Happy Thanksgiving!! Thanksgiving aboard the Healy...I'm so thankful for my family, boyfriend, friends, students and colleagues at home supporting this PolarTREC experience. I'm thankful for the Crew of the Healy who are keeping us safe and warm during this voyage. I'm thankful to the scientists who have taken me onto their team and are providing me with the opportunity to do “real science”.
Shiny Stainless steel galley
Many people have asked...what are you having for Thanksgiving? Our Thanksgiving menu was Roasted Turkey, Baked Ham, Mashed potatoes and Gravy, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Stuffing, Glazed Carrots, Corn, Green Beans, Rolls, Pie and Ice Cream. This is very much like what my family will be eating back in Ohio.
Thanksgiving Feast!! Yes - that's TWO Pieces of pie!
Because we will be feasting today, I thought it would be appropriate to write about the Galley. The “Galley” is what you call the kitchen aboard a ship. The Galley on the Healy is state of the art and very large for a ship this size. FS2 Bondurant gave me a “behind the scenes tour” so that I could see how the mess staff prepares such great meals for the 114 people aboard.
Turkeys for Thanksgiving!! They were perfect!
The first thing that strikes you in the galley is that everything is stainless steel and clean! The layout of the galley is a square, so you can walk around the perimeter of the room and have nearly everything within steps. If we start at the entrance and walk through, I can show you the main pieces of equipment. There is a very large griddle that they use to make “made to order eggs” in the morning, pancakes, grilled cheese, etc.
The griddle for our made to order eggs in the morning!
Many of the foods require a deep fat fryer – like french fries, tater tots, hash brown patties, and Jalepeno poppers! This is an industrial sized fryer!
HUGE deep fat fryer...jalapeno poppers tomorrow!
Nearly every day we have biscuits, rolls, cakes, cookies or something that requires the use of a mixer. This is the largest mixer I have ever seen!
The biggest mixer I have EVER seen!
There are four ovens in the Galley. These ovens are state of the art and have a computer screen that allows you to choose your setting. I was especially interested in the ovens as I wondered how they were going to roast all of the turkeys for Thanksgiving Dinner! SNFS Young explained the computer system to me...thanks Zach!
SNFS Young showing off the state of the art ovens
This Steam Jacket Kettle (SKJ) allows you to cook all of the pasta needed for an entire crew a meal at one time!
Large Steam Jacket Kettle (SKJ) - it can prepare enough pasta for the entire crew's meal at one time!
There are also two smaller SKJ's that can be used to cook smaller quantities. Thank you FS2 Bonderant for my tour!
FS2 Bonderant and 2 small SKJs
Stay tuned as we continue our exciting voyage on the USCG Cutter Healy. Until then...
Healy in the ice...another gorgeous view!
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever” - Mohandas Gandhi