Weir in PNG

The Food Post

Caleb here again. I love food. A good meal can change my outlook on life! I can be the most depressing pessimist until I eat fried chicken, then I wax eloquent on the goodness of man. If I'm having a particularly rough day, some meatloaf and macaroni and cheese will set me right. While I don't call myself a foodie, and I don't care to watch Rachael Ray or Emerile, I do enjoy quality and flavor! So, in light of food's profound effects on me, I was particularly concerned about the challenges of eating well here, even before we arrived.
Let us start with a quick rundown of some known challenges: Getting meat of the same quality as home is tough to do and very expensive. Furthermore, most of the food comes out of Australia and is different enough in packaging, sizing, and price to cause confusion. The fresh fruits and veggies are great but have to be bleached before consuming. (When you find your first broccoli-worm you'll understand!) Lastly, there are no restaurants readily at hand so you are either cooking it yourself, or you are at someone's house who is cooking it for you!
Traditional PNG cooking varies from lowlands to highlands, but you can pretty much count on getting kaukau, garden greens, rice and plantains in some form or another at every meal. Cooking is done over open fires with wood. (on a side note, we regularly use as firewood, tropical hardwoods that would cost 7 dollars a board-foot back home!) You southerners will be glad to hear that sweet tea is big here on the coast! But, because of the British, everybody drinks it hot and with milk! Oh, my kingdom for some ice!
Let's move on to the food situation here at POC. First of all, I've told you before that it is a cafeteria setup with a kitchen that is built to serve 50 or so people. The challenges of refrigeration and cooking in a place with regular losses of electricity have dictated the use of unique methods of managing the kitchen. The massive stove is wood-fired, as is the large drum-oven. There are several chest freezers and a walk-in refrigerator. There is also another large natural gas range. The nearest supermarket is in Madang, about 30 minutes away by car. All non-perishables and goods can be bought there, and all veggies and fruits are purchased at the market. Sometimes, you can't find what you are looking for, because the ship or truck carrying the shipment hasn't arrived yet.
Missy is the kitchen boss. She manages a team of 3 kitchen ladies that make sure we are well fed during the week. (Weekends are haus kuk time where we do all our own cooking outside.) She does all the planning, shopping, teaching, and recipe-gathering. She's been working here for 5 years and is from Australia. She is a good cook and really manages the chaos well! But all is not as it seems... Substitution is the name of the game in cooking in PNG! None of those fancy methods and ingredients here! Keep it simple stupid! Spaghetti. Easy, right? Noodles, sauce, some ground beef... No, wait. Make that Corned Beef! How about some pizza? Homemade dough, some pizza sauce from a jar... couldn't find that so we'll go with olive oil and garlic and oregano. Time for some cheese. No mozzarella, or any shredded cheese, so we'll go with some individual slices of Kraft cheddar. For topping, "Oh there's the ground beef!"
While I have taken some artistic license with these "recipes", they are grounded in the truth of the challenges of being a food-lover here! It is possible to get what you want, and certainly what you need, but it will not look the same, and most times it won't taste the same. All of you that have traveled abroad and purchased a Coke have experienced a microcosm of this phenomena!
Now, lest you think that we are wasting away to nothing, let me tell you about tea. Every day at10am, we have tea, in the British sense of the word. Drinks and a light snack, usually some PNG brand crackers. After lunch, somewhere around 3 or four, tea happens again. We then eat dinner around 6. So we are not starving. I must say this though. If you are a picky eater, POC would be hard for you. Missy does a good job of putting local produce into the meals. She makes just enough of the main dish that leaves everyone wanting more, but there is no more to be had! You have to eat your veggies if you want to be full! This doesn't bother us, but it is really taking a toll on some of the others! Meals have included, pumpkin soup and bread, pizza, stir fry and rice, peanut sauce chicken over rice, Mexican-style lasagna, roast chicken, quiche, pancakes, tuna and/or egg salad sandwiches, and others. There are always sides of fruit and vegetables to round it out. Deserts!
are rare, but there has been plenty of birthdays, which means some sort of cake and ice cream! I find I am quite content with the food here, even if I miss my favorites from back home!
You should also remember that cooking for such a large group requires cost-saving measures just as it would at home. When we get to Ukarumpa, we'll return to our regular menu from home with a few new additions and deletions!

Bon Apetite!