Cooking in Your Boat Galley

Janet Groene turns out a demonstration meal in a houseboat galley












Nostalgic news caught up with us yesterday when we learned that SVEA, the 1939 Danish-built yacht circumnavigated by Don and Sue Moesly, will go to the highest bidder next Saturday in the Treasure Coast area of Florida. Sue's two-volume set Circumnavigation: Sail the Trade Winds, will live forever in cruising literature.


Nutty Navy Ravioli
This wonderful vegetarian main dish serves 3 to 4. Boiling water is involved, so it isn’t recommended for preparing in a seaway or rough anchorage.

9-ounce package cheese ravioli
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Medium sweet onion (e.g. Vidalia) , cut in crescents
Medium zucchini, cut in matchsticks
Large carrot, cut in matchsticks
1 cup whole cashews
4 ounces (1 cup) grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
Small can milk
Vegetables can be cut up in advance. While ravioli cooks according to package directions, stir-fry vegetables in hot oil in a roomy skillet. When they are crisp-tender, stir in the cashews to heat through. Reduce heat to very low and stir in cheese and nutmeg with the milk to make a creamy sauce. Working quickly, drain ravioli and carefully fold in nut mixture.
Cook’s note: To make onion crescents, cut off ends of onion and peel it. Cut onion in half, north pole to south pole. Put it flat sides down on a cutting board and cut in thin slices, north pole to south pole.

Anchors Aweigh for Great Galley Recipes

Where are you planting your anchor these days? We just spent a few days watching the sun set into the Gulf of Mexico off Sarasota, Florida. While you're there, don't miss the museum just a short walk from the marina.





Easy-As-Pie Potato Potage
Serve this chunky soup with as many toppings as you wish. It’s a meal in a bowl.

½ stick butter
6 large Idaho potatoes, scrubbed and diced
Lots of diced onions (2 to 3 cups)
6 cups water
6 chicken flavored bouillon cubes
13-ounce can evaporated milk
Optional Toppings:
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Real bacon bits
Seeded, chopped tomato
Finely chopped sweet onion
Sliced scallions
Dried chives
In a roomy saucepan, melt butter over medium flame and stir in onions and potatoes to coat well. Add water and bouillon. Cover, reduce flame and simmer until potatoes are very tender. Mash coarsely if you wish. Stir in the milk and ladle soup into bowls. Pass the fixings and hot caraway rye rolls. Serves 4 to 6.
Cook’s note: substitute 6 teaspoons granular chicken soup base for the cubes.

Marina Potluck
Recipe of the Week
Lotsa Hotsa Rice ‘n Ham
This recipe feeds about 25 people, so you’ll need a BIG pot. Canned hams are easy to carry. Some require refrigeration and some do not. Just bring a total of 5 to 6 pounds of boneless, fully cooked ham.

5 to 6 pounds ham, diced
1/4 cup olive oil.
1 large green pepper, seeded and diced
1 large red sweet pepper, seeded and diced
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 cup brown sugar, packed
6 cups raw long-grain rice
1 quart orange juice
8 cups water
2 ripe but firm bananas, diced
Salt, pepper to taste
Hot sauce for the table
Open the ham(s) and drain well, discarding juices. Cut into bite size. In a large pot, sizzle peppers and onion in hot oil over high heat until crisp tender, gradually stirring in curry powder. Stir in sugar and rice to coat. Keep stirring as you stir in the orange juice and water. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low flame 20-30 minutes or until rice is tender.
When cooking rice it’s best not to peek or stir, so keep the flame very low to prevent burning. Check after 20 minutes and you’ll have an idea of how much more cooking is required. Just before serving, stir in the diced banana and adjust seasonings. Provide hot sauce on the side.

Galley tip of the week. Ham is a lifesaver for cruising sailors. If the supermarket kept it in the refrigerator, so should you. If it’s sold from the supermarket shelf it’s probably OK in food lockers until the use-by date. Read labels. When buying ham at the meat counter, note that some is labeled Fully Cooked and some requires baking. Don't risk illness by serving undercooked ham.

See more of Janet Groene's galley-tested recipes at
http://www.CampAndRVCook.blogspot.com
and, if you need healthful trail mix to eat at the helm find recipes at
http://www.CreateAGorp.blogspot.com

Say Ahoy to These Galley Recipes

Where are you cruising? What are you cooking? I'd love to hear from you at janetgroene@yahoo.com

Overnight Passage Broccoli Salad
Add this recipe to your collection of salads that are made ahead and actually get better with the wait. The next day this salad is a huge hit even with people who don’t like broccoli. It’s a salad for 8. Substitute soy crumbles for the bacon and it’s a vegetarian dish.

1 large head broccoli
1 bunch scallions
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar or equivalent
4-ounce can or packet crumbled bacon

Cut broccoli (including peeled stems) into small bite size. Slice white and light green parts of scallions. In a bowl or refrigerator container combine vegetables, raisins and 1/3 cup sunflower seeds. In a small bowl whisk together mayo, milk, vinegar and sugar until smooth and fold into vegetables with bacon pieces.. Cover and chill overnight. Before serving, stir and sprinkle with remaining sunflower seeds.

If you don’t have my recipe for overnight sauerkraut salad, e-mail janetgroene@yahoo.com. It’s great for cruising because canned sauerkraut is so easy to keep on hand.

Marina Potluck
Recipe of the Week

Big Crock ‘O Beans
Make affordable, nourishing beans in your crock cooker. To feed a crowd, soak these beans f the night before and let them cook all day in your slow cooker, sending enticing aromas throughout the marina. Use any beans or a colorful combination. This makes 2 quarts of flavorful, plump beans. Ham, bacon and bouillon are salty, so add salt only to taste just before serving.

16-ounce package dried beans
2 slices bacon, cut up
1 tablespoon minced garlic
Large onion, diced
2 large stalks celery, diced
I large sweet potato, peeled and finely diced
1 pound canned ham, cut in small bits
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
5 cups boiling water
4 beef bouillon cubes
Wash and pick over beans, put in a 6-quart slow cooker and cover with cold water. Soak overnight. Drain. Add remaining ingredients to cooker. Cover and cook without stirring 6 hours on High or 9 hours on Low. Stir and add salt and pepper to taste.
Cook’s notes: To vary this dish stir in one of these just before serving: a cup of ketchup, a cup of salsa, ½ cup molasses or ½ can pancake syrup. Don’t be tempted to disturb beans during cook because every time you open a crock pot to stir, you must add ½ hour to cooking times.

Galley Cooking by Janet Groene

Janet can cook in a houseboat kitchen or in a tiny, sailboat galley