Position 15:40.75N 35:06.52W

PASSEPARTOUT
Christopher & Nirit Slaney
Mon 27 Dec 2010 16:00

Food and Beverage Dept.

Lunchtime special; Avocado, crab meat and smoked salmon starter.
Shmulik preparing the catch of the day
Cover charge included

(Photos by Gabriella)

Just before our wedding my future mother in law, the late Yonata Jalon, gave Nirit some advice for a successful marriage.

In a nutshell it was, "Food comes first." The details were something like this, "When your man comes home, feed him. If you want to cuddle, that can wait until after dinner. When you need to tell him you've smashed the car, must have a solitaire diamond or the bank called about the overdraft, do it over dessert."

The downside of this is that since I know about the mother-daughter advice, if I walk in to a beautifully laid table, Veuve Cliquot on ice and my favourite honey basted baby chicken roasted on rock salt, there's an immediate clenching of buttocks as I prepare to receive some dreadful news. In practice there is very rarely anything that bad.

I mention this in order to paint a picture of a home centered around the kitchen. When our children spread their wings they told us there were two things that couldn't be replicated anywhere else on the planet, their Mom's cooking and the smell and feel of fresh laundry at home.

Nirit and I have sailed on many different yachts with mixed culinary experiences. Crossing the north Atlantic on Chay Blyth's 'Challenge' the chow was okay but we all ate from dog bowls, the theory being that they were less likely to spill. Like in the gulag, utensils were limited to spoons. On another voyage the main meal of the day was always pot noodles, causing me to remark, "This isn't sailing for Jewish people."

Many sailing crews on a long passage assume that meals have to be either from dried or canned food. Some even opt for military-style MRE's or packs prepared for expeditions. With us it's different. I don't know how Nirit and Gabriella planned and managed it but seventeen days after hitting the supermarket and produce stalls in Las Palmas, we are still eating a lot of fresh food. (There was a limited replenishment of fresh food in the Cape Verdes) I do know some items were cooked and frozen and that research was done into how best to store fruit and veg for maximum shelf life.

Shmulik is an enthusiastic amateur chef and spends hours in the galley over each concoction. Gabriella has served us a breakfast of 'Arepas' - a traditional South American cornbread pancake filled with either scrambled egg, cheese or ham and served warm with butter.

So here's a look at what we ate - (no dog bowls, always a proper service on a tablecloth) - yesterday

Passepartout

Menu del dia.

Breakfast.

Fresh fruit salad / Granola

Yoghurt / Milk

Filter coffee / Tea

Lunch.

Tomato salad with olive oil dressing

Shmulik's Green Tehina with freshly chopped coriander

Cheese and cold cut platter

Selection of crackers and bread

Fruit juice from concentrate

Dinner

Watercress soup

Shmulik's special chicken casserole in a carrot, onion and parsley broth

World class mashed potatoes from Gabriella

Cabbage stir fried with coarsely ground black pepper and bacon bits

'Butter-Mandel-Stollen' German Christmas cake

Portuguese Vinho Verde

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