thedrifter
07-24-07, 06:18 AM
Former Marine turned chef treats troops
By Beata Mostafavi - The Flint Journal via AP
Posted : Monday Jul 23, 2007 21:30:52 EDT
BURTON, Mich. — When it’s mail call day for crews of the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, Seaman 1st Class Emily Richardson becomes the most popular person around.
A crowd swarms the 21-year-old Flint-area native, many of them hoping she received a package filled with Roland Hansen’s homemade crunchy pickles, tasty cashew butter, spicy smoked jerky or even a batch of chili.
“They’re on the ocean for months, and this is the highlight of everyone’s week when Roland sends a package to Emily,” said Richardson’s father Ed, of Montrose. “He sends all these exotic meats and treats. They can’t wait to get it.
“Emily is the hit of the boat.”
Inside a small kitchen at his business, Hansen, a minister and former Marine, experiments with new recipes to send to troops in the United States and overseas.
A little garlic here, a new Indian spice there.
“We don’t have recipes. We call them epiphanies,” said Hansen. “It’s about loving your brother.”
Small labels also accompany his treats. Sometimes they take the form of Bible verses or quirky lines, such as “Don’t give this to old people or small children” or “For attitude adjustment”.”
Hansen’s cooking environment includes a meat smoker, a barrel of horseradish plant bundles and buckets that ferment more than 40 pounds of sweet and dill pickles at a time.
He said many of his snacks have “a little kick,” but he’s always looking for new twists for his special jerky, which often is marinated in splashes of honey, vinegar, Worcestershire and dried Mexican red peppers.
“[The troops are] always on the run, so I wanted something they could have in their pockets and just pull out,” said Hansen, of Fenton, located about 42 miles northwest of Detroit.
Hansen, who served in the Marines from 1974-77, has sent his goodies to Japan and around the United States, and is planning to send snacks to soldiers in the Middle East.
“He knows where they’ve been and how much they would appreciate getting something so unique and so special from home,” said University of Michigan-Flint sophomore Danielle Borgerding, 19, who helps Hansen cook and perfect freeze-drying methods, stew and soup preservation and meat curing.
“It would brighten their day, probably their whole week.”
Hansen’s packages also include vacuum-sealed flaxseed bread to go with his spreads, barbecue and horseradish sauces and the local newspaper.
Ellie
By Beata Mostafavi - The Flint Journal via AP
Posted : Monday Jul 23, 2007 21:30:52 EDT
BURTON, Mich. — When it’s mail call day for crews of the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, Seaman 1st Class Emily Richardson becomes the most popular person around.
A crowd swarms the 21-year-old Flint-area native, many of them hoping she received a package filled with Roland Hansen’s homemade crunchy pickles, tasty cashew butter, spicy smoked jerky or even a batch of chili.
“They’re on the ocean for months, and this is the highlight of everyone’s week when Roland sends a package to Emily,” said Richardson’s father Ed, of Montrose. “He sends all these exotic meats and treats. They can’t wait to get it.
“Emily is the hit of the boat.”
Inside a small kitchen at his business, Hansen, a minister and former Marine, experiments with new recipes to send to troops in the United States and overseas.
A little garlic here, a new Indian spice there.
“We don’t have recipes. We call them epiphanies,” said Hansen. “It’s about loving your brother.”
Small labels also accompany his treats. Sometimes they take the form of Bible verses or quirky lines, such as “Don’t give this to old people or small children” or “For attitude adjustment”.”
Hansen’s cooking environment includes a meat smoker, a barrel of horseradish plant bundles and buckets that ferment more than 40 pounds of sweet and dill pickles at a time.
He said many of his snacks have “a little kick,” but he’s always looking for new twists for his special jerky, which often is marinated in splashes of honey, vinegar, Worcestershire and dried Mexican red peppers.
“[The troops are] always on the run, so I wanted something they could have in their pockets and just pull out,” said Hansen, of Fenton, located about 42 miles northwest of Detroit.
Hansen, who served in the Marines from 1974-77, has sent his goodies to Japan and around the United States, and is planning to send snacks to soldiers in the Middle East.
“He knows where they’ve been and how much they would appreciate getting something so unique and so special from home,” said University of Michigan-Flint sophomore Danielle Borgerding, 19, who helps Hansen cook and perfect freeze-drying methods, stew and soup preservation and meat curing.
“It would brighten their day, probably their whole week.”
Hansen’s packages also include vacuum-sealed flaxseed bread to go with his spreads, barbecue and horseradish sauces and the local newspaper.
Ellie