Mouthwatering Boat Recipes (mainly plant based)

[Coops]

Buy seedless ones.

Coops.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Coops

One for you all that I found today. Slicing a watermelon.

This inspired me to make Watermelon salad , something that at first glance looks like a weird mixture, but works beautifully. The sweetness and juicy crispness of watermelon is coupled by salty olives, creamy feta (I know, I know it's not vegan, but try substituting) and the slight bite of red onion. A perfect summer salad. This combo did the rounds in Australia several years ago.

Like Greek salad, preparation is a last minute job. Precut fresh fruit and veg start to deteriorate very quickly and the quality of the resulting dish takes a dive.

WATERMELON SALAD

½ small watermelon, sliced, seeded and cubed
1 red onion sliced
Handful of black Kalamata olives (I love the mellow baked ones in dishes like this)
100-200 g feta
2 tblspns extra virgin olive oil
1 tblspn lime/lemon juice
Cracked pepper
Dried oregano

- Layer watermelon onion and olives
- Top with slices of feta
- Shake together the oil, lemon and pepper and drizzle over (don't toss this salad)
- Sprinkle with oregano

This recipe has been added to the index in post #1.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Summer living is very easy .

The salads with pulses posted early this year have been made frequently. The Moroccan one in particular has become a real favourite. If I have no fresh herbs, I add a diced red onion when marinating the chickpeas. Mango salad has been made substituting peaches or nectarines. Sweet potato salad is another favourite, as is the Vietnamese one.

West African peanut stew is one my better half enjoys lots (my recipe makes enough for 4 dinners for us - 3 lots are sealed in glass jars while the mixture is boiling hot) and is yummy spread on tortillas, topped with slices of cheese and popped in the oven for ten minutes, so this has been made often. Minimal oven time helps keep the boat cool.

With the exception of cheese and yoghurt being added, lots of the meals have been vegan, simply because animal products transport and store poorly in the heat. With more remote anchorages being preferred, it is usually a week and sometimes two between treks to find provisions. The raft of vegan recipes I have accumulated over the years (most of which have been presented here now) work brilliantly when temperatures soar.

Having a few ripe bananas to use up yesterday, I tried making muesli bars based on my granola recipe. The idea came from the 'Oh She Glows' blog:

MUESLI BARS (chewy)

3 cups rolled oats (I used half instant this time as I had some to use up)
1 cup mixed nuts (eg cashews & hazelnuts, or walnut & almond)
1 cup mixed seeds (eg pumpkin and sunflower)
½ cup shredded, desiccated or flaked coconut
200g dark chocolate, chopped (optional)
1 cup mixed dried fruit (eg cranberries and sultanas)
1.5 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium/large bananas)
1 heaped soup spoon honey or pure maple syrup
1 heaped soup spoon peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

- Combine the oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, dried fruit and chocolate in a large bowl
- Whisk together the banana, honey, peanut butter and vanilla
- Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix really well
- Line a tray with non stick baking paper
- Pack the mixture down firmly
- Bake at about 160°C for about 20 minutes (until lightly brown underneath)
- When cold cut into bars

Lots of variations are possible eg:
Dried apple, with walnuts and cinnamon;
Dried apricots with extra shaved coconut, almonds and a few drops of almond essence;
Pecans and a few tablespoons of maple syrup instead of honey;
More peanut butter and chocolate and skip the coconut and dried fruit;
Dip one side or simply half in melted chocolate (don't try this in warm weather as you will have sticky fingers and be covered from ear to ear in chocolate)

This makes a nutritious, easy to handle snack that is particularly good for short passages. I write 'short' as containing mashed banana it may not keep for more than a few days.

We are munching on these at the moment with iced coffee while on a broad reach :

[Seaworthy Lass]

This is a generic recipe. It is an fresh, easy versatile summer dish that can be largely preprepared. Perfect if you don't like being stuck in the galley for ages close to dinner time (that's me ).

The sweetness of the fruit marries beautifully with the hint of chilli:

SUMMER SALAD

The basic formula is:
- 1 cup of grains (eg barley, wheat, cracked wheat etc) or seeds (eg quinoa) cooked in 2 cups water or stock
- 400 g tin beans (eg navy, kidney, black-eyed) or chickpeas or lentils, drained & rinsed
- 1 chopped red onion
- 1 cup chopped herbs (eg parsley, dill, basil, coriander) plus a handful of tips to scatter on top
- Slices of fresh fruit (eg 1 peach, nectarine, a few apricots) - don't overdo it, the fruit shouldn't dominate
A crunchy veg (eg capsicum)

Dressing:
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tblspn white wine vinegar
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
¼ tsp ground rock salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
¼ tsp chili flakes or a little chopped fresh chili

Cook grains/seeds (I simply add them to boiling water in a wide mouthed thermos), drain and cool.
Combine the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well.
Mix the grains, beans and chopped onion (this can be left to marinate in the fridge for several hours at this stage).
Before serving toss in the chopped herbs and serve topped with slices of fruit and veg and herb tips.

Tonight I used quinoa, kidney beans, onion, parsley, dill & basil, a nectarine and orange capsicum. Variations are limited only by your imagination .

[Wotname]

Roll on Southern summer!

These salads are making me drool for "summer salad days" as here we are having another wet, windy, single digit temp day.

SWL, your salad combinations are interesting - thanks.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Wotname

SWL, your salad combinations are interesting - thanks.

Is "interesting" a polite way of saying downright odd?

I think a dish should satisfy all the senses - it should smell good and look good and taste good and if it is the main meal (like these summer salad dishes are for me) it should provide lots of different textures. All mush or all crunch just doesn't work. I'm trying to think how "sounding good" fits in - maybe just four of the senses need to be satisfied .

I love experimenting (the same things over and over lose their appeal pretty quickly). And obviously I love eating, so I experiment lots .

[Seaworthy Lass]

PS I forgot to add that being nutritionally good is vital long term. A person cannot live on chocolate alone .

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Is "interesting" a polite way of saying downright odd?

I think a dish should satisfy all the senses - it should smell good and look good and taste good and if it is the main meal (like these summer salad dishes are for me) it should provide lots of different textures. All mush or all crunch just doesn't work. I'm trying to think how "sounding good" fits in - maybe just four of the senses need to be satisfied .

I love experimenting (the same things over and over lose their appeal pretty quickly). And obviously I love eating, so I experiment lots .

Oh dear - must be male / female thing.

For me "interesting" means "interesting"; ie " worthy of interest" also perhaps worthwhile to try, explore the concept of, consider other alternatives and so and so forth.

If I wanted to mean "downright odd", then I would probably post something along the lines "those salads are downright odd".

However after checking with my bride, it seems that "interesting" can also be a polite way of saying "downright odd" so I guess you could be right.

Nevertheless, we had a salad tonight in front of the fire even though we had spent the afternoon walking in snow covered alpine plains and driving home though snow showers.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

PS I forgot to add that being nutritionally good is vital long term. A person cannot live on chocolate alone .

Do you have chocolate on-board

Just about to make a couple of hot chocolates - just uninteresting simple ones

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Oh dear - must be male / female thing.

Originally Posted by Wotname

Do you have chocolate on-board

Just about to make a couple of hot chocolates - just uninteresting simple ones

This is my simple recipe for two :
150g dark Lindt (60% cacao, any higher and it is not as creamy)
2 cups full cream milk
Bring milk almost to the boil (don't over heat it). Whisk in broken bits of chocolate until melted and return to the heat whisking for a few more minutes so that it thickens slightly more.

Man cannot live on salad alone either .

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

This is my simple recipe for two :
150g dark Lindt (60% cacao, any higher and it is not as creamy)
2 cups full cream milk
Bring milk almost to the boil (don't over heat it). Whisk in broken bits of chocolate and return to the heat whisking for a few more minutes.

Man cannot live on salad alone either .

Bludi heck, even my simple uninteresting HC recipe has a small(ish) slug of brandy...

Man can not live without decent alcohol - at least this man can't

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Bludi heck, even my simple uninteresting HC recipe has a small(ish) slug of brandy...

Man can not live without decent alcohol - at least this man can't

Mine is served with Hennessy on the side .

All those thoughts of chocolate and alcohol and an open fire have my mind turning to other things lasses can't live without . Must go for a swim to cool off.

Have a lovely evening .

[Seaworthy Lass]

SUMMER SALAD TAKE 2

The "interesting" summer salad recipe in post # 439 was used again.

I stuck with quinoa. I'm becoming more and more addicted to this, which is a good thing as I have 6 kg to use up that I bought from Amazon UK while we had a mailing address last winter . Apart from tasting better than rice, it is super easy to cook using the thermos method, which makes it even more appealing.

This was the summer salad mix I used this time:
Grains/seeds: quinoa
Pulses: chickpeas
Herbs: parsley and basil
Fruit: kiwi and avocado
Veg: yellow & green capsicum and red onion (plus a finely chopped red onion as usual in the marinade)
Dressing: standard one, but I had fresh chili on hand
I added a handful of toasted flaked almonds and a few hazelnuts when serving

The chickpeas, onion and parsley were marinated in the morning while beating to windward, and at the same time I popped the quinoa into a thermos and added boiling water. Very little was left to do at dinner time .

[Coops]

A little tip for saving time with salad preparation. Of course you clever things may already know this.

How to core a head of iceberg lettuce in less than five seconds. [VIDEO]

Coops.

[Sailor_Hutch]

It's nice to have a veggie drink once in awhile. Fruit drinks contain a lot of sugar (20,30,40 grams/serving) - but veggie drinks are in the single digit range. Alas - it has been said that when making a puree out of veggies (to use as a concentrated drink maker) - that it be used immediately (or maybe frozen?) I know that canning vegatable puree is considered unsafe. The USDA recommends against it, because cookers do not heat the puree evenly enough. So - are there any veggie drink aficionados out there? How do you keep your puree?