ZIL members were walking around their new home, examining everything. Naz, Marilyn and Riley probably had the most to do right away since they had to see to the functioning of the airship. Angel also examined the stores, since apart from being the cleaning lady she would also see to the cold weather equipment. Stacy took stock of the victuals and supplies since she was the cook. This took longer than expected but confirmed to Stacy that their Benefactors had good organization or at least experience with supplying research expeditions. This ship had indeed been stocked with enough food for five people for a year.
Since she was the home economist, Stacy decided she would run the kitchen and stores in a revolving-door style. Her target was always to maintain three months’ worth of supplies on board. This was necessary because during winter months mobility and transportation might be reduced. The Benefactors had also hinted that some of their research and data gathering projects might require staying in the same location for some time.
So Stacy decided that she would use fresh ingredients whenever possible, while quietly using up a steady stream of dried, frozen or preserved ingredients on a 50-50 basis. After the first year and a half was over the preserved or dried stuff would probably be reduced to a three month supply. From then, Stacy would also buy a variety of new dried, frozen and preserved supplies periodically. So new supplies would be coming in to replace older supplies long before the foods expired.
XXX
Standing in the kitchen for the first time, Stacy considered what she should do.
There was a lot of fresh stuff on the kitchen counters and the kitchen island, but the dining table itself was bare.
Russian custom was to lay the table with bread and salt. This made the home more welcoming.
It wasn’t Stacy’s custom to do that. Living alone for long periods meant there wouldn’t be enough people to eat the bread, and it would go bad. Having five people now didn’t make a full difference either. Because the five were from different cultures, and not everybody would appreciate eating the same bread all the time.
Russians might lay out rye bread, but Stacy didn’t have a specific desire for rye bread. It was just another food option for her, albeit a superior option to white bread because it was healthier.
Wait, is there anything perishable…
All right. So the people who prepared this ship had supplied it with two loaves of white bread and two of black bread, a string of sushki, a stack of lavash in a bag… pretty much one week’s worth of bread supplies right off.
White bread first, Stacy decided.
This wasn’t her preferred choice, because she rarely consumed white bread. But white bread was likely to go bad first, so a wise ship’s cook should use it up first.
In any case the bread on the shelves and hanging up needed to be consumed without delay, so she felt that black bread, which kept longer, could be delayed.
Another thing that couldn’t keep any longer – dinnertime. Since they had many things to do earlier in the day, it was already past two. Stacy had to make wise choices fast.
First Meal – Chickpeas
First meal on board the MMM, the ZIL members were unexpectedly treated to something that wasn’t very common in the ex-USSR.
“Wait, what is that?” Riley’s thin blonde eyebrows knitted together. “I seem to have seen…”
“I know, it’s healthy food!” Naz said. “Hummus!”
“That’s hummus?” Angel looked as though she wasn’t familiar with this food.
“It’s from chickpeas.”
“Thought it’s a middle eastern thing.”
“Funny thing is, Russia and Ukraine are among the biggest exporters of chickpeas. To the Middle East,” Stacy said.
“Wait, so the stuff that is indigenous to Arabs, is – or could – actually be Russian in origin?”
“Farmers respond to demand. Arabs don’t produce enough, and Russia produces the variety of chickpea they like – the kabuli – so the Arabs buy from Russia.”
“Then we eat it with…”
“We’ve got some greens, and these need to be eaten within a few days. So let’s dab on some hummus, wrap the lavash in the cilantro and parsley, and roll them up!” Stacy said.
Naz didn’t look sure. “Um, where is the cheese?”
“There’s plenty of cheeses. In the fridge, on the kitchen counter and in the freezer. All unopened,” Stacy said. “But since cheese keeps a bit, but hummus only lasts a week in the fridge, I figured we should start with the food that needs to be eaten more quickly.”
Stacy worried that Naz might not accept this. But Naz was always one to try new things. She swiftly arranged some greens among the hummus and rolled up the lavash with highly practiced fingers.
Riley had not yet moved. “How is it?”
“It’s all right,” Naz mumbled with her mouth full.
Now that ZIL’s most epicurean member had given her stamp of approval, the rest began eating.
This wasn’t any particular achievement by Stacy, since the food had needed minimal preparation. But a ship’s cook has to do more than cook food. She also has to monitor the stocks of food, arrange for dietary variety and healthfulness, manage the fresh food stocks and use up stuff before it deteriorated, and so on. This was as good a start as any.
…
The ZIL members chatted a bit. Stacy waited a bit nervously, since she was the cook and didn’t want to disappoint her comrades. But everyone appreciated having variety. So Stacy decided she could continue as the cook. Maybe she could introduce her team to different kinds of foods, or innovative tastes. That could be fun.