Fifteenth Visit to Taft

Cooking at Taft. It's a popular activity, not because the men like cooking so much, but because the meals served there are monotonous and unhealthy (especially for diabetics). Ron has taken up cooking, and I will tell you about some of his favorite "home made" meals in a minute.

First, a little bit about the Taft commissary. The commissary is available to inmates twice a week. They have a special shopping time alotted to their unit. The list of items offered ranges from basic necessities, like toothpaste, deodorant, razors and shaving cream, tc medications such as Tylenol and Benadryl including ace bandages, sunscreen, eye drops, cough medicine, etc. They also have batteries, office supplies like writing paper, stamps, drawing pencils, markers, playing cards and dictionaries. Clothes include everything from underwear to shoes, sweats, T-shirts, pants, shoes, gloves and sunglasses. Prices are reasonable. For example, a 4-pack of AA batteries is $1.41. Cough syrup is $2.27. About 1/2 of the commissary list is food. Since they don't have refrigeration available, there is no fresh milk or real cheese. They do have some ice cream items, but these are bought and consumed right away. A large ice cream sandwich is $.85. They have bread, tortillas,all kinds of Mexican sauces, Jam, Peanut butter, tuna in vac packs, squeeze bottle mayo, smoked oysters, velveeta cheese, chips, crackers, cereal, nuts, dry milk , candy diet cokes and crystal light, popcorn, spices, hot chocolate , Top Ramen soup, hummus, matzo, bagels, beans and rice, and finally, some fresh fruit. Apples, bananas, tomatoes, onions, avocados and lemons are about all they have, and there's a limit (usually 6) to what you can buy.

The food is reasonably priced. A 2-pack granola bar is $.45, a bag of tortilla chips is $1.70.

I'm telling you all this to explain what the men have to work with to create alternative meals. Most often dinner consists of rice with a little chicken in sauce poured over it, plus beans and tortillas and maybe pudding for dessert. Very high carb meal, which is not good for anyone. So Ron has started cooking his dinner. His favorite creation so far is PIZZA. To replace the crust he uses a bunch of ritz crackers, covers this with some kind of cheese (I think they have mozzarella), a little tomato sauce and some pepperoni. 30 seconds in the microwave and voila, you have pizza. He says it's good, but then he's comparing it to what he usually gets for dinner.

Other favorites are peanut butter and jelly (how can you go wrong), quesedillas, tomato, avocado and onion salad with oil and vinegar, and tuna salad (mix tuna with pickle relish and mayo). He also buys raisin bran, makes milk from dry milk, and slices a banana on top for a delicious breakfast. Also, Taster's Choice has replaced the institutional coffee, which Ron said is undrinkable. They have instant hot water, so he can make coffee, or iced coffee using his dry milk.

It's amazing what you can create if you have to. With no cooking experience Ron has learned to make some pretty decent meals. I assume as time goes on he will become more creative. I don't think any of these recipes qualify to be included in the ones I post on my blog. But compared to what he's been eating for the past few months, the meals are definitely improving.