Food Glorious Food

Rik
Thu 30 Nov 2023 18:31
12:19.587N 55:03.408W

Guest blogger Kath here again. As we get closer and closer to Grenada ( we passed the 500 mile mark at 11.45pm last night when I was on watch with Dickie) then the notion of a cold beer, chilled glass of rosé and a meal NOT cooked on board becomes ever more appealing. 
Planning food for the 6-day trip from Las Palmas to Cape Verde and then the 14+ day crossing was something that I enjoyed being part of.  The days can be long and the excitement limited so food becomes a big part of the experience and the right balance of nutritious and tasty is essential for physical and mental wellbeing. 
Caroline and I sat down to write a meal plan and provisions list - she had already shopped for loo roll, kitchen roll etc and Moose was well-stocked with herbs and spices, oils, baking products and so on so none of that had to be considered. Storage is obviously a massive consideration so having two drawer fridges, two smaller fridges and a small freezer we carefully thought through meat, fish, dairy, fruit and veg and how and where this would be kept....leaving room for chocolate of course! 
As a crew we discovered we naturally tended towards 'late breakfast - no lunch' so decided to focus on breakfast goodies and dinner, plus ingredients for snacks for those who did get the munchies outside of those times. Breakfast has been a help yourself affair - muesli, Granola, fruit ( fresh to start with, now mainly tinned), yoghurt, honey etc - with a few crew breakfasts thrown in such as this morning's cracker of a brekkie cooked by John and Dickie! We seemed to have calculated eggs perfectly with 12 left to see us to the end of the trip....but that's the last of the Heinz baked beans!

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The perfect start to the day 

Dinners were planned for every day - protein, carb, veg - with some pre-prepared and popped in the freezer ( chilli, tagine, curry) great for the really rough seas where spending too much time in the galley was not pleasant! We hoped for, but didn't bank on, fresh fish. The boys caught tuna and a large Mahi Mahi on trip 1 but just a small wahoo and small Mahi Mahi on this leg so we're glad we didn't factor it into the plan - it has been a nice bonus though! 

Our secret weapon has been the Ninja - an air fryer, pressure cooker, grill and much much more all in one. In rough seas you can steam rice and pressure cook potatoes etc eliminating pans of boiling water on a rocky boat. Yesterday Caroline baked bread using the Ninja which both proves and steam bakes - the result was delicious. 

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Everyone need a Ninja in the galley 

I mentioned treats to keep morale high, yesterday also saw Caroline in full baking mode with Bowie on Volume 10 in the galley and her famous Oaty Topped Squares in the oven. Absolutely yummy and already hoovered up...the recipe is available on request!

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Treacly naughtiness 

So with three nights to go we think we have pretty much nailed it in terms of provisioning. Last night we used up a good chunk of outstanding veggies which were neatly 'julienned' by John and then popped into a tasty stir fry with frozen prawns and noodles.

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John julienning! 

Tonight is chicken curry and daal, tomorrow a Diana Henry tray bake with squash and chorizo and Saturday will be a creamy mushroom pasta with dried porchini and creme fraiche...then dinner OUT on Sunday fingers crossed! ( Did I mention that will be my birthday?!!) 

Got told off for my 'over and out' last time so..this is Kathryn 'out' x