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26TRIDENT, NOVEMBER 1, 2004From Duff to Nelson’sBlood: Food in the NavyBBQ beefsandwichesChewing the FatBy Lt(N) Brad WhiteHMCS ScotianIrecently completed a short course inQuebec City where five guys from theUS Navy were also in attendance. Asconversations usually go when there aredifferent nationalities in the room wetalked about words that are unique toeach particular country and some that arespecific to each navy. Our instructor hadspent some years as a submariner in theRoyal Navy and he joined in when webegan to talk about food related wordsthat Navies use.Food is often a matter of conversationand consternation when it comes tosailors. Food can make or break a long,cold watch and it is always served whenthere is something to celebrate. Sailorshave names for foods that make themsound better than the item really is, butmore often than not the name for the givenfood item makes it sound less appealing.All three people participating in theconversation above had strange andinteresting words that you probablywon’t hear on the street.As we were chewing the fat, theBritish instructor brought up names likeYellow Peril, which is merely smokedhaddock so-called for its yellow appearance,and Herrings-In: Herrings in tomatosauce (seems like the Brits like eatingfish). The Americans, appropriate to thestereotype, had lots of names for junkfood: Geedunk (any sort of junk food),Dog (soft serve ice-cream), Sliders(greasy hamburgers). The list goes on.Now, when it came to moosemilk thefolks from the UK and the U.S. had heardof that soothing remedy for all things andwere able to identify it as Canadian (perhapsthe “moose” is the dead giveaway).Most of our odd foods are served upeveryday at breakfast, dinner and supper.If you are inclined you can alwayshave a bowl of soup at stand easy(between breakfast and dinner) or someduff, which is dessert, after supper. Duffcomes from the name for a boiled pudding,figgy duff, that people all over theworld still serve around Thanksgivingor Christmas.Food is often a matterof conversation.Some other foods and drinks, likemoosemilk, only come out on specialoccasions like Christmas. If you’re luckyyou might be in warm waters, where theship has a banyan on the flight deck, andthere may be a vat of moosemilk handy.Banyan, a term used in many Commonwealthnavies, comes from the termbanyan days when sailors were givenmeatless rations three times a week.They’d save up and spread out the goodrations throughout the week to make upfor the poor food. A banyan nowadaysusually involves copious amounts ofmeat like burgers or steak and happensonly once in a given week.Another occasion you might findpeculiar naval drinks is when we Splicethe Main Brace. Now, I can honestly sayI have no idea when the last time this wasactually done in our navy but if it were tobe done you’d see an issue of rum, in theform of grog, passed out to every memberon the completion of an extraordinaryfeat such as a victorious engagement.The event started out as an extra ration ofrum served out to expert seaman whocould make a very long splice on thelongest line on the ship, the main brace,in a very short time. Rum, incidentally,has also been known by many names butthe most interesting might be Nelson’sBlood. Proper Nelson’s Blood is actuallybrandy but has somehow been associatedwith rum over the years. The quickversion of the story is that when Nelsondied his remains were transported back toEngland in a barrel of brandy whichsome enterprising sailors sought a drinkor two from on the way, hence brandy’sconnection with Neslon’s actual blood.In true sailor fashion, we’ve altered themeaning to include the old-time staplebeverage, rum.There are nautical terms for food anddrink that have made it into the publicvernacular. Chewing the fat, for example,comes from the salt meat sailors usedto eat a hundred years or more ago. Thefatty meat became very hard over timeand even long periods soaking in waternever seemed to soften it up. It wouldtake some time to chew this stuff and asthey did so sailors would talk and gripejust like always. We now use the term todescribe a few people talking about nothingmuch at all, passing the time.From chewing on salt meat to stuffingour faces with geedunk or duff, we reallyhaven’t come a long way at all. We stilllike dreaming up weird names for everydayfoods. I guess naming them makesthem our own and when you’re awayfrom home, a little something of yourown goes a long way.Stoney’sKitchenBy CP02Paul StonierSometimes I’m a day ortwo late sending my columnto the Trident. Usually Ijust plain forget or sometimesI get mixed up on thedeadline dates. This timethough I have a really goodexcuse as to why my recipewas late. Really I do. You seeI was using the slow cooker.I wasn’t sure how slow itreally was so I tried a newrecipe in it. It seemed to takeforever. “Wow, I thought.This slow cooker really isslow.” It was around then thatmy wife was kind enough topoint out the slow cookermight go a little faster ifplugged in. She was right. Itis a little faster, but what agreat job it does making thisBBQ Beef for sandwiches.You may not have noticedbut I really like sandwiches.This recipe makes a tenderjuicy flavourful sandwichout of the toughest piece ofbeef you can imagine andthe magic of the slow cookeris you just load it up andleave it alone for a longtime. You can go out in themorning, come back and supperis ready. What a greatinvention.3 lbs boneless beef1 1/2 cups tomato sauce1/4 cup brown sugar1/4 cup red wine vinegar3 cloves minced garlic1 small onion diced2 T Hot mustard2 T Worcestershire2 T Soya sauce1/2 tsp ground pepper1 tsp liquid smokeMix together all the ingredientsexcept the roast in theslow cooker. Stir well to combine.Place any boneless roastin the slow cooker. I use ablade roast or a round roastand ensure that the sauce totallycovers the roast. Cover andcook at a low temperature foreight to 10 hours or on a hightemperature for four to fivehours. Remove the roast fromthe cooker and shred the meatwith a fork. Return the shreddedmeat back to the slowcooker and stir to coat with thesauce. Let cook for a few moreminutes. Spoon the meat ontoKaiser buns and top with yourfavourite stuff. I like gratedParmesan and tomatoes onmine. A little extra sauce isgreat too. If you want to getreally fancy serve on toastedgarlic bread with hot peppers,sliced olives and a sharp cheddarcheese. This makes lotsand is even better the next day.I’m sure it even freezes wellbut we’ve never had any lastthat long to find out.ATTACHED POSTING?GOING TO SEA?If your home will be empty, your insurancecompany will have specific requirements.Check with them, then with us.Secure Property Management Ltd.466-1123www.secureproperty.caFind Out What YourHome Is WorthOn-Linewww.HalifaxHomeEvaluation.comRoy Thomas Sutton Group – Professional RealtyBuying, Selling or Relocating?Are you buying a good investment? 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