My Role with the Project

 I am one of two cooks at the MDS project here in Paradise.  My assistant is Josie Swartzentruber, not Swartzendruber like my relatives.  Our task is to fix breakfast and dinner for the rest of the crew.  We also set out items that the crews pack for their lunches.  Lunch is actually the first item of business.  As assistant cook, Josie is responsible for putting out the lunch fixin's.  I did that for 5 weeks up in Grand Forks, BC two years ago at this same time of year.  It is probably the toughest of our tasks, since she has to set it up before 6 a.m., and take it down by 6:30-ish so she can transition to helping set up breakfast.  During that time, I would be starting coffee and anything that takes a lot of time, like breakfast casserole.  Once the lunch items are put away, we start putting out things like a fruit tray, and other cold items.  Breakfast is out and ready to roll no later than 7 a.m.  

After breakfast, we clean up, get dishwashers going, and sit down to review the plan for the rest of the day.  If we need groceries, we try to head out after lunch.  Groceries are at least 30% more expensive out here than what I am used to in Richmond.  Once we are back, we might need to start any items that take a long time, like lasagna.  We usually try to put things like that together ahead of time, so we can out them in the oven at just the right time.  Setting up dinner is the same as for breakfast.  Every night there must be meat and potatoes, or meat and pasta.  After dinner, we have some kind of dessert. 

During all meals, we make sure everything is kept stocked, and then go through at the end of the line.  During my time in Grand Forks I usually didn't have time to eat, because the Project Director there had a very autocratic style, and once he started our morning devotional time, eating had to stop, and that usually gave me about 5 minutes to eat.  I lost about 15 pounds during those 5 weeks.  Our Project Director at Paradise is much more perceptive, and would never start until everyone is finished.

Due to COVID concerns, we have found it more practical to eat outside, where the weather here has usually cooperated.  It has been too hot a couple evenings. 

 There is also a big problem with yellowjackets.  Today I bought some yellowjacket traps and put them up.  the wasps were swarming around them within minutes.

After dinner and dessert, it is once again cleanup time.  We are working out of what used to be an assisted-living complex, and we are quartered in duplexes.  The kitchens are the size one's mother (like Ruby Lehman) might use for fixing light meals.  Definitely not big enough for mass production.  Because of that, we also use the kitchen in the unit next door, where I happen to be staying.  My kitchen has a dishwasher that can wash taller items, so we sort out the dishes by size, and I roll everything over on a cart to load them into my washer.  I also have done some baking in my kitchen, which makes it easier for me to watch bread rising and baking.  It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it 😎.

Breakfast main dishes this week were Sausage and egg casserole, pancake and bacon, ham and eggs, french toast and bacon, and sausage and eggs.  My cinnamon rolls also made an appearance on Friday.

Dinners were Spaghetti and meatballs, chicken stir-fry with almonds, sloppy joes, a hamburger cookout, and lasagna.  I didn't remember to take many pictures of the meals, but I did get a peach pie I made, as well as the cinnamon rolls.