Luck Comes To The Prepared

"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have."
Thomas Jefferson

I am always on the lookout for new recipes for home and the boat. Those of us who like to cook are just "wired" that way. In a sense, we are the epitome of continuous adult learners. When we taste something we like, we ask the cook to share the recipe. How many times have you heard the person start the recipe with "it is so easy" before they give it to you?

Well, recipes that may be "easy" for a home kitchen are not always easy for a small boat galley. So those of us who like to cook have to put recipes through filters to decide if they are "boat worthy". We make multiple decisions: number of ingredients, can we store them on our boat, how many steps, how many pots do we have to get dirty, can you do it on two burners (or three if you're really lucky)? Does it need to be cut down in size so there are not so many leftovers? Can it be prepared while underway although, I have to admit, I haven't tried that yet. What if you can't get fresh ingredients (my greatest fear)? I honestly grieve when I have to admit to myself that some of my favorite foods are just too difficult to make in the galley. But that is what makes coming home to a full kitchen so much fun, too.

I always try recipes at home to see if they will transfer to the galley. Because I cook on a gas stove at home, it is easy for me to practice recipes on my two lowest BTU burners which would simulate the propane stove on the boat. My mother-in-law taught me to make notes on any recipe that I make for the first time. Then I will try the recipe again with modifications until I think it will work for the boat. This is especially true when I am using the pressure cooker: I practice EVERY pressure cooker recipe at home first.

We practice many skills on our boat, some for safety, others for navigation, etc. Why can't cooking be one of them?