Big Meals, Small Boat

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Return here each week for galley cooking tips and  three new recipes, one for everyday use, one to make in a skillet and one to make with emergency staples from your pantry. 

Galley Recipe of the Week


Using less than a pound of economical surimi you can create this tasty, colorful main dish salad. If you’re feeling flush, double the amount of surimi.

 Surimi Salad
1 each red and green bell pepper, trimmed and finely chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Medium cauliflower, chopped
7- to 10-ounce can mushroom pieces, drained
2 cans (6 ounces each) sliced black olives, drained
10-ounce jar salad olives with pimento, drained
15-ounce jar tiny pickled onions, undrained
14-ounce bottle ketchup
16-ounce package shredded Alaska Surimi (imitation crab)
15-ounce can whole green beans, drained
10-ounce jar tiny sweet pickles, drained

In a big skillet or wok, stir-fry  peppers in hot oil, gradually stirring in the cauliflower and mushrooms. When the cauliflower is crisp-tender, stir in olives, onions with their juice and ketchup. Keep stirring over medium heat while adding surimi, green beans and pickles. Serve warm,  at “room” temperature or chilled on beds of shredded lettuce. Serves 8 as a main dish salad. 

Boat Cook Tips

* No rolling and cutting needed when you make biscuits by stirring full-fat sour cream into self-rising flour mixed with a pinch of baking soda. Drop  by the heaping tablespoon. Bake in a hot, hot oven. 

* Ice cream cups come in mini, regular and jumbo sizes. Think of them as edible dishes for anything from scrambled eggs to sloppy joe. 

* Grease spots in porous  galley surfaces?  Before trying a harsh cleaner that could bleach out the color, work in some cornstarch with a soft brush. Let it absorb oil, then brush it off. Clean with mild soap solution. 

* Cook any flavor ramen and drain well. Whisk 2 to 4 eggs, stir in ramen and cook as an omelet. Broth can be discarded or thicken it to make a sauce. 

* When you cook in foil “kisses” (think of a big Hershey kiss) put food in a small foil pie tin first. Bring up edges of foil and twist to seal and also to form a handle. Place on grill. Cook through. Easier to eat. 

* Think of Hasselback potatoes. Then use the same technique with tomatoes, zucchini or eggplant. Fill with meat, cheese, sauce, butter, bread crumbs, etc. Wrap in foil. Bake or grill. 

* Make a nice pot of creamy polenta and stir in canned chili, black olives, corn kernels, shredded cheese.  Plop on plates


Pantry Recipe of the Week
No fresh foods needed in my weekly Pantry Recipe. Spare food is boating insurance. Stuff happens.
Applesauce Gummy Candy
This recipe is best made in cool climates. Granular, powdered or turbinado sugar can be used to coat pieces.

16-ounce jar of applesauce (2 cups)
2 cups sugar
8-serving packet any flavor gelatin dessert mix
Sugar
Boil sugar and applesauce for two minutes and stir in gelatin until it dissolves. Pour into a 9 X 13-inch pan and let it set in a cool place for 24 hours. Cut in squares, roll in sugar and set on waxed paper to dry. Pack in containers with generous layers of sugar between pieces. When it gets sticky, roll in more sugar. 

Skillet Meal of the Week
This easy-mix quiche makes a meal. And it makes its own crust.

Quick Quiche
6 to 8 slices bacon, cut up
Medium onion, diced

1 ½ cups milk
4 eggs
½ teaspoon each salt, pepper, ground nutmeg
½ cup flour
1 cup grated mild cheese such as Swiss of Gruyere
1 cup blanched vegetable pieces such as broccoli or cauliflower (optional)

In a 10- or 12-inch skillet, fry out bacon, gradually stirring in onion. Spoon off excess fat but leave enough bacon fat and to swirl around, coating the pan. When becon bits are crisp, remove skillet from the heat.
In a bowl whisk eggs, milk and seasonings until light and smooth. Whisk in flour.
Swirl the skillet again to coat bottom and sides with bacon fat. Sprinkle cheese, and vegetables if using, over the bacon and onion in the skillet. Pour in the egg mixture. Cover skillet and cook over medium heat until bottom and sides are golden brown and middle is set, as for custard. Serves 4 to 6. 

Cooking Big in a Small Boat Galley

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Galley Recipe of the Week
Lazyjack Lentils
 
1 ½ cups lentils
1 pound lean ground beef, pork or turkey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon each sugar, salt, pepper, cinnamon
2 tablespoons long grain rice
4 cups water
2 beef or chicken bouillon cubes
2 teaspoons (or more to taste) balsamic vinegar
Water or broth

    Wash and pick over lentils. While they drain, brown and break up meat in hot oil, Stir in seasonings, lentils and rice to coat. Add water and bouillon, bring to a boil, stir, cover and reduce heat. Simmer 30 minutes until lentils and rice are tender. Stir in vinegar.  If soup is too thin, add a little water or broth. Serves 6.

Tips for the Boat Cook

* Make an easy crust for quiche. Mix melted butter into thawed hashed brown potatoes. Press to bottom and sides of a pie plate, bake 5 minutes, then fill and bake.

    *  To make homemade cheese spread (think CheezWiz), grate a pound of American cheese and heat it with a 12-ounce can of evaporated milk. Stir in 1 tablespoon each vinegar and yellow mustard with a dash or cayenne pepper. Stir and heat until smooth, cool to lukewarm and pour into a crock or jar.  Keep in ice chest or fridge up to three weeks.

*Shred cabbage using just a knife and cutting board. Remove leaves one at a time. Roll tightly and slice as thin as possible.

    * When adding yogurt to a recipe, fold it in carefully. Vigorous mixing breaks down the gel. 

    * Why use butter in stove-top baking, especially pies? Small enclosures such as a Dutch oven or stove-top oven create a very moist heat that doesn’t promote browning. Butter browns more readily than shortening.

Pantry Recipe of the Week
 

    This is this week’s emergency recipe requiring no fresh food. An ample pantry is the ultimate boating insurance. Don’t spend a fortune on survival rations. Survival Food Handbook is a guide to using ordinary supermarket foods for provisioning a boat for the long haul. 

Spicy Soybean Stew
2 cans, 15 ounces each, soybeans
1 can chunk chicken, ham or turkey (6 to 10 ounces or to taste)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons real bacon bits
1 teaspoon each onion powder and dry mustard (e.g. Coleman’s)
2 teaspoons each salt, chili powder
1 can condensed cream soup such as cream of chicken or mushroom
1 tablespoon dark syrup such as molasses, sorghum or dark corn syrup OR
1 tablespoon dark rum
Water, milk or broth (optional)

    Open cans of soybeans and hold lid in place while draining off liquid. Open canned chicken, ham or turkey and drain juice over the soybeans. Set aside.
    Heat oil and sizzle chicken to brown it, gradually stirring in bacon bits and seasonings to release their fragrance. Add soup and stir into the pan with the molasses or rum.  Add soybeans. Add liquid to taste if desired. Cover and cook over low heat until heated through. Serves 4 to 6.

Skillet Recipe of the Week
Buttercrust Quiche
    It takes a patient cook and deft touch to master stove-top baking. Much depends on your cookware and type of stove. My preferred stove-top oven is a heavy cast aluminum skillet.   
 
1 stick butter
1/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup flour
Pinch salt, pepper
Filling:
5 eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream or evaporated milk
1 teaspoon salt, pinch pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup cooked ham, cut in small dice
1 cup shredded cheese

    Melt butter in a 10- or 12-inch skillet. Remove from heat and stir in flour, salt and pepper until it forms a dough. Use floured fingers to press it into an even crust on bottom of the skillet and partway up the sides. Cover and cook 5 minutes or over medium heat.
    In a bowl whisk eggs and milk or cream until light. Whisk in seasonings. Scatter ham in the crust and carefully add pour in egg mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover skillet and continue to bake over low/medium heat until crust is golden brown and filling is set. Cool 10 minutes and cut in wedges. Serves 4 to 6.


   
   
     

On Board With Good Recipes for Boating

blog copyright janet groene, all rights reserved. To donate in support of this blog use your PayPal account to send to janetgroene@yahoo.com  

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Gordon Groene photographs from the special photo platform on a twin outboard we once took through   Canada's beautiful Trent-Severn Waterway. The 22-footer had a small cuddy for sleeping and I cooked in the cockpit.


Galley Recipe of the Week
Candy Corn
    The simplest vegetable side dish in the world is made in a skillet to serve with take-out fried chicken and a tossed salad.  
 
½ stick butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice
½ cup broken pecans
2 to 3 cans whole kernel corn, well drained
    Melt butter and stir in brown sugar to dissolve it. Stir in spice,  pecans and corn until hot and glazed. Serves 6. 

Pantry Recipe of the Week 
    A well-filled pantry is a boat insurance policy. Even a day sail can turn into a longer adventure. Emergencies happen. For long passages, carrots are excellent keepers but it's smart to have some canned carrots on board too.

Kicky Carrot  Salad  
 
2 cans, 15 ounces each, carrots, drained and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8-ounce can crushed pineapple
1 cup shredded coconut
½ cups golden raisins
    Sprinkle chopped carrots with freshly ground pepper to taste. Whisk vinegar, oil and juice from the pineapple. Toss with carrots, gradually mixing in coconut and raisins. Serves 5 to 6.
    Optional: Soak raisins several hours or overnight in about 1/3 cup of rum.

Boat Cook Tips

    * Best deodorizer for serious stinks (dead mouse in the bilge, reefer died with meat inside, mildew ate the linen locker) is activated charcoal. 

 
* Make your own trail mix meal for beach combing, hikes ashore, standing night watch. Fill flat-bottom ice cream cones (waffle cones are too sweet and they are pointy so you can’t set them down) with tiny bits of snipped apricots, Craisins,  raisins, nuts, jerky. Package in a sandwich bag. This makes a  meal to nibble anywhere, any time. To make it a dessert mix,  fill with mini chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, raisins, Skittles, etc.

*When a recipe says to raise yeast dough in a draft-free place, put the bowl in an ice chest with a bowl of hot water.

* The cheapest dish rag is a square of nylon net Buy it by the yard in fabric stores. Cut it up. Wad it up in your hand.   When dishes are done shake out the net in the wind and all water and food bits blow away. Net stows clean and dry. 

* Make easy pan coating for baking and browning. Stir 1 cup each flour, shortening and vegetable oil. Put in a container. Keep in a cool place. Slip your hand in a sandwich bag, scoop up coating and paint it generously and evenly on pans.
Skillet Recipe of the Week
    One skillet, one burner, one big meal for four people. Here’s how.
Soft Taco Pie
1 cup biscuit mix
 About 1 cup milk or water
8-ounce package shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 pound lean ground beef, pork or turkey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Medium onion, diced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
4-ounce can diced chilies, drained
1 tablespoon chili powder
½ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon each salt, ground cumin
14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
Optional toppings:
Sliced black olives
Diced sweet onion such as Vidalia
Shredded lettuce
Diced plum tomato
Sour cream

    Stir milk or water into biscuit mix to make a thick dough. Fold in some of the cheese. Set aside.
    Brown ground meat in the skillet in hot oil, breaking up meat and gradually stirring in onion. When meat is no longer pink and onion is limp, stir in seasonings and tomatoes.
    Dollop dough over the hot meat mixture by the spoonful to make an even layer. Cover skillet and cook over medium heat until dough is puffy and firm to the touch. It will not brown.
    Divide dough onto four plates and top with hot meat mixture. Add toppings of your choice. Serve at once while cold items are cold and hot portions hot.  Serves 4.
   

Sea Me Eat! Boating Cuisine Creations

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Galley Recipe 
of the Week
 
Rice Morocco
 
    When you’re looking for a new side dish to serve with fish or chicken from the grill, go to the Middle East for this exotic starch course.

Large onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon each minced garlic, chicken bouillon and cinnamon
½ teaspoon each pepper, turmeric and paprika
½ cup golden raisins
2 2/3 cups water
1 1/4 cups raw rice
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
Sliced almonds

    Sizzle onion in hot oil, gradually stirring in garlic, bouillon and spices. Stir in raisins and rice to coat. Add water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over reduced heat until rice is tender and water is absorbed. Stir in lemon zest and add salt to taste. Garnish with almonds. Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish.
    Variation: To make this a vegetarian main dish, cook until rice is tender and stir in two to four beaten eggs. Cook, stirring over now heat, until eggs are set.  Salt to taste. Zest and almonds optional. Serves  2 to 4.

Every recipe in  Survival Food Handbook is made with familiar supermarket shelf ingredients you can stow now, use weeks and even months later. Food is the ultimate boating insurance whether it's a day trip, long passage or gunkholing.

Pantry Recipe of the Week
    Spare food is boating insurance. The hurricanes remind us of the need for plenty of stowed staples. Each week here find a recipe that requires no fresh ingredients.
Pronto Paella
Small can vienna sausage, regular or spicy
2 tablespoons diced dried onions
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup rice
10-ounce can chunk chicken, with juice
1 or 2 cans shrimp, drained
Small can whole clams with juice
2 cups liquid                               
Dried parsley or chives

    Empty juice from sausages into a small cup and soak dried onions. Slice sausages and sizzle in hot oil. Gradually stir in rice. Drain juice from the chicken and add water to make 2 cups. (If you also use juice from the seafood, strain it because it could contain bits of shell or cartilage).  Add liquid, chicken and drained onions to the pan  and bring to a boil.
    Cover pan and cook over low heat without stirring 20 minutes until rice is tender. (Brown rice takes 30 to 40 minutes). Fold in seafood and heat through. Sprinkle with dried parsley or chives. Serves 4.

Boat Cook Tips

    * Make a big batch of fluffy scrambled eggs and fold in a handful  of Fritos just before serving. No need for toast. 

    * Dump a can of diced tomatoes with onion into a skillet and nestle seeded green pepper halves in them, cut side up. Cover and heat until peppers are crisp-tender, then break an egg or two in each pepper half. Poach eggs to  taste. Plate peppers. Spoon tomatoes over. Shredded cheese optional. 

    * If possible take galley gear home once or twice a year to put through a hot wash in the dishwasher. If not, bring dishwasher detergent on board, dissolve in very hot water. Then soak  stained or stinky plastics and wash them wearing rubber gloves.

    * Make baked apples on the grill. Place each cored apple on a square of buttered foil. Fill center with goodies such as nuts, marshmallows, peanut butter, cinnamon sugar or chocolate chips. Bring up corners of foil and twist to seal. Cook over steady,  medium heat. (Avoid high heat. Sugary ingredients such as chocolate or marshmallows burn easily.)  

    * My favorite multi-purpose tool when cruising with electricity is the combination micro-wave convection oven. My mail tells me many boat cooks are confused about times and temperatures. When in convection mode,  it’s simply an oven with better heat circulation thanks to a fan. Use the same time and temps as in a conventional oven. All ovens vary, so use an oven thermometer to be sure. Just remember to remove it in microwave mode. 

    * Add 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce per half cup of vinaigrette to add zing to your cold pasta or rice salad. 

    * Make crepes. “Butter” with sour cream. Dollop with strawberry jam. Roll up in a napkin. No tableware needed.
Always have a healthy meal in the pocket of your foul weather jacket. coat. See easy recipes for trail mixes at CreateAGorp.

Skillet Recipe of the Week
Hawaiian Ham Hash
       
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium sweet  potatoes, peeled and diced
8-ounce ham steak, cut in bite size
Small can pineapple tidbits
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

    Heat oil and stir-fry sweet potatoes and ham to brown them. Cover and cook over low heat until sweet potatoes are tender. Drain pineapple tidbits and use the juice for another recipe. (Rum punch?) 
    Turn up heat and stir in pineapple to brown it. Stir cinnamon and sugar together, sprinkle over skillet, stir and serve. Serves 2 or 3. 

Easy Recipes for Smoothing Sailing

blog copyright janet groene, all rights reserved. To ask about rates to place one ad on all six Groene sites for one year, email janetgroene@yahoo.com

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Galley Recipe of the Week
Bully Beef Terrine
    Make a quick, cold lunch. Slice this cold loaf to serve on a lettuce leaf and top it with macaroni salad from the deli.

1 packet lemon gelatin dessert mix, regular or sugar free
1 cup boiling water
16-ounce can corned beef
2 cups finely chopped vegetables (onion, celery, sweet onion, cooked beets,  green pepper)
1 cup mayonnaise

    Dissolve gel in boiling water. Scrape any fat from the corned beef and discard it. Stir beef into the gel mixture while it’s warm, breaking up meat as fine as possible. Stir in vegetables and mayonnaise. Put in a lightly oiled loaf pan and chill until firm. Use a saw-tooth knife and gentle pressure to slice. Serves 6.


Boat Cook Tips
    * When scooping out vegetables that will be served stuffed, such as tomatoes or zucchini, remove seeds, sprinkle with salt and drain upside down on paper towels for 30 minutes.

    * If you want to save an empty wine bottle but can’t remove stray scraps of cork, add a little ammonia. In a few days the cork will dissolve.

    * Lightly spray the dust pan with nonstick spray or duster spray (such as Pledge) and sweepings will not scatter.

    * Make a paste with instant coffee and water to make a temporary scratch remover in woods. Let soak in, dry, wipe off excess.  Use iodine to cover scratches in reddish woods such as mahogany.
   
    * Attach an old-fashioned scrub brush, bristles up, to a plank or other platform and place it outside the boat point for cleaning shoes.

 

   
 Food is the ultimate boating insurance. Survival Food Handbook is a guide to choosing and using staples from the supermarket. No high-priced survival rations required. 


 




 Pantry Recipe of the Week
    Each week we present a recipe that requires no fresh foods at all. Even if you eat only  fresh foods now, it’s wise to have some emergency stash on board.
Tuna Topper

6-ounce can tuna, drained
Small can sliced black olives, drained
Small can or jar marinated artichoke hearts with their liquid
Small jar roasted red peppers, drained and diced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

     If artichoke hearts are large, cut in bite size. Break up tuna and mix in olives, artichoke hearts and peppers. Stir in vinegar, oil and onion. Mix well. Toss with hot or cold pasta or rice, nestle in mashed potatoes  or serve on crackers, bread toast.  Serves 4 to 6.

Skillet Recipe of the Week
Hungarian Potatoes
    Make this a vegetarian dinner, a breakfast dish or a side dish with meat from the grill.

1 stick butter
2 cans, 15 ounces each, sliced potatoes OR
4 to 6 cooked, sliced potatoes
2 cups sour cream
1 teaspoon each salt, sweet paprika, white pepper
4 to 6 hard-cooked eggs
About 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese (optional)

    Melt about a tablespoon of butter in a large skillet and tilt skillet to coat. Drain and rinse canned potatoes. Whisk sour cream with salt, paprika and pepper. Make layers by alternating potatoes, sliced eggs, sour cream mixture, more potatoes, etc. Cover and cook over low-medium heat until crusty on the bottom.
    In a small skillet, melt remaining butter and stir in bread crumbs until toasty. Sprinkle over potato mixture just before serving, then sprinkle lightly with Parmesan. Serves 4 to 6.

Boating Meals for Fair Weather and Foul

Blog copyright janet groene, all rights reserved. To ask about rates to run your ad on all six Groene sites for one year, email janetgroene@yahoo.com 

    I’m in Florida, where immediate prayers are cares are for those in the path of Irma.  Wishing you all safe harbor and a full pantry. To avoid plugging bilge pumps, remove paper labels from cans and re-label cans in grease pencil (not felt pen). 

 
 

Galley Recipe of the Week
Joie de Mer Cookies
    
OK, they are a cure for mal de mer, but we don’t want to use that term in a boating food story. Ginger is a time-honored treatment for tummies. Have tasty gingersnaps and ginger tea bags on hand for guests and susceptible crew. Bonus: crumbled gingersnaps are an essential ingredient in sauerbraten.

1 ½ sticks butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon each ground ginger, cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves

    Use a big spoon or electric mixer to cream butter and sugar. Stir in molasses and egg. Put dry ingredients in a clean bag and jostle to mix, then dump it into the butter mixture. Stir to make a stiff dough and drop by teaspoons on a greased cookie sheet. Bake about 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

    See a new trail mix recipe every week at Create A Gorp. Always have a packet of food in the pocket of your storm coat or beach bag.


Pantry Recipe of the Week
    Emergency food supplies are a must on board any boat, any time. Stuff happens. My weekly Pantry Recipes require no fresh ingredients. They’re a lifeline in emergencies or a power outage.

Tortellini in Cream Sauce
    Did you know that tortellini comes in both refrigerated and dry, shelf-stable packages? Available plain and with various filllings, this pasta favorite is the ideal start to a main dish.   

12-ounce box or bag of dry, three-cheese tortellini
1 tablespoon garlic granules
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
Small can or jar real bacon bits
14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes with onion and pepper, drained
1 cup (or more to taste) canned cream such as Nestle
Freshly ground pepper
    Cook tortellini in boiling water with garlic granules. Drain and stir in olive oil, bacon bits, tomatoes and cream. Cover and heat gently until it’s heated through Pass the pepper mill. Serves 6.

Tips for the Boat Cook

    * Don’t cook acid foods in your cast iron skillet. They take on a metallic taste and can also eat the natural nonstick seasoning.

    * Mash a tablespoon or two of Cointreau or Triple Sec into a can of whole berry cranberry sauce. Stir in a half cup of chopped walnuts. Spoon over hot pork chops, chicken or ham steak. 

    * Keep shelf-stable jerky or hard sausage on hand. Put a little, finely cut up, in fish stew instead of bacon. 

    * Throw a old-fashioned lemon drop in the teapot and let it dissolve in the tea. 

    * Rule of thumb. To make vinaigrette use three parts oil to one part vinegar. 

    * Easiest dessert in the world. Go to the marina store for a bag of crushed ice. Fill glasses with ice. Dissolve a packet of Kool-Aid and 2 cups sugar in 3/4 cup water.  Make sno-cones. Provide straws.

Skillet Recipe of the Week
Frypan Brunswick Stew
    In the Old South, large kettles were filled with meats from the day’s hunt and vegetables from regional harvests. Today traditional Brunswick stew is still made with three meats.
 
Large onion, diced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
16-ounce tub of barbecue pork
Small can chunk chicken
Small can chunk ham
14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with celery, pepper and onion
14.5-ounce can diced potatoes, drained
14.5-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
½ cup frozen or drained canned baby lima beans
1 can condensed cream of celery soup
½ soup can ketchup
Hot sauce

    In a large skillet, sizzle onion in hot oil until limp. Add  pork, chicken and ham and their juices and break them up. Add undrained tomatoes and drained potatoes, corn and limas. In a bowl whisk condensed soup and ketchup until smooth. Add to the pot.
    Simmer gently, stirring occasionally,  while flavors blend. Long and slow is best, but don’t let it burn. Serve in shallow soup plates. Pass the hot sauce. Serves 6.
    Cook’s note: Canned foods usually contain plenty of salt, so you may not need more.

MASTerful Meals for Sailors and Powerboaters

blog copyright janet groene, all rights reserved. To ask about rates to place one ad on all six Groene sites for one year, email janetgroene@yahoo.com

Galley Recipe of the Week
Cheesy Slow Cooker Potatoes

32-ounce bag of frozen hashbrowns, thawed
Half of a 16-ounce package of process cheese (such as Velveeta)
1 stick butter
1 can cream of celery soup
8-ounce carton (1 cup)  sour cream 

Grease a slow cooker and add thawed potatoes. Stir in diced cheese and bits of butter. Cover with dollops of soup and sour cream. Cook 1 hour on Low, stir and cook another 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Stir and serve. Serves 4 to 6 as a vegetarian main dish or 8 as a side dish. 
Stove-top method: in a large saucepan add ingredients. Cover and cook over very low heat, stirring occasionally, until cheese and butter melt. 
Oven or solar  method: Combine everything but the butter in a greased casserole. Drizzle with melted butter and bake at 350 degrees until top is golden. 
Cook’s note: to add texture, color and extra servings, stir in whole kernel corn and thawed peas for the last third of the cooking time. The recipe also works well with O’Brien potatoes, which are hashed browns with pepper and onion. 


Pantry Recipe of the Week

Each week we present a recipe that requires no fresh ingredients.  For a cookbook using supermarket staples, and a guide to provisioning with emergency shelf foods for the long haul, see Survival Food Handbook. No high-priced survival rations here. Stock your boat with affordable, familiar, everyday staples.



Scalloped Tomatoes and Corn
Vegetarians will thank you for making this hearty dish. It's also a tasty side dish with meat from the stern-mounted grill. If it’s to be a vegetarian main course, add  extra cheese for protein. 

2 cans, 15 ounces each, whole kernel corn
2 cans, 15 ounces each, diced tomatoes with onion and green pepper
Freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup each grated Parmesan cheese and dry bread crumbs
½ stick butter or 1/4 cup EVOO

Drain corn but not tomatoes. Combine everything in a saucepan and heat over medium fire until cheese melts. Adjust seasonings. Serves 8 as a side dish, 4 as a main dish.

Tips for the Galley Chef

* Paper-and-wire twist ties that come free with plastic bags have a wire insert that rusts in a New York minute. Don’t use them for long-term storage on a boat, especially a salt water boat. 

* Liquid eggs and egg whites are a huge time saver and they are also pasteurized for use in recipes that call for raw eggs. 

* Keep these  (USA) numbers handy. The Poison Control Hotline number is (800) 222-1222 and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center number is (888) 426-4436. 

* Make a show-off dessert using store-bought donut holes. Start plain, then enrobe some in chocolate, inject some with jelly or lemon curd, cloak some in melted butterscotch or peanut butter chips.  Set aside to dry, then mound on a plate and let everyone dig in. Bargain bonus: donut holes at a day-old bakery outlet are a good buy. 

* Some readers are touting the Instant Pot with fervor but, as a cruising sailor, I want backups for my backups. I prefer a conventional pressure cooker because it can be used over any stove. 

Skillet Recipe of the Week
Crusty “Crab” Cake
Economical imitation crabmeat looks and tastes great and stretches your food dollar.

1 ½ cups mlik
1 ½ cups soft bread crumbs
1 pound flaked imitation crabmeat
4 beaten eggs or equivalent in Egg Beaters
Heaping teaspoon Dijon style mustard
1/2 stick butter
Salt, pepper

Put milk and bread crumbs in a plastic bag and let soak. Add crab, mustard and eggs. “Work” bag by squeezing it to mix well. Melt butter in a skillet. Dump in crab mixture. Cover and cook withour stirring over medium heat until crusty on the bottom and eggs are set.  Season to taste. Serves 4 to 5. 


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