Suggested Cruising Menus??

[redsky49]

Does anyone have a 14 day or 21 day meal list, that isn't dependent on a freezer, they would like to share? Bonus points for minimal refrigeration requirements.

We are getting ready to head south through the Bahamas, and would like to have some alternatives to the pasta/rice staples that we usually have. This would be for our main meal of the day.

Neither of us are exceptionally accomplished cooks, so simple is better than complicated. We will be provisioning here in Florida.

Just getting tired of eating the same old, same old.

Thanks!

[SailsWithFists]

The first thing to understand is that you do not need refrigeration unless you want fresh milk, fresh meat, or cold drinks. Nothing else requires refrigeration.

Eggs - turn every 4-5 days or coat in vegetable oil; they will last months unrefrigerated.
Cheese - use cheese cloth lightly soaked in white vinegar (or cut off the mold that forms on the outside)
Fresh vegetables and fruits - they actually last longer when not refrigerated, especially if they were never refrigerated to begin with.
Condiments will last for months without refrigeration, especially those with vinegar in them
Jellies should be stirred every couple of days if not used after opening

So, what do you like to eat? Whatever you already like to eat can be made on your boat without refrigeration, including things that require milk, sour cream, and meats.

Look up your local freeze dried supplier. These are brands like Mountain House, Backpacker's Pantry, Wise, and my personal favorite Thrive. They sell all types of freeze dried and powdered foods (individual items and pre-made meals) that taste simply amazing and they have all sorts of recipes.

Does a recipe you love call for ground beef and sour cream? Buy local fresh veggies, make your own breads/tortillas, then crack open a can of freeze dried ground beef and a can of powdered sour cream and use as directed. When done properly, most people cannot tell reconstituted freeze dried foods from fresh.

[Tidjian]

Originally Posted by SailsWithFists

The first thing to understand is that you do not need refrigeration unless you want fresh milk, fresh meat, or cold drinks. Nothing else requires refrigeration.

Eggs - turn every 4-5 days or coat in vegetable oil; they will last months unrefrigerated.
Cheese - use cheese cloth lightly soaked in white vinegar (or cut off the mold that forms on the outside)
Fresh vegetables and fruits - they actually last longer when not refrigerated, especially if they were never refrigerated to begin with.
Condiments will last for months without refrigeration, especially those with vinegar in them
Jellies should be stirred every couple of days if not used after opening

So, what do you like to eat? Whatever you already like to eat can be made on your boat without refrigeration, including things that require milk, sour cream, and meats.

Look up your local freeze dried supplier. These are brands like Mountain House, Backpacker's Pantry, Wise, and my personal favorite Thrive. They sell all types of freeze dried and powdered foods (individual items and pre-made meals) that taste simply amazing and they have all sorts of recipes.

Does a recipe you love call for ground beef and sour cream? Buy local fresh veggies, make your own breads/tortillas, then crack open a can of freeze dried ground beef and a can of powdered sour cream and use as directed. When done properly, most people cannot tell reconstituted freeze dried foods from fresh.

That's awesome. You'd be surprised the education gap between those who have always lived with refrigeration and those who have not. I would have never known eggs could last without being cold or the thing about the cheese.

Someone should write a cookbook for the sea. Recipes strictly based on what you can catch and what you can pantry.

[StuM]

For carbs, Wraps are a great alternative to pasta/rice. We use them a lot.
products | Mission Foods.

When cruising in the tropics, you don't need a lot of hot meals. You can make great meals out of Wraps stuffed with preserved meats (salami, ham etc); cheese; olives, artichokes, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, bell peppers etc out of jars,, home grown bean sprouts and whatever fresh salad vegetables you still have.

[SailsWithFists]

Originally Posted by Tidjian

That's awesome. You'd be surprised the education gap between those who have always lived with refrigeration and those who have not. I would have never known eggs could last without being cold or the thing about the cheese.

A long time ago I was told, "If you want to learn something new, read an old book."

I do that, and I also talk to the elderly. When I bought my first sailboat nearly 3 decades ago, it did not have refrigeration. I lived on canned goods and Ramen for a long time. Then I remembered that saying and went to visit my grandmother, who grew up without refrigeration. Boy did I get a history lesson and learned some of the most valuable food preservation techniques that I still use today.

Meats can be the most difficult if you are not versed in the old ways. Prepackaged freeze dried is the quick answer, but the best techniques are smoking and salt curing sides of meat. I usually keep a piece of smoked pork belly hanging in my galley. Whenever I want to add to a meal, I simply cut off what I need and throw it in. I ran across a gentleman who had an entire cured ham hock hanging in a bag from his radar arch. It was already 4 months old when I ran into him, and he had been taking slices from it since day one.

Otherwise canning is a great option not just for fruits and vegetables, but also for meats. You can also dehydrate meats (think jerky) and other foods.

There are plenty of old books on a lot of this. Most of the generation that grew up without refrigeration are no longer with us, but their knowledge was passed down - find just about any modern survivalist, and they can teach you the techniques for long term food storage and food preparation without refrigeration.

[Three Sisters]

Research will tell you the types, but definitely pepperoni cheese and crackers.

[JPA Cate]

Just a note, here, Cheese blocks can be covered in olive oil and placed in wide mouths jars. Keeps indefinitely, and will lend cheese flavoring, when used to make salad dressing. In addition, waxed cheese balls can be kept in the bilge (if your boat has bilges). It is "alive", and will continue to sharpen in flavor, but is eminently edible. Smoked meats can be hung, as suggested above. Some of them drip fat in hot climates, so you want something absorptive under them to catch it.

Cabbages keep very well long term. Only use outer leaves first. Also, when you bring them back to the boat, re-cut the stem, with a clean knife. (The reason is that sometimes the cut has been made with a knife that isn't clean, and can introduce contamination like stem rot.) People cover them with plain old newspaper. Carrots lose their crispness, but keep well wrapped in newspaper. Onions keep well, so you can make cabbage salads. Any vegs left over from last night's dinner can be added, marinate in a little vinegar, make vinegar and old dressing.

In addition to wraps, old fashioned "cabin biscuits", which are like giant saltines, but with the salt inside the cracker, rather than on top, can be used as vehicles for anything from jam to canned meats.

Mayonnaise does not require refrigeration. I know people are horrified by this idea, but we've been eating non-refrigerated mayo since about 1980, without any problem. You want to treat it with care, always use a clean knife or spoon to get it out of the jar, so you don't contaminate it. And, we use real egg mayo, we are NOT talking Miracle Whip, and I really don't know whether or not it could be done with the latter.

Just turning the eggs does work, for a long time. Eventually, they get tired, but we were able to use them in cooking 2 months plus. However, we started with eggs fresh from the chicken egg ranch, and such eggs have a natural coating on them, from the hen, which helps preserve them.

We used powdered milk, although long life milk works, too.

If you're really interested, research pemmican. There are a number of different ones you can make, very high energy, light weight, and easy to carry, excellent rations for a tired singlehander, requires no cooking prior to eating. Not everybody's cup of tea.

Ann

[Tidjian]

That's awesome. My reading material grows. The idea of smoked meat hanging in the galley really entices me. I don't have a smoker but there's a number of places here that do them. I will have to look into this more and see what the best methods are for longest preservation. I've bought dried meats before like those long dried sausage looking things from an eastern European market. They often have them hanging above the meat counter. They last a couple weeks but eventually do get white mould spots all over them. I often keep them in paper bags to dry them out more. Maybe that isn't a good thing?

[boatman61]

A leg of Jamon de Parma (varies other types/names) will last till there's no meat left on the bone.. then boil it with lentils and throw in some veg for a great soup.
Can be hung or kept in a custom stand..
A variation should be available in most Spanish speaking countries

[redsky49]

I appreciate all the suggestions, though they are a bit off topic for me.

What I was searching for was primarily a meal list. Such as:
Day 1: Veggie stir fry
Day 2: Spaghetti Marinara
Day 3: Sausage and waffles
etc.

I am trying to find a list of simple meals for the midday large meal, things I had forgotten or was not aware of. If I could get 15 or 20 meal suggestions, especially simple ones (one pot???), then maybe we could add some variety to our menu.

I know there are some great cooks out there. I'm just not one of them

[SailsWithFists]

Originally Posted by redsky49

I appreciate all the suggestions, though they are a bit off topic for me.

What I was searching for was primarily a meal list. Such as:
Day 1: Veggie stir fry
Day 2: Spaghetti Marinara
Day 3: Sausage and waffles
etc.

I am trying to find a list of simple meals for the midday large meal, things I had forgotten or was not aware of. If I could get 15 or 20 meal suggestions, especially simple ones (one pot???), then maybe we could add some variety to our menu.

I know there are some great cooks out there. I'm just not one of them

You are asking us to understand your personal tastes and desires. The three suggestions you gave are not things I have ever eaten, so any meal suggestions I give will be very spicy, not vegetarian, and likely require cast iron.


Simple meal: Tacos
Brown ground beef with diced onions

Add ground beef to tortilla
Top with Cheese, lettuce, tomato, cilantro, and salsa

Serve.

[Hobie_ind]

Originally Posted by SailsWithFists

A long time ago I was told, "If you want to learn something new, read an old book."

I'm surprised nobody has referenced this book yet. Lin and Larry Pardey cruised for over 40 years without refrigeration. We didn't have this book, but I know many who love it and swear by it and I think it has suggested meal rotations.

https://www.amazon.com/Care-Feeding-.../dp/1929214340

[Hobie_ind]

Tortilla-de-Patatas was one of my go-to meals as it's quick & easy, and we almost always had potatoes, onions and eggs weeks into passages or stays in remote areas.

https://smittenkitchen.com/2007/09/tortilla-de-patatas/

If I had them, I'd also often throw in some diced sausage or ham and diced peppers (green, yellow, red, doesnt' matter), although a Spanish friend of ours then screams that you can't call it Tortilla-de-Patatas anymore if you add those!

I've made it just for two by scaling back the ingredients and making it in a small cast iron frying pan.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by redsky49

I appreciate all the suggestions, though they are a bit off topic for me.

What I was searching for was primarily a meal list. Such as:
Day 1: Veggie stir fry
Day 2: Spaghetti Marinara
Day 3: Sausage and waffles
etc.

I am trying to find a list of simple meals for the midday large meal, things I had forgotten or was not aware of. If I could get 15 or 20 meal suggestions, especially simple ones (one pot???), then maybe we could add some variety to our menu.

I know there are some great cooks out there. I'm just not one of them

If your after one pot cooking get a pressure cooker.. can cook several things at once yet separately.
Use Basmati rice which just needs a 2to1 rice and water mix so no waste.. dried foods cook better and once again no waste and minimum fuel consumption.
They usually have a recipe book with them.
Germans love pickled cabbage with everything so stock up on that.. or make your own.
Bake your own breads, Olive, Ciabatta, Raisin.. great with cheese and conserves.. in hot climates the last thing one wants is sweating over a hot stove tending pans.. I used to wait till 2000hrs.. and it was still an ordeal.

[Sparx]

Hot fresh english muffins...a favorite on our boat. Easy to make and a hot muffin just off the griddle totally dresses up an otherwise same old sandwich. Cooked on the stove using a skillet!

There are lots of recipes out there, and here is one of my favorites:

Substitute molasses for honey for a divine variation. Add sesame seeds for fun.

The batch can be cut in half easily, but also keeps well if held cool....like in the bottom on the boat.