Hi, Gentle Readers! It’s Deirdre again.

I think the machine may actually be right.

Yesterday it announced that Cooking With Oil had reached the point where the recipes were mostly finished and what remained was organizing them, polishing them, and making everything look pretty.

I wasn’t quite ready to hear that.

Somewhere along the way, the cookbook became a real cookbook.

Which probably means it’s time to start another one.

I was raised to cook the old-fashioned way—in real kitchens with real ranges, deep fryers, and enough counter space to feed a platoon. Around here, though, the Galley works a little differently. It runs less on personal heroics than on planning.

Most afternoons I have a dozen or more hungry people drifting through the Conference Room or out onto the patio. Some are coming off watch. Others are getting ready for Happy Hour. Somehow everyone manages to get hungry at exactly the same time.

The television is usually on in the background.

This morning it seemed every channel had another map of the Middle East or Ukraine. Overnight the war continued in both places. Israel and Iran remain locked in their uneasy confrontation, while Russia and Ukraine traded another round of long-range attacks. Ukraine reportedly launched more than 400 drones toward Moscow after another series of Russian missile and drone strikes against Kyiv and other cities. It is another reminder that the world beyond the patio remains a dangerous place.

Meanwhile, somebody still has to figure out what’s for dinner.

I finally figured out that the trick isn’t cooking faster.

It’s cooking smarter.

That’s why I’ve become such a fan of air fryers.

Don’t misunderstand—they aren’t magic. They don’t really fry anything. They’re simply compact convection ovens that move hot air around food fast enough to brown it beautifully without requiring a pot full of bubbling oil.

They won’t replace the Weber grill when everybody wants smoky barbecue.

They won’t replace the Russell cooktop when I’m making soups, sauces, or pasta.

They’re simply another tool.

A very useful one.

Today is Chicken Day.

Not fried chicken.

Air-fried chicken.

Lots of it!

Instead of making one meal, I’m building tomorrow’s meals while I’m making today’s.

One batch becomes Buffalo Chicken Tacos for this afternoon’s Watch Section buffet.

Another batch disappears into the refrigerator to become tomorrow’s Creamy Chicken Primavera.

Whatever survives that will probably wind up sliced over salad, folded into wraps, or mixed into chicken salad for lunch the following day.

That’s become my favorite kind of cooking.

One afternoon in the Galley.

Three completely different meals.

Very little grease.

Very little cleanup.

And enough energy left at the end of the day to sit down with a glass of something cold before somebody wanders in and asks,

“Deirdre…what’s for dinner?”

By then, I just smile.

“Funny you should ask.”

Dinner has been ready for an hour.

Oh—and before I forget…

The machine also tells me that Cooking With Oil has quietly become something bigger than I intended.

So while that cookbook heads off to production, we’re starting another one.

It’s called:

Cooking for a Crowd
Because feeding fifteen hungry people every afternoon isn’t just about recipes.

It’s about logistics.

See you tomorrow unless they move the drones against this County!

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