The Sunday Rule, Camp Recipe for Tuna Casserole
Ah, the no-fly on Sunday rule stuck, as again – no otter. It appears as though an effort will be made to move us tomorrow, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned about logistics: nothing’s for certain! And, like many days before, today was a beautiful day. It was a little cooler than usual, with 20-30 kt winds, but we are used to that by now.
I arose around 0930h, and saw Pete in the Endurance tent with ‘no news’ from MacOps. Pete went back to bed, and I fired up the stoves. Pete’s fatigue must’ve been contagious, and with very little to occupy me (as all others were fast asleep), I resigned back to the tent for a while.
When I awoke, the others had gotten up, and Robert made some excellent all-grain pancakes. I scarfed down a stack, and went for a run. My run today was the same 8 mile blue-ice route, but the added wind resistance made it a little more challenging for the first half eastward towards the blue ice. The return run was a joy, however, as the wind pushed me all the way home. I have made it a rule out here to always begin my run against the prevailing wind, so that if some unforeseen thing occurs, I will not have the resistance if I must struggle back camp-wards. Still – not bad! I like our little ski-doo path. I certainly like it a lot more than running the busy roads of McMurdo.
After my run, everyone had again disappeared into their respective tents. This time my kitchen effort was much more successful, as I prepared an improvised tuna casserole. I combined a box of stroganoff mix with a box of ‘herb and butter’ pasta mix, added copious amounts of dehydrated onions, and prepared them according to their combined instructions. After about 15 minutes of simmering the pasta, I added two cans of tuna. After a few more minutes of simmering, a can of sliced mushrooms went into the pot.
While the gruel was simmering in its juices, I took a rock hammer to a load of petrified cabin bread, pulverizing it into little crumbs. The pasta was then dished into two baking pans, with a layer of crumbs and Monterey jack cheese sprinkled over the top. The pans went into the oven, and were baked at 300 degrees F for about 10 minutes, where I tended to the baked beans. I then dished some applesauce into a pan, arranged some peaches around the edge, and sprinkled the whole lot with cinnamon. This pan was placed on top of the oven to receive just enough heat to warm it up.
The meal was received quite well, which I am very glad for. Robert tried his hand then at making brownies, and used egg-nog in place of real eggs. Some combination of factors resulted in more of a fudge soup, but it still tasted fantastic and was highly addictive. I think I prefer Robert’s gooey brownie soup any day over regular brownies. So now for an early bedtime… must be ready for the otter tomorrow, on the off-chance that it actually comes!