Another post stolen wholesale from Admiral Amy's blog:
A variation on the desert island question, only for real: If you were moving yourself to a boat for two months and knew you had limited kitchen space, what items in your pantry would you not be able to do without? I have a pretty standard cupboard of condiments and spices, and have to decide what to pack and what to give away/throw away.
I don’t need to bring any cookware, since we already have the basics on board: cast-iron fry pan and a couple of sauce pans. There will be no baking, and we have limited and erratic refrigeration. So far, my list contains:
-cornmeal (for frying fish and other things)
-bouillon cubes
-any pasta, beans and canned goods I have in my pantry
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
I Could Use Some Advice
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5 comments:
Oh – here is one I may be able to help with – or at least give my opinion for what it’s worth!
Firstly think again about any extra hardware! There are two things I LOVE aboard our boat that save time and energy.
1) A Large pump action thermos flask (the kind they use to serve coffee in the conference room) – I boil water in the morning for our coffee/tea and boil extra for the thermos – and this keeps water steaming hot for the full day. I can make HOT tea even in the evening with this (or start off with hot water for pasta) – without having to use any extra propane. We keep ours on the counter with some non-slip draw liner beneath and lashed to an eye so it can’t topple over. I think these are under $20 at some place like Target. You can get more expensive unbreakable ones.
2) A pressure cooker – I know this takes up space AND is heavy - but this really cuts down cooking time and steam/condensation in the cabin – think potatoes, corn on the cob, soups, and those beans, all cooked in less than half the standard time! I cook extra rice for an evening meal, and use the spare for egg fried rice brunch!
Also we have a whistling kettle for boiling water.
OK now for food. We lived without refrigeration for years and always have a good stock of a heat treated milk called PARMALAT. It comes in cardboard cartons, in large and lunch box size. A lunch box size carton does me for my breakfast cereal and a cup of hot tea each morning.. If I know we are going to use milk for other things in the day I open the larger carton. It is REAL milk and tastes just the same, don’t let anyone tell you differently. If you can’t bear to drink milk anything but ice cold – you can at least purchase these ahead of time, and put the carton you want for the next day in your new cooler. They keep for about 6 months unrefrigerated (check the dates on the cartons). Depending on the store you can find it in either the coffee/tea section or the baking section – a blue and white carton.
Also look out in the supermarket for a range of Indian foods made by “Tasty Bites” and other brands. They come in a box (the size of a small rice box). Inside the box is a heavy foil like sachet with a fully cooked, ready to heat Indian dish – and you don’t even have to dirty a pan – just boil in the bag. There is a huge range of these, and they take just 5 mins to heat up. I normally have a rice and two different Indian dishes – makes a quick, tasty meal. Again – no refrigeration required!
I suspect that you will be able to get to a store quite often, but if not you can consider sprouting. You can get all fancy but I just buy dried garbanzo beans from the store and sprout with them. This way you have something fresh for your sandwiches / salad dishes.
As for herbs and spices – well, I guess you know what you like. I would be keel hauled if we ran out of Tabasco, and for myself I really like Worcester Sauce I keep most of my spices in a plastic shoe box size box – and write on the lids what they are so I can find them easily.
Oh - and don't be afraid of purchasing eggs without refigeration, they last for at least two weeks. (After that test them to ensure they sink and lay on their side in fresh water, and to be extra sure, crack them individually in a cup before adding to your cooking).
Other than that, I’m sure you have the basics. One more thing you might investigate is stove top cookies - there are hundreds of recipes and I tend to use the oatmeal/chocolate type (both Kyle and I are chocolate lovers). There are also stove top bread recipes, but I have not yet tried them (on the list), let me know if you find a good one).
Oops another essay - hope that helps.
Oh - and as for store bought bread.. Some last longer than others - I particularly like "Heath Nut", an Arnold brand bread. I swear it lasts 3 weeks, and tastes delicious.
Hi Amy, Welcome home Scott! I have enjoyed the blogs tremendously! Well, you may want garlic,coffee (the small french press is great, Rose, I think you can get one at Whole Foods) you can get 500 non dairy creamers at Costco for very little, rice, and I think Panko is great for frying things--very light and gets crispy, and now that you can buy crushed tomatos in boxes, why not a few boxes? Just add a little butter, a whole onion and cook for a while and it is the best sauce for pasta.
When you are in Baltimore, please call. I would like to give you contact numbers and addresses for our friends the Frews who have sailed to the Vineyard many times and keep their boat in Mystic CT.
Sandy
Hey Sandy, we'll make sure to stop by before we head north. Grampa's coming over today, and we might motor over to the Broadway Pier and hit the Wharf Rat. Depends on our mood and the weather. We also might just hang out here at the marina.
This is a great post, and timely as Starrider was launched last week and we are in the middle of reprovisoning. Some of the ideas are great, and we have not thought of them. We have been stocking up on the Hormel brand of microwave meals. These do not need any refrigeration and can be cooked in the microwave, when cooked, eat right out of the container they come in. These are no replacement for a nice fresh cooked meal, but in a seaway they are an easy to cook way to get a hot meal.
Save the plastic containers they are great to drain your fuel filter into or for mixing up epoxy or gelcoat (something us Gemini owners are very familiar with), lol. On the plus side no dishes to do or water to waste. We try to avoid using the stove as we cruise in the summer and it just heats up the cabin too much. I think a rail mount grill may be in our future. For a quick hot lunch there are also microwave soups and meals that come in soup size microwave containers.
Meg and I are cereal for breakfast folks. We have avoided cereal because of the milk issue, thanks for the idea, Marryanne. We have been doing the pop tart thing for breakfast.
Keep the good ideas coming!
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