Cruising Comforts

Never-ending green onion

2012-02-29T19:17:00.002-08:00

I found this post (used with consent) over on Leave Happier, a non-cruising blog I enjoy from time to time. I love the idea for cruisers who seem to end up lacking vegetables frequently, but I'm not sure what kind of container would be safe and useful on a boat. Any ideas anyone?

Have you seen the green onion trick floating around Pinterest? I think (although I can’t be 100% sure because Pinterest is Pinterest) that it was originally pinned from this post on Homemade Serenity.
I have never had luck with growing herbs in the kitchen window, but this only involved tossing onion roots, onion roots that I would otherwise throw away, into a glass of water. Of course I was going to try it.
And it totally worked.

The tall ones back there? I first cut their original tops off and put them in water about a week ago. The others have been added in as they get used. Do I go through an abnormal amount of green onions?

They’re technically not never-ending; Homemade Serenity says you can probably get 7 – 15 clippings from them if you take care of them (empty and replace the water, rinsing the roots, every day or two). But buying green onions seven to fifteen times less often, and having a nice little burst of vibrant green on my kitchen windowsill, seems like an excellent deal to me.Thank you, Pinterest, for being useful this week.

In search of Real Food

2012-02-19T20:22:00.000-08:00

I spent a few days last week with my daughter and my 3-year old grandson in Iowa, the heart of the corn industry in this country, the place where you can drive for a hundred miles in the summer and not see anything but the two rows of corn on either side of you, so tall that the plants block out any view you might have of the flat terrain. The irony in this situation is that they live in the middle of one of the most plentiful food production locations in the whole country and my grandson can't eat any of it. Not a bite. Why? Because he suffers from food allergies to nearly every common allergen - corn, wheat, gluten, dairy, preservatives, you name it. He was first diagnosed because he quit growing, moving from the 95th percentile in height and weight to the 10th percentile in just a couple months, and began displaying a variety of splotchy rashes all over him as well as a mouthful of disintegrating teeth. The food he was eating was no longer nourishing him, it was quite literally starving him. Organic, pesticide-free, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, additive-free food he can eat is available - at 2 stores in the whole of Iowa City - at the cost of a mortgage payment each month, difficult at best for two graduate students trying to live on a stipend. The high cost is due to the fact that there are no organic foods growing there in the middle of GMO land, all of it has to be shipped in from distant locales.

I told her they need to go cruising.

One of the greatest advantages to going cruising, especially on a tight budget as we will be, is that you tend to cook a lot and eat out very little. This is the first step to eating Real Food. Another advantage is that you tend to buy local, using the farmer's markets and fruit stands that are accessible to the boat via foot or bicycle. Eating organic foods is a lot easier when you can buy them at less than a month's wages at a local market.

Maybe one of the most overlooked advantages is that you tend to carefully watch portions, since refrigeration space is limited and not very reliable and the idea of throwing good food away just doesn't fit in a cruising budget.

On the drive back home from Iowa City to Saint Louis I was passing the time listening to NPR. They had an interesting interview about the idea of regulating sugar in this country (something that will never happen) and the doctor they were interviewing made the statement, "Eat . Real . Food" as part of his attempt to persuade people to move away from the highly processed foods that are wrecking our livers. After spending the week trying to find food to cook for my grandson and listening to stories from other friends of my children who are dealing with the same food allergies in their children, this story served only to emphasize our need to move toward a more healthful and whole way of living. What better way to do it than to go cruising.

See you out there...

The Comfort of Touch

2012-02-13T21:22:00.000-08:00

I've had a monstrous cold for the past 2 weeks and a total loss of voice for 9 days of it, but life goes on whether we feel good or not. Tonight I was sitting at the kitchen counter working on the computer when Tim came up behind me and proceeded to knead my shoulders in exactly the right place (knowing that place is a perk of 40 years together). I was immediately restored, the tension in my shoulders gone, the headache fading, a smile on my face. It got me to thinking about how busy we are in this country, and how little we touch. Although a worthy topic, I'm not talking about sex here, but rather the simple touch - a hug, a neck rub, brushing someone's hair, rubbing their back, holding their hand. A connection.

Cruisers, and the cruising life, are known for a laid-back attitude, easy-going schedules or none at all, and we, like all the other wanna-bes are eagerly working to that end, but unfortunately we're still firmly ensconced in the 5-year plan and haven't broken free of land yet so we're working to that end. Full schedules, lots of boat work, piled up to-do lists all vie for our time. Time for touch is threatened. So do yourself a favor this Valentine's day and whether you're out cruising in some idyllic spot in the Caribbean or whether you're a cruiser-in-spirit still landlocked, go find someone you love and touch them. It will be the best Cruising Comfort you experience.

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

2012-02-10T17:20:00.000-08:00

I've been a bit off this past week, with a cold and a bad case of laryngitis. That's my excuse for not remembering to take step-by-step photos of my chocolate chip cookie baking this evening, so you'll get partial step-by-step directions and I have every confidence that your cookies will turn out fantastic anyway.

I can't seem to find an airbake cookie sheet that will fit in my boat oven, so I use a Poor Man's Airbake - Take 5 or 6 layers of aluminum foil stacked together and crumple them slightly. Fit the crumpled layer on your cookie sheet and then top it with parchment paper. I still have to start with the cookie sheet on the bottom rack and then halfway through the time I move it to the top rack. For more oven information you can see my Oven Basics post. Like many of my recipes, these are very versatile and totally forgiving so experiment away! You can interchange the flours, or chips, replace part or all of the shortening with butter or peanut butter, add nuts or raisins, or even cranberries and almonds.

Ingredients:

2/3 C butter
2/3 C shortening (or replace all or part with butter or peanut butter)
2 eggs
1 C brown sugar packed
1 C white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 C flour (white or whole wheat or any mixture of the two)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
12 oz package of dark chocolate chips (or milk chocolate if you must) or half peanut butter chips
Nuts if you want them

Cream butter, shortening eggs, vanilla and sugars together till light and creamy. Stir together flour, soda and salt in separate bowl and then add to creamed mixture, blending just till dry ingredients are incorporated. Add chocolate chips and stir till blended in. Don't overmix these. Roll spoonfuls of dough into balls and place on cookie sheet prepared as above.

Bake 10-15 minutes, rotating as necessary. Time is impossible to dictate in boat ovens because every single one is different and you have to get to know your own. My oven tends to run 25° cool and I absolutely have to rotate pans around to get even cooking.

It's 27° outside headed for 17° tonight, there's snow on the docks and the wind is howling at 25 gusting to 30, but inside my boat it's warm (thanks to the marvel of shore power), cozy, and the smell of melting Ghirardelli is wafting around. It just doesn't get a whole lot better than this in Illinois in February.

Peruvian Burritos

2012-02-04T22:32:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine who is originally from Peru used to make these burritos and send them with her husband to our mutual place of employment where we would feast on them for breakfast. I've had many people ask me what the difference is between these burritos and Mexican burritos, but I can't exactly say. All I can tell you is that I'll never be able to eat a regular burrito again after eating these. They have spoiled me for life.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 C. Jasmine rice - You can use other types but Jasmine adds a very specific flavor
3C. water
2 cans refried beans - I use fat-free because I can add more olive oil then
Olive oil to taste
1-1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 medium onion
2-3 cloves of garlic or equivalent minced garlic in a jar
1 can diced tomatoes - I use the fire roasted diced tomatoes in the TexMex flavor
1 C. chopped cilantro
Garlic salt, lemon pepper, cumin, oregano, jalapeños, diced.
30 corn tortillas
1 to 1-1/2 lbs sharp cheddar cheese, grated

In a large skillet put olive oil and heat till shimmering. Add onions and after 3-4 minutes add garlic, seasonings and jalapenos. Cook briefly. Add beef and cook until brown. Add can of tomatoes and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add cilantro and check the seasonings to taste. Keep warm.

Prepare rice with 3 C. water. Steam covered until tender. Mix 2 cans of refried beans into rice along with olive oil until creamy. Set aside.

Grate cheese. Cut 30 squares of foil and stack on the counter. Preheat cast iron skillet over medium heat (I used a non-stick skillet here because my cast iron one was in use for another purpose at the time). Spray with non-stick spray and place a tortilla in the skillet. Cook for 1 minute or until bubbles begin to appear on the surface of the tortilla. Spray the tortilla with non-stick spray and turn over. Cook for 20-30 seconds and remove to the top square of foil.
Spread a serving spoon size ball of rice/bean mixture over tortilla.

Spread a serving spoon full of meat mixture in the middle third of the tortilla. Add a handful of shredded cheese to the top.

Place the foil square with the point facing you and the tortilla near the bottom corner. Using the corner of the foil and your hands, fold the tortilla in half.

Fold the two side corners in and then roll the tortilla over twice. Place the wrapped tortillas in a baking pan and keep warm in the oven.

Enjoy warm with sour cream. These keep well in the refrigerator for a week but they rarely last that long. You can reheat them in the microwave or in a 350° oven. If you distribute the fillings carefully you can get 30 burritos although sometimes I really stuff them and only get 24.
Hope you enjoy!

A Good Night's Rest

2012-01-19T16:00:00.000-08:00

If I had to say what was the most important aspect of the care and feeding of The Crew, it would be a hard tie between a good meal and a good night's rest. When we bought Kintala, it didn't come with a V-berth mattress and that was probably the biggest blessing in disguise of anything that happened. We set about to get a mattress first thing, since we intended to sleep on the boat while we worked on it.

We're fortunate to have a mattress manufacturer in the area called Verlo Mattress, a company with locations in seven states that we've used before to custom make some foam mattresses for various kids' beds, so I contacted Dave there who was incredibly helpful in designing our v-berth mattress. I used some old rip-stop material laid out in the v-berth to draw the three-piece pattern because it doesn't stretch and I happened to have it on hand, but if you don't have anything like that you can order the reinforced patterning material from Sailrite. I visited the Verlo store in St. Charles, MO so I could lay on various thicknesses and firmness of foam that he had in stock, and after testing a few I chose a 4" thick very firm foam, which he constructed in three pieces per my pattern, covering the foam with a regular quilted and bound mattress cover.

We laid these pieces out in the clubhouse at the marina and cut pieces of Wal-mart 4" thick memory foam mattress topper. I know it looks like two pieces of 2", but it's actually a firmer layer on the bottom topped by a softer layer on top and glued together. You can buy the one-piece type if you prefer it. I bought a king-sized one but I probably could have fit it out of a queen-sized one and, in fact, Dave at Verlo told me he got the three pieces out of a queen-sized piece of foam. When we spoke to Verlo they gave us the option of making the mattress with 4" firm foam topped by 4" memory foam all inside the cover, but we opted to put the memory foam on top because we've found it doesn't last quite as long as the regular foam mattress and we wanted the option of replacing it without having to replace the whole mattress. The bill for the mattress in 2011 dollars was $289.00. The memory foam from Wal-mart was $119.00 but you can spend upwards of $200 if you get the better quality memory foam.

After we got the mattress laid out in the v-berth I set out to find some comfy bedding. You have to choose your bedding depending on the location you intend to cruise, and you may need to buy two different types to handle all the climates. We've found that the jersey sheet sets work really well in cold weather because they're not such a shocker when you climb into the cold bed and they tend to hold the heat a little better than the cotton ones. They also stretch so they tend not to pull off the mattress when you shift around, something that's pretty important when you have an oddly-shaped bed like a v-berth. If you're going to use cotton sheets it's a good idea to take an afternoon and custom-make a fitted sheet for the bottom so it's easy to make the bed and it doesn't pull off. Cotton sheets are really great in hot weather because they tend not to stick to you if you're sweaty.

Whatever berth you sleep in on your boat, you should take the time to create a place you like to go to. Choose colors that are soothing and that make you happy. I chose an turquoise that reminded me of the water off Hoffman Key for the sheets. Choose a light blanket for over the sheets, then a lightweight quilt if you're in colder weather. You'll notice I have a cotton blanket in this picture which I only have because I'm close to laundry facilities. Once we actually leave to go cruising I will switch to something synthetic that can wash and dry quickly. The quilt is a very lightweight silky quilt that I found at Wal-mart and I wish I had bought 10 of them. It's the warmest quilt I've every slept under and it dries unbelievably fast. Also choose good quality pillows. This is not an area to scrimp on. You can buy non-crush pillows that are soft and comfortable but that rebound to their original shape and dry quickly. We have our pillows for our heads, as well as a few pillows down each side of the v-berth walls to insulate us from the cold outside.

After all of our efforts, we ended up with a bed that is much more comfortable than the one we have in our house, a place that we enjoy spending time in, a bit of a refuge from whatever happens to be going on in our weekday lives. There is just not quite anything like laying in the v-berth with the hatch open and the breeze wafting over your face on a cool summer evening while you are anchored in the cove and you have nothing better to do than watch the shooting stars overhead. Or waking up completely buried in the quilts when it's 17° outside and the cabin temp is struggling to stay above 50° and you have absolutely nowhere else to go. So when you're outfitting or refitting your cruising dreamboat, be sure to spend the time and the modest amount of money required to do yourself the favor of a good night's rest.

Nutritious Muffins

2012-01-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

This is my all-time favorite muffin recipe because as long as you have the wet and dry ingredients in the same amount as the recipe, you can substitute pretty much anything for each ingredient, a useful thing when cruising as you usually don't have the ingredients on hand that any particular recipe calls for. I'll print the original recipe here which is from the Bob's Red Mill website and has a lot of other highly useful recipes on it. This morning I substituted toasted wheat germ for the oat bran, and grated apple for the grated carrot, and white flour for the whole wheat flour, just so you get the idea of the types of substitutions you can make. I've used sour cream instead of yogurt, I've used applesauce or pumpkin instead of the banana, I've used 1/4 c. flax seed to replace half of the nuts, I've used dried apple fiber in place of part of the oat bran. It's only limited by your imagination and what you have on hand. The key to excellent muffins every time is to mix well your dry ingredients together in one bowl and your wet ingredients in another bowl, then quickly mix the two together just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. If you mix them too much, the gluten will begin to develop and you will end up with tough muffins.

Ingredients
1/2 C. walnuts, chopped
3/4 C. oat bran cereal
3/4 C. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 C. brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 C. banana, mashed - 1 medium (squeezing the banana in the peel before you open it works well)
1/2 C. yogurt, plain ( I have experimented with various flavors but felt it detracted from the result)
2 egg whites or 1 whole egg
2 TBL cooking oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 C. grated carrot (or apple or hard pear)
1/2 C. chopped dates (or raisins)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400° Lightly grease bottoms of 12 muffin tins.

Mix dry ingredients together in one bowl. Mix wet ingredients together in another bowl.

Quickly mix dry and wet ingredients together with wooden spoon and spoon into muffin tins, mounding up in center. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, or toasted wheat germ.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until browned and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a rack in pan for 5 minutes. Remove to towel-lined bowl and serve warm. Keep any leftovers (not likely) in an airtight container.

Cheddar Drop Biscuits

2012-01-07T11:51:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

2 C. sifted flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
2 tsp sugar
1/2 c. shortening or butter or canned butter
1 C. shredded sharp cheddar
1 C. milk

Sift flour. Measure flour and sift again into bowl with baking powder, salt, cream of tarter and sugar. Add shortening or butter and cut in with wire whisk or other pastry blender. Add cheese and stir. Add milk and stir quickly with wooden spoon until blended. Depending on the humidity you may not need all of the milk. It should be a very thick batter that clings to the spoon and holds its shape. Drop by large spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. and bake 11-13 minutes at 450° or till golden brown and baked through. Brush with melted butter if desired. Serve warm with Fish Chowder or any soup of your choice.

Tilapia Corn Chowder

2012-01-07T11:36:00.000-08:00

What do you make on a cool evening when you have a group to feed and you have a freshly landed catch of some fish to use up? Fish Corn Chowder of course, which in this case is called Tilapia Corn Chowder (original recipe on eatingwell.com but I modified it a bit), but you can use any mild white fish. In this preparation I used Swai, a relatively new fish to the US market which is in fact a catfish from Vietnam. Whatever fish you use should be firm like Cod or it will disintegrate into the chowder, which is not to say it won't taste as good, you just won't have hunks of fish to eat. This chowder is good with cornbread or any biscuits, including the Cheddar Drop Biscuits which I have included the recipe for in another post.

Ingredients:

3-4 slices of bacon
1 tsp canola oil
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 leek, white solid part only, halved lengthwise, rinsed, and thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper (I used 1 tsp lemon pepper because that's what I had)
4 C. reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 medium Idaho potatoes, in large cubes
2 C. fresh corn kernels (or frozen if corn on the cob is out of season)
2 lbs firm white fish cut into large chunks
1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
2 C. heavy cream or 1/2 and 1/2 if you want a lighter version of the soup
Juice of one lemon
2 TBL fresh chives, chopped (optional)

Preparation

Cut bacon into small bits with kitchen shears and cook in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crispy, 3-4 minutes. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Add oil to the pan. Add celery, leek, salt and pepper and cook unitl the vegetables just begin to soften, about 2 minutes.

Add broth, potatoes and corn. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until the potatoes are just tender and the corn is cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Stir in fish and thyme. Return to a gentle simmer. Cook until the fish is cooked through, about 4 minutes more. Remove from the heat. Stir in cream, lemon juice, and the reserved bacon. Garnish with chives, if using.

Serves 6

Braided White Loaf

2011-12-25T17:03:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas Day and we're spending it on the boat since all of our family scattered in the various in-law directions. Baking is the way I relax so it's a perfect day for a good loaf of bread. This is my favorite recipe because it's so versatile. You can make it in a regular loaf, in this braided loaf, in a braided loaf on a cookie sheet instead of in a pan, you can add some brown sugar and cinnamon to the dough and then roll it up jelly roll fashion with butter and cinnamon sugar to make some of the most fantastic cinnamon bread, and I've even added cheese to it at some point for a great cheese bread. It will also make terrific soft rolls for sandwiches. If you've never made bread before, never fear - this is a very forgiving recipe perfect for yeast newbies! This recipe makes 2 loaves, but you can cut it in half.

In a large mixing bowl, mix 2 1/2 C. flour, 4 1/2 tsp dry yeast, 1 TBL sugar, 1 TBL salt.

Heat 1 C. milk, 1-1/4 C. water, and 3 TBL butter in a saucepan to 130°. The butter will not melt. Remove from heat and stir until butter is melted. Add to dry ingredients and beat rapidly with a spoon or whisk for 3 minutes.

Add 3 to 3-1/2 C of flour until dough forms a ball and begins to clean the side of the bowl. Add enough flour so you can handle the dough without it sticking excessively to your hands, but not so much that it becomes dry. If the air is very humid it may take the whole amount, if dry it may take less.Knead the dough for 5-8 minutes, adding additional flour to keep it from sticking to your hands and your work area. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Grease a large bowl well with butter or oil. Place the ball of dough in the bowl and turn over to grease the top. Cover the bowl with a very damp towel and put in a warm place to rise (heat your oven for a few minutes and then turn it off and put the bowl inside.) Keep the dough away from any drafts.

Let rise until almost double in bulk., 30-45 minutes.

Punch down the dough and gather it into a ball.

Divide into three evenly sized
portions.

Roll each portion into a rope about a foot long

Braid the ropes together from the middle to one end. Press the ropes together and tuck underneath. Turn the braid around and braid from the middle to the other end. Press the rope ends together and tuck underneath.

Place in greased loaf pan, cover with damp towel and put in warm place to rise, about 30 minutes.

When nearly doubled, preheat oven to 400°. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on bottom and crust is golden brown. If crust browns too quickly, cover loosely with aluminum foil the last 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Brush top of loaf with melted butter. Let cool completely before slicing.

Merry Christmas and Enjoy!

Maple Pumpkin Muffins

2011-12-19T09:31:00.000-08:00

It's the 19th of December and the wind is howling outside the boat bringing tidings of a cold front and the announcement of Winter's arrival. Inside, the boat smells of fresh brewed coffee and maple pumpkin muffins in the oven. We have absolutely no where to go, I've had a fantastic night's sleep in the V-berth, I have a cookie-baking date with my three grandkids later today, and let's face it folks it just doesn't get much better than this.

Part of cooking while cruising or living aboard is learning to make due with the ingredients you have on hand. There's usually no quick trip down the street to the grocery store. When I got up this morning I wanted pumpkin muffins and after searching the net for a new recipe and looking in the boat pantry (which is pretty empty this time of year due to removing the freezable stuff), I came up with this modified recipe.

Maple Pumpkin Muffins
1-1/2 C. Flour (I used the white that I had but you could use whole wheat pastry flour or 1/2 and 1/2)
2 Pkg of Instant Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1 egg, beaten
2 TBL Vegetable Oil
6 TBL Maple Syrup (preferably real but I only had pancake syrup)
2 TBL Hot Buttered Rum Mix (see below for the recipe)
1 tsp Vanilla

1 C. Canned Pumpkin
1/2 C. Skim Milk (you could use evaporated or powdered milk reconstituted)
1/2 C. Chopped walnuts, or raisins, or dates, or any combination (optional)
Streusel Topping (optional): Mix one envelope of instant maple flavored oatmeal, one TBL of cold butter and a tsp of cinnamon together well. Keeps well in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 400°. Grease the bottoms only of a 12-cup muffin pan.

Mix the dry ingredients together well with a whisk.

Mix the wet ingredients together. In these pictures I put the Hot Buttered Rum mix in the dry ingredients, but it was difficult to mix it in so the next time I will mix it into the wet ingredients until it is completely incorporated.

Mix the two together just until dry ingredients are completely incorporated and divide evenly into muffin pan.

Top with optional streusel mix and bake for 18-22 mins depending on your oven.

If you're making these in a boat oven you will need to rotate hem in the
middle of the baking time, but be careful in your handling of the pan so they don't collapse. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes and enjoy with a hot steaming cup of coffee. Makes 12 nice-sized muffins.

Hot Buttered Rum Mix
1-1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 tsp of each of the following:
   Ground Cloves
   Allspice
   Nutmeg
   Cinnamon
Zest of one orange or 2 tsp dried orange peel mixed with 2 TBL water
Mix all well and place in an airtight container. Keeps for a long time on the shelf in cool weather or you can store it in the refrigerator. Use a heaping teaspoon in a bottom of a mug with a jigger of rum. Mix well and fill the mug with boiling water. Great for cool evenings in the cockpit. Also great for seasoning many recipes, including cut up sweet potatoes, pancakes, muffins, etc. Use your imagination. A steaming mug of this goes well with the maple pumpkin muffins by the way...

In Search Of The Elusive Perfect Omelet

2011-12-02T08:28:00.000-08:00

"Too many cruisers waste too much time learning esoteric things about sailing, such as the relative merits of various brands of chart plotters or watermakers, when what they really need to learn is how to make a good omelet."

Jim Trefethen, The Cruising Life

I'm asked for my omelet recipe probably more than any other so here is a photo tutorial for you just because I believe what Jim Trefethen said in his book. I first learned to make this omelet by watching a cooking show back when cooking shows were really meant to teach you how to cook instead of subjecting you to the ego-maniacal rants of a reality show chef. I practiced religiously and subjected Tim to many failed experiments, but he loves omelets and was ever so patient. I believe his patience has been rewarded.

We usually make 2 egg omelets, but if you have a large enough pan you can do 3. Beat the eggs with a fork and add a tsp of water and salt and pepper to taste. Contrary to many popular recipes, do not use milk here, only water.

Preheat your good non-stick 9" skillet, spray with your version of non-stick spray. I use butter-flavored spray (and this is not any endorsement of Wally-World's products, just what I happened to have on hand.)

Add chopped ham, or sausage, or bacon and chopped onion and peppers if you wish. Saute them until they're heated through and onions are clear. Set aside in a small bowl.

Clean your skillet after heating the fillings. You must start out with a clean skillet. Spray the skillet with non-stick spray, then add a teaspoon or two of butter and allow to melt over medium-high heat but don't allow it to scorch.

Add egg. Do not stir or touch it until you see the edges begin to cook as in the picture at the left.

Using a fork, start at one edge and smoothly push the egg to the other edge. The liquid egg on top will fill in behind the fork.

Then take the fork and pull the cooked edge in the opposite direction, allowing the uncooked egg to fill in behind the fork.

Once more in the opposite direction, and you can see that there will be just barely enough egg to fill in behind. At this point, you take your fork and gently scrape all the uncooked egg from the top of the cooked egg and push it toward the low point in the pan.

Add your cheese of choice. I personally prefer Swiss, but the recipient of this omelet likes American so there you have it.

Add your meat and/or veggies to the other side. Cover the pan with a lid or foil, and turn the burner off. Let stand for a few moments to allow the rest of the egg to cook and the cheese to melt.

Carefully using a spatula, fold the cheese half over the meat half. The perfectly browned wrinkles are the result of the fork-pushing exercise in the steps above.

Add the toast of your choice (see the previous post on toast) and you have the Perfect Omelet - Enjoy!

Fresh Apple Pie

2011-11-29T18:50:00.000-08:00

I recently made this pie for our yacht club Thanksgiving feast. One of our members is a diabetic so I made it sugar free but it's easily adaptable either way. This one is also for a two-crust pie, but you can make a French apple pie as well using a crumb topping instead of the top crust. As I described in a previous post, I fold a long piece of aluminum foil in half lengthwise twice to make a strip about 2-3" wide. I then wrap this around the pie and fold the ends together to make a crust shield. I crimp it together on the top edge a little so that the fluted edges of the crust are hidden. If they don't brown you can take the foil off the last 5 minutes or so to brown them. The secrets to good pie crust is double-sifting the flour, making sure to cut the shortening in until it's the consistency of cornmeal, using ice water, and not over-working the dough.

Fresh Apple Pie

Crust:

2-2/3 c. flour - sift bulk flour first, measure the flour and sift again into the bowl
1 tsp salt
1 c. butter flavor shortening
1/2 c. ice water

Sift flour, measure, then sift into bowl with salt. Add shortening and cut into flour mixture until the consistence of coarse cornmeal. Toss in ice water and work with fork until the dough forms a ball and cleans the sides of the bowl. Note: in very humid weather you may not need all the water, and conversely when it's dry you may need a little more. Divide ball into 2 and set aside, covered with plastic wrap.

Filling:

5-6 Large tart apples
Juice of one lemon, fresh squeezed
6 TBL flour
1 tsp cinnamon
dash salt
13 oz jar of Polaner all fruit spread in either peach or apricot flavor

Peel 5-6 large apples, preferably Jonathan or Granny Smith or some other tart apple. Quarter, core, then slice into 1/8 slices into large bowl. Sprinkle apple slices with the juice of one lemon. Add 6 TBL flour, 1 rounded tsp cinnamon, dash of salt and one 13oz jar of Polaner all fruit in either peach or apricot flavor. Any other brand of jam will do, and you can use sugar free as well. The pie in the picture was sugar free for a diabetic friend of mine. Stir well and let sit while you roll the crust.

Roll crust out to inch and a half larger than inverted pie plate. Carefully transfer to plate and trim edges to 1" even all around. Roll second ball into circle about 1" larger than inverted plate. Fill crust with apple mixture and place dough circle on top. Press edges together, roll edge toward center of pie and crimp with fingers or end of wooden spoon. Roll out scraps and cut apple and leaf shapes. Wet with small amount of water and place on pie. Using a soft paintbrush, paint food coloring on shapes. I use the back edge of a table knife to make the leaf veins before painting. With a sharp knife, place a couple vent slits in the top. Bake 425° for 50-75 minutes (depends on how hot your oven is). In addition to the edge shield you may need to cover the top loosely with a piece of foil if it browns too quickly.

Toast

2011-11-28T12:21:00.000-08:00

One of our main ideas about cruising is to attempt to be energy self-sufficient. As a result, we generally make coffee in our on-the-stove drip coffee maker rather than an electric pot, and we don't have a toaster on the boat. I've tried various camping toast apparatus without any culinary satisfaction and after many different attempts at the perfect piece of toast I came back to the K.I.S.S. principle - I'm now doing toast in a skillet, dry.

For my stove, I set the heat fairly low and put the bread in the pan with no butter or anything. I have to move them around and flip them every few minutes so they toast evenly because my burners are all very small, but I end up with perfectly toasted bread. I'm using a non-stick skillet that is the lid of a very old Coleman camping nested pot set. I keep trying to talk myself into spending $150 on a set of nested stainless, but the fact is, I've been using this pot set since I was married (it was a wedding gift), it works well, it has all the pots I need in it, it fits perfectly in my pot and pan storage bin, and it didn't cost any money. So for the time being you'll just have to put up with dinged and dented pots in my recipe pictures because they're not going anywhere soon. Coming soon will be my perfect ham and cheese omelet recipe. Stay tuned!

Oven Basics

2011-11-27T21:02:00.000-08:00

The oven we have on our 1982 Tartan 42 is a Hillerange 3 burner propane stove with a broiler in the oven. It has a metal tray on the bottom of the oven above the broiler with slots along the sides for the air to move upwards into the oven. The first problem I had with trying to bake anything in the Hillerange was that the heat was horribly uneven. Things would burn on the bottom and not be done on top. The first step to working around this was a trip to our local flooring store where I purchased some unglazed terra cotta tile (lead-free of course) which I placed directly on the metal tray above the burner where they absorb the heat and help to distribute it more evenly. They also make a terrific place to cook pizza and some breads that require direct heat. For things like cookies, I put a double layer of aluminum foil, shiny side down, on a cookie sheet and then a piece of parchment paper to put the cookies on. I put the cookie sheet directly on the stones for the first 8 minutes and then move them to the top rack for the last 2-4 minutes. This seems to work well in lieu of an airbake pan, which I can't find in a small enough size to fit. It also makes it easy to slide the whole sheet of parchment onto the cooling rack and the new sheet onto the cookie sheet.

(And yes, the oven is dirty. It was well-used this season)

When I bake pies, I fold a long piece of aluminum foil in half lengthwise twice, then run that strip around the circumference of the pie and fold the ends together. The strip should be a little taller than the pie which allows you to fold the top edge inward a little to almost completely cover the crimped edge of the pie. I put the pie on a rack pretty close to the ceiling of the oven, and then I cover the top loosely with a flat piece of foil.

Broiling is still a bit of a challenge for me yet. The broiler isn't very hot, so it's difficult to get foods broiled, juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. They sometimes tend to get a baked consistency instead because it takes so long. I'm thinking about maybe trying to sear the meat in a skillet first an then broiling it.

We don't have a stern rail barbeque on Kintala. We gave ours up when we still owned Nomad because there just wasn't any room on the stern rail, and Kintala is probably even more space-challenged on the stern rail than Nomad was. What we did instead was to purchase a cast iron grilling skillet like this one:

It's a 10-1/2 " very heavy pan that you preheat on high with the lid on it (the lid also has the ridges) and then spray the pan with spray non-stick coating and put your meat on and put the lid on top. The meat cooks quickly because of the preheated lid. You still turn it half way through but it requires less time and it turns out just as well as the grill and a whole lot easier. It also makes delicious bacon with the lid as a press, and wonderful paninis and french toast. It is an extremely heavy pan but it still weighs in less than a conventional gas stern rail grill and doesn't require any extra propane tanks or the worry of storing them. As a side note on propane, I cook on the boat at least 2 meals a day every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and sometimes Thursday or Monday if it's a long weekend for us, and we used only one 10# propane tank from the middle of June to the middle of November. This included many long bakes of pies and bread and cookies. I try always to maximize the propane usage by only boiling the exact amount of water needed to make coffee or tea, and to keep bacon warm by putting it on top of a rack on top of the eggs while they cook etc.