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SEA GEM LOG
February 23, 2000
Boat Cooking We talk a lot
about food, eating and shopping for food. Of course, on a voyage, mealtime is important. It is a focal point of an otherwise round the clock existence. When things are going smoothly and there is no
current crisis there is not a whole lot happening. Gone are the outside stimuli of news broadcasts, phones ringing, faxes coming in, doorbells ringing, appointments to keep or appointments to make, work and
friends dropping by. You are alone with the sky, the sea, yourself and the other crew members. I have had a great deal of fun shopping for food in exotic ports. One thing you cannot be is set in your
ways. Even if you find the brands that look familiar to you, don't imagine that they will taste the same as they do at home. A few are uniform, Tabasco is one, but not necessarily Lea and Perrins. We
found that the food we purchased in Male', Maldives was of good quality and for the most part pretty fresh. The fresh produce in our favorite store was so carefully handled that each: tomato, zucchini, cucumber,
pepper, etc. was individually wrapped in a very thin food wrap. Of course since all these are imported the prices reflect their value. You find that when you are many days away from any type of food market you
become not only more creative but a lot more tolerant. Would I use flour with "crawly things" in it at home? Of course not! Here I just sift them out and carry on. By the way, I
have discovered a whole new variety of weevil. They sure don't look like any I have seen before. After visiting some of the bakeries where we bought bread I know for a fact they do not sift anything
out. I wished I had not seen one bakery in Sri Lanka. All the guys worked bare from the waist up and it is very hot. Oh well, maybe the sweat just adds to the flavor. We stocked the boat with a lot
of fresh produce when we left the Maldives. Jeannette is a vegetarian and we wanted to make sure that she had plenty to eat. She does eat fish so those meals are easy to plan. Jeannette is a creative
cook and has done a good bit of the cooking as well as most of the dishes. It is nice to have new ideas and menus to add to our favorites. Think about planning your trips to the market for
several weeks with no chance to "pick up" anything you have forgotten. Now label everything, or almost everything, in a language you cannot read. Put all the directions that language and then divide all
the items you wish to buy into multiple locations. There is the fish market, the fruit market, the vegetable market, the bakery etc. Remember that eggs are sold "as is" no cartoons. Now imagine you are
buying this quite a distance from where you will board either a dingy or a ferry to get to your boat. Add the fact that you are probably going to carry these items for some of the distance and climb or jump into
the conveyance that is your current transportation. If the water is rough, if there is rain, or if it is dark it adds to the challenge. All this aside, going to the grocery/market is one of the best
ways of feeling part of a culture. There you meet the locals not the tourists and there you see people in their everyday lives. It is fun and it is a challenge and I do look forward to a good restaurant when
we get into port. Until later . . . from the galley of the Sea Gem. |
