Need ideas

[scall]

In August, my parents are taking their boat for a cruise around an offshore island with a group of other boaters. My daughter and I have been invited to join them. There are unique cooking problems associated with cruising for eight days as follows:

Limited water (for cooking and cleaning up)
Limited cold and freezer storage
Limited access to fresh foods

We have to contribute an appetizer each day for seven days to share with the cruise group as well as plan lunch and dinner recipes for four people for at least eight days. The preference is one pot cooking or use of the BBQ.

I'm sure people with RVs as well as boaters and campers run into these problems. Ideas??

Sherry

[Alisa]

I can't think of any good recipes rght now - too hot to think - but I would pre-wash, chop & cook as many ingredients as possible and put them into ziploc bags - veggies etc. Canned beans make wonderful dips and require little in the way of prep, and melba toast & breadsticks would keep well for 8 days.

Sounds like a fun trip, I'll try to hunt up some recipes.
Alisa

[browneye]

I have done many trips such as this. I was the captain and Chef!! (and galley wench too)!

Here are some ideas that do well:

If the boat has an oven, pre-baked pizza crusts such as boboli, with assorted toppings are a good choice.

If there is not an oven, Frittatas are great for lunch or dinner. You can do these in one cast iron pan by putting the lid on at the end to cook the top through. Also, I always brought pre-made pasta sauces, either purchased or home-made, to toss with pastas, with or without the addition of Italian sausages, or other meats. This can all be done in one pot.

I have a recipe for chicken and herb dumplings that is done all in one pot on a stove-top, if you would like the recipe, also I have a recipe for a spaghetti and sauce that all cooks at once on the stove-top. Even the pasta goes right into the sauce and cooks there. Also, Paella is a good choice for a one-dish meal. Let me know if you would like me to post any of these recipes.

Basically any stove-top recipe that you can make at home can be done on a boat stove.
This is also where canned vegetables, fruits, and beans come in very handy.
Canned Tuna and/or chicken is are also convenient items to be creative with.

I also used to mix up a marinade at home for a flank steak, then place steak and all in a zip-lock bag or vacuum sealed in a food saver, and barbeque that one of the first nights out. Serve with a salad and a stove-top rice pilaf blend.

Pre-packaging everything at home really helps the space and storage problem. For instance, measure out the spices, etc for a recipe and seal all in a zip-lock bag with the ingredients rather than packing 5 different bottles of herbs or spices.

For lunches, were were usually on the move and preferred quick easy things like sandwiches or other finger foods. I always made a batch of chicken salad ahead of time to use for lunches.
Let me know if you'd like more specific recipes.

[AD]

I would definitely pack along peanut butter. Another option would be dry cereal or cereal bars such as granola or those new milk and cereal bars I've seen in stores.

[JulieM]

Here are a few ideas that require very little refrigerated food. Pasta with marinara sauce using good quality canned tomatoes and fresh herbs, or a good jar sauce. (Living on a boat, we avoid glass jars in general, but when there's something I just MUST have, I use tube socks that I've cut in half and put a piece of sock over any jars (or wine bottles) to help keep them from breaking.) Another idea is black-eyed peas or other good beans over rice, with a side of good quality canned collard greens. And another idea is a pasta tuna salad. The one I make is simply seashell pasta, canned white tuna, mayo, coarsely chopped dill pickle and vidalia onion. If I have lettuce, I chill the salad and serve over lettuce with a sprinkling of paprika and crackers and fresh fruit on the side. Salmon cakes are also good since they require very little in refrigerated items, other than an egg or two. I know that none of these meals are very exotic, but they're staples on our boat.