Rafts of Recipes for the Boat Cook

Blog copyright Janet Groene 2024.  This site has had more than 89,000 views. To ask about placing your ad on all six Groene sites for one year, one low rate, email janetgroene at yahoo.com

 

 

Galley  Recipe of the Month
Perfect Pan-Seared Mahi-Mahi

 

4 portions mahi-mahi-, 4 to 6 ounces each
Seasoned flour (salt, pepper, thyme ad lib)

2 large Persian limes
½ stick butter, divided
1 tablespoon minced garlic

Small can eggplant caponata

2 cups cooked rice

2/3 cup white wine

    Pat fish dry. Juice  one lime and cut remaining lime into wedges. Dredge fish in seasoned flour. Heat half the butter and brown fish on both sides, drizzling with lime juice along the way. Continue cooking and turning fish, gradually stirring in garlic and adding a little more butter if needed. 

        Stir caponata into cooked rice and mound some atop each piece of fish. Cover and cook  until mahi is done and rice is heated through. Remove to plates. Add remaining butter to the pan with the wine. Bring to a boil, then drizzle over fish. Serve with lime wedges.

Cook's note:  It's unconventional, but I like Vermouth as the wine used here. 

 

 
    How to make a meal when you’re at sea and out of fresh food? How to provision the pantry with shelf-stable foods for extended cruising, convenience or emergencies? See Survival Food Handbook (International Marine Publishing) , a guide to stocking a boat or camper with familiar, affordable supermarket staples.  https://amzn.to/1WdYqbe

 

TIPS FOR THE GALLEY CHEF
            
    * Instead of cookie crumb layers in your next parfaits, use honey nut oat cereal. 
    
    * Add a spaghetti claw to your galley. It serves pasta, sauerkraut, spaghetti squash, shredded cabbage and other stringy foods. It’s also the best way to lift eggs or potatoes out of boiling water.

* Beer marinade for 3-4 pounds of meat, fish or poultry:  12-oz. can beer. 1 T. minced garlic, 1 t. ea. salt, pepper, 2 sliced onions, 3 bay leaves, 2 c. ketchup, 1 T. Liquid Smoke.. Refrigerate overnight. 

* When a recipe calls for bread crumbs, try cheese cracker crumbs instead.


MASTER RECIPE OF THE WEEK
    For the ideal lunch in the cockpit, make a different version of this main dish salad recipe every day. 

 

 

 

Grains-as-Mains Salad

3 cups cooked and cooled rice, quinoa,  ferro, barley, wild rice or other hearty grain
2 cups chopped raw vegetables (red and green pepper, celery, sweet onion, asparagus tips, sliced scallions, etc.)
1/3 cup bottled dressing

 2 cups cut up cooked meat, fish, chicken, hard-boiled eggs, drained and rinsed kidney beans or diced tofu
½ cup sesame seeds, sunflower “nuts” or sliced almonds
Chopped fresh basil, parsley, cilantro, tarragon, thyme or other herb
Grated cheese ad lib

Additional dressing to taste

    Cook the grain, drain and cool it and fold in vegetables, protein and fresh herbs.  Sprinkle with seeds or nuts and  grated cheese. Serves 4 to 6.
    Optional:  serve the salad on a bed of shredded lettuce or in lettuce cups.

MAKE AHEAD RECIPE OF THE WEEK
    Make a big batch, then portion and package for the freezer in right-size portions for your crew. These meatballs come with a LOT of sauce.

 

Fruit-Sauced Meatballs
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 pound lean ground pork
½ cup bread crumbs
2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon each salt, pepper, mixed Italian seasoning

    Mix well and form into golf ball-size meatballs. Arrange on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees until browned. Internal temperature should reach a minimum of 160 degrees. Set aside to cool.

Sauce:
Pan juices
14- to 16-ounce jar apricot or pineapple preserves
8-ounce jar Grey Poupon mustard
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 cup brown sugar
20-ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained

    Drain pan juices from the meatballs into a saucepan and spoon off excess fat. Add preserves, mustard, curry powder, brown sugar and pineapple. Bring to a boil, stirring  to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and cool.
    Put meatballs in freezer bags, allowing 3 to 4 meatballs per serving. Divide cooled sauce among packages. Freeze. To serve, thaw and heat to serve over rice or noodles, crisp chow mein noodles or steamed, crisp-tender French-cut green beans. 

Tip: if you freeze meatballs in boilable bags, you can heat in the same pan with boil-in-the-bag rice.

 

 

 

 

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 BONUS RECIPE    

MEXICAN "STREET CORN" RICE

2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
Medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
Medium green pepper, cut in thin strips
14.5-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
3 cups cooked rice
1 cup sour cream
Shredded Mexican blend cheese ad lib
Minced cilantro
Lime wedges

 

 Heat fat in a large skillet and sizzle onion and garlic, gradually stirring in green pepper. Drain corn and save liquid. Continue stir-frying while adding rice and corn. To moisten to taste, add a little liquid from the corn. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Fold in sour cream and about a cup of grated cheese. Cover and heat through. Sprinkle with minced cilantro. To serve, pass more grated cheese and a plate of lime wedges.

          

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