Food

This morning at the grocery store I tossed a couple of boxes of Kashi granola bars into the basket.  Six 1.2 ounce bars in each with dried fruits, nuts, seeds and who knows what else in each box.  At home I used a Sharpie to write the date on each box then put them in the closet with my cruising gear.  Those bars will be part of breakfast on the cruise.  I date the box as sometimes I have leftovers and want to know how fresh the food is before packing it on the next cruise.

Money has always been tight as far back as I can remember, and it seems even tighter now.  So instead of having to lay out cash all at once for two weeks worth of food, I'll start adding an item or two to the grocery cart each week.  It still costs the same, but I don't seem to notice it as much.  Just like looking over charts or checking out the cruising gear, buying food in small batches over the few months is part of the planning and organizing process that I really enjoy.  

Food is of course important, both for energy and enjoyment, on the cruise.  We want to keep our energy level up - spending twelve hours in the elements, even with good weather, can be a drain.  Plus it is nice to look forward to a tasty (and at least in the case of dinner, hot) meal. The menu typically includes granola bars and fruit for breakfast, tins of tuna salad with crackers for lunch and then boiling bag rice or instant mashed potatoes and foil packets of tuna fish or salmon for dinner.  Up under the foredeck there is a mesh hammock where we carry vegetables like onions, peppers and garlic to toss on the griddle with the salmon or tuna.  Snacks include beef jerky, dried fruit and crackers.  We eat pretty well.

Bruce, who has quite a bit more experience in camp meals than I do, wants to improve the menu a bit.  He suggests more fresh meats, kept possibly in a collapsible cooler with dry ice, and some pre-made sauces stored in vacuum bags.  It all sounds good to me.  We'll have to experiment this Spring to see what works best.

I did have some luck on the last trip catching speckled trout along the edges of the marshes.  Nothing better than fresh caught fish for the main course.