Cooking on Board

[Robin]

Our 'go along' meals for when the weather is unfriendly are some pre-cooked ones found in larger French supermarkets, they are in trays with sealed tops and simply heated by putting in boiling water for about 15 minutes. The possible drawback for a big race crew is that you can only do 2 per pan so 4 on a 2 burner stove. These do not need refrigeration and have very long expiry dates, ie some bought last month are good until end July 2004, cost around £1.50 each. Meals available include lasagne, spag bol, tuna tagliatelli, tagliatelli carbonara, chilli con carne, sweet & sour chicken with rice. They are eaten from the trays they come in, on a plate or tray since they are hot.

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[Twister_Ken]

Re: Waking up in the morning....

I understand it wasn't a little cauliflower.

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[qsiv]

In truth race food on the old boat wasnt/isnt a problem - lots of refreigeration, heavy displacement and cruisy. The new boat (provided we sell the Trintella) is to be no holds barred race boat, and the OWN (official weight nazi) weighs kit as it goes aboard. Total weight of Main + No 1? 105 lbs (on a 40 footer). Refrigeration? None. So, the attraction of freeze dried is weight and simplicity - just add boiling water and weight 3 minutes - eat from the packet or dog bowl. For 3/4 day races freeze dried is fine - lacking in texture and quaint taste but keeps the boiler fuelled - and the first real food ashore tastes really good - but not as good as the first beer!

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[Rich_F]

Just a thought - is the weight of freeze-dried food, plus the water required to make it, significantly less than hydrated food? I can't see that any weight saving would be worth the drop in crew morale!

Rich

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[qsiv]

No - but it does keep without refrigeration, and fuel for a watermaker yields at least 4 times as much water as fuel burned.

For short races it's absolutely not the way to go - you can carry sufficient real food, even without refrigeration but after that it can have merit. As for crew morale - thats valid, but I often find that what matters more is the speed with which the off watch crew can eat and crash out as sleep is often in shorter supply than food. The best way to keep morale up is by being at the front of the fleet - food is only a substitute when you cant fulfill the first option!

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[claymore]

Re: Waking up in the morning....

Err - well no, not exactly little - more largish medium really
but a cauliflower no less - ore as they say in France to arrest any Fred Drift - a Choufleur

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Claymore
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[Rich_F]

Ah, I'd forgotten about watermakers.

As a matter of interest, when racing offshore would you take the responsible approach of using the water maker to keep the tanks topped up, or the fast-and-light approach of only making enough water to satisfy immediate needs.

Just curious as to how extreme you racey-types are!

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[tcm]

Re: Cookery Ban

Right, that's enough cooking. We've got cooking on the telly morning noon and night without blimmin recipe swaps here.
1. All rubbishy but acceptable homemade food includes squares of sliced bread.
2 Decent homemade food starts with frying bits of chopped-up onion.
3. Abroad, it is always much cheaper and nicer to go to a restaurant.
4. In the UK, use option 1 or 2.

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[tcm]

Re: cauliflower details

Jimi tells us you grew it in the bilge. This seems very resourceful, extra ballast and free food.

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[Twister_Ken]

french veg

I thought that was French for the person(m) that deals out the cards in the casino. Female, choufleuse

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[Guest]

Not entirely sure where they came from - mention was made of an incident on the approach to Harwich, so maybe that general vicinity.
Like most on this Board, our nosh varied dependant on whether we are weekend sailing, in which case we tend to take "the makings" with us, often pre-cooked (by SWMBO) and frozen to heat up. or something marinaded to cook. For longer UK cruising, we tend to plan meals for two or three days keeping the fresh produce chiiled either in a cool box or more recently in a newly installed fridge, which has made gin and tonics a real pleasure!
In France, of course the joy is either to eat out or shop for something delicious either at the market or traiteur, and boy what a choice of cheeses and wines!
We're lucky that we both enjoy food, although I confess that I excel in producing a really good breakfast.

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[bob_tyler]

Re: Waking up in the morning....

How do you cook it? Or is it marinated in Islay malt?

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