Budget Galley Meals for Liveaboards

Copyright Janet Groene. To ask about placing your ad on all six Groene sites for one year, one low rate, email janetgroene at yahoo.com

Small boat, small galley, big appetites

What is your favorite winter boat show? Even if you’re not shopping for a boat, spend a day or more at a boat show to see what’s new in accessorieS AND GEAR. Hobnob with factory reps and other boaters. Attend free workshops, demonstratins, seminars. Gets swab bags and brochures. Then see if this year’s souvlaki is as good as last year’s.

Here are some everyday recipes for the everyday cruising liveaboard on a budget.

Creamy Cheese Grits

Creamy grits can be topped with almost anything from the grill to make a pretty plate. Shrimp kebabs? Grilled chicken or a chop?  Marinated tofu? 

 ½ stick butter

2 to 3 tablespoons minced garlic

½ cup heavy cream

1 ½ cups water

1 chicken or vegetable  bouillon cube

½ cup quick (not instant) yellow or white grits

4-ounce package grated Cheddar cheese

Melt the butter and sizzle garlic until it’s fragrant. Stir in cream, water and bouillon. Bring to a boil and stir in grits. Stir over medium heat until thick. Fold in cheese and spread grits wall to wall on  plates. Add topper of choice.  Serves six. 

Discover the Yacht Yenta Cozy Mystery Series....

People are dying in Okecoochie County FL, but nobody can guess how the deaths are related. Meet Farley Halladay, a salt-cured sailboat widow who has an online charterboat booking business, dodges a wayward sister, cares for an old Navy SEAL veteran who was her husband’s mentor and wrangles  a large circle of wacky friends. She cooks, copes and solves crimes in this unusual cozy mystery series.  Check your favorite e-book seller for all formats or go to Kindle,   https://amzn.to/3bB5XPh   

Bonus points: Throughout the books, Farley shares shortcut recipes from the days when she was a charterboat cook. 

Marina Potluck Recipe of the Week

First Nation Wild Rice

Rutabaga adds a touch of tang and buttery color to this tempting side dish.

2 cups uncooked wild rice, prepared according to package directions

1/4 stick butter

    Stir butter into wild rice. Cover and set aside. 

6 to 8 ounces Canadian bacon, cut in small bits

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pint mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

1 to 2 cups diced rutabaga

In a large pan, wok or skillet, brown Canadian bacon in  hot oil over high heat, gradually adding mushrooms and rutabaga. Scrape up brown bits and add a little water. Cover pan, reduce heat and let steam soften vegetables. Stir in wild rice. Cover and heat through over low-medium heat. Serves 12. 

PANTRY RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Gourmet? Perhaps not, but cruising sailors know the value in having a Plan B for times when the fridge rails, or the village’s only ice machine breaks down, or you’re quarantined until all the fresh foods run out. For an entire cookbook for shelf-stable foods, see Survival Food Handbook.

    For tips on getting the most nutrition into your emergency food locker my Survival Food Handbook is a guide to stocking an emergency pantry with the most nutrition per inch, per ounce and per dollar using familiar, affordable supermarket staples.   http://amzn.to/1WdYqbe

 

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

6 servings instant mashed potatoes, made according to package directions

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 can kidney beans, undrained

1 can baby carrots, drained and cut up

1 can Great Northern beans, undrained

1 can cut green beans, drained

1 can mushroom pieces, drained

8-ounce can tomato sauce

1 teaspoon browning such as Bovril or Gravy Master

Olive oil

Make mashed potatoes in a heavy saucepan and fold in Parmesan. Cover and set aside to steep while you mix vegetables in a baking pan. Whisk browning and tomato sauce and drizzle over vegetables. Spread potatoes over top. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in a hot oven until potatoes are lightly browned. 

No oven? Assemble dish on a large skillet. Heat through and put a golden blush on mashed potatoes with a kitchen torch. 

Tips for the Galley Chef

* Make up a box of Kraft mac and cheese and a skillet of scrambled eggs with sausage or bacon. Then fold them together.

* Stir sour cream into softened cream cheese until creamy. Add sugar to taste and use s a topper for fresh or canned fruit.

* Heat a gallon of apple juice and stir in a 6-ounce can of limeade or lemonade concentrate. Ladle into mugs and add a tot of rum. 

* Make a boffo coleslaw. 1 cup vinegar, ½ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon each celery seed and salt, ½ teaspoon each turmeric and dry mustard. Heat to boiling. Stir to dissolve.  Pour over shredded cabbage. 

BONUS RECIPE

Pepperoni Dip

Make a quick lunch out of bread sticks, mugs of cream soup and this robust dip.

2 cups lite sour cream

1/4 cup pepperoni chopped very fine

1 tablespoon mixed Italian herbs

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup shredded cheese

Mix well. Add salt if needed. Refrigerate leftovers. 

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