This is the first of several new installments of the new and improved firehousechef.blogspot.com blog. First things, I no longer have the privledge of cooking at the firehouse as I did for so many years. I retired over a year ago, my official retirement date was December 16, 2009. Yes, I do miss the fire service. I got old. I self analyzed the situation after 2 surgical interventions, and to make a long story short, as my dear old dad used to say, I pulled the pin. I bailed out and pulled the ripcord to ease my landing after jumping ship. It is great, but I do miss it. Things have changed. I had the pleasure to be a part of the great evolution of public safety. Where do I start. We as a society have evolved and are better for the whole. Acceptance and tolerance are the keys.
The Fire Service became more involved with community service. The department I worked in was really at the forefront of the community fire service paradigm. The importance of fire codes and enforcement of fire prevention regulations cannot be overstated. Incidents of residential and commercial fires have dramatically lessened, although dollar loss is still significant. Fatalities related to fires have also been fewer since I began. Deaths to fellow firefighters have also lessened. We now believe in personal safety, an incapacitated safety worker is of no use. We are still evolving too. New and safer, more effective extinguishing techniques are being developed. The fire service is dependent on science and technology, as well as courage and physical strength to effectively grow and become better.
My traditional firehouse recipes will soon begin appearing here. They are very healthy, economical, easy to prepare and tasty. I always tried to cook on a budget. In the beginning the buy in was 3 dollars, then 4, then 5 then I retired. I think that I could still do it for 5, but we would be doing lots of pastas and veggies. That is a good thing. We ate far too much fat in the form of meat, lunch meats, chips and lots of ice cream..
