Conference turris::cooks

    
    This sounds like fun! I used to do two-week long horseback trips
    with large (HUNGRY!!) groups, so I'll stick my two cents in.
    
    First of all, there are some really EXCELLENT meals available in
    the dried variety for camping trips of all kinds - they used to
    be sort of dressed up k-rations, but in the last ten years some
    companies got creative.
    
    Wilderness Outfitters should have an excellent variety, and some
    grocery stores (near hunting/fishing/wilderness areas) stock up
    on them for the summer campers.
    
    Eggs - if you get them directly from a farm or backyard henhouse
    will keep up to a month without refrigeration. DON'T hardboil
    them expecting them to keep longer - on the contrary, they'll
    rot much more quickly. If you let me know a couple weeks ahead
    of time (and you're anywhere near Merrimack!) I can let you
    have a couple dozen right before you leave and they'll only
    be one or two days old.
    
    Fruit has its own preservative (sugar) and packaging, and a big
    fruit salad with a little amaretto or triple sec dashed over it
    makes an elegant ending to a hot day. Don't store anything in
    plastic bags - they retain heat and moisture and will make
    fruits and veggies rot faster - brown paper bags are best, and
    can go straight from the grocery store into a cabinet.
    
    OK - for the pre-cook frozen stuff... 
    
    	1. Chili!!! The spices act as a preservative, so you'll
    	   buy a couple of days freezing it, then it will keep
    	   for another 2 or 3 days if necessary. I won't put in
    	   my recipe - fairly straightforward - as there's a whole
    	   section on chili recipes elsewhere in the conference.
    
    	2. If you do fried chicken, plan on eating it the second
    	   day - no later - and serve it up unheated, with a huge
    	   pan of fried potatoes and onions (they'll keep for the
    	   whole trip, and even make an omelet seem like a hearty
    	   feast - of course you won't cook those ahead of time.)
    
    	3. Freeze up a big pot of minestrone, beef barley, or beef
    	   and vegetable soup. Any of those will keep well. DON'T
    	   try to keep soup that has cream, chicken or fish in it,
    	   but if you want some, take it dried - the campers meals
    	   again.
    
    	4. Hot dogs will keep for a while, but even better are\
    	   knockwurst or the spicier "wursts" - along with a couple
    	   cans of beans (hmmm - maybe not if the cabin is small...)
    	   or how 'bout sauerkraut and boiled potatoes - a jar of
    	   good mustard to flavor up the whole mess.
    
    	5. Spaghetti sauce keeps a long time - even if you don't
    	   freeze it - or buy some jars of a good brand, then 
    	   jazz it up with some added onions, black olives, green
    	   pepper (keeps well un-refrigerated!) and canned
    	   mushrooms.
    
    I can't think of anything I haven't been able to make on a long
    camping trip - either buying freeze-dried (there's even a sort of
    pan-cooked chocolate cake available) or carrying something I
    know keeps well, but here's a list of fresh things that should
    easily go for a week:
    
    	Zucchini, green tomatoes (delicious fried with bacon!), oranges,
    	grapefruit, pineapple, bananas (buy greenish ones), cucumbers
    	(buy small ones), potatoes, onions, almost any hard yellow
    	vegetable like turnip, butternut squash, parsnips, etc...
    
    	If you like cheese, Velveeta keeps for ages without refrigeration.
    	It gets soft and mushy, but used for cooking - who cares??
    
    	Hope this helps - This has brought out my "creative camping"
    	urge - White Mountains here I come!!
    
    Diana

    If you can get to a good-sized library, do so, and look through
    their cookbook section for -- DAMN!- I forget the name -- anyway,
    there's a cookbook on the market that describes the pleasures and
    pitfalls of cooking on a boat.  I can tell you right now (based
    on my brother's stories -- he works as a steward) IT ISN'T AS EASY
    AS IT SOUNDS!
    
    It does describe what to buy in order to avoid spoilage, and how
    to prepare food safely...  in any event, no matter what else you
    do -- get help, or you may wind up *very* hungry.
    
    					andrew
                                              
    P.S. If I can recall the cookbook's name. I'll include it.

    
    The stove problem - it's gimbaled (sp?) at least in one direction,
    roll. The pitch is partially solved by braces that secure the pans,
    the rest is solved (somewhat) by watching the levels of liquid in
    the pans/pots.  Also, we wouldn't plan anything fancy in heavy weather,
    probably just canned something or even sandwiches if the weather
    gets *REAL* heavy. After 8 years experience in Submarines, some
    of the time as a messcook, I understand, or have at least experienced
    most of the pitfalls, some real heavy weather too.
    
    The book sounds interesting.  Could you please provide the title
    if its not too dificult.
    
    Thnaks, Ray.
    

    Good luck with the food.  I suggest that you pack some freeze dried
    stuff just in case it gets rough.  A real life saver on out last
    cruise was the instant noodle soups.  You just boil water and add
    it to the styrofoam cup then wait 5 min.  They are great during
    a cold 1-3 watch.  
    		

    Let's revive this note... a lot of us are active sailors.
    
    Last year for our Maine Cruise I deep froze a beef borginnogne, served
    with noodles and managed to pick up some fresh french bread at a port
    for the sauce.... I have a permenant berth on that boat.
    
    While costal sailing (check red tide) scoop up a bucket of muscles from
    the shore line (5 min job) drag in mesh bag to night's achorage.  Large
    pot, a bit of wine, garlic, onion or whatever is around. Yummmm.
    
    We often get lobsters from the local boaters at dock prices.
    
    Kilbasa keeps well.
    
    BTW I actualy sold my boat because I was getting invited so often to
    crew a: good cook b: passable sailor.
    
    Dont limit this to long blue water cruises... more suggestions wanted.
    
    	my criteria.. 	As much pre preparation as possible.
    			Little trash
    			Small storage space
    			No liver or organ meats ;')
    
    Thanks in advance
    
    Bob

    I've had a bit of experience preparing meals on a sailboat.  The
    thing I like most about it is that almost anything tastes better when
    served on a boat than when served on land (strange ... it might have
    something to do with fresh air and sunshine) ... but for those of us
    who prepare the food, the compliments seem to come our way a lot easier
    at sea than on shore.
    
    I usually start planning my menu by making a list of the number of days
    we'll be at sea, and filling in what I think we'll have for breakfast,
    lunch, and dinner for each of those days.  Then I add whatever I think
    we'll need for condiments, snacks, and beverages to go with (or 
    supplement) the meals.  Then I add a few more things because the trip
    might take longer than planned, and you can't exactly go to the grocery
    store if you run out.
    
    If your boat stove has an oven, it makes it much easier to solve the
    problem of prepare-ahead type dinners.  Lasagna is a personal favorite,
    because it can be frozen and served several days after leaving port. 
    I've also had good success with different types of casseroles made with
    boneless chicken breasts.  The advantage of prepare-ahead and freeze
    type dinners is obvious when your cooler space is limited and you have
    to decide how to allocate the available space between food and ice.
    
    For stove-top preparations, beef stew can be prepared in advance and
    frozen.  Someone already mentioned chile.  You can also freeze ground
    beef, and fix it later with Hamburger Helper (or any of a number of
    other ways).
    
    For breakfasts, the menu depends on whether you're in port (on a
    mooring or dock) or underway.  If the latter, your practical choices
    are more limited ... nothing is more aggravating than trying to cook
    eggs on a heeling sailboat only to watch them end up on the floor when
    the boat hits a wave.  If underway, I'd recommend keeping it simple,
    like cereal, fruit, breads and rolls ... stuff that doesn't require a
    lot of preparation.  Hot cereal is also usually a practical thing to
    serve ... especially for the crew coming off the early-morning shift
    who've been out in the night chill for a few hours.  I usually keep
    some instant oatmeal on board for those occasions.
    
    If in port, or in light-air conditions where the boat isn't heeling too
    much and the waves aren't bouncing you around, french toast is an easy
    and filling breakfast.  Or if you want something really filling,
    scrambled eggs with sauted vegetables is pretty easy (I usually fix
    this breakfast after one of our overnight races).  I've even made baked
    apple pancakes on occasion (I got that recipe out of this conference).
    
    Lunches are usually sandwiches, and in that case your options are
    limited only to your imagination.  Use your deli meats first, and save
    the PB&J and tuna (or other canned meats) till the spoilable stuff runs
    out ... I've yet to meet a boat cooler that'll keep things cold for
    more than a few days.  Keep lots of "finger foods" on board ...
    cheeses, breads, crackers, fruit, cookies, nuts ... most times the crew
    doesn't really feel like eating a real meal during the day (especially
    when underway) and supplementing sandwiches with the above mentioned
    items is preferable.  If the weather conditions are such that you'll
    need a hot snack between meals, bring canned soups and/or those
    packages of noodles that you just add hot water to.
    
    For dinner, in addition to the things I already mentioned, pasta
    usually goes down real good ... the fresh pastas you can buy in the
    supermarket take less time to prepare, and in a pinch (i.e. when fresh
    water starts getting low) you can prepare them right in the sauce. 
    However, they do require space in the cooler, and will get moldy in a
    few days in the kind of humidity you have at sea.
    
    Also, I find those coffee packets (that look like tea bags, except it's
    coffee) to work out better than the traditional pot of coffee ... and it
    tastes better than instant.  As for other beverages, I like to stock up
    on fruit juices, and an assortment of flavors of soda.  And of course,
    beer (mandatory on most sailboats I've been on) and some wine to
    complement whatever the dinner menu is.
    
    I also like to leave port well-stocked with fresh fruit and vegetables. 
    They can be used in a variety of preparations, or just eaten raw,
    depending on the weather conditions and the mood of the crew.
    
    ... Bob
    

    The revival of this topic is extremely timely as I am provisioning for
    a weekend sail up to Baltimore to watch the fireworks.  While I have
    had alot of cooking experience, I am new to sailing and the limitations
    of cooking on a two-ring alcohol stove with no oven.  As the stove is a
    counter top cooker and not gimballed, we shall be doing all our cooking
    when at anchor.
    
    We will be starting our sail at night, and I am bringing a thermos of
    coffee and a thermos of soup for the 1-4 watch, supplemented by
    cookies, crackers, sandwiches.
    
    The skipper is bringing breakfast things that I believe will consist
    mostly of muffins and cold cereal as none of us are big breakfast
    eaters, and we will probably not need food fuel to keep warm unless a
    cold front moves through.
    
    As this is only a three day sail and my wedding anniversary is the 5th,
    I am being indulgent about the kind of foods to bring - Lunch will be
    simple -  salami and ham for sandwiches, plus gazpacho andulaz - cold soup 
    is easy to eat in the heat of the day, and if a storm moves through to 
    cool things off, we can always heat it up - plus fruit, raw vegies,
    crackers and cookies. 
    
    For the first night at anchor, which will be after about 18 hours sail,
    I plan to cook filet steaks with roquefort cheese sauce cuz they will
    be quick to cook and a nice treat after the long sail.  I am going to
    pre-cook some potatoes and saute them in a little olive oil with some
    fresh rosemary, and some kind of salad or marinated vegies.
    
    For the second night in Baltimore Harbour, we are going use the grill
    and have lamb kebabs which I will marinade tonight and then put in the
    freezer, grilled eggplant, peppers, and onions (in foil),
    and potatoes (in foil).  The grill is small, so we will probably be
    eating these things in courses.  I also hope to get to the Liberty
    Market and buy some shrimp or scallops for the grill.
    
    I would be interested in any recommendations for books on boat
    provisioning and cooking as I will most likely be taking longer trips
    where spoilage and space become more of an issue than the short sails I
    have been on so far.
    
    Cathryn

    I volunteered to do lunch for a couple of us who are going to raft up
    for the tall ships... its going to be a long day so I figure a
    "grazing" lunch will be better..
    
    Fried Chicken
    Veggy spears and some kind of dip
    Cole slaw with fruit (whatever I find.. grapes apples etc)
    Potato salad
    
    Yes I know I inquired earlier re storage and prepare ahead.. but a good
    picnic is a good picnic.  I suprised a group last year when I pulled
    out my thermos with an icecube on the bottom and filled with cooked
    shrimp... perched on plastic glass with sauce inside.  Sometimes a
    little touch makes it all the more fun.
    
    Re: -.1  I had the opportunity to spend a few weeks on Chesepeke a
    couple of years ago.. I made a crab meat omlette that still gets raves
    from that group.

    Planning this years cruise down Maine...some of the cook ahead things
    I'm planning on freezing into bricks and heat-and-serve (with rice,
    pasta etc.) Anyone see any problems ahead?
    
    Chicken on Veal Marsala
    
    Coq Au Vin
    
    Beef Stroganoff (Any substitutes for sour cream to be added while
    heating?  Thats the weakness of this dish. Can you freeze sour cream?)
    
    Chille
    
    Probably a beef stew (dumpple it while cooking... er add dumplings)
                               

    Just back from the cruise mentioned in -.1.. I did bring the items
    listed except I made a pork marsala (no I have never heard of it either
    but with the new leaner porks, they act like chicken... thinly sliced a
    roast and pounded a little.. real good).  I went ahead and added the
    sour cream during preparation and froze right away... made sure we ate
    it first. 
    
    We pre cooled the ice box the day before leaving and put a 50# block on
    the bottom supplemented with blocks and cubes (happy hour) along the
    way.. still some of the big block left after 2 weeks.
    
    Now for a Dont!  On the overnight leg up to Penobscott we had steady
    winds of 20 - 30 and gusts to 50 with 18 - 20 ' seas.  The owner of the
    boat decided that she would make a special dinner for us.... NOT.
    Sauted veggies and Portugese (greasy) sausage on an ungimbled stove.
    
    In those conditions, the veggies and sausage were picked up more than
    once and finally made it to a plate.  The capt. (her husband) and crew
    (me) were battling the elements.. even gave up our ration of grog to
    keep wits about us.. complimented her as we silently fed the fish.
    
    Tea and dry crackers were about right.
    
    Bob