Saturday night in Antarctica

"Saturday night went well...........

Tony (Summering/sous chef and all round nice guy) and I spent the whole day getting ready for dinner with little interruptions such as breakfast, smoko and lunch getting in the way.

The dining room was converted into a restaurant style eatery. Blackout boards where put up to stop the sun coming through. White tablecloths, wine glasses, frilled napkins, candles, small cheese boards, mini bread rolls, butter and a whole lot of thought where placed upon the tables.

The kitchen was in full swing right up to and including the first half hour of dinner. Fillet of beef with peppered prawns, chicken stuffed with bacon and camembert , pumpkin risotto with pine nuts, parmesan and truffle oil, steamed asparagus with hollandaise, duchess potatoes and carrots filled the bain marie. Next to the hot food came mixed berry and chocolate mousse served in old school sundae glasses, mixed fruit sponge balls dipped in white chocolate encrusted with coconut and one of the best lemon meringue pies tasted on this earth.

Before the expeditioners tasted all this they had predinner drinks with nibbles (peanuts in the shell, corn chips etc....), so by the time dinner was in full swing ..............so were most peoples equilibriums. A good night was had by all............and well into the next morning.

I started today (Sunday) by making 100 english muffins ready for tomorrows smoko. Then I went on to make ham and cheese quiche, Spanish omelette, chicken filo pie, Moroccan bbq leg of lamb, beef stew, roast potatoes, fruit and herb cous cous, cauliflower, potato and leek soup (without the leek......none down here.............though it still tasted great) chocolate self saucing pudding and jelly. I also did confit of duck ready for Monday. 

It was the first time I have made English muffins..... I was very stoked with the results. I’ll post a recipe as soon as I tweek it to what I’m gonna use for the rest of the year.

Its about 12 percent humidity inside the station....very dry............................great for meringue, bad for skin. I have done a couple of washes now and hung the clothes up in my room (donga), this has halved the amount of water I’m drinking at night. Now its only about 750mls."

Justin's first Antarctic outing

Another big day

"The weather fined up and made the view from the dining room very pleasant indeed.

Part of my duties as chef on station is to maintain stock levels of essentials in the communal area such as breakfast cereals, preserves, coffee, biscuits, milk powder, spreads etc....
In order to get these items, trips around the station to different containers are made once or twice a day. When the sky is blue and not a breeze blows these little outings can be a much needed energy boost.........trudging through ice or freshly laid snow, staring at ice bergs in the distance........all this for a box of apples...........yeah!!

Another essential to the expeditioners’ experience is having fresh bread baked for them every day.  Different loaves and rolls are baked every day to varying recipes.  This one is for a basic bread. If you want nuts, seeds or grains just add them. Also this recipe is for 12 loaves..........so if you only want one.....divide by 12."

Antarctic Bread

65g yeast
250g sugar
3 litres blood temp water  ..................combine all three and put aside to ferment.

Then add
5kg flour
200g gluten
30g salt
450g oil

Place all ingredients in a mixing machine with a dough paddle...........put on a slowish speed for 10 minutes.
Clingfilm the bowl and allow dough to double in size.
Knock bag and shape into:
Rolls 120g
Burger buns 150g
Loaves 750g

Bake rolls for 15 mins at around 185 deg c.
Loaves for 30 mins at the same temperature.

Note: Gluten makes the bread stronger.........more elastic.........this recipe can be made without it.

A gorgeous shot

Justin took this photo when out for a 4 hour walk on Tuesday night.  The penguin is collecting stones for his nest.  (The sun is setting at around 10.50pm and rising again at around 12.45am.)

"Well It's been a very busy week for the kitchen with the unloading of food containers and also cooking for unknown amounts of crew............ there could be anything between 50-90 during lunch and dinner services.
The resupply went very well by everyone's standards and the ship managed to leave on Saturday just after lunch. It took quite a few hours to punch a way out of the bay and round the corner on her way back to Australia.
Meal times have returned to normal now, 6-8:30 brekkie, 12:30-1:30 lunch and 6-7 for dinner with Saturdays being 7-late .........Saturdays are deemed special nights so in the kitchen we either cater to a theme or organise food around our skills.
Last Friday we put on a bbq outside. Trestle tables were piled with salads, bread rolls and beer. Tony and I cooked from a shipping container (to keep the cold from slowing the process down). It ran for about an hour with people coming and going .......by the end most of the salads had frozen as with the sliced fruit and some of the rolls. Was a very strange experience. Though I will say the vista was absolutely amazing. Blue sky, frozen sea, islands and icebergs in the distance..............
This Saturday we will be putting on a fine dining evening starting with nibbles and drinks in the wallow (communal area/bar) then into the dining room for a couple of fancy-ish dishes. Next week it's a cocktail evening with canapés all night.
So far the meals have been varied both in style but also in fresh to frozen ratios. Hydroponics managed to get the last of their herbs to me before cleaning down for the new season. A large bag of basil which I use a little of in a lasagne, chives which have been put into a lot of dishes, parsley which has adorned a few plates and sage which went well in a chicken saltimboca .
I made one of my favourite cheesecakes the other night.....and it seemed to go down very well with the captive audience."

Mars Bar Cheesecake

Base

I used chocolate flavoured biscuits blitzed. Flour and melted butter were added until I got a lightly wet sand appearance.
You can substitute the base for any of your favourite cheesecake bases.
I lined the tin first with baking paper then put the biscuit mix in to form a base.

Filling

1kg cream cheese at room temp
150g sugar
5 eggs
30g cocoa
3 Mars bars sliced about 3-4mm thick

Combine the first four ingredients and blitz in a food processor until combined.
Fold in the mars and put into a prepared cake tin on top of the base.

The cheesecake can be cooked in a moderate to low oven until a skewer comes out clean. If the cake starts to get too dark in the oven place some foil over the top to complete the cooking.
Cool the cake completely before putting in the fridge.
I served this with large chocolate spikes and caramel sauce drizzled all over.

If you have any questions for Justin, just use the 'comments' and they will be answered. 

Mars Bar photo credit talkingship.com

Custard

Ever wondered how to make custard when there is no fresh milk?  Well to answer that question and also... how do you make custard without burning the milk?  Apparently it's easy!  To never burn the milk for custard again... USE MILK POWDER!  Justin swears he will never make custard the conventional way again.  When you boil the water before adding the milk powder, you can't burn the milk.  Ingenious.  Hey, and it still tastes great.

And, it had to happen, the first penguin photo.  Although not taken by Justin and the first of probably many, this is the first photo that I have been sent of penguins... the main wildlife down at Davis which is why there may be a few more come through.

Justin has moved to his new digs but got there late Saturday night so hasn't had much of a chance to sort all his belongings in to some semblance of order yet.  His days are long, he has a lot to get used to in the new kitchen environment but has phoned everyday - there is a phone in the kitchen you know - and sounds really happy to be getting stuck in.  He is also pretty chuffed he got the only double bed and plans to 'starfish' for a full 12 months!

Feel free to ask Justin any questions.  He will answer any sent through via comments. 

Photo credit Shane Mitchell.

Photos from V1

The last Australian sunset from Aurora Australia V1

Ice forming on the ship

 Justin's voyage down to Antarctica was V1... the first of the new Antarctic year.  He took plenty of photos on board the ship but with email restrictions of only 10k for the duration of the journey, he was unable to send them until he got to Davis.  

He has been extremely busy for the first couple of days and will be again today.  The ship is scheduled to leave again on Saturday so things will start to settle down as that means that everything has been unloaded and delivered to base, and the departure of the 2009/10 wintering crew.  

An iceberg seen through Justin's sunglasses

We have been able to have a couple of short but very clear phone conversations as the service from base is excellent.  The signal from the ship was very up and down so we found it hard to talk.  Yesterday it was a quick call before getting stuck in to preparing lunch. Schnitzel.  Justin's menus will be posted as he gets in to a routine and has more time to sit down and get them sorted.

Me on the wharf waving goodbye

  It is hard to see me but right in the centre of the pictre, there I am, wrapped up warm - it was sunny but cold - waving to Justin.  We spoke on the phone, waved and took photos of each other right up until the ship sailed out of sight.

Justin has one more night to spend in temporary accommodation before moving to his permanent room, as the previous chef moves out, which will be much bigger.  He will be able to get unpacked and properly sorted.  I can't wait for him to open his boxes and find all the wee bits and pieces that I stashed in there for him! 

And, as declared, I have tried another new recipe this week and am still enjoying the results.  I went for Annie Clark's Carob Date Slice from her book Muffin Magic...vegan, wheat free, dairy free, gluten free, sugar free, egg free and low fat!!!  But don't turn your nose up... this is one mean slice that tastes decadent and naughty without the nasty side effects.  I can't get enough.  Check out Annie's facebook page.  And I am sure if you would like it, Annie wouldn't mind me giving you the recipe.  

Recipe no. 2: Carob Date Slice... success!

The last sitrep for this journey

Tuesday 16-Nov-2010

Report (sitrep) no. 126
Universal time: 0700
Australian Time: 1800 (Eastern Standard/Summer)
Position on Map: 68° 34' S, 77° 53' E (degrees latitude, longitude)
Heading: parked in ice
Current speed: at Davis
Distance in last 24 hours: 52.5 nm (nautical miles)
Distance to next waypoint:  (nautical miles)
Weather conditions: 1/8 cloud cover, E’ly winds E’ly 10 knots
Air temperature: 2 (degrees Celsius)
Sea temperature: -1.7 (degrees Celsius)
Sea conditions: Nil
Ice conditions: 10/10 fast-ice

Remarks:
We arrived at station this morning and parked up in the ice. Lovely to see the snow-capped islands off Davis tinged with morning sun. The station leader and deputy came out to the ship and briefed everyone on board about station rules and procedures. After that, began the process of getting everyone ashore for station and vehicle inductions. We have gone from being a rowdy ship to extremely quiet, and vice versa for station! It is good to see some familiar faces of the wintering crew again. Refuelling and cargo operations commenced today amidst glorious blue sky and sunshine. We are hoping for similar conditions tomorrow. REGARDS: Karin, Sharon & Lance

And the first email from Davis...
 
"Heya dear........big day as you may have expected.  Have just got my email up and running, its now 10:30 at night and I’m knackered.
Will hopefully email you tomorrow with an update etc.........
Love you very much"
XXXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Well, that's the end of the sitreps for this year's summerers and winterers but of course, the Aurora Australis now has to refuel and do all that needs doing before bringing back the 2009/2010 winterers to Australian shores.  As for Justin, the journey now begins.  I can't wait to start receiving news of the base and what he is up to but I know that these first few days especially are going to be very busy for him.
 
If you would like to send Justin a question, please do so in the comments.

And so the ship comes to rest

After 3 weeks and 4 days, the ship has reached Davis base.  The Aurora Australis is approximately 3kms from the base, parked up in the ice.  Some people have been taken by helicopter to the base as they have an important part to play in the disembarkation and refuel, some will be transported by Hagg and others will want to walk the 3-4kms to the base. 

It is a little hard to see in this photo taken by the webcam but you can click here to see the AAD Davis webcam which shows further photos of the ship parked up and is updated every 10 mins.  You can see a bright white line across to the ship which is what the vehicles will follow to get out to the ship and back when unloading.  I have yet to find out how the containers get transported from ship to base but am sure I will.   

Yesterday's sitrep read like this:

Position:  68° 4' S, 77° 52' E

Distance in last 24 hours:  182.6 nm 

Air temperature:  0 deg c

Sea temperature:  -1.2 deg c


"Steaming along to Davis and making good progress. The weather has been quite balmy with light winds and temperatures zero and above. The sightings of wildlife has increased markedly since we came around the West Ice shelf and further south, and the cameras have been steadily clicking away capturing the moments from wildlife to magnificent sunsets. All on board are greatly looking forward to arriving at Davis."

And an update for all crew on board...
"The dart competition was fiercely contested this evening in the bar with Justin "the arrow" Chambers, and Ryan Madden pitted against one another in a nail biting finale!  Justin won the first game and Ryan fought back to take out the second with both games being extremely close in points. The final game was a heated battle and it all came down to "doubles" with Justin "the arrow" living up to his name and taking the game 114 to 97 and therefore winning the competition."

I am very excited for Justin... and now the hard work starts!

All and any comments/questions for Justin will be passed on and answered.

There's something so beautiful about the small things

"G'day dear....

Well it was nice to talk to you yesterday. How is the head today?  We are currently making our way through silky 'grease ice' and large icebergs. It's all very nice.  Do a google on grease ice ......... as our wake passes over the surface, water is pushed out over the top like spilling coffee on a table.  For only a couple of seconds it remains separate from the sea.......then it slowly combines with the grease ice and warms up a little to become water again. All very beautiful and new to me...............I suppose I'm in for a few eye openers down here.

A few of the guys eat their eggs on crumpets...............I might try it tomorrow. I understand the doughy texture and flavors would only enhance the egg taste. I'll tell you all about it.

I've made it through to the finals of the darts.................OMG.  I've played better than I've ever done before................more focussed, a lot more focussed. There were a few sharks that didn't enter the comp ...............so the results thus far are not a reflection of the quality onboard.  I'll keep you posted, its now a best of three for the win.

I cut some of the expeditioners' hair yesterday ...............did a good job and managed to get a kitkat out of it for payment from one. I'm not sure where the chocolate bar came from as they are not readily available on the ship......................but boy did it go down well in my cabin whilst I was editing a photo for the picture comp and listening to music. I felt like one of the boys on the roof in "Shawshank redemption"...........

I'm already feeling the small things will be very special things soon.

Fisia Fears (Mr Bear)...................cute little bugger!!!! Give him a big kiss from me but tell him it's from you.  A couple of nice pats and a comb for my favorite moggy.  And finally kisses for you my honey.  XXXXXOOOOO"

If you have any questions for Justin, he would be happy to answer them for you. Just send as a comment.

And back home in the garden

Flat leaf parsley and courgette

We (Mr B and me) woke to a gorgeous day today, after getting up to rain the past two days, and got out for a good walk.  Hung out some washing, watered my courgette, tried unravelling a hose... those things just frustrate me.. came inside to do a couple of things and now it is overcast and looking like it might just rain!  The garden has been benefiting hugely from the rain and the heat and I am proud to post some photos before I do some harvesting today - although I have already removed the 21cm rather phallic looking courgette and now have to google why the leaves are going mouldy.  Hmmm.



I am also growing basil... right near the (black russian) tomatoes as all good advice would have us do.  It is looking great so far but I only seem to have so much luck with basil.  The styrofoam tubs are working a dream though!

This is the garden bed that Brian put together for me and which contains carrots, lettuce, radishes, bok choy, silverbeet and beetroot.  In the tubs behind there are also runner beans, rhubarb (I am ever hopeful) and more bok choy.



Down along the back fence, my passionfruit is going great guns although I am wondering if it could benefit from some kind of trellicing along the fence to encourage growth the height of the fence.  The lime tree is my pride and joy although what you can't see here are the lemon and tangelo trees that I am having real difficulty with.  I just don't know what they need.  I think I will have to take some leaves to a garden centre and see what I can find out.

If you have any advice or anything to add, please do so in the comments.

On the move again... and close to home

Although the ship is on the move again and heading for her ultimate destination, a couple of days ago, this was the status...

POSITION:  62° 26' S, 86° 28' E

Distance in the last 24 hours:  10.4 nm

Air temperature:  -4 deg c

Sea temperature:   -1.6 deg c
Heading:  Vessel parked in ice
Distance to next waypoint:  424 nm to Davis

The Aurora Australis has been ‘parked’ in the ice for around 3 days now. While the Sea-ice scientists, Meteorology, Communications, Aviation and Voyage Management teams have been flat chat, how have the majority of expeditioners been spending their days? Dave, a head-office employee undertaking a ‘familiarisation’ trip offered the following observations... Firstly, parked literally means parked – the ship was driven into a large flat ice floe a number of times until a short channel had been eked out and she was secure with ice all around her save the 50m track back to the open water. The ice floe we are temporarily calling home is about 7 kilometres across. The surface is like a frozen choppy ocean – think the top of a lemon meringue pie! Since the engines were stopped we have been very slowly drifting as one with the ice floe and the whim of current and weather. We have gracefully, albeit slowly, glided past icebergs with huge keels and big sail areas that create a gradual changing outlook.The ‘average’ expeditioner might get up and go to the gym for a while before breakfast and then spend the morning helping out in the galley peeling spuds, checking emails or doing personal chores such as washing. After lunch, served between 11.30 and 12.30 it might be a field-training session, more planning for your season’s activities, a game of cards, or stretching the legs on the helideck in the sun. Dinner starts at 5.30pm and is normally followed by a seminar in the theatrette that most go along to. A stream of movies is then played long into the night by those having trouble sleeping in what has become less than a 5 hour night. The lengthening days mean the sunsets have become long too and many have been up on the bridge or monkey deck (the deck above the bridge) trying to capture the 'moment' which ends up being an hour of magical and ever changing light. Sunday's sunset saw the first solar pillar which should feature in many of the pics sent home to family and friends.

This post is direct from the sitrep as I felt it worthy to share in full.  For more sitreps, visit the AAD website... it is packed full of interesting information about Antarctica.

I can't wait for Justin to reach the base and be able to send photos of the journey.  I am sure they will make great viewing here on the blog! 

In addition, if there is anything that you would like to ask Justin, just send me the question and I will forward on to him for answering. 

60th Parallel

"We had our 60th parallel crossing today at 2:30. It started during the end of a briefing in the mess..........................there was a faint noise coming from somewhere on the ship.It grew louder and more audible as an evil scientist style laugh..... then the crew of 5 came around the corner......painted blue and wearing long messy hair, paper skirts, shorts and assorted capes etc.....Within this loud and gregarious crowd, King Neptune made his presence known.

One of his minions had a salmon draped down his arm and maybe 2-3 salmon skins tucked into his shorts. Around 6 at a time we were made to kneel in front of Neptune, kiss his feet and receive kisses and rubs from the salmon. Crap from a bucket was poured over our heads ....this crap seemed to contain, seeds, nuts, pips, fish, grease trap leftovers, anchovies, scraps and scrapings. It smelt sweet and fishy.

After we all finished receiving the initiation, everybody ran upstairs to grab a shower and launder their clothes.........the washing machines and dryers are still going as I write. We have followed this up with a bbq on the trawl deck. It was lovely........a little cold but nice. We got to drink a couple of beers and eat burgers whilst standing under falling snow looking out at the pack ice and bergs."

Photo credit sodahead.com

Sun rise, sun set

"All is good in the hood.  We are travelling in and out of pack ice at the moment. We should be at the Davis fast around Friday.... then a day's push through to be there by Saturday. We are seeing penguins every now and then..... and also likewise seals. The weather is all over the place..........sunny, cloudy, snow, cloud, wind, no wind. The sun sets around 7:30ish I think but it stays light for another 2-3 hours after..........pretty colours. It rises around 4-5ish.. though again it's light at least two hours beforehand."

And from the sitrep...

POSITION:  62° 46' S, 85° 14' E

DISTANCE IN LAST 24 HOURS:  201 nautical miles

AIR TEMPERATURE:  -2 deg c

SEA TEMPERATURE:  -1.2 deg c

ICE CONDITIONS:  4/10 first year small floes 


SPEED:  6 knots

As the night closed in we were cruising along at a fair old speed for the Aurora Australis – 13 knots running on both engines. We were following highways of open ocean that opened up before us through the ice. As dawn approached, the open water had turned into a thin layer of grey grease ice that shimmered, like a piece of silk blowing in a light breeze, as the ship left her wake.

Justin phoned on Saturday morning, and anticipating that, I didn't leave the house.  At around 11am the call came and we had a great chat as always.  I even managed to get his Summer Pudding recipe out of him... I could repeat it here but I would be revealing a secret ingredient and that just wouldn't be cool!  Soooo, I gave it a go and wow, talk about yummy.  Carol, Mum, Jenny, Martin and I thoroughly enjoyed both the Thai curry to start and the summer pudding.  I, probably, moreso just because it was my first and so good.  Now, there is something that I would like to commit to while Justin is away and that is to try one new recipe each week... I didn't think I would start until Martin leaves and I am on my own but seeing as how I already tried something new last night, I thought I would dive in head first and see how I land.  So 1. Summer Pudding... successful.   Watch this space.

Thursday and nothing but rain

I wasn't sure if he had heard already in their short news reports so I sent an email to Justin informing him of World Champion Surfer, Andy Iron's very unfortunate death. He was as shocked as the rest of us, understandably, and hoped that when Andy died he felt as loved as he does. Needless to say, I started my day all choked up.



Andy Irons

POSITION:  60° 41' S, 100° 7' E

Distance in last 24 hours:  267.9 nm

Air temperature:  -2 deg c

Sea temperature:  -1.2 deg c

Speed:  12 knots

Sea conditions:  NW’ly combined sea / swell 2 m 

Whilst the clouds haven't parted all day to show even a snippet of blue sky, things just keep getting colder at sea.But cold aside, a fun day was had by all in celebration of the Melbourne Cup.  More money was raised for Camp Quality and they even got the all clear to venture out on to the open decks after being kept below deck for over a day.  There was even a celebration lunch including fresh asparagus soup, chicken kebabs and calamari stir fry.  All good on board the Aurora Australis!

Here, I made smoked fish pie with crab and prawns - and it was gooooood.  Apart from what I ate, Martin, the Swiss German student, consumed the rest.  It looks like I have to think of something else for tomorrow night.  I could have sworn it would be enough for two nights but Martin is taking surfing lessons at the moment and comes home very hungry at the end of each day.  Now he has his head well and truly down in his English language homework.

Me... I think, after a tiring day, it is time to hit the sack. 

Finally some sun!!

"We are running in and out of flows/fields now........... you know the stuff that looks like one month old cream on a petri dish. It's nice

cause the swell has calmed down so I should get a good nights sleep............though when we hit little burgs they make a bit of noise on the hull.

Saw some sun today as well.......nice. We can't go out on deck at the moment cause its all iced up from the rough seas (it looks like a

ghost ship). Hopefully tomorrow!!"

It's great to hear from Justin that things are getting more pleasant at sea.  They have been through some really rough conditions. 
 
And from the sitrep...
 
"The view from the bridge is quite magical, with the mast and cargo covered in an expanse of white ice. Some patches of blue sky and sun also make a welcome break from the heavy cloud we have experienced during most of the voyage thus far. With the change in scenery, and the fact we are now south of 60 degrees, there is a sense we are entering another stage of our journey to the Antarctic continent."
 
POSITION:  60° 36' S, 117° 11' E
 
DISTANCE IN LAST 24 HOURS:  168.7 nm
 
AIR TEMPERATURE:  1 deg c
 
SEA TEMPERATURE: -1.2 deg c
 
CURRENT SPEED:  11 knots
 
"Due to the icy conditions, most outside decks are closed for the time being. However, expeditioners are enjoying the view from the bridge, and the binoculars and cameras have begun being used in earnest. Inside the ship, Jim's tours of the Engine Room have resumed after postponement yesterday due to rough weather."
 
I can't wait to see the photos that he has taken from/on the ship.

You can read the sitreps in full on the Australian Antarctic Division website.