People ask me all the time, if I’m the cook in my Firehouse. I’ll be honest, I am not!
I guess, just like with a lot of things, people who are unfamiliar with the dynamics of a Firehouse don’t realize when you sign up to be a Firefighter, cooking is one of the requirements! Not literally, but it kinda is!
Most folks automatically assume, since I am a female, I am the one who does all the cooking. Well, let me enlighten you! In our Firehouse, there are 6 of us. We all cook, but for the most part, the guys all cook way more than I do. My specialty is DESSERT! I love to bake! They even all chipped in one Christmas and bought me one of those fancy stand mixers…..so I can make MORE desserts!
Our tour consists of 3 work days (24 hours at a time) with 24 hours off in between each shift. Every ‘middle day’, at our Firehouse, I make a dessert. It may be a cake, a pie, or something as simple as cookies. I like to try different things, and really, they are my guinea pigs, but they don’t mind at all.
My Hubby, John, is not a dessert eater. I know, I know, who ever heard of such a thing, right!? Actually, he does love……Cherry Pie! He always tells people, when we met I made him Cherry pie and Sweet tea, and he never left!
I am total opposite when it comes to dessert. I love them all! I’m a Carb-o-holic and a Sweet-freak! There, I said it! I should be ashamed, but I’m not. What I like most about making dessert at the Firehouse is seeing how much these knuckleheads enjoy it.
Some days can be rather busy and/or stressful, and what is better than to drown your stressors in DESSERT!
Anyway, like I was saying earlier, the guys all do most of the cooking around here. I’m telling you, some of the best food you will ever eat comes out of a Firehouse. Especially when there are seasoned guys in the house. Some of the younger guys that come on have never even boiled water, but after they’ve been on a year or so, they start learning and become pretty darn good cooks!
Girls, if you’re looking for a man who can cook, marry you a Fireman!
Every house on each shift, all have different ‘programs’ they put in place for meals. We have a few guys who are on strict diets (for whatever reason), and they may or may not participate in their house’s program. We here at my house contribute a set amount for the tour to a money kiddy and we purchase our food from that, and take turns cooking. Really, someone decides what they are cooking and it usually ends up being a group effort. Everyone does SOMETHING, even if it’s just setting the table.
Sometimes the days are busy and crazy, and we usually do our own ‘thing’ for breakfast and lunch, but we always try to come together to eat dinner (or supper for some of you). Weekend days can be kinda special, in that we may cook a big breakfast and eat together then too. Sundays always call for a big breakfast and we share it with our “Preacher man” who visits us on Sundays to do a sermon. It’s great, since we are not able to attend our own churches when we are scheduled to work on a Sunday.
As I am writing this post during some down time (it’s Saturday), the guys are in there cooking right now. We normally try to eat around 5:00 pm each day, or as close as we can get. If it’s a crazy day, it could be a lot later, or it may be only a couple of us eating, then when the rest of them make it back they get to eat. It’s not unheard of to start cooking or eating and end up getting multiple calls fairly close together, and it takes us 2 or 3 tries to get our meal eaten. Thank goodness for the microwave!! It’s just the way the ‘cookie’ crumbles sometimes!
We are having Wings tonight! Yum yum! And it is middle day, so we are also having……Banana pudding lasagna!!
What are ya’ll having for dinner tonight? Leave me a shout out on my Contact page and let me know! If you have any really good dessert recipes you would like to share that I can try out at the Firehouse, by all means, SHARE!!
If you can’t visit a Firehouse sometime and eat a meal, there are some Cook Books out there that are full of recipes of a Firehouse…..somewhere! Or if you’re lucky enough to have a Firefighter cook for you, you won’t regret it!
Until next time! Be safe and be Blessed!!