Favorite Passagemaking Meals?

[Meanderthal]

Anything over three days of bluewater transit, no land/shore runs, maybe a crew's (or all crew) stomach (s) is (are) tender.

I seem to consume most of my calories in the form of hot chocolates, cappuccinos, and soups, in cold weather (esp potato leek soup)-- rounded out with fresh bread in various forms, strong mint tea, ginger snaps, and fresh fruit. Husband liked endless quantities of toast or bagels with butter/cream cheese/jam, plus endless fruit snacks. Oh, and scrambled eggs and dried turkey bits with cheese.

We seem to revert to more varied/seasoned cooking at anchor. I could have used more fruit and veg.

[Bleemus]

Chili, Swedish meatballs, oatmeal. Those are my three go to meals.

[JohnT]

Pasta, hot or cold, with anything you like. Just make sure for the first three days out not to make any acidic dish, such as with a lot of tomatoes. Also, you need some protein thrown in on a regular basis.

[barnakiel]

WARNING: You cannot go for too long on too much hot chocolate. One problem is there is too much sugar in it. Another problem is soon you may get problem going to the toilet for number two. Especially if you are over 40. You have been warned. And do not ask me how I know ;-)

Now. I agree with the post above on pasta. Pasta is quick and can be matched with nearly anything. You can have a sweet dish or a spicy one, and any leftover pasta can be fried and converted into a quick night watch dish.

Other than hot chocolate (or tar thick cacao, for me ;-) and pasta with attached things, one of my favourite things is the MAGIC soup that my first mate prepares.

She will use:

- a 'macedonia' vegetable mix (canned together: carrots, potatis, peas),
- small caliber quick cooking pasta (or Chinese noodles, or preboiled rice),
- impromptu vegetable stock - fried olive oil, garlic (or onions) and pimenton de la vera (or black pepper, if we run out of de la vera).

This is how it is done:

- pour some oil into a pan, add chopped garlic, fry till garlic gets glassy,
- when garlic glassy, add de la vera (or ground black pepper),
- after about 30'' add a can of drenched macedonia, add water,
- chuck in the noodles, add some salt NOW,
- get to boil, make sure the noodles are soft.
- done.

Preparation time about 30 minutes. Hot, tasty, nutritious.

(* - pimenton de la vera - is an Extramadurian (Extremadura, Spain) ground smoked pimenton (paprica, elsewhere). It makes your dishes taste smoked beacon, without smoked beacon.

Cheers,
b.

[Meanderthal]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

(* - pimenton de la vera - is an Extramadurian (Extremadura, Spain) ground smoked pimenton (paprica, elsewhere). It makes your dishes taste smoked beacon, without smoked beacon.

Cheers,
b.

Mmm...bacon.

All sounds tasty tasty! Extramadurian pimenton, eh?

(I too, have encountered the dangers of too much hot chocolate. I drink a frankenstein mix of frothed milk, swiss miss, hydrolyzed collagen, ovaltine, and fiber powder. Premix the dry ingredients in ratio by weight of 3:2:1:1.)(hydrolyzed collagen can be ordered @ a good price from bulk supplements on Amazon).

[atlantical]

I was in Guadaloup, and broke, so I picked loads of cocoa nuts, and lived off them for a while, very bad idea, okay for the first couple of days, but trying to pass them was a nightmare, it felt like they had grown back together in my stomach and re shelled themselves, it was agony.

Don't eat too much cocoa nut.

[Charlie]

I make three meals in a slow cooker Irish Stew, carnitas, and chilli. These all freeze well and can be reheated in a pressure cooker with the lid only loosely fastened. This makes sure any spillage is minimal. A last resort is cup of noodles and any freeze dried foods. I like to keep a thermos with a pump full of hot water and use it to make coffee soup etc.

[Pelagic]

Most of our passage main meals are designed as toppings to a small bowl of spaghetti or red rice or sweet potatoes.
Curries, Stews, Spaghetti sauces, all pre-made and portioned for mix and match

[JPA Cate]

Insatiable snacks for unhappy tummies:

Pickled eggs
plain boiled potatoes
crackers and cheese

Cold weather: add cocoa

"Real food" can wait on the tummy's happiness.

Ann

[Palarran]

It really depends on the length of the passage and the weather. I've only done one ocean crossing and was totally spoiled by my mate. He was an unbelievable cook and loved to spend hours in the galley making 3 item meals no matter what the weather was.

For the crossing we are doing in a few weeks, we have a pretty detailed menu planned. All 5 crew have to cook three meals with three items. They are planned for fresh, then frozen, then made with dry or canned goods. If we catch enough fish, the canned goods/pasta meals will be skipped. Lunches very by day from sandwiches to full blown brunches, to left overs. Breakfast is on your own and is cereal or the like.

These are my three meals:
For my first meal it’s Beef Tenderloin on the grill with hasselback potato gratin and grilled asparagus with a hollandaise sauce.

My second meal is all done electrically using the skillet and rice cooker. I’m making steak and chicken fajitas, Spanish rice, guacamole, and spicy corn/black bean salsa.

My third meal is Greek Pastitsio, Semolina Cake, and Zucchini and cheese gratin.

We are not bringing many snacks. Ramon noodle cups, boiled eggs, cereal, etc will be available but I doubt many will eat them.

For short day or two trips, we just wing it at the grocery before leaving. There's always enough food stuff to fill in with.

[Meanderthal]

All such good information!

We had some friends over for a boaters' dinner. These particular friends are skilled and experienced high latitude sailors who have completed, among other things, the Northwest Passage sans autopilot on 2 hour manned watches. (My eyelids are drooping just thinking about it.)

They did many things with baked potatoes wrapped in tinfoil. The basic seems to involve cooking a whole mess of them, and heating up one at a time on the heater or the motor or the stove, so as to have something warm/not coffee.

[BlackHeron]

Almost anything available that is edible with Valentina or similar Mexican hot sauce dumped all over it. 1000+ Scoville. Beans, lentils, chickpeas, rice, chopped veggies, pasta noodles. Meat bits cubed, shredded or ground, cheese cubes or shreds.

No-cook overnight oatmeal and milk. Fruits if fresh, or canned. Pickles, or for that matter spicy Indian pickle and crackers, jerky or summer sausage...

I'm not too picky. Nothing too hard to prepare or eat though. I've done burritos pre-prepared, quesadillas, Indian dosas (the normal and the spicy kind with chutney -even made grilled cheese out of it)

Neither I nor my wife tend to suffer from sea-sickness. I'm not a big fan of chips and typical junk food, and not candy either.

[DumnMad]

Helming 3hrs on 3hrs off in 40+knots for more than 2 days these bars saved me :-)
Had a bundle in my wet weather gear.

https://shop.prozone.co.nz/collections/zone-bars