The Most Basic Essential Foods

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Boracay

Not to misquote Russel Crowe but is it not desirable to include some discussion of weevil proof storage if we are going to take large amounts of pasta, grains, nuts etc.?

Or how to cook 'em?


I will suggest.................powdered soup. Apart from eating as soup, great for stuffing things into - according to imagination / supplies / neccessity. In my cookbook if it's hot. and easy. it's good

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Boracay

weevil proof storage if we are going to take large amounts of pasta, grains, nuts etc.?

We buy small bags of pasta and put those bags in Lock and Lock boxes or Zip Lock bags. This stops weevils hatching and getting into other food/pasta.

The pasta that we have lost most of is the Australian brand San Remo!! Weevil city!


Mark

[sarafina]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Rinse it. It tastes better and it's certainly less sticky. My Sicilian grandmother always rinsed it, and so do I.

heh... MY Sicilian grandmother never rinsed it so go figure... that's why Baskin Robbins had 31 flavours I guess!

[hellosailor]

A couple of bays leaves (laurel) in a bag of flour will apparently kill bugs before they hatch.

If you have shoreside power available before you stow everything, microwaving the sealed containers is also supposed to kill any critters, even eggs, in pasta/rice/flour as well.

And if you carry any paprika aboard...UGH! You've never seen such a nasty mess of critters hatch in seasoning. Nuke it, seal it, buy it with great care, or one day you go to shake it out, and the little red balls are moving all by themselves. UGH.

(Can you tell who doesn't like bugs?)

[Mariness]

OOH, I had that happen with basil! Not even sure what they were - never seen them anywhere else in the house.

[mintyspilot]

Are these "critters" due to the hotter climate or proximity to the sea? I live at latitude 53N and the only citters I ever see are flour weevils and they probably come in the flour itself.

We do keep all flours, grains and spices in glass jars.

[fishwife]

If you happen to be unlucky enough to get weevils in stored food, you can identify them here

weevils in food - Google Search



P.

[JARogers]

I find instant whole milk indispensible. Nido is one brand sold in many Latin American markets and also in the US now. In a relatively calm anchorage you can make delicious home made yogurt out if it using either packaged dry starter from a health food store or a small amount of fresh plain yogurt if it is available locally. To me it's better than ice cream and doesn't need refrigeration.
...Jim

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by sarafina

heh... MY Sicilian grandmother never rinsed it so go figure... that's why Baskin Robbins had 31 flavours I guess!

Well, The Joy of Cooking says rinse it if you will bake it (e.g. lasagna) or use it cold in a pasta salad, but not if it is eaten hot with sauce. The idea is that the starch allows the sauce to adhere to the hot pasta.

Personally I prefer to rinse it always. To me it tastes better. Why eat pure starch? And if you want sauce to adhere to your pasta, buy conchiglie (shells) or fusili.

Most of the pasta dishes I eat on the boat are prepared on shore. For example, I freeze a block of lasagne and put it in the fridge. It's ready to eat in 3-4 days and helps keep other things cold. I also bring plenty of Orzo salad. But for cooking on the boat, I prefer brown rice.

Really, the takeaway from this thread is, if (1) you like eating it, (2) you can prepare it in a number of different ways for variety, and (3) it has good nutritional value, then for you it is a basic essential food.

As for the weevils, a few cooked weevils won't kill you-- you probably won't even know they're there. Besides, protein is protein. But I will try adding the Bay leaves-- that's a useful tip.

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by gosstyla

This doesn't add much to what has already been said, but the attached Lists includes a list of my basic food stores for 5 weeks for 4 crew and 27 recipes.

I spent some time collecting the recipes and modifying them for 4. My criteria in selecting them were a) things I like b) easy to prepare c) use a basic set of ingredients. The List of foods stores was then created using these recipes. I provision based on this list then supplement with whatever interesting that becomes available.

This is just an example of a possible approach you could use to establish your own basic store of provisions - not that your final lists would look anything like this.

Two items I don't believe have yet been mentioned are dried sausages such as Chorizo and Wraps for bread - it is amazing the what can be done with Wraps and they can store for months.

I have been making my own list - and this has been an amazing help!!!! Saves me having to think too much more!!!! Thank you, it's GREAT!!!!

[starfish62]

My husband, seriously, hung by anchor line for 5 hours under our dinghy, long past I was cold, in Bora Bora and never speared a single fish. Canned corned beef cabbage for suppper.

[Nick & LA]

ah... hello! can anyone say Vodka?! Maybe an olive for some greens!


obviously just kidding, but couldn't resist

[Passage50]

Basic, No refrigeration,Cheap.

Raw rolled OATS, provides you with lots of stamina and lasts all Day.

Sugar, I like to put some into my Oats.

Tea, tastes good with Sugar and makes the Oats go down easier.

Sorry for being so basic but I know from experience it works and keep you alive till the pickings are better.

Cheers

[hellosailor]

Nido and Klim (read that backwards) are both brands of whole powdered milk made by Nestle for the Central and South American markets. Somehow they get sold back here ein the US, where Nestle says there is no market for them. usually in the "ethnic" aisle of supermarkets, in large quantities.

There are also "superfat" and choclate varieties, a translator may be necessary. I've found the espanol-only labelled cans are 25% cheaper than the Spanglish-labelled cans, oddly enough, exact same product.

[FxdGrMind]

Originally Posted by Passage50

Basic, No refrigeration,Cheap.

Raw rolled OATS, provides you with lots of stamina and lasts all Day.

Sugar, I like to put some into my Oats.

Tea, tastes good with Sugar and makes the Oats go down easier.

Sorry for being so basic but I know from experience it works and keep you alive till the pickings are better.

Cheers

You must be a fellow Scandinavian or have that in your family history.
Cheers from a fellow Viking.

I think drinks have been 'WAY" overlooked. Some Irish cream for that morning/mid day/night time coffee. Some everclear.... too many uses to count. Some "Sunberry" mix... Ok it's imported, but you don't need much in a glass of water to create a Tasty thirst quencher.

You can make pizza on a propane barbecue if it has a lid. Cheese might be difficult, but some pickled artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes and some peperochini's... srinkled basil over the top. Bingo! and goes great with a nice Chianti.