The Cast of Characters & Quick Guide to the Story

Friday, April 8, 2011

Oh, How Great is the Lord, How Mysterious His Ways

Bly's salad - unusually compartmentalized. 
The gospel singers are singing ... just a little later than the schedule said they would. They are really belting it out, and it feels like one of those church services that is never going to end. But they are not bad. Maybe the first good singers all day. And this is a surprisingly good thing - since it is keeping me awake long enough to scribble a few words about our first day in Wilmington.


As the day got underway, it seemed like the town was populated mainly by the mentally retarded and the totally insane. The folks getting on the boat were seriously strange. Then as the day went on, there were people attending reunions on the battleship across the way and retirees and families that weren't all cracked. One man even left us two bottles of his rum sauce. I'm not sure what to do with it, but it looks delicious... and it's made, coincidentally, with rum from St. Croix.

Kip's plate: four out of five.



The stove that keeps on giving

I spent a good few hours with Old Deez (my stove), but halfway through cleaning, I hit the bottom of her fire chamber thing with a screwdriver, and the fan came on! The fan should not just suddenly come on. It should come on when I turn it on. This may have been the source of the problem when I tried to light it on our outgoing trip from Savannah.


Eve is now working on the issue. First she found a new motor, but when she tried to attach it found that it did not match the current - though not original - fittings. So the stove is still not running - which is fine with me given our lovely southern clime.


Interconnectivity
If you read back into the earlier postings of my story, you'll learn about my adventures onboard the Neverland, and my pal Huck. This morning I woke to find a message from Huck's mom. She wrote to say that she would be in Wilmington for 24 hours and wanted to meet up!


So I have just come back from a few hours spent getting to know her and her friend over margaritas. It was really lovely. She reminded me of him so much. The eyes. It was a little disconcerting. And sure made me miss the guy.


Five-salad buffet.
Friday's Menu
Breakfast
Dutch Baby with Apple Compote
Lunch
Five salads: Simple egg salad with homemade mayo; carrot and maple vinaigrette; kidney bean and celery; fetasmic couscous (see recipe below); pasta salad with tomatoes and parm
Dinner
Spaghetti bolognese for the meat-eaters, marinera for the vegetarian; fresh baked french bread with plates of olive oil for dipping and leftover salads.
Dessert
Peanut butter and jelly cupcakes: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/peanut-butter-muffins/Detail.aspx


Fetasmic Couscous
Often, when asked for my recipes, it gets a little complicated. Most of the time I'm improvising, and without recipe testing, cannot give exact amounts. But what I can give is a guide. This one would be worth trying to follow - the salad was a huge hit.


Make 3 cups of couscous, to feed 8 people.
Take a big chunk of feta cheese and cut and crumble until it looks balanced with the couscous.
Roast a handful of walnuts in a dry skillet (careful not to burn!).
Add leftover apple compote from breakfast, to balance (careful not to add too much) (see recipe below). Blend in sweet chili sauce. Start with a half cup, with one-two T soy sauce and 1-3 T balsamic vinegar (I got to my ratio by using the last of the sweet chili sauce, then pouring some soy sauce and balsamic into the jar, adding a little water, shaking it and then dressing the salad with this mixture...)
Salt and pepper to taste.

PBJ in dessert form.
Apple Compote
Four granny smith apples
One cup water
One cup sugar
Pinch of salt
Big pinches of cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom
Cook thirty minutes.

3 comments:

  1. YUM! I hope to meet you in Beaufort. Would love to spend some time discussing recipes and the adventure of cooking at sea.
    Former Sea Cook.

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  2. What fun it was to finally meet the woman who was "Huck's" mom for a time. Now I know first hand why he liked you so much. I just wish I could've had some of that fine cooking he told me about. I am happy to know you are blogging again and will be following you and your adventures! Peace & Love,
    Ann

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  3. Trying to keep up with your menus, but I think it will be much easier once I get an oven. Apple Dutch babies just sounds like so much fun.

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