Cookbook Features Truly Boatable Eats
A few years ago, the crew aboard Don and Helen Holstein’s Frer 50 sailboat Allegiance woke up to a breakfast disaster.
The muffins planned for that morning’s meal had disintegrated into a bag of crumbs after rolling through a few dozen tacks - not exactly hearty fare for hungry sailors during a race.
Boat food has to be, well, boatable. That’s a little different from a backyard barbecue or even packing the cooler for a cookout at a park.
One book that can help is “Feasts Afloat” by Jennifer Trainer Thompson and Elizabeth Wheeler, recently reprinted in softcover (Ten Speed Press, $19.95). The authors are sailors as well as cooks, and the nautical photographs alone will work up your appetite for boating as well as eating.
The authors present 150 recipes for great meals in small places. Their recipes run the gamut of boating situations, from sail to power, and eating on shore, at the dock or while cruising.
Most meet the special requirements for truly boatable food. They require few ingredients and minimal storage. Most of the foods will survive moving around. The recipes take into consideration that refrigeration is limited and galleys are small.
Over the years, sailors and power boaters develop their own repertoire of tried-and-true recipes.
Because they spend a lot of time on the move in their Catalina 42 sailboat, Second Wind, Linda and Bob Cowles of Detroit place a premium on foods that don’t bruise and are long-lasting.
“Romaine lettuce lasts much better than head lettuce,” Linda Cowles says. Chicken Caesar salad is one of their staples. They can prepare the chicken in the gallery or on the grill, as weather allows.
And she’s learned to be practical about marinating and seasoning meats.
“I like to buy the premarinated meats that are vacuum sealed: steaks, chicken breasts,” she says.
Cowles freezes everything ahead of time and packs the frozen foods so they’ll keep other foods cold. Another trick she’s learned is grilling in foil. She likes to place sliced potatoes, onions and a little butter in a sealed foil packet, which she then cooks on the grill next to the meat.
She also packs a few cans of more exotic vegetables for salads, such as asparagus or artichokes, to mix in with her simpler fresh ingredients.
And she plans all her cooking for the gas burners on the stovetop or the grill.
“I have never used the oven,” Cowles said. “For one thing, all my pots and pans are stored in there.”
Walt Lawson of Detroit doesn’t have to think twice about his onboard recipe disasters.
“Anything fried,” he says. “The area’s so small and cleanup after frying things tends to be messy.”
During the summer, Lawson and his wife, Margaret, spend about five days a week on board their 42-foot Chris Craft, called Sea Turtle, using their boat almost like a cabin.
Like most boaters, they’ve found there’s never enough room to store cold food.
“We have a fairly adequate refrigerator, almost the size of the one we have at home, but the freezer is not as big,” Lawson says.
Their solution: Cook in bulk.
“I like to make chili. It can be stored in the refrigerator,” Lawson says. “I usually have some on board.”
“We also do a lot of grilling,” he adds.
The Lawsons often make salads that include meat, for one-dish meals. They typically go for garden salads with simple greens and fixings, rather than counting on dockside markets to stock more exotic and interesting ingredients.
Sailboat racers face different cooking challenges. Weight and space are critical when boats are being pushed to their limits.
Because even the most seasoned stomach can turn queasy in heavy air, simple food is best.
Food has to be even more carefully planned. Heavy air days work best with finger food such as chicken - and don’t bother with the barbecue sauce. It’s too messy and too spicy to be consumed on the high seas.
A hot breakfast is always appreciated on cool mornings. Frozen casserole dinners that can be heated in the oven do double duty, saving space in coolers by providing refrigeration until it’s time to eat them.
It’s even more important to plan for minimal cleanup and garbage. On long races, that garbage has to ride with you all the way to the finish line.
No matter what type of boating you’re doing, when all else fails, experienced boaters have one word of advice: improvise.
“We’ve never gone hungry,” Cowles says.