What to eat? What to eat? We ask that of ourselves everyday. It’s not a question because it’s challenging to cook onboard Sundown, but because there are so many choices!
Anyone who know Kim and I know we like good food, and for the most part, healthy food. We had professional-grade appliances and culinary equipment in our home in Colorado and we’ve tried not to go without those important (to us) tools as we live afloat.
Sundown is amply supplied with Magnalite pots and pans, steel Wok, a small food processor/blender, an excellent knife selection, an extensive spice drawer, sterling silver flatware (handed down to us from my family), and a three-burner propane gas stove and oven with broiler. We have a nine-cubic foot combination freezer/refrigerator. We don’t have a microwave, or an electric toaster or coffee maker. We make toast on the stove top using a fold-out steaming basket and we make pour-over coffee. Our galley sink is one, big, deep stainless steel beauty set in a marble countertop half covered with an ample cutting board that gives us space to work side by side.
What has changed substantially since moving aboard is the amount of food we prepare, because we don’t cook for five to 10 people on a routine basis anymore…unless we’re getting ready for one of the great potlucks we’ve enjoyed with our other cruising friends.
Our “pantry” space is full of canned and dried food that’s inventoried carefully since we can’t usually just run over to the market for whatever sounds good at the time or if we forgot an ingredient.
We’re motivated to eat local, organic and/or self-harvested food on this journey, so we’re learning about local wild edibles like miner’s lettuce, mushrooms, clams, crab, scallops, berries, etc. There is quite a variety of easily foraged food here and it is fun to go look for it. And, I just bought a crab trap and Canadian fishing license, so am dabbling in the art of crabbing. A while back, Kim established a gluten-free, sourdough starter and with that, baked bread and made pancakes. She also sprouts seeds, so we have fresh alfalfa, mung bean, radish and broccoli sprouts often.
Another change is that we’re satisfied with less. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich or granola with almond milk suits me fine for breakfast. Kim can be sustained with popcorn cooked on the stovetop in coconut oil and sprinkled with a little salt and nutritional yeast. We eat lots of vegtables like chard, cabbage, potatoes, beets and kale, and serve them with pasta, rice or polenta. This morning, we had Bill Jones-style “South Brooksville Hash” for breakfast. It was delish! Beverage wise, beyond morning coffee, we enjoy a little wine and beer, and occasionally Scotch (okay, that’d be me).
Of course, part of the fun of traveling is experiencing food of other countries and cultures. Here in Canada, a popular item is poutine (a gravy and otherwise covered french fry dish), but we haven’t indulged…yet. A couple of times, we’ve eaten out hoping to satisfy a craving for authentic Mexican food like we get at our favorite, Fort Collins-based Los Torasco’s, but nothing compares. Plus, eating out is expensive and since we don’t want to waste hard-earned money on mediocre food, we mostly indulge our gourmet tastebuds by cooking our own meals.
So, us floating foodies are “faring” just fine.
Looks and sounds yummy!
We eat well. Very important!
I always enjoy your posts. Crabbing sounds like a great pastime, even though they are a certain amount of work. I wonder what else you can fish for with your license. And pictures of food are taunting someone who should be very careful about food. Since I had a really bad MI in February, (They had to intubate me in the parking lot before transport to EMMC.) I am trying to be even more careful. But we all ‘slip’, and I crave a pizza badly. The Blueberry fields are being burned as I write, and Spring is beginning to show signs here and there. Fair winds to you both!!!
Mark,
Sorry to hear about your heart but I guess they fixed it now! We are full into spring here to. We are slugging our way north as you can see. It seems like every day there is good wind we are always sailing to weather. Well we know how to do that anyway. We sailed yesterday in some pretty big chop. I think Kim may have some video to post! Hope you are getting healthier every day and we will see you when we come up the east side……cheers!
Clay