide readers with a deeper understanding and appreciation for naval heritage, the profession of arms and the complex modern world in which we operate.

For more information on the Navy Professional Reading Program, visit http://www.navyreading.navy.mil/.

Special report: Pricing charcoal briquettes in Northern California

By Don Mason

The other day I checked my charcoal supply and found that I was a little low. So I checked some store and newspaper ads to find the best deal. Following are some prices that made me say, “My-my!” I suggest you do some checking before you pay too much.

Red Bluff (California) True Value Hardware
2 Twin Bags: 15 pounds per bag or 30 pounds total.
Sale price: $10.50 x 8.25%*=$0.86
Total is $11.36 or 37 cents per pound

Wal-Mart (newspaper ad)
2 Twin Bags: 12 pounds per bag of 24 pounds total
Sale price: $9.50 x 8.25%*=$0.78
Total is $19.28 or 43 cents per pound

Redding (California) Costco
2 Twin Bags: 16.5 pounds per bag or 33 pounds total**
Price: $16.99 x 8.25%*=$1.49
Total is $18.49 or 58 cents per pound

**The new "Kingsford Competition Charcoal" bag gave me the impression that you are getting 42 pounds. You are getting 42 pounds of heat out of 32 lb of charcoal. What?

Has anyone used the new Kingsford Competition Charcoal? If so let us know what you found.

If you find a better prices, please let us know and we will spread the word.

*California Sales Tax in Northern California

Navy culinary specialist is a master at cake decorating

By Lt. Melinda Johnson, SC, USN, Supply Officer USS San Antonio (LPD 17)

Culinary Specialist 1st Class (SW) Adrian Dorsey has made his mark on USS San Antonio with his creativity and skill in designing and decorating cakes. Whether it’s a Navy event, re-enlistment, birthday or Tiger Cruise, he is sure to create a great cake.

He has designed and decorated cakes that amaze everyone. For the ship’s commissioning anniversary, The Alamo was his choice. Not only did it have the intricate detail, but it was draped with the Texas flag.

St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated underway in Irish style with a cake that looked exactly like a Lucky Charms cereal box all the way down to the detail of net weight. When San Antonio hosted her very first Tiger Cruise, Dorsey dazzled all friends and family with a huge Tony the Tiger cake. Surface line week was marked with the replica of the Navy NASCAR. Re-enlistments are a special time for all involved and special care is taken with every re-enlistment cake.

Dorsey recently exceeded anything anyone could have even conceived for the ship’s Change of Command. He planned and prepared for this special day for months; his intent was to impress both the outgoing and incoming commanding officers.

The ceremony was marked with a one and a half foot wide and six foot long exact replica of San Antonio. This replica was complete with radar, RAM launchers, boat valley, stern gate, gun mounts and flight deck markings. There was no detail forgotten!

Dorsey began his art techniques at the Art Institute of Houston before joining the Navy. He joined the Navy and served on USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74).

While serving as a Food Service Attendant he found his calling for cooking, baking, and decorating. His inspirations and dedication are a direct result of his mentors but he is most motivated by the sheer delight and smile of Sailors and Marines that benefit from his work.

While stationed in Spain he was infamously known as the "Cake Man" and was sought out for any occasion. The Navy Food Management Team, when they opened their new offices in Norfolk , Va., sought out Dorsey and asked him to prepare the Grand Opening cake and devoted his own personal time during pre-deployment leave to grant their request.

Chef's luncheon on ship

You can learn a lot from these chefs, even when you're just watching ...

PORT EVERGLADES, Fla. (April 29, 2009) Patrick J. Fagen, executive chef at Pine Tree Golf Club, and assisting chef Jason Boekholder prepare the main course during the Fleet Week Port Everglades 2009 Celebrity Chef luncheon while Culinary Specialist 1st Class John C. Scherr, the wardroom supervisor aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98), looks on. Local chefs prepared meals for Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and guests aboard the Fleet Week participating ships.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joseph R. Wax.

Dutch oven macaroni and cheese

I find that it takes about 1-quart cheese sauce to properly moisten 1-pound dry macaroni, when cooked, for macaroni and cheese.

1 pound elbow macaroni
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup minced onion
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons mustard powder
1 teaspoon paprika
2 bay leaves
1 quart milk
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterrey jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded Asiago cheese
Kosher salt and while pepper, to taste
2 cups croutons, crushed

Cook macaroni according to package directions at home. Drain water. Cool macaroni in cold water. Package in zipper-top bag and refrigerate.

If desired, Melt butter in a 12-inch Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and sweat until soft. Do not brown onions or butter. Blend in flour, mustard, paprika and bay leaves. Cook until mixture is smooth and buddly.

Gradually add milk, whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium heat, stirring constantly. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes while stirring until smooth. Gradually mix in cheese. Stir over low heat until cheese is melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add pasta to sauce and mix thoroughly. Top with croutons. Place lid on Dutch oven and bake approximately 25 to 30 minutes with coals for 350 degrees. Serves 10 to 12.

Pioneer Day in Fall River Mills

The annual Pioneer Day Celebration will be held on June 6, 2009 in Fall River Mills, California. This is always a fun event that celebrates the heritage of the Fall River Valley.

In addition to the Pioneer Museum, there will be a working blacksmith shop, old engine display (working and non working), craft booths, lots of food and additional activities and of course, the Dutch Oven Cook-off which is always a local favorite.

The event will be held at the Fall River Mills Museum grounds right next to State Route 299 on the west end of town.

Dutch oven cookoff details

No registration fee!

This will be a 3 cookoff with main dish, bread and dessert.

Awards include 1st, 2nd and 3rd place plus Public "Tasters Choice" in each category.

You will have a 12'X12' cooking area with one table. You will be cooking in an open area and it is recommended that you have a E-Z up type of shelter for your area.

Weather: Usually the mornings are very pleasant and sunny. The wind begins to pick up about 12:00 noon and can be a problem. Be prepared to protect your cooking area.

7 a.m. setup
8 a.m. cooks meeting; cooking starts
11:30 a.m. judging begins
12 noon Tasters Choice begins
1:30 p.m. awards announced

Awards: Plaques for 1st, 2nd and 3rd each category, plus $50.00 for Peoples Choice main dish.

If you have any questions please contact:

Jim Geiger
(530) 873-4863
JimsAdventures@aol.com

Fried chicken thighs smothered in gravy

Fried chicken is pure comfort. Smother chicken in gravy and the comfort rating climbs through the roof. With mashed potatoes, this is one of the finest camp meals around. I'd only rate chicken fried steak higher.

That's just what I did two weeks ago at the 3rd Annual IDOS Region II Dutch Oven Gathering at the Stockton Delta KOA campground. My original intent was to cook chicken fried steak, but I couldn't find enough beef cube steam at my local supermarket. So I switched to chicken thighs as they were on sale in large packages.

I didn't write a recipe down for this dish. I started the chicken around 3 p.m. Since meal time was at 6 p.m., I could've started frying the chicken at 4 p.m.

Here are my notes as I wrote them in my camp cooking notebook:

• Purchased 2 packages of chicken thighs with 12 pieces each.
• Soaked 24 chicken thighs in 1 quart of buttermilk overnight in 2 Rubbermade containers; placed the chicken in the ice cooler.
• In camp, drained off the buttermilk.
• Combined 2 packages of Ranch-style dressing mix with about 3 cups of all-purpose flour.
• Heated 1/4-inch vegetable oil in 17-inch Lodge skillet over a bed of hot coals.
• When oil was hot, dredged each chicken thigh in flour mixture and placed in hot oil, skin-side down.
• Fried chicken until golden brown on each side, 12 pieces at a time.
• As chicken browned, moved the pieces around in the skillet to compensate for cold and hot spots.
• Baked chicken in camp oven with 2 Lazzari coals on the lid only; couldn't use bottom coals because camp oven was on grass.
• When browned, placed chicken in 14-inch Lodge camp oven.
• To make gravy, added leftover flour mixture to hot oil to make blond roux; stirred as roux cooked for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Built gravy with 2 quarts milk and 1-quart chicken stock.
• This was too much gravy for 24 pieces of chicken, but would've been okay if I'd made mashed potatoes.
• Drained excess oil from camp oven, then poured gravy over chicken and continued cooking until meal time.

The chicken smothered in gravy was one of the most popular dished at meal time. I only took four pieces (and a bunch of extra gray!) home, which made a couple of good lunches during the week.

Camp coffee

I'm reminded of a 2003 piece that was written about what chuckwagon cook Kent Rollins had to say about camp coffee. The October 29 issue of the Chef2Chef Recipe Club said this about the Oklahoma wagon cook and his coffee:

Cookie’s first thing on the fire, and the last thing off; was for sure - The coffee; and some say - the most important part of a camp meal! Cowboy’s savored the aroma of smoky coals and aromatic scent of brewin’ Coffee in the air and the best of the cooks not judged by their cookin’, but by the tried and true brewin’ techniques learn’d along the way.

Like the coffee being poured by Dave Herzog last week at the IDOS Region II Dutch Oven Gathering, the wagon cook only knew one one method to make camp coffee. He boiled it. No "percolating, bubbling, gurgling and spewing drip coffee makers" allowed.

I perfected my coffee boiling technique under the watchful eye of Gunnery Sergeant Tingle at the U.S. Marine Corps 29 Palms base in July 1985. Seabee and Marine Corps cooks brought a 15-gallon pot of cold water to a boil. After cutting the heat, the cook poured a three-pound can of coffee grounds over the water and let it brew undisturbed.

Ten minutes later -- more or less -- the cook sprinkled a quart of cold water over the hot coffee to settle the grounds. Then using caution so not to disturb the settled grounds, the cook dipped the coffee into a waiting vacuum jug.

I can't say that cowboy cook developed the technique. It probably dates back to the early days of coffee. The cowboy process is the same. You need a "old large coffee pot, water and three handfuls of Cowboy Coffee." Here's the process:

Put enough water in the ole coffee pot to come up to the spout. Boil the coffee until your desired strength which can be determined by the color. The longer it boils - the Stronger it is. Pull off the fire and pour 1/2 cup of cold water to settle the grounds. Let set about 2 minutes and its ready.

The Recipe Club email recommended that you use "fresh roasted beans ground just before using," coarse-ground for boiling.

I bet Dave got a jolt from the coffee that was prepared by wagon cook Randy Brown. I sure did.

But, that's what it's supposed to do. It's coffee, "Guaranteed to get you goin’ in the morning."

Basic Dutch oven bread

I have since revisited the recipe for Dutch oven bread. I revised the mixing and kneading technique. The ingredient quantities haven't changed.

I started my bread last Saturday around 11:30 a.m. by dumping the flour and other dry ingredients into a large bowl. Since I advocate weighing the flour when baking, I find pre-weighing the dry ingredients at home saves me the trouble of dragging my scale to camp.

I weighted the flour into a large zipper-top bag at home. After adding the sugar, salt and instant yeast and closing the bag, a quick knead or two evenly distributed the dry ingredients among the flour.

The dough quickly came together in camp. It takes me about 250 strokes to completely knead the dough by hand in camp.

The dough starts to come together by the 80th stroke with a smooth surface. That's my signal to watch the amount of much flour I add to the dough.

As you approach 180 strokes, the dough will stiffen slightly. I usually do a window pain test around the 225th stroke to see how it's shaping up. Once I'm satisfied, I place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl or Dutch oven to ferment.

A word about charcoal briquettes and hot coals
Over the past couple years, I've slowly moved away from counting coals when cooking in Dutch ovens. I can't tell you how many coals I used to bake the bread.

Although I may be able to give the number of shovels I used, that won't help as we likely use differently-sized shovels. In the words of chuckwagon chef Kent Rollings, you must practice, practice, practice. In time, you'll learn to gauge heat by sight.

The recipe contains a reference to an approximate oven temperature. If you prefer to count charcoal briquettes, base the number of top and bottom coals on one of the popular temperature charts.

For bread, I know from experience (in temperate weather) that I need to set the Dutch oven over a light bed of coals and cover the lid with a good shovel or two of coals. Sorry, but there's little science here -- just good old cooking by touch and feel.

Instead, I light a pile of Lazzari mesquite charcoal and let it burn down to a bed of coals. The large chunks of mesquite, with many four- and five-inch diameter pieces in the bag, split and break into charcoal-sized coals as it burns. Once you have sufficient coals, transfer them to the Dutch oven with tongs or a small shovel.

DUTCH OVEN BREAD

I modified this recipe from American West Dutch Oven Cooking (Amazon link), published in 2000, by former world champion Dutch oven cooks Kent Mayberry and Brian Terry. It's a reliable recipe that uses a ratio of 3 parts flour to 2 parts water. That's the equivalent to 60 percent moisture (from water and egg whites) when the flour is figured as 100 percent.

Use this recipe as a foundation for most any flavor. On several occasions, I've worked an 8-ounce jar of pesto into the dough. The pesto gives the bread a nice green color and bright Italian flavor.

This recipe is written for the 14-inch deep Dutch oven, which will hold a 5-cup bread recipe (the measure of flour). Five cups of bread flour is approximately equivalent to 25 ounces. Cut the recipe in half for a 12-inch deep camp oven.

25 ounces bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons table salt
4 teaspoons instant yeast
2 cups warm water
2 eggs

At home: Combine flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large zipper-top bag. If measuring flour, use 5 cups.

In camp: Mix water and egg together and combine with yeast and half of the flour mixture in a large bowl. Beat with wooden spoon until smooth. Mix the rest of the flour until smooth.

Knead by hand on a floured work surface. I find that it takes about 250 strokes to properly knead the dough. Cover and let dough rise in a warm spot until double in size, about 60 minutes. Punch dough and knead until smooth. Form as desired.

Place in a greased 14-inch deep-style Dutch oven. Grease top with melted butter. Let rise 30 minutes or until double in size.

Bake with coals for approximately 400 degrees until browned. Remove bottom coals after 15 minutes and finish baking with top coals only. When done, remove coals and cool bread.

Camp cook job opening

For anyone still looking for a camp cook job in Northern California, the Silver Lake Campers Association is looking to staff the High Sierra Family Camp this summer. The camp is located at the west end of Silver Lake, just to the south of State Route 88.

The camp has immediate need for two cooks and one prep cook. An ad in the Gold Country Craigslist reports that the positions run from June 29 to August 2, 2009. The job may be extended to August 17 is there's a need.

In addition to room and board, the cooks are paid $1,800 per month. The monthly salary for the prep cook is $1,600. Submit your resume to silverlakestocktoncamp@gmail.com if interested in one of the positions.

"The Silver Lake Campers Association is a nonprofit group that has worked to support the City of Stockton’s operation of Silver Lake Family Camp for more than 50 years," reports their website. "In the past, the Association has provided 'those little extras' that enhance the Family Camp experience."

City officials recently approved the association's proposal to operate the camp in the wake of the city's decision to not open the facility this year.

Fears that the "facility would fall into disrepair and be subjected to vandalism if the city stopped operating the camp even for a year" prompted the group to shift its focus from fund raising to operating the camp, reported a March 24, 2009 article at Recordnet.com.

The City of Stockton has operated the camp since it opened in 1922 under permit with Eldorado National Forest.

"Wouldn't you like to spend your off time fishing, hiking or just relaxing in this scenic area?" asked the job ad.

Gearing up for fire season

Tanker 88 drops on Division Mike
Originally uploaded by SeabeeCook

To look outside, one wouldn't think that fire season is just around the corner. The past two mornings the thermometer hovered above freezing. And a layer of clouds cooled the Sierra Nevada foothills today.

But Cal Fire's fleet of North American-Rockwell OV-10A air attack aircraft and Grummun S-2T air tankers were busy preparing for fire season. As I listed to one of the air operations frequencies, I heard the pilots talking back and forth as they coordinated practice runs at two target areas.

The pilots of Air Tankers 80, 86, 89, 94 and 95 took turns dropping their loads at practice areas located near Georgetown and Bear Valley. Meanwhile, Air Attacks 120, 340 and 460 were in the air as well.

We'll soon be listening to these same pilots as they drop their cooling loads on real fires over the sky's of El Dorado County.

In the picture, Cal Fire Tanker 88 runs up the center of the 2008 Clay Fire in Placerville, California, and drops its load of fire retardant on Division Mike, a group of fire engines led by Diamond Springs Fire Chief Todd Cunningham (Chief 8100). Division Mike was assigned to suppress the head of the fire as it ran up a ravine toward a cluster of houses.

Don Mason's Dutch oven newsletter

Here's the early spring edition of Don Mason's Dutch oven cooking newsletter. To have a copy emailed directly to you, contact Don at dmason50@att.net.

Howdy From Cee Dub's

Howdy from Cee Dub & Pen:

When I wrote last we were putting the finishing touches on our new cookbook and getting ready for our winter tour. The new book, Gather 'Round the Table with Cee Dub, came off the presses just as we started our tour the third week of January. Our tour consisted of nine different venues in nine weeks. After 80+ demonstrations and 7,000+ miles, we took a couple of weeks off to catch our breath.

Last year's sky-high fuel prices, along with the economic down-turn, has impacted Cee Dub's as it has most small businesses. Shortly after getting back to Texas, both Pen and I were offered full-time employment on a different ranch than the one we'd been at since moving to Texas the fall of 2006. Given the current economic situation it made good sense to accept the offer.

But ... as a result the two clinics currently scheduled for May 2009 will be the only ones we'll have this year. So, with Mother's Day, Father's Day, Graduations, and Weddings coming up, now would be a good time give a gift to your favorite DO cook and sign up.

2009 Clinics, Our New Book, & Tuning Up Dutch Ovens
When I, the author, and Pen, the publisher, send a new manuscript to the printer, the apprehension we feel is somewhat like waiting for the birth of a child before the days of ultra sounds. As with a baby you want it to be perfect.

The printing process takes a certain amount of time and there is nothing the author or publisher can do to make it happen any faster. The editing, tweaking of the manuscript, spell checking, and proof reading is over and there is nothing to do but wait.

The thrill of opening that first box right off the delivery truck and seeing the "baby" for the first time is a very fulfilling moment. But, the apprehension we feel as the "parents" continues until we receive the "reviews."

The cookbooks were literally hot off the press when we set them out on the display table at the start of our first sportsmen's show in Pasco, Washington on January 16, 2009. By the last day of the show some folks had already read the book cover to cover and came back to us with their comments. Trust me we were, and are, as proud as new parents when folks tell us it's our best cookbook yet!

Given the current economic state in the country right now, we believe, as the author and publisher, that it is the right book at the right time. In our travels this winter we talked to lots of folks who want to lower their food costs, and processing one's own meat is a great way to cut costs and end up with a superior product. But, all is not all doom and gloom! The section on Hillbilly Cookin' will bring a smile and show folks just how much fun outdoor cookin' really can be. It's a great addition to any cookbook collection or camp library.

We've been teaching Dutch oven cookin' for twelve years and cannot count the friends we've made in those clinics. More than a few recipes in our cookbooks actually come from folks who have taken our clinics. A personal benefit for Pen and me is the knowledge we gain from the folks who come to attend our clinics.

With us both holding full-time jobs now for the first time in ten years our opportunity to teach clinics will be curtailed. We still have openings in both our Round Top and Hunt, Texas, clinics next month. We're not saying this is your last chance to attend a Cee Dub clinic, but it's a sure thing that we'll be teaching fewer clinics in the foreseeable future.

Register for Your Dutch Oven Clinic

With the weather getting nice, it's time to get those Dutch ovens out of the shed or garage and get them ready for some great new recipes and summer fun. Here are some things I do to tune up our Dutch ovens when they've been in storage a long time.

1. If I smell a rancid grease odor when I remove the lid I place the DO upside down on my propane camp stove and turn the burner on medium heat for 5-10 minutes. It doesn't get hot enough to take the seasoning off but it quickly eliminates that rancid odor.

2. Check the lid fit. If food debris has built up on the inside flange of the lid, just clamp the lid handle in a bench vise and clean the inside flange with a wire brush.

3. Wipe each oven and lid inside and out with a very thin film of Camp Chef Cast Iron Conditioner and you're ready to cook!

Have a great time cooking with your Dutch ovens this summer, try out some new recipes from the new cookbook, and remember to check out our 2009 summer clinics on our website!

May yer grub never burn!

Butch & Pen

VISA spoken here ...

Although I've never spent much time on or near cattle ranches, there's something about the chuckwagon that appeals to me. I could've easily adapted my lifestyle to that of a nineteenth century wagon cook.

Cash is the one thing that has stopped me. Instead, I've settled for a twenty-first century re-creation of chuckbox and modest collect of iron.

As I'm Randy can attest, it's be an expensive hobby. In addition to the wagon, Randy bought a large, two-axle covered trailer to haul the chuckwagon from place to place. That means upgrading his truck to a F350.

Remember, before you venture out and buy an authentic nineteenth century chuckwagon, you must have a VISA card. Otherwise, you'll be singing, "Stuck in Lodi again ...."

Chuckwagon and Dutch ovens at the IDOS Region II DOG

I took my family to the 3rd annual International Dutch Oven Society Dutch Oven Gathering for Region II on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The event was held Saturday at the Stockton Delta KOA campground in Terminous, California, between Rio Vista and Lodi.

According to organizer Gary House, about 100 Dutch oven enthusiasts registered for the three-day event. Many camped in RVs and tents in a section of the campground reserved for the event. Others, like myself, came for the day and cooked for the Dutch oven gathering (known as a DOG) at 6 p.m.

The high point of the day for me was the opportunity to walk around Randy Brown's nineteenth century chuckwagon. The chuckwagon is the original American mobile kitchen.

I didn't get many details from Randy, so you'll have to settle for photos of the chuckwagon.

Randy Brown stands behind Colleen Sloan as she teaches a class. The long canopy could stretch from the chuckbox to the fire pit if necessary. It shaded the cook on long, hot cattle drives on the mid-western prairie and protected the grub from the elements.

The kitchen was located in the back-end of the wagon, where the wagon cook worked. Basic staples, like dried beans, flour and dried apples were stored in the chuckbox in its shelves and drawers. Utensils and some pots and pans were stored in other cubbies. The cook transported larger pots in the boot below the chuckbox.

Every mobile kitchen needs a supply of fresh water. Each time the wagon crossed a creek or river, the cook ladled water into the barrel. I would imagine it helped to scoop water out of the creek long before the cattle crossed.

Mine tailing lupines

Mine tailing lupines
Originally uploaded by SeabeeCook

Lupine wildflowers are especially vibrant this year all around El Dorado County. I've seen them growing along U.S. Highway 50 as easily as they do next to trails and roads.

The tall wildflower, with its cobalt-blue spikes reaching for the sky, seem to grow in most any spot where they can soak up the warm rays of sunlight. I found this patch among a series of old mine tailings from the California Gold Rush.

Widows and religion

Have you read a passage of scripture that was written in the negative and thought, "How does this passage apply to my life?" Other than a brief acknowledgement of its truth, you shrug your shoulders and move on.

But these passages have a way of being elevated into your life through trials like the death of a father. Take 1 Timothy 5:8, for instance. Other than to watch my mother and father care for their mothers in their declining years, I never gave much though to the meaning of Paul's instruction to the young preacher Timothy:

But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8)

The need to "provide for his own" is one truth that brings out one's faith in God. It's the manifestation of that truth this is used to reveal how thoroughly you have embraced your faith. This is especially true when your mother's widowhood is thrust upon you a little faster than desired.

I'm certain these past 18 months since dad's death have impacted myself and my brothers and sisters in different ways. We've all cried at various times since the funeral. And I'm sure that the five, along with our spouses and children, miss dad very much.

But I'm certain of one thing. We all help provide for mom with the skills that God has given us. While it's been a blessing to mom that her three sons live within driving distance, I can never discount the comfort my sisters give mom through their daily phone calls and frequent trips to Diamond Springs.

It doesn't matter if one mows the lawn, another repairs a leaky water faucet or someone leaves a dozen homemade soups in the freezer. Mom appreciates every phone call, every selfless act and every meal. She's expressed these past months that these actions -- all inspired by our love for her -- helped her cope with the loss of her beloved.

God's truth is often brought out in small ways. It's these expressions of faith that please God. James said, "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble ...." (James 1:27).

You may not be faced with the loss of a parent at this stage in your life. But you don't have to wait until your father dies to start practicing of your religion. Start by helping your mother and father today. One day, your mother will be a widow.

Camp cook job search on the Summer Camp Jobs website

The Summer Camp Jobs website gave me many of my initial leads for summer work. I found the website last summer while searching for websites that specialize in summer camp jobs.

As a basic website, Summer Camp Jobs doesn't feature any of the extended capabilities that other sites have. All you can do is to browse the listings. You can't post your resume, for instance, or expect a camp director to contact you through the website.

The nice thing about Summer Camp Jobs is that you the listings are segregated by the 50 U.S. states and 12 Canadian provinces. I checked the pages for California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington often.

After an initial burst of job listings in early winter, new postings to the California page dried up. I was still able to identify about one dozen Northern California camps that were looking for food service staff through the website.

I found the best strategy was to click over to the camp website once I located a potential employer. Camp websites often list their specific job openings, along with the camp philosophy and mission.

This is important because it's important to make sure that you and the camp are a good fit. Many camps look for employees who do more than punch the time clock. They want enthusiastic workers -- even in the kitchen -- who're excited about working at a summer camp.

UP No. 844 rolling in to Roseville yard

UP 844 rolling in to Roseville yard
Originally uploaded by SeabeeCook

Keith Berry and I drove over to Roseville to view the Union Pacific No. 844 roll into town for the weekend.

The large Northern-type was the last steam locomotive built and delivered to the UP. With a 4-8-4 wheel arrangement and massive 80-inch drivers, the locomotive was used in fast passenger train service from 1944 to 1957. It then spent its last days in active service pulling freight trains.

The Union Pacific saved the engine from the scrapper's torch in 1960. It now tours the country as a living legacy to the days of steam.

The 844 is one of 45 Northerns built by the American Locomotive Company for the UP. Of the four reamining Northers, the 844 is the only one that steams under its own power.

The Chef Apprentice blog

I've added a new blog to my daily reading list, one that's worth reading. The blog is found at the Sacramento Bee website.

The Chef Apprentice chronicles "self-taught cook" Stuart Leavenworth's internship at Oliveto, an upscale Italian restaurant in Oakland, "known ... for its traditional Italian dishes made from local, seasonal products with the clarity of a great kitchen."

"I plan to profile the chefs and employees at Oliveto and the farmers who supply the restaurant," said Leavenworth in the paper's Food and Wine Section blog Wednesday.

Leavenworth will note his "trials and errors" over the next six months. He promises to record his experience as he applies skills he mastered at home to the restaurant world.

I'm certain we'll see a few painful lesions. His first -- one that almost ended his internship -- came as Leavenworth jammed the short tip of an unfamiliar paring knife into his left thumb.

The accident happened as he practiced "turning" a potato, a technique new to Leavenworth. To turn a potato, the cook makes a series of cuts with a special paring knife to simultaneously trim and shape the potato into the shape of a barrel or football.

Then there'll be occasions where Leavenworth, a novice to the fast-paced world of restaurant cooking, will bring his culinary skill to the plate.

Quick thinking by Leavenworth saved a pricey lamb dish at the restaurant. Of course, he's the one who almost sent the braised lamb with "an intensely flavored sauce" into the garbage in the first place.

Leavenworth sprinkled too much salt on the meat as he seared the lamb in a large fry pan. Once he pulled the braise from the oven, the chef tasted the stock and declared, "Too salty."

"If the stock was slightly salty now, it would be way to salty once reduced," observed Leavenworth.

This is where the "self-taught" part of being a cook comes in to play. Leavenworth understood the basic principle of culinary reductions. And he knew to save the dish meant he'd have to "take out some of the stock, and add something to reduce the salt."

Leavenworth suggested wine, while the chef said cream would do the trick. The chef added both and a dish was saved.

"This is going to be a wild and unpredictable journey," said Leavenworth. "I hope you'll join me, five days a week."

It's nice to read a blog where the author writes with the style and technique of a journalist, but has the heart of a cook. Leavenworth's passion for his second craft clearly comes through.

Join me as I read The Chef Apprentice each day. The time stamp on the blog indicates that he'll write most entries late at night, long after the Italian eatery has closed for the day.

If this week's entries are an indicator of his future writing, his passion for cooking and his new experience in a restaurant kitchen, will come through.

Memorial service at sea

CS3 Craig deployed "onboard the USS John C. Stennis for a 6 to 8 month deployment to the western Pacific Ocean," reported The BS Blog: Bill, Stew and friends .... "

"Deploying with my son are the ashes of my wife’s late father, 'Chief of the Boat' William F. Heffelmire, for burial at sea.

"We were fortunate to have a family member deploying at this time. It was Heff's wishes to be buried at sea. Hugh and 'Grumpy' (as the grandkids called him) were quite fond of each other. Hugh would often stop by to visit Grumpy after school to play cards, or for a game of pool in the basement.

"Although Heff was a sub sailor, I don’t think he would mind his final deployment being on a surface ship, as long as he was with family."

PACIFIC OCEAN (April 8, 2009) -- Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Hugh Craig, from Bremerton, Wash., eulogizes his grandfather, Chief of the Boat William Heffelmire, during a memorial service in the ship's chapel aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). Stennis is on a scheduled six-month deployment to the western Pacific Ocean.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Josue L. Escobosa.

New boots ...

Since I intend to wear my new boots on the job this summer, I started the break-in process with a brisk walk down to Webber Creek this afternoon.

That new boot smell
Originally uploaded by SeabeeCook

I've always like the idea of shopping in local stores for goods and services. While I thing some go to far with the concept, it does add to the charm and character of the community when you patronize local restaurants and shops.

I've searched for a local shoe store for some time. Just when I though I'd have to settle of the Big 5 store in town, our local shoe repair guy told be about Evergreen Footwear.

As I picked a pair of my steel-toed Seabee combat boots this morning, I asked cobbler Walt Grace to refer me to a shoe store. I needed a pair of boots for work and hiking for my job this summer.

At first, Walt pointed me to Arian's Supply Sergeant on Main Street. Although I buy my annual pair of Levis 501 blue jeans in the surplus store, the referral didn't thrill me. I don't see Arian's as a shoe store.

As we talked, Walt quickly mentioned Evergreen Footwear. Located across Broadway from Save Mart in Placerville. While the shoe store seems to cater to women, it does have a fair selection of men's shoes, including a new offering of Wolverine boots.

Camp cook job search on the ACA website

I used four websites in my search for a summer camp job. These sites helped me locate camps, especially camps within my target area of Northern California. I also learned what camps were looking for a chef or head cook.

Although I didn't limit my job search to the four websites, I relied on these four sites:

1. American Camp Association
2. Christian Camp and Conference Association
3. SummerCampJobs.com
4. CampStaff.com

While three of the sites generated job leads, I included the first on the list because it provided much information over the past two years. Email job alerts from the American Camp Association Employment Center proved valuable in the 2007 and 2008. Although I wasn't looking for summer work at the time, the alerts gave me an idea the type of camps out there.

I initially posted my resume to the Employment Center during the week that I retired. After posting my employment objective and work experience in August, I went back over the next two or three weeks and refined my information and added additional information.

Unfortunately, the ACA Employment Center didn't generate and contacts for the 2009 summer camp season. The economy could be to blame as I saw several interesting job openings in 2007 and 2008. The first (and only to date) job alert didn't arrive in my inbox until the end of March.

I went to the site every week between December and March to search for food service jobs. Until mid-March, all advertised job were located east of the Mississippi River. As of today, a search for food service jobs only brought up 23 openings, with over two-thirds located in the East and Midwest.

I plan to use the search service next year when I start my search for the 2010 camp season. I may've selected an off year to use the ACA website.

However, if all goes well this summer, I won't need to search for a job next year. One of my goals this year was to locate a camp with which I could establish a long-term relationship.

Cookin' in the Park

Comfort's galley ensures crew is ready for action

Here's a story that Tyrone will appreciate. He spent the better part of one and one-half years directing culinary operations on the hospital ship African Mercy.

The Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort operates under joint arrangement where civilian merchant mariners operate, navigate and maintain the ship. The ship-board hospital is operated by Navy medical officers, hospital corpsmen and support personnel.

By Airman 1st Class Benjamin Stratton

USNS COMFORT, At Sea (NNS) (April 6, 2009) -- The USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) galley is responsible for feeding more than 800 people during its four-month humanitarian mission to Latin America and the Caribbean during Continuing Promise 2009.

Many people may be surprised to know how important the galley crews are to the successful completion of the mission when it comes to keeping the crew's morale high and appetite at bay.

"Without the Sailors working in the galley, we can't accomplish our mission," said Lt. j.g. Evan Toatley, Comfort food service officer. "If you want to defeat any army or navy, you have to cut off their supply route and their food. Therefore, the food operation is pivotal. Just as keeping up with the steady metabolism of the crew is an important aspect to the galley's mission it also provides a chance for the crew to relax and "de-stress."

"Three meals a day are the only opportunity a lot of people have to take time and relax," said Chief Culinary Specialist Ranilo Fernandez, Comfort's leading chief petty officer of the galley. "It is a time the crew can get away from the monotony of everyday work.

"These three meals are the time the culinary specialists are in the spotlight. It is their opportunity to showcase their skills and contributions to the mission of what the crew calls, "America's most prestigious ship."

"We are the leaders of the pack," said Seaman Apprentice Crystal Waters, Comfort food service attendant. "Most of us are hospitalman apprentices who came over from Bethesda (National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda). So this isn't our primary job, but we'll do what we can to complete the mission."

"My Sailors have expertise, motivation and drive and really enjoy what they do," said Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Daniel Andriach. "I put a lot of trust in them. There are times when I place an E-2 in charge of the beverage and salad bar line, and they perform their duties time and time again better than any I've seen in my more than twenty-year career.

"There are many jobs involved in feeding the crew of the Comfort. In addition to serving food, Sailors work in the dish room, supply room, preparation, deep wash and administration.

"My favorite thing about our job is getting to know every single crew member," he said. "We get to meet every officer and enlisted crew member who comes through the line." said Culinary Specialist 1st Class Keerat-Vijay Singh, leading galley petty officer.

The first to wake and the last to sleep, the galley crew runs a 24-hour operation and deserve many thanks and smiles, according to Singh.

"We really appreciate all their hard work and dedication to this crew and our mission," Singh said.

From enlisted to officer to non-governmental organizations and international partners, the galley crew meet and greet many people from all walks of life.

"We need to show our appreciation for the galley kids," said Navy Capt. James J. Ware, Comfort medical treatment facility manager. "The success of our mission stems from nutritious meals to outstanding customer service."

Using summer camp websites

My new summer office at Loon Lake
Originally uploaded by SeabeeCook

This information might help anyone who's searching for a summer camp job. Camps are now making hiring decisions from the applications that they received earlier this year.

While it's too late to apply for many camp jobs, there are always camps that are still looking to fill positions. In past years, I've seen late-spring pleas from camp directors who desperately need to locate a camp chef. (Bookmark and follow the ACA Message Board for such late-breaking requests.)

It never hurts to contact camp directors and ask about openings. Even though the job market dries up as the calendar advances toward June, candidates do turn down job offers. Jobs remain open for a variety of reasons.

I used four websites that connect job hunters to prospective summer camp jobs. Although I found a number of similar websites, I found these four were the easiest to use.

These sites don't focus on any one job speciality or skill, like food services. Any potential staff member can use these sites. This includes camp director and leadership positions, counselors and unit staff, program specialsts, food service, maintenance and front office staff.

The websites are:

1. American Camp Association
2. Christian Camp and Conference Association
3. SummerCampJobs.com
4. CampStaff.com

In the coming week, I'll critique the four websites. Just note that my critique won't be all-inclusive since my job-search focused on one career path and only involved a limited number of camps.

Instead, it'll give you my thought on how to use these sites. I'm sure someone will be able to learn from my experience.

More zucchini

My sister highlighted a common problem when working with zucchini. It gives up a lot of moisture when using it in cooking and baking dishes.

"I tried the idea of using long slices of zucchini (in lasagna)," said Elizabeth in her email Wednesday. "Just remember that it will weep out a lot of water. I actually had to tip the dish out and drain a lot of liquid out before we could eat it."

She's right. Zucchini will leach as much as 20 percent of its weight in water when salted, according to the editors of Cook's Illustrated. That's about three tablespoons of water per pound of zucchini.

As Elizabeth noted, no one wants to eat a water-logged lasagna. Although her lasagna "tasted fine," it was a "hassle" draining the liquid from the pan.

My Monday blog, "Ideas for stuffed zucchini," suggested several ways to use up a bumper crop of zucchini this summer.

Since zucchini is about 95 percent water, the cook must find a way to leach out excess moisture for some zucchini dishes. Moist dishes, like muffins or zucchini and tomatoes, don't require any additional processing.

Although the baker can adjust the amount of water or milk in a muffin or bread recipe to compensate, most baking recipes should be okay.

In sauteed zucchini, the summer squash becomes soggy as it steams in its own water. Water dilutes the oil in the skillet and cools the dish. The sauteed dish overcooks before excess moisture evaporates and the pan has a chance to heat up again.

Properly leached, the zucchini will brown, a process that adds much-needed flavor. The zucchini quickly cooks while the natural sugars caramelize. Any water that hits the pan evaporates quickly.

I can think of two ways to drive moisture from zucchini, eggplant and similar vegetables -- salting and roasting. Both methods leach excess moisture from the squash, just in different ways.

Use the salting technique when preparing the vegetable for further cooking, especially for quick cooking methods like sauteing for stir frying. Roasting is best used when the zucchini will be used as an ingredient in a casserole or layered dish, like a lasagna.

Salting zucchini
After slicing the zucchini as desired, lay it in a colander, sprinkling kosher salt between the layers. Set the colander over a bowl to catch the water. Use 1 tablespoon kosher salt for each 1-1/2 pounds sliced zucchini (about 4 medium zucchinis).

Set aside for 30 minutes. Remove zucchini from colander and brush salt off. Cook as desired.

I favor kosher over table salt because the large grains are easily brushed off the zucchini. Don't salt the finished dish until you taste it.

Roasting zucchini
This technique does two things: It drives excess moisture out and adds flavor to an otherwise bland vegetable. Slice or dice zucchini as desired, toss with olive oil, salt, ground black pepper and minced garlic.

Spread in one layer on one or more oiled sheet pans and bake in a pre-heated 450-degree oven for about 35 minutes, or until golden. Adjust color by removing the zucchini sooner or leaving it in the oven a bit longer.

I plan to test one or two zucchini recipes in the next week. I'll post recipes and photographs for vegetable lasagna and sauteed zucchini.

Chemical warfare

This was one of my least favorite activities during my 20 years service in the U.S. Navy Seabees ...

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (March 25, 2009) -- Lt. Cmdr. Ferdinand Herrera fastens a chemical, biological and radiological suit for Culinary Specialist 1st Class Victor Rojas during a recent Amphibious Construction Battalion 1 field exercise. The exercise focuses on controlled tactical training scenarios demonstrating the battalion's primary mission to support real-time ship-to-shore operations in a hostile environment.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Brian Morales.

Ideas for stuffed zucchini

Zucchini is one of those summer vegetables that multiply like weeds. Plant a couple plants in the garden and you're soon rewarded with bushels of the summer squash.

You harvest much more than you can eat. At first your friends welcome the fruit, but soon run when they see you coming. Most quickly tire of the vegetable unless you know 101 ways to cook it.

I plan to purchase a box of zucchini every week or two this summer for my camp job. Since the kids and staff will only eat so much in salads, I need to work on ideas to use the zucchini. My creamy zucchini basil soup will help use up several pounds and as will zucchini bread.

While I often peruse cookbooks and magazines, I get more ideas while watching Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. It's amazing how your brain can take in an image in a flash and process it into a collection of ideas.

Tonight's idea came as I caught a lead-in to one of the segments on Guy Fieri's weekly show on the Food Network. In a three-second glance, the chef lifted a stuffed zucchini from the baking dish and set it on the plate.

My first though was to cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the meat on both halves. Almost any filling -- especially vegetarian -- will work. I can either bake the halves or put them back together and bake the zucchini whole.

I figure that I can also hollow the squash out with a long, thin tool and stuff them with a piping bag and plain tip. Here are several stuffing ideas that I came up with while watching the show:

• Softened cream cheese with Parmesan, garlic and hot sauce
• Sauteed spinach, crimini mushroom and bread crumbs
• Sauteed onion, garlic and chopped zucchini pulp folded into seasoned bread crumbs
• Filling for stuffed bell peppers (usually rice)
• Any pizza ingredients (meat or otherwise)

I'm not sure if I'll have to parboil the zucchini yet. It should be a simple dish that can be prepared with a bit of elegance for hungry campers and staff. And, as you can see, stuffed zucchini is easily adapted to a vegetarian entree.

What are your ideas for filling the summer vegetable?

Grilled portobella mushroom caps

Earlier this month I reported on Tyrone's working job interview. He is currently looking for work as a chef in the California Bay Area.

After spending the last year and a half directing kitchen operations on the African Mercy, Tyrone moved to the San Francisco Peninsula, where his wife was recently employed as a nurse.

Tyrone was chef for the 499-foot hospital ship, where he fed a crew from 30 nations. His wife, Stephanie, worked on the ship as an operating room nurse.

His first interview consisted of an all-day demonstration of his culinary skills. The venue -- kitchen and dining room of a Stanford University residence hall -- gave Tyrone a chance to demonstrate his culinary skill to house managers and residents.

Tyrone walked into the "kitchen like I had always been there, checked in vendors and the laundry man, started prepping and cooking after getting oriented with the kitchen." His main test came as he cooked lunch and dinner for the house residents.

Large grilled portobella mushroom caps complimented roasted chuck bottom round on the dinner menu. The less carnivorous residents enjoyed a meaty vegetarian alternative to the red meat entree.

I asked Tyrone how he prepared the portobella caps. I figured his explanation would help me add one more vegetarian dish to my repertory for camp this summer.

"I was prepared to make my own marinade when I spotted some ginger-balsamic vinaigrette in the pantry," explained Tyrone.

After breaking the steams off and cleaning the steak-sized mushroom caps, he submerged them in clean water. "I don't buy that mushrooms soaking up all that water theory," said Tyrone.

A bath in the marinade for two hours imparted flavor from the ginger-balsamic vinaigrette. He stacked the caps upside-down in a large see-through container. The caps "held (the marinade) like saucers," said Tyrone.

Tyrone then baked the portobellas in the oven before giving them a quick sear on the flat-top griddle. The sugars in the marinade carmalized as mushrooms sizzled on the griddle.

A final drizzle with reserved mushroom juices added a last-minute burst of flavor for the portobellas as they waited for hungry diners in the chafing dish.

Pizza night at sea

Looking back at my seagoing days in the 1970s, the cooks rarely made fresh pizza dough. Most of our pizzas on the USS Stein (DE-1065) were made using pre-baked pizza shells, either purchased frozen or prepared by the ship's baker.

PACIFIC OCEAN (March 20, 2009) Aerographer's Mate 3rd Class Leah Katz, a member of the 3&2 Association, and Culinary Specialist Seaman Recruit Brandi Porter prepare a pizza aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) for a pizza night sponsored by the 3&2 Association. The 3&2 Association is an organization comprised of 3rd and 2nd class petty officers that strive to make a positive impact on the crew by holding events like pizza night. Ronald Reagan and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 14 are underway conducting a sustainment exercise in the Pacific Ocean.

U.S. Navy photo By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Chelsea Kennedy.

A pot of beans

I love beans. I can't say it any better than that.

But I haven't always had this love affair with beans. Growing up in the California's San Joaquin Valley in the 1960s, beans came in two forms -- canned re-fried beans on Taco night and my mom's Boston baked beans.

Despite her professed dislike of beans, my mother made a mean pot of baked beans, the kind bathed in a slow oven for hours. I don't think she's made them in a decade or more.

I didn't discover the true world of beans until I enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1970. Then it took two years until I advanced in my career as a Navy cook to the point where I could cook in the pots (coppers to the Navy cook).

Even then, my bean education wasn't complete. Chief Brown, the engineering department's leading chief on the U.S.S. Cocopa, instructed this young seagoing cook in the ways of pinto bean cookery one lazy Saturday morning when most of the crew had slipped ashore for liberty.

Born and raised in the South, Chief Brown wasn't going to let this inexperienced cook ruin a pot of his favorite legume. At this point, a man who normally found in one of two places -- in engine room babying the tugboat's four large 16-cylinder Alco locomotive engines or fishing off the fantail in port – had become the Cocopa's master chef.

The chief, dressed in a set of Navy-grey coveralls, stepped into the galley and checked the water level in the beans. He propped his khaki chief's cap on the back of his head and scolded me.

Beans don't cook without water, the chief barked. Most of the water had evaporated from the pot. My theory on bean cookery -- pot beans should be crunchy like green beans -- didn't set well with the man.

My bean cooking technique has improved since that long summer in the South China Sea. I learned to cook beans (along with many other comfort foods) for the crew.

Today, I love to eat a basic pot of beans, one seasoned with chopped meat from a ham hock, sweet onion, cumin and Old Bay. They're the perfect accompiment to almost any meal.

POT BEANS

Substitute pinto, pink, red or black beans for pink beans. Adjust cooking time to the variety. Pinto beans will take 1-1/2 to 2 hours while red and black beans take about 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Substitute chopped meat for ham hock if desired.

10 portions for the home kitchen:
1 pound pink beans
1 small ham hock
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
2-3 teaspoons ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seafood seasoning
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 bay leaf
Crushed red pepper, to taste

50 portions for the camp kitchen:
5 pounds pink beans
1-2 pounds chopped meat (ham hock, ham, bacon as desired)
2 pounds chopped sweet onion
4 tablespoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons Old Bay Seafood seasoning
4 teaspoons dried oregano
4 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

Pick over beans, removing discolored beans and foreign matter. Wash beans thoroughly and drain.

Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil in stockpot and boil 2 to 3 minutes. Cut heat and soak, covered, for 1 hour.

Add onions, ham hock and seasonings. Do not salt beans until you taste the broth after the ham hock has cooked about 15 to 20 minutes.

Reduce heat and cover. Simmer 1 hour or until beans are just tender. Add more water if necessary to cover beans.

Five pounds of beans makes about 7-1/2 quarts and serves 50 (1/2-cup) portions.

NOTE: This recipe uses the quick soak method. If desired, use the traditional method:

Step 1 - Pour cold water over the beans to cover.
Step 2 - Soak beans for 8 hours or overnight.
Step 3 - Drain beans and discard soak water (cold water starts the rehydration process slowly so beans will appear wrinkled after soaking).
Step 4 - Rinse beans with fresh, cool water.

From the Northharvest Bean Growers Association: Soaking softens and returns moisture to dry-packaged beans, and reduces cooking time. Soaking also makes beans easier to digest by breaking down the oligosaccharides -- the indigestible sugars that cause flatulence.

During the soaking process beans will rehydrate to at least two to three times their dry size, so it is important to begin with a large pot. A longer soaking time (up to four hours) allows a greater amount of gas-causing properties to dissolve in water, making beans more easily digestible. After soaking, rinse and cook beans in fresh water.