” Bad cooking is responsible for more trouble at sea than all other things put together. “

~Thomas Fleming Day~

indoor cooking (that’s it, that’s all)

 

A little premature you might think to equip the galley of a boat that won’t arrive for another 6 months. Yes, you might think. But I could already imagine us being aboard..driving to our little cabin on the lake, opening her up for the season, bringing aboard all the provisions needed, motoring away from the dock, setting the sails, later in the day dropping anchor, preparing a nice lunch or BBQ-ing….the dream.

outdoor cooking
 
When I lived on the east coast I remember thinking as I looked at all those beautiful vessels just sitting there lonely on the water…all those cabins on the water….all that money…such a relatively short season…no one there. Wind or no wind I thought, I would be there, scrubbing, polishing, or maybe just getting up fixing coffee after spending the previous night on board. I would definitely be there. When people invest in a cottage, cabin, chalet – whatever name it’s called – wouldn’t you want to make the most of the precious few days enjoying? That’s what I thought and thankfully Francois felt the same.

I’m getting a little off topic…but that mind set is all part of why I couldn’t wait to equip the place where we would dine, yes dine (no schlopping hash on our boat)…we will be dining aboard.

There are many options for cooking equipment made especially for boating. The ultimate set is the Magma 10-piece SS non-stick nesting cookware.

Quality, beautiful, small footprint..but pricey. I did some research and stumbled on what has become my favourite go-to site for cooking related boating info:The Boat Galley (http://theboatgalley.com/). In one of the posts she confessed to being an equipment junky but since space is at a premium aboard, if she could have only one pot, it would be a wok. Smart! Multi-use not just for Asian cooking…
I found 4 items that may not nest together in a nice tight package but will stack together and have so many more uses that just pots…and the bonus.. total cost was a lot less that the beautiful Magma set.
the wok…
flat bottomed for stability
10″ with lid, non-stick coating (the new ceramic non-toxic technology)..
& RED..of course

My research led me to more very practical options…
Khun Rikon 4th Burner
multi-use..
for boiling water..
steaming, tall enough for cooking spaghetti..
silicon coated handles

http://kuhnrikon.com/

& RED

Khun Rikon Cook n’ Serve
2 qt (perfect size for my yummy soups or chili)..
neoprene cover keeps food hot for hours..
love the spoon that fits on the lid…
& RED
 
My favourite find….the Omnia (we don’t have an onboard oven)
it’s a stove-top oven..
& notice the RED lid?

http://www.omniasweden.com/

One added ‘appliance’ to top off the list…something to brew our morning coffee. Purcolators made for boats are a good solution..small foot-print but they are messy to clean all those coffee grounds. And they use the one and only burner onboard. A Bodum-type press is a good option too but still messy to clean and you still have to boil water (only one burner, remember?) and sometimes you have little gifts of grounds in your morning coffee. Now, electricity is a tricky thing on a boat and you don’t want to drain your battery just to get that cup of morning coffee. BUT I think I have found a great appliance. Small foot-print, no mess to clean. Yes it does require electricity, briefly (bought an inverter so we could power on different current but more on that later when Francois equips HIS stuff).

Keurig Mini

http://www.keurig.com/brewers

lots of K-cup options (coffee, tea – regular & herbal, hot chocolate)

RED…but of course!

 

And now for something to dine on. I have never been a big fan of dinnerware made for boating. Usually a form of plastic (practical onboard for obvious reasons but..) and usually marine blue. Now really! Blue on RED? This does not fit into my design concept. Years ago I had a set of Corelle and never broke one piece. Found this contemporay set. They did offer ones in red but I love how well-presented food looks on white dishes.

For our beverages I have (so far) found two options. For our morning coffee…

 

Double-sided insluated SS with lid
 
And for our evening wine…
Govino

http://www.govinowine.com/

made of BPA-free polymer

stemless for stability..

and notice the little thumb indentations? Very cool!

Those are the main things. I found a lot of useful gadgets which I won’t itemize now. May or may not in later posts but will wait until I have tried them out before recommending. The above mentioned I had used here at home as a test and so far love them all. I realize that cooking onboard will be much different but I tried as best I could using only one burner and the challenging one-pot cooking with success.

 

One last thing…dining for us will be simple but we plan on making the experience as pleasurable as possible. Not gourmet stuff but I feel we can make it an elegant experience none the less. Simple doesn’t necessarily require cookbooks full of recipes but it doesn’t hurt to glean ideas from those more experienced boaters.

 

I found a great book – available in Kindle format (which also makes it available on my iPhone or iPad) – that fits our onboard dining philosophies perfectly: “Galley Guru, effortless cooking afloat” by Lisa Hayden-Miller.

 

First sentence, first chapter she had my attention: “The galley of a sailboat is a doll’s house kitchen pared down to the barest necessities…a toy pantry…the merest suggestion of counter space…”. This woman knows what she’s talking about.

 

First Galley Guru tip: “It is no more difficult to bathe a few vegetables in extra virgin olive oil and garlic and fling them on the barbecue than to open and cook a tin of readymade beef stew”. It’s as though she is speaking to us personally.

 

So there you have it….MY galley..well really our galley. But you can bet the next post will be…

HIS tools…for sure they will be his tools..(insert little winky face here)

…à tout à l’heure…