Cooking on a Boat

OK. Just so you know. Cooking on a boat is more complicated than in the kitchen of a land based house. First of all…and most obvious…a house doesn’t move under you while you are attempting to prepare food (think chopping vegetables or boiling water). Second, due to the lack of storage space available, cooking implements…especially specialized pieces of equipment…must be minimized or eliminated. Especially if they need to be plugged into an electrical outlet. Most cruisers believe that “Everything must have at least three uses.” When it comes to galley equipment, it also needs to be as compact as possible. Last summer, while on another boat, I discovered a wonderful colander that collapses flat and can be stuffed behind the nested pots and pans. I couldn’t wait to add this gem to the inventory on "Faith". One thing that has always given me apoplexy is plastic ware. This includes dishes and glasses (I really hate drinking wine out of plastic) as well as storage items. Tupperware was the boon (and bane) of the housewife of the 60’s and 70’s but, as we all know, it takes up a lot of space and the lids are always disappearing (probably to the same place that one sock goes when it leaves the washing machine). Further, the lids do not hold their seal as long as one would like when they end up sideways and upside down in a marine refrigerator. I must say the new snap-tite storage containers are a major improvement but they still aren’t very good at stacking. So…when it comes to stocking the average boat “kitchen” with needed items it may mean sacrificing some long loved shapes and sizes and improvising at best. Instead of two cookie sheets you may have one (and it will be much smaller because a boat oven is much smaller). Our one mixing bowl was a stainless dog bowl in its previous life. It is big enough to mix up a good sized salad or batch of cookies but fits neatly on the bottom of the nested cooking pots. And…it won’t break or rust. All things considered, I have managed to provide pretty edible fare when we are in port or in a calm anchorage but when the wind comes up or we have a swell running things begin to unravel. When the boat is rocking or rolling most meals scale down to throwing something on the grill and adding a salad or some pasta. Passages are an entirely different animal. I try to make a big pot of Goulash or some other one-dish meal before we leave that can be easily heated up but sometimes even that is a struggle if we have a side swell. That said, I have been trying some new things this season. Last week, while at anchor in Isla San Francisco, we were invited to a potluck dinner on another boat. In addition to the dish I had signed up for I thought it would be fun to make some brownies. I got out the mix (all mixes have been removed from original boxes and stored in Ziploc bags with the cooking instructions) and put it into the bowl with the rest of the ingredients but was puzzled as the instructions were to mix it with an electric mixer. Hmmm. That’s funny. I don’t remember this from the last time. OK. Located the mixer but could find the blades nowhere. Probably decided I wouldn’t need the mixer and left just the blades in the storage unit (or put them in some cubbyhole where they will be discovered when we go through the boat in June). Shoot! OK. I’ll just beat it by hand like in the “olden days”. Hmmm. This looks awfully runny for brownies. Re-read the directions. Shoot! This is a chocolate cake! OK…get the right sized pan out and put it in to bake. The boat was rolling around a bit due to the wind and swell so the cake turned out a bit lopsided. Solution: Even it out with frosting and throw some chopped nuts on top! No one knew the difference and it was a big hit. Right now we are at a dock and I’ve been craving an apple pie for a long time so when I saw Washington Granny Smith apples at the CCC that sealed the deal. Yesterday I got out Grandma’s Perfect Pie Crust recipe and got started. Unfortunately, something had spilled on the recipe card so I couldn’t exactly read the amount of salt needed. Turns out I tripled the required amount. Shoot! I was going to let it go but then thought that if I was going to go to all the trouble of making a pie I might as well make it right. So…out it went and I started over again. Next problem: I couldn’t find a rolling pin anywhere! Shoot! I must have left it in the trailer. Now what? I finally decided a plastic drinking glass would work. It wasn’t perfect but did the job. Everything else went as it should and an hour later a lovely apple pie was cooling on the countertop. Now…if only we had some ice cream……

Being A Girl

I know, I know! It has been a loooong time since my last blog post. Somehow our lifestyle seems to have become not much different from the way people who live on dirt spend their days. Of course, if we decide we don't like the neighborhood or the weather is getting too cold or we'd like a better view or need some seclusion or, conversely, shopping opportunities, all we have to do is raise the anchor (or untie the dock lines) and leave. We have the option of moving and taking the whole house with us! No boxes to pack. No trips to Goodwill. No realtors to hire. So, even with all the travel options, life has settled down into a somewhat humdrum situation at the moment. That means I am scratching the inside of my head for ideas on what to write about that might possibly be of interest to "my readers"! So here's something a little different (I hope)...some of the challenges of "being a girl" when cruising.
Make up: Doesn't work! First of all, your world is usually moving so applying makeup is a bit like painting modern art. I have gone from being a girl who didn't leave the house without mascara and eye liner to "Well...if it is a really special occasion I'd better put on some lipstick."
Haircuts: Hah!! Since we have a very mobile lifestyle and are never in the same place from one haircut to the next it is not possible to develop a "relationship" with a hairdresser. Therefore, one can never be sure what the hair will look like after a cut. Add to that the language barrier and you may be able to begin to see the problem. I have finally learned how to say (in Spanish), "Cut it the same only shorter" but, somehow, the hairdressers never seem to get the "er" in shorter! It has become enough of a problem that I wait until my hair is hanging halfway over my ears before I can get up the nerve to try one more time to find someone who might be able to understand what I want.
Hair color: Well...now this is a subject for the ages! A lot of the cruiser women have totally given up and let their hair go "natural" (meaning gray) but that is the one concession I have been particularly stubborn about making. I t-r-y to be somewhere with restrooms about once a month so I can get the Lady Clairol out and brighten things up a bit but it doesn't always work. My last "touch up" was in La Cruz and mi esposo was making comments like, "you should see the 'interesting' combination of colors in your hair" when looking at the back of my head. Harumph!!
Manicure/pedicure: Dream on.
Dressing up: One of my favorite things about being a single woman of means - back when I lived on land - was the fun of getting all dressed up in slinky, shimmery dresses, spiky CFM heels and dangling, sparkly jewelry for an evening out on the town. The best I can do now is a sundress that says "Mazatlan" on the front and flip flops with a little bling on the straps. I still have some great dresses and a couple pair of sexy shoes but they are currently residing in a Tupperware bin in the storage unit back in Washington.
Shopping: As we all know, shopping is the first right of all women. Unfortunately, living in a space that is roughly the size of a walk in closet means "real" shopping is out of the question. I have learned to turn "provisioning" into an art form and I still maintain a library of about 100 books on board but trinkets, knick knacks and what nots are definitely out. Any cutesy things to decorate the table with must be carefully packed away somewhere whenever we decide to go somewhere new.
Still, even with the "sacrifices", life is good. Sunsets and sunrises on the ocean (or the Sea)...long white sand beaches...swaying palm trees...turquoise water...being the only boat in the anchorage...a full moon on a calm night passage..."plans" that can be changed at the last minute if something more interesting comes up...good friends...good wine...a good husband.
When I receive one of those chain emails telling me to pass it along and make a wish it dies in my in box. I can think of nothing to wish for that I do not already have.