Janet can cook in a houseboat kitchen or in a tiny, sailboat galley
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Yacht Galley Casseroles
I’ve cooked while sailing rail down and relying on gimbals to keep the pot steady. I’ve also cooked rock-steady while anchor in a quiet cove. It's fun for me to make the best of any galley, whether it's a houseboat kitchen or a small motorboat with a two-burner Primus stove.
Rail-Down Rooster
If you have a pressure cooker, this cooks faster and uses less fuel. However, it’s also a perfect pot for any stove, any time. Serves 4 to 6.
4 slices bacon, cut up
2 cans, 10 ounces each, chunk chicken
8-ounce can tomato sauce
Water
Medium onion
½ teaspoon pepper
4-ounce can mushrooms, drained
2 chicken flavored bouillon cubes
1 ½ cups cups raw rice
Small can sliced black olives, drained
15-ounce can sliced carrots, drained
Optional: dried chives or parsley, snipped fresh parsley or 2 tablespoons chopped, stuffed green olives.
While bacon fries out in a saucepan or pressure cooker, drain off chicken juices into a measure. Add tomato sauce to the measure and add water until you have 3 cups liquid.
Stir chicken and onion into sizzling bacon, stir-frying over high heat until the bacon is crisp. Add pepper, mushrooms, bouillon cubes and liquid, bring to a boil and stir in raw rice.
If you’re using a saucepan, cover tightly and cook over very low heat, without stirring or peeking, 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice tender. Stir, garnish if you wish, and serve.
Using a pressure cooker, stir in rice and bring to full pressure for 1 minute. Turn off heat and let pressure return to normal on its own. Do not quick-cool. Stir and serve with garnishes if you wish.
Marina Potluck
Recipe of the Week
Bermuda Race Casserole
Those delicious purple onions aren’t called Bermudas any more because the little island is no longer able to grow enough to satisfy demand for this versatile onion. This vegetable-starch side dish serves 12 at a potluck. Use ready-to-eat rice from a pouch, instant rice, or cook rice from scratch.
2 cups cooked rice
5 pounds red onions, peeled and diced
1 stick butter
12-ounce can julienne beets, drained
6-ounce package Provolone cheese, diced
1 cup heavy cream
Stovetop Method: Prepare rice and set aside. Stir-fry onions in melted butter until they are tender. Stir in beets and rice, cover and heat gently over low heat until everything is heated through. Stir in cheese and cream and continue heating until cheese melts. Serve at once.
Oven Method: Proceed through adding rice, cream and cut-up cheese. Put in a buttered 9 X 13-inch casserole and bake at 350 degrees 30 minutes (longer if casserole is made ahead and refrigerated) until casserole is heated through.
See more of Janet's galley-ready recipes at
http://www.CampAndRVCook.blogspot.com
Rail-Down Rooster
If you have a pressure cooker, this cooks faster and uses less fuel. However, it’s also a perfect pot for any stove, any time. Serves 4 to 6.
4 slices bacon, cut up
2 cans, 10 ounces each, chunk chicken
8-ounce can tomato sauce
Water
Medium onion
½ teaspoon pepper
4-ounce can mushrooms, drained
2 chicken flavored bouillon cubes
1 ½ cups cups raw rice
Small can sliced black olives, drained
15-ounce can sliced carrots, drained
Optional: dried chives or parsley, snipped fresh parsley or 2 tablespoons chopped, stuffed green olives.
While bacon fries out in a saucepan or pressure cooker, drain off chicken juices into a measure. Add tomato sauce to the measure and add water until you have 3 cups liquid.
Stir chicken and onion into sizzling bacon, stir-frying over high heat until the bacon is crisp. Add pepper, mushrooms, bouillon cubes and liquid, bring to a boil and stir in raw rice.
If you’re using a saucepan, cover tightly and cook over very low heat, without stirring or peeking, 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice tender. Stir, garnish if you wish, and serve.
Using a pressure cooker, stir in rice and bring to full pressure for 1 minute. Turn off heat and let pressure return to normal on its own. Do not quick-cool. Stir and serve with garnishes if you wish.
Marina Potluck
Recipe of the Week
Bermuda Race Casserole
Those delicious purple onions aren’t called Bermudas any more because the little island is no longer able to grow enough to satisfy demand for this versatile onion. This vegetable-starch side dish serves 12 at a potluck. Use ready-to-eat rice from a pouch, instant rice, or cook rice from scratch.
2 cups cooked rice
5 pounds red onions, peeled and diced
1 stick butter
12-ounce can julienne beets, drained
6-ounce package Provolone cheese, diced
1 cup heavy cream
Stovetop Method: Prepare rice and set aside. Stir-fry onions in melted butter until they are tender. Stir in beets and rice, cover and heat gently over low heat until everything is heated through. Stir in cheese and cream and continue heating until cheese melts. Serve at once.
Oven Method: Proceed through adding rice, cream and cut-up cheese. Put in a buttered 9 X 13-inch casserole and bake at 350 degrees 30 minutes (longer if casserole is made ahead and refrigerated) until casserole is heated through.
See more of Janet's galley-ready recipes at
http://www.CampAndRVCook.blogspot.com
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Set Sail for Easy Galley Meals
Whether your boat is put away for the winter or is on a southern heading, try these recipes. If you're not cruising now, rehearse them for the future. Make note of recipes your crew likes best, then make a special file of recipes, provisioning plans and shopping lists.
Sleeping Bags
4 large (burrito size) flour tortillas
Mayonnaise, mustard
12 ounces (3/4 pound) thick-sliced deli baked ham
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cans whole green beans, well drained
2 cans cheddar cheese soup
1 soup can milk
“Butter” each tortilla with mayo and/or mustard. Cut the ham in strips and sizzle in hot oil with green beans to heat. Divide ham and green beans evenly among tortillas and roll up, burrito style.
In the same skillet, heat soup and milk, stirring constantly until it’s smooth and bubbling. Place puddles of hot cheese sauce on 4 plates and top with a ham roll, seam side down. Spoon on more cheese sauce and serve at once. Serves 4.
Marina Potluck
Recipe of the Week
Padre Island Tacos
The secret to these tacos is a crumbly cracker surprise stirred in at the last minute. Make a double batch of these Texas Crumbs. They’re also good sprinkled on chili, scrambled eggs, soup and vegetables.
Texas Crumbs
1 sleeve buttery crackers (e.g. Ritz), crushed
2 tablespoons garlic salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried, crumbled thyme leaves
Put the crackers in a freezer bag and squeeze with the hands until they are reduced to crumbs. Add remaining ingredients, shake up and seal shut. Keep in a cool, dry place.
Tacos
12 crisp corn tortillas
1/3 cup vegetable oil
15- ounce can diced potatoes, well drained
Large onion peeled and diced
6 large eggs
½ cup milk
Small can diced chilies, drained
3 medium Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
6-ounce package shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Heat the oil in a large skillet and stir-fry the potatoes and onion until they are golden and tender. Beat together the eggs and milk. Add to potato mixture and stir over hot heat until eggs begin to set. Fold in chilies and tomatoes until they are hot, then turn off heat and fold in cheese.
Stir in 3 heaping tablespoons Texas crumbs. Divide egg filling among tortillas and serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 12 tacos.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Carry a Plentiful Pantry Afloat
Whether you're offshore, near shore or cruising down the river, there is nothing better than an ample pantry that allows you to drop the anchor anywhere and cook up a hearty meal.
Carro-tropic Salad
This luscious salad keeps in the pantry until you need a fill-in dish in a hurry.
2 cans, 15 ounces each, julienne carrots
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar or equivalent
8-ounce can crushed pineapple
1 cup shredded coconut
½ cups golden raisins
1/4 cup French dressing or other sweet salad dressing
Drain carrots well and toss with lemon juice and sugar. Drain pineapple, reserving juice for another use, and fold with carrots, coconut, raisins and enough dressing to moisten. Serves 5 to 6.
Cook’s note: For an adult meal, heat 1/4 cup rum to steaming and pour over raisins. Let soak until cool, then use instead of dry raisins.
Marina Potluck
Recipe of the Week
Popeye Pie
Canned spinach is a pathetic substitute for fresh but it makes a good cream of spinach soup and it’s also a shortcut when you need to grab something off the shelf to whip up a quiche for a marina potluck.
1 can spinach
1 stick butter
1 cup+ plus more flour
½ cup French-fried onions
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
3 eggs
Salt, pepper
Empty spinach into a sieve and set side to drain. Press out excess moisture with paper toweling. Using an oven or microwave, melt butter in a deep, 9-inch pie plate and stir in flour until a clump forms. Using floured fingers press crust to an even layer in the pie plate and flute edges.
Sprinkle half the onions in the pie shell, top with well-drained spinach and sprinkle with remaining onions. In a bowl whisk milk and eggs with flour and seasonings. Pour into pie.
Bake on the bottom shelf in a 350 degree oven until filling is set and crust golden brown. Let stand 15 minutes, then cut into wedges. Serves 8. .
Cook’s note: Add a tablespoon or two of Parmesan cheese from a jar to the egg-milk mixture. Proceed as directed.
Hungry at the helm? Make your own homemade, economical, diet-friendly trail mixes. Go to http://www.CreateAGorp.blogspot.com
See more potluck recipes at
http://www.CampAndRVCook.blogspot.com
and
http://www.ChurchSupper.blogspot.com
Carro-tropic Salad
This luscious salad keeps in the pantry until you need a fill-in dish in a hurry.
2 cans, 15 ounces each, julienne carrots
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar or equivalent
8-ounce can crushed pineapple
1 cup shredded coconut
½ cups golden raisins
1/4 cup French dressing or other sweet salad dressing
Drain carrots well and toss with lemon juice and sugar. Drain pineapple, reserving juice for another use, and fold with carrots, coconut, raisins and enough dressing to moisten. Serves 5 to 6.
Cook’s note: For an adult meal, heat 1/4 cup rum to steaming and pour over raisins. Let soak until cool, then use instead of dry raisins.
Marina Potluck
Recipe of the Week
Popeye Pie
Canned spinach is a pathetic substitute for fresh but it makes a good cream of spinach soup and it’s also a shortcut when you need to grab something off the shelf to whip up a quiche for a marina potluck.
1 can spinach
1 stick butter
1 cup+ plus more flour
½ cup French-fried onions
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
3 eggs
Salt, pepper
Empty spinach into a sieve and set side to drain. Press out excess moisture with paper toweling. Using an oven or microwave, melt butter in a deep, 9-inch pie plate and stir in flour until a clump forms. Using floured fingers press crust to an even layer in the pie plate and flute edges.
Sprinkle half the onions in the pie shell, top with well-drained spinach and sprinkle with remaining onions. In a bowl whisk milk and eggs with flour and seasonings. Pour into pie.
Bake on the bottom shelf in a 350 degree oven until filling is set and crust golden brown. Let stand 15 minutes, then cut into wedges. Serves 8. .
Cook’s note: Add a tablespoon or two of Parmesan cheese from a jar to the egg-milk mixture. Proceed as directed.
Hungry at the helm? Make your own homemade, economical, diet-friendly trail mixes. Go to http://www.CreateAGorp.blogspot.com
See more potluck recipes at
http://www.CampAndRVCook.blogspot.com
and
http://www.ChurchSupper.blogspot.com
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Galley Cooking Secrets
Bareboating in the Grenadines
Setting a course for warmer waters? We're on the Suwannee River in North Florida, but it can get cold here and the Caribbean is looking better and better. Meanwhile, everyone eats so let's spark up the galley stove for recipes like these.
Peanut Butter Brownies
2 sticks butter or margarine
3 eggs
16-ounce box dark brown sugar
1 cup chunky peanut butter
2 cups floour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 bags, 12-ounces each, real chocolate chips
Let butter soften and beat in eggs, brown sugar and peanut butter. If you don’t have an electric mixer, use a wooden spoon. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bag, dump into the butter mixture and mix thoroughly. Spread batter in two greased 9 X 13-inch pans or in greased, cold, heavy, 10-inch skillets (preferably cast aluminum).
Bake 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until firm and springy to the touch. To cook atop the stove, cover tightly and bake over very low flame 20 minutes. Then check for doneness and cook, checking every 5 minutes, until brownies are firm.
Sprinkle a bag of chips evenly over each batch of hot brownies, let stand a few minutes to soften, then spread gently to create a frosting. Let cool before cutting.
About stove-top baking: Heavy, cast aluminum is best over a galley stove that has a small burner. Aluminum spreads heat quickly across the bottom and up the sides. Use a heavy cover to retain heat and don’t peek often.
Cast iron doesn’t spread heat as well but it can be used over an even heating surface such as a grill, induction burner or a diesel pot burner stove. Place cast iron over low heat so food doesn’t burn on the bottom before heat reaches sides and the top. Again, don’t peek too often. The goal is to surround food with even heat, just as if it were in a conventional oven.
Lazy cook's note: If you want to avoid the mess of measuring a cup of peanut butter, buy it in small jars (8 to 10 ounces) and use entire jar in a recipe that calls for a cupful. Or, use an entire jar of 16 to 18 ounces (about 2 cups) to make a double batch of these brownies.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
A Culinary Anchor to Windward
It's time to book your winter charter in the Caribbean but, if winter keeps you home and your boat under shrink wrap, rehearse delicious galley recipes for next season.
Sailor’s Salsa
Tired of the same old salsa? Try adding creamy avocado for a change.
1/4 cup lime juice
Medium avocado, ripe but firm, peeled and diced
15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
½ teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 scallions, sliced white and light green parts
2 tablespoons finely minced cilantro or parsley
Hot sauce to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Pita wedges, crackers or melba toast for serving.
Combine diced avocado and lime juice to coat well, then add remaining ingredients and chill. Serve with pita wedges for a quick, cold lunch. Complete the plate with grape tomatoes and for a heartier meal, add hard-cooked eggs and/or pieces of string cheese.
Marina Potluck
Recipe of the Week
Boat-acious Broccoli Salad
Amazingly this salad is popular with people who hate broccoli as well as those who love it. Cut broccoli into small pieces; large chunks don’t absorb the sweet flavors as well.
2 whole bunches broccoli
Large red onion
4 large stalks celery
16-ounce can small pitted ripe olives, well drained
½ cup dried cherries or cranberries
½ can golden raisins
½ cup broken pecans
16-ounce bottle citrus vinaigrette, French, or other sweet salad dressing
Optional topping: salted sunflower nuts
Wash and drain broccoli and cut it into small, bite-size pieces. Upper stalks can also be used if you peel them. Cut onion and celery into small chunks. Put everything but sunflower nuts in a 2-gallon zip-top bag, seal, and mix well. Keep in the ice box until serving time, turning. Just before serving, mix again and sprinkle with sunflower nuts. Put in a big bowl and provide a draining spoon. Serves 12 to 16.
See more galley-tested recipes at
http://www.CampAndRVcook.blogspot.com
Single handing or otherwise eating at the wheel? Find great recipes at
http://www.CreateAGorp.blogspot.com
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Cruising for a Cookout
Stove Top Beef-Buried Spuds
No oven? No problem. This delicious Tex-Mex dish cooks in a skillet. The potatoes can be done several hours ahead if you prefer.
4 baking potatoes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Medium onion, diced
12- to 16-ounce package cooked ground beef crumbles
1 cup your favorite salsa
11-ounce can whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained
Grated cheddar cheese
Scrub potatoes, cut in half lengthwise and place flat down in a skillet with a tablespoon of the oil. Cover and cook over low heat until browned and tender. Set aside. In the same skillet add the other tablespoon of oil and saute the onion, gradually adding ground beef crumbles until onions are limp. Add salsa, cover, and cook 5 minutes over low heat. Stir in corn and arrange potatoes over the top, cut side down, to heat through.
To serve, place two potato halves on each plate. Divide bubbling-hot ground beef mixture over potatoes and sprinkle with grated cheese. As soon as the cheese melts, tah-dah! Serves 4.
Marina Potluck
Recipe of the Week
Fruity Ham Salad
16-ounce box macaroni, cooked and drained
8-ounce carton lemon yogurt
12-ounce can pineapple tidbits
1 pound diced, fully cooked ham
2 cups seedless grapes, halved
Bottled citrus vinaigrette dressing
Stir yogurt into warm macaroni. Drain pineapple, saving juice for another purpose. Mix pineapple, ham and grapes into macaroni and add just enough dressing to taste. Serve warm or chill for future serving. Serves 12.
For more great potluck recipes go to
http://www.CampAndRVCook.blogspot.com
and
http://www.ChurchSupper.blogspot.com
Eating at the wheel? Midnight munchies? Mid-afternoon snacks? Find recipes at
http://www.CreateAGorp.blogspot.com
No oven? No problem. This delicious Tex-Mex dish cooks in a skillet. The potatoes can be done several hours ahead if you prefer.
4 baking potatoes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Medium onion, diced
12- to 16-ounce package cooked ground beef crumbles
1 cup your favorite salsa
11-ounce can whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained
Grated cheddar cheese
Scrub potatoes, cut in half lengthwise and place flat down in a skillet with a tablespoon of the oil. Cover and cook over low heat until browned and tender. Set aside. In the same skillet add the other tablespoon of oil and saute the onion, gradually adding ground beef crumbles until onions are limp. Add salsa, cover, and cook 5 minutes over low heat. Stir in corn and arrange potatoes over the top, cut side down, to heat through.
To serve, place two potato halves on each plate. Divide bubbling-hot ground beef mixture over potatoes and sprinkle with grated cheese. As soon as the cheese melts, tah-dah! Serves 4.
Marina Potluck
Recipe of the Week
Fruity Ham Salad
16-ounce box macaroni, cooked and drained
8-ounce carton lemon yogurt
12-ounce can pineapple tidbits
1 pound diced, fully cooked ham
2 cups seedless grapes, halved
Bottled citrus vinaigrette dressing
Stir yogurt into warm macaroni. Drain pineapple, saving juice for another purpose. Mix pineapple, ham and grapes into macaroni and add just enough dressing to taste. Serve warm or chill for future serving. Serves 12.
For more great potluck recipes go to
http://www.CampAndRVCook.blogspot.com
and
http://www.ChurchSupper.blogspot.com
Eating at the wheel? Midnight munchies? Mid-afternoon snacks? Find recipes at
http://www.CreateAGorp.blogspot.com
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