Life in the smallest kitchen
If you’ve ever wondered what we eat on Scooter, here goes. It’s a 12 square foot kitchen and my favorite place to be. Here marks the start of a (perhaps) weekly series called Scooter’s Galley. Now that we’re in California, and are catching more of our own food I’d like to share how we eat and also hopefully encourage visitors to come see us for a cheap vacation.
I love to cook. I think if I could get paid to do anything for the rest of my life it would be to cook…buuuut cooking for money is a whole different game and I think it’d ruin the fun.
It’s been a fun challenge to adapt to cooking in the smallest kitchen but Tay and I (and hopefully some guests) can attest that it’s gone well.
- Local Fare: Cooking what’s free
- In the PNW we had ample access to blackberries. We picked and preserved as much as we could before we left. Blackberry Jam has been a staple on yoghurt, pancakes, Oatmeal and PB&Js. We’re finally on the dregs of the last jar, and need to find a new abundant fruit.
- We were terrible at fishing in the PNW, and are only slightly better in California. To date, Scooter has hauled a meager 10 fish aboard in 2 years of fishing nearly every day. Of those 10, 4 have been big enough and legal to eat. But, they’ve been many days of delicious food.
- Crabs have been on the up & up for us. We pulled 3 crabs up in the puget sound in 2 summers and things have been much better since. We’ve pulled crabs up in Oregon, and California and finally have our system down, which leads me to…
- Budget Bites. (things we eat when we don’t have visitors)
- I always bought chicken thighs and breasts. Kroger has them for 1.99/lb so it’s the cheapest meat by far, so I thought. Until I realized a chicken carcass makes the best Crab Bait. So killing 2 birds with one stone, we’ve started buying whole chickens, parting them out, and enjoying the 2 for 1 value. And in a short time, I’d like to think I’ve mastered the grilled chicken quarter.
- For life on a budget, we eat a lot of oatmeal, PB&J’s and Ramen. Fortunately, 15 cent ramen with a couple soft boiled eggs, sundried tomatoes, and green onions feels pretty gourmet for under a dollar. We also got into the sailor classic of canned sardines. A little hot sauce and served with crackers, it’s actually a really good lunch. (see below image).
- Preserved Provisions
- Canned goods were vital. They say to estimate the worst-case scenario for how long a passage might take and provision for double. I’ve gotten pretty handy with a canned beet salad or spicing up beans and rice. Also, you can make a pretty bomb stir fry with canned chicken. Fortunately, I was always able to make something better than canned soup so the Progresso remains in the bilge. Canned beets, feta, and cucumbers never go bad as far as I’m concerned. Eunice appreciates canned fish as much as we do.
- Rice is key. We had 20 lbs of rice on board. Which might have been dumb to assume in a situation where we’re desperate enough, we’d still be able to cook rice…but whatever. We are still eating ample rice and stretching calories to maintain the budget. Also side note, one of the best meals of my life was plain rice… 36 hours into a pounding sea outside the Strait of Juan De Fuca, unflavored calories were a Godsend.
- Local Fare Revisited.
- We got a free tuna fillet in Half Moon Bay. Fresh Albacore is amazing. When it’s not canned, it isn’t horribly dry. It might be my favorite fish from this journey. We made Ceviche first which was glorious despite it being cold food on a cold night. Then the tuna steaks were as good as anything I’ve had in a restaurant, and the tuna tacos were a great way to finish the fish which at this point was like 6 days old so I wanted to make sure it was cooked.
- Clams were a blast. We haven’t found any in Cali yet, but the horse clams, and weekly batches of homemade clam chowder will be one of my highlights from the Sound.
- Finally, we found out lemon trees are common in people’s yards and sometimes they are free for the snagging, dangling over sidewalks, or even left out in tidy piles for passers-by to have. So we made a batch of limoncello and got some little jars. We’ve been looking for something to give other sailors because people have been so generous to us!
Thanks for indulging me. Scooter’s kitchen gets more exciting every day, so follow along or come visit and get a taste.