Thought for food.

[frauboot]

Everyday over the last few weeks I have been thinking that this time next year I will be somewhere between Plymouth and Newport and try to plan my menu. I am obsessed with food.

Unfortunately I'm having trouble trying to bring some variety into my diet and it is distressing me. So far I seem to stick on cereal or home made bread for breakfast. Cheese and bread for lunch or maybe Chinese noodles for some variety. And inevitably I don't seem to be able to go beyond stew or spaghetti for supper.
Everything will probably come out of a tin as I have no fridge. But some experiments have shown that potatoes, onions and apples seem to last well on the boat. I was also thinking about dried lentils and peas.

I suppose the point of this post is to ask what does everyone else envisages they will be eating in a years time? I did a trip with a delivery skipper some time ago and it's amazing what I learnt about eating on long voyages from him - but on that trip we were dependent on a fridge and had to keep the batteries charged as a result.

 

[BlackPig]

Ann Hill's book cruising a budget goes on about beans and pulses as there staple diet. 'The bean book' is highly recommended by her.

For tins I would head to lidil's or Aldi's and stock up on the tin fish. It comes in all flavourers curry, mustard, pepper and can be eaten hot or cold. German use it a lot for Arben brot (Evening bread). Sour crout was used by Cook to stop scurvy, I prefer Rot crout (Red) it tastes a bit sweeter. You get them in jars and last a long time.

Corned beef, Smash and beans are easy to make.

Rice: put some in a pot cover with water to 1cm, bring to boil, put on tight lid and turn the heat down to a minimum, leave for 15 mins. DO NOT LOOK IN you loose the steam and ruin the rice.

For eating on the hoof so to speak I like, nuts: pea nuts cashew mixed bags, oat cakes (dry but filling) and also bags of dates you get them from Tescos.

Stocking up, it is probably easier to stock up in your home port were you know the shops. Or does anyone from Plymouth have advise on the best place to stock up.

Graham

 

[Jake]

I spent a few days on Lively Lady as she ended her second circumnavigation, and the crew of four had the most limited arrangements when it came to the galley. No fridge, no freezer, not much storage and just a two burner spirit stove on top of a small workspace. (All pretty much as Sir Alec Rose left her). The simplicity of the galley added to the success of the voyage - very little to go wrong!

The diet was very basic - mostly pasta or noodles as they kept so well, spiced up with onions, potatoes or tinned meat and vegetables. The boat was re-provisioned locally around the world, usually from markets, and with most legs several weeks long, tins and rehydrated food were top of the list, with local produce and fruit lasting as long as it could!

We're pretty lucky nowadays with so many well-preserved foods available, and one yottie I spoke to complained that he put on half a stone when sailing as he ate so many Mars bars!
So, as I need to lose a few pounds (quite a few, actually) I'm tempted to stock the boat with the kind of foods that will help me lose weight - knowing that the nearest Tesco's will be a long way away!

Combined with the non-stop exercise of being thrown around 24 hours a day, weight loss should be guaranteed!

Probably the best advice on diet will come from Roger Taylor, who has just a single spirit stove, no sink and no fridge. He pre-packs his meals, all carefully balanced for flavours and energy, into large watertight flare boxes which he stows in cabin near the mast. Most simply need hydrating in hot water.

There are also some specialist pre-packs available, and these were used successfully by two trans-Atlantic rowers I know. The meals are very tasty, and can be eaten directly from the bag, so you don't even have any washing up, and the bags fold flat for easy disposal ashore.

One last piece of advice I've heard - and this again is from the Atlantic rowers - if you're feeling queasy, eat tinned fruit. Apparently, it's as easy going down as it is coming up again, contains lots of fluid, and gives you instant energy!

 

[co256]

Jumbo porridge oats mixed with sultanas for breakfast, filling, warming and the sultanas make it naturally sweet so no need to add sugar or syrup. Being dried ingredients you can pre mix, bag up in to portions and they'll keep for weeks or even months.

Quick-cook rice and pasta will use less gas to cook.

Sprout your own mung beans, lots of protein and essential vitamins!

All the above are dried goods so will store well.

Risotto rice and Paella rice are much the same thing, add dried porchini mushrooms and a stock cube for risotto, add tinned fish, dried peas and a spice mix for Paella! Again all dried foods bar the fish.

Don't forget those handy veriety packs of fruit juices.

Good luck!

 

[stewsam]

Hmm I do like vacuum packed food that you can boil in the bag, i won't post the site that i get mine off again as I've posted it a couple of times on other parts of the forums

 

[aslabend]

Pulses/lentils take an awful lot of cooking from raw (unless you have some kind of preserved ones).
White Cabbages are great if you can string them up in a net somehow. As the outer leaves go brown just trim them off. Fresh coleslaw made from grated cabbage, onion, carrot and a splash of salad dressing/ mayo is a refreshing and healthy dish for lunch you can spice it up with chopped Choritzo or some tinned fish etc.

Learn how to make corned beef hash in a saucepan, very filling/warming, little washing up.

Find someone who can supply fresh eggs, they keep a lot better out of a fridge than eggs that have been chilled ( like ones the supermarket). They are also essential for a good, sticky fudge brownie!

Dehydrated Veggie food from health food shops is usually tasty whilst being economical on water and cooking gas.

Other than that, you can make a curry out of anything in a tin (barring sticky toffee pudding and custard maybe...... I haven't tried that.... yet).

 

[ColdFusion]

With regard to cooking rice and pasta, I usually bring to the boil once the rice/pasta has been added to the pan, put the lid on, turn the heat down to minimum (all as someone said above) but then turn the heat off altogether when half-way through the cooking time. It still cooks just the same, but saves on gas. If you get ten minute rice you can also turn the heat off altogether just after putting the lid on. It seems to make no difference to the cooking. Discovered by accident when turning the gas off rather than onto the minimum setting. Doh!

 

[Starfishbooks]

Try kilner jars

Pre cooked food in kilner jars works really well. You know what you have put in them too - no E's!

We made up a couple of curries a few years ago and forgot them. The jars were left in a locker and discovered several weeks later at the end of the season. The best curry I have ever tasted.

 

[co256]

There's always the joys of pressure cooking!

Saves on time and gas and the lid locks on just in case the pan goes walkabout.

 

[algernon]

Just a quick thought on kilner jars, pack carefully!!!!! and if you cant find them at home pop over to france as most supermarkets in france sell a very good alternative.
PS dont ask me what to put in them, I have enough trouble cooking a varied diet at home!!!!!!!