Project Muffin

I spent all of last summer living on little rocks in the Atlantic working for Project Puffin. Believe it or not, working on these islands really got me excited about the cooking aspect of food rather than simply the eating aspect (an aspect that goes all the way back to the chow-line and Ba Ba 3-4). Living in tents that were rarely dry the "kitchens" on the islands were not much better, and varied from a three walled tarp to a corner in a little wooden shack. Without a fridge on some islands, the type of food we had were quite limited. Instead of an oven we had a metal box that looked like a mini safe, that could be placed on a burner and it kind of acted like a very uneven oven. Now imagine if you will that you need to quick whip up a meal after a long day of work to satisfy a hungry group of people you just met. Suffice it to say I was a wee bit nervous when it was first cooking duty. I made frequent calls to the experts (logan and mom) and I soon gained confidence in these so-called kitchens. And yes I realize the implications of calling my girlfriend and mother for food advice. The women on the island were quick to point it out and suggested I was sexist for calling upon women for food help. But you know what, my mom and Logan know and love food the most out of anyone I know, why in Ham's name would I call anyone else? Should I call my college friends so they can tell me how to microwave easy mac? No. Perhaps if we had ham-steaks on the island I would've called my dad. Stop the incedious accusations please.

Overall, I was actually very surprisingly impressed with the food we ate on the islands. People took eating seriously and didn't want to disapoint. Granted we did have our share of Bacon added to mac'n cheese or smart dog (vegan hotdog) fried rice etc. But we ate fair amount of gems before the summer was over.

We liked the idea of eating food found on the island. With the exception of Rock weed and Seabirds, island food was slim pickens until we discovered how many mussels could be found in the rocks during low tide. We made some good meals with these guys, mainly a pasta with mussels in a tomato sauce. After these meals I would literally go into a "food coma", while the other people would be playing a game of post-dinner cards I would fall asleep in the shack. Or maybe that was a little bit of red tide sickness. Some islands even had a little garden, that may or may-not have grown with the help of human compost from years past, that grew herbs, lettuce, swiss chard etc. Other good island meals included coconut curries, homemade spice rubbed chicken wrapped in bacon (we got a fresh shipment of food and cooked the meat right away), lasagna and lobster. Making edible food for a group of people in these conditions taught me a lot about food.