now we're cookin'

Not quite sailing weather yet. We had another small nor'easter come through the last couple of days. It has moved up north now, but coming in behind it is rain. I don't mind sailing in a little rain, but not on a cold day and not on the first sail of the year.

So I got out in the garage and experimented with some cooking. Years ago I read about using dough from Pillsbury crescent rolls (the kind that come in the tube) to make grilled bread. I thought that this would go great with with the beef/red wine stew (typical first night out meal for a cruise) that Bruce makes. So I gave it a try. Light coating of olive oil on the dough, pressed in some herbs and spices and put it on the grill. Less than ten minutes later I had some nice slices of bread. The trick, I learned, is keep the heat very low.

That is the stove we use on Spartina, it is a Coleman propane grill/stove. I leave the grill behind and instead carry the optional griddle (a solid surface for cooking) that is in the photo above. It works well for cooking meats, fish, and adding veggies for a sort of stir fry meal.

There is where the stove lives on Spartina when we are sailing, wrapped up in a white polytarp cover and bungee'd under the coaming on the starboard side. There are a lot of camp stoves out there that would take up less space - backpacking stoves, etc - but food is important on our trips and this stove really works wells. I have looked at a lot of other stoves but have yet to find one that I like better.

Above is the cook kit (a rubbermaid tub with bungee cord across the top to hold the lid on) which has most of the other gear we use for cooking. On the last trip I had to run out of town right before the trip and didn't get back until the afternoon that Bruce flew in. So I lost out on time checking over my gear and when we got out on the Bay I found that we were missing some items in the kit. So I decided to make up a check list for the next trip. Here is the start of the list.....

Spoons, knives, forks, spatula and large spoon (I cut the handles shot on the spoon and spatula so they fit better in the cook kit.)

Lighter, cutting board (new for this trip, we used to use the lid of the tub) and chopping knife (also new for this trip).

MSR Quick 2 System Cookset, Bruce donated it to the boat last year. It works great. There are a couple of pots, deep dish plates (which are perfect for eating on a small boat), lid with strainer and a couple of mugs. Bruce also added a frying pan to the kit. And the blue thing is a silicon hot pad for handling the gear when it is on the stove.

This is a very nice system and it all nests together and fits easily into the cook kit.

And we need...

• small container of olive oil (need to buy)
• seasoning
• cajun sunshine hot sauce
• camp suds
• sponge (need to buy)
• salt and pepper
• small container of flour
• and whatever else Bruce needs to round out the menu

I didn't want my grilled bread to go to waste so I added some ham and cheese to make an excellent sandwich for lunch.

If I'm lucky with weather I'll be out sailing this coming Friday.

steve