Christmas Winds

The Christmas Winds are back here in the Virgin Islands, and they are driving me crazy! During the rest of the year, we see mild winds, but at the end of December we see tradewinds blowing 20-30 knots- constantly. They howl through the trees, toss the boat around, and bring very cool nights. In the South of France in the winter, they have the Mistral winds (rumored to actually drive people crazy) that blow a lot harder but only last for a few days. Ours last for a couple of weeks. I can't complain too much, though, at least there is no snow!

Our boat is decorated for the season, we don't do a tree but we wrap the inside part of the mast with garland and hang our ornaments- lots of divers and mermaids!



We also have an inflatable snow globe that sits on our awning over the cockpit and is quite impressive. You may think it would bother the neighbors, but the other liveaboards on our dock put similar inflatables up, too! Quite the carnival!



We did ok on the budget this week, $116, so $11 over budget, and this is what we ate:

Sunday: We had some friends over for a tapas party. I made flatbread, and served balsamic marinated watermelon, roasted almonds, warm olives and peppers, a cream cheese tourine with tomato and basil, and of course, lots of wine!

Monday: We made a pizza with leftover veggies

Tuesday: Husband made chicken breasts stuffed with ham and swiss, tomato soup on the side.

Wednesday: Pasta alfredo with veggies

Thursday was our softball game, and we grabbed burgers after.

Friday: Spinach salad with grilled chicken

Saurday: Burgers stuffed with Roquefort cheese and cajun seasoning, topped with red onions and tomatoes on Hawaiian buns. Yum- best meal of the week!

Hope everyone has agreat holiday week, and thanks for stopping by!T

West Indian Jerk Chicken

Despite living in the West Indies for nearly 10 years, we don’t often cook West Indian cuisine. My preferred meal is any kind of carb and lots of cheese (favorite food= fried mozzarella sticks). Not a lot of cheese in West Indian cooking. Curiously, goats are raised here and goat meat is popular, but I can’t find anyone making goat cheese, one of my favorites. One of my first jobs on island was working for a resort, whose employee cafeteria served local food. I got to try all of the favorites: oxtail stew, goat water, funji, saltfish, and callaloo. I was very appreciative of the salad bar.

I do, however, like a good jerk chicken, and husband found a recipe that sounded similar to one he likes at a local restaurant. Lots of ingredients, but fairly straightforward and easy to make, a gravy rather than a rub. He served it over a rotisserie chicken from the market ($6.99 while a similarly sized uncooked chicken can average $12. I have never understood that.) On the side were boiled sweet potatoes (actually U.S. yams. The local sweet potato has a similar taste, but a blue-grey color that just doesn’t appeal to me.) and pigeon peas in sauce over rice. This was my new food for the week, pigeon peas. They kind of look like a pea but taste like a bean, straight from the can in a sweetish sauce. Good in the context of the meal, but I’m not sure if I’ll try them again. The verdict on the jerk sauce: I loved it but T thinks it would make a better marinade, and that it was too vinegar-y.

We came in right on budget, $105 for the week, and this is what we ate:

Sunday: Ok- I hate to admit this, but my very favorite frozen pizza is Totino’s party pizza. I know all the ingredients are ultra processed, the crust is nothing but grease and air, and the ingredient list is as long as my arm with words I don’t know, BUT, a weakness and a splurge. The market had them on sale, so I bought a couple, added some pepperoni, and ate a whole one by myself.

Monday: Oh lasagna, how I loved having you in the freezer! This was the last of the 6 I made and froze earlier, and we have had at least one a week. I may be tired of lasagna for a while.

Tuesday: Falafel with cucumbers, red onions, and homemade tzatziki sauce on pitas. I used to make my own falafel from chick peas, but tried a box mix on the recommendation of a friend, and it was much better.

Wednesday: We had planned on eating out with friends, but that was cancelled at the last minute, and I hadn’t been to the market, and didn’t feel like going, so put together what I could with what I had. I ended up with toasted bread topped with a fake chicken patty, turkey bacon, a fried egg, cheddar cheese, and marinara sauce. I don’t know what to call it, but it was good!

Thursday: Polish sausage with pierogis and sauerkraut. Yum.

Friday: Rotisserie chicken with stuffing and Caesar salad. Stuffing is another weakness. I could make a whole meal out of nothing but stuffing.

Saturday: Husband dragged me to new Twilight movie, so it was popcorn, French fries, and a slice of veggie pizza.

Wow, I feel like we ate a lot of junk this week! I resolve to eat more fruits and veggies this week. Since I neglected to take any food photos, here’s the view from my window at my studio.

Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Tapas and Fondue!

Our dinner highlights this week were definitely Tapas and Fondue! We love to have tapas dinners on the boat…small bites, small plates, small table! We usually eat in the cockpit of the sailboat, and our table is maybe a foot by two feet. Tapas nights are also a great way to use up random things in the fridge.

Husband prepared it all on Monday night, when I get home a little later from the studio. He made a homemade pate which was fantastic and maybe I’ll get him to guest blog about that. Also on the table were toast points, warmed marinated olives and red peppers, sliced apples and pears, roasted almonds, several kinds of cheese, and a great bottle of wine. Unfortunately, the lighting in the cockpit consists of a rope light which doesn’t make for great photos!

We house- sat for some friends a couple days this week, so we took the opportunity to have a fondue party with two other couples…one other couple is pretty much max for entertaining on the boat. We served a lot of the same things as the previous tapas night, plus a whole lot of melted cheese! For dipping we had lots of bread and fruits. Everyone brought wine, and I think my favorite part was the wine tasting! Husband had ordered a wine aerator several months ago (and it still hasn’t arrived!) so one friend brought hers. I have never used one before, but the difference was pretty amazing. We all tried several different wines, before and after aerating.

For the rest of the week, we had hot dogs and sliders at a football party, pizza, chicken Caesar salad, vegetable lasagna, and chicken and veggies with pasta. We spent $94, so $11 into vacation fund!

I have been trying to try one new food item each week, last week was the pizza yeast, and this week it was this Philly cream cheese sauce I found on sale. I used it with our chic/veg/pasta dish. It’s already seasoned, so you just stir it in for instant sauce. It was pretty good, but I wouldn’t pay the normal price of $4.99. I got it on sale for $1.99

I guess that’s it for the week! Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week!

Water, Water Everywhere...

One of the best things about living in the Caribbean is the (usually) great weather. This week however was gray and rainy and almost cold at times. Though bad for the island visitors, most residents love it when it rains! The island does not have a fresh water source other than the rain- most people have cisterns that are filled by the rain, and this supplies the household water. On the boat we do not have a cistern, and we’ve never perfected a water-catching system, so we buy our water. Of course it is expensive, so conserving water is a way of life here. It always strikes me as ironic when I am paying to fill the water tanks while it’s raining and we’re surrounded by water.

Of course, we like to eat comfort food in cool rainy weather, and we did all week long! In the coming week I am really going to try for a salad or two.

First week back tracking the budget after taking a year off, and I’m definitely out of practice! We try to spend $15 a day, $105 a week (yep, my math was wrong in last week’s post!). This week we spent $123, and this is what we ate:

Sunday: Tortilla Stack. This is a great recipe that is basically lasagna with corn tortillas; seasoned ground beef, cheese, tomatoes, onions, etc. I splurged on cilantro ($2.99 for a small bunch). I usually do this in the slow cooker, but this time baked as a casserole.

Monday: Lasagne. A few weeks ago we were housesitting and had some room to spread out in the kitchen. I made 6 lasagnes ( they are each about 4x8 inches in disposable foil pans), with different combinations of sauces, meats, and veggies. I left one for the house, and froze the other 5 on our boat. Mondays I work late, so it’s perfect to pop in the oven with no fuss and no clean up.

Tuesday: Husband makes an amazing curry sauce with coconut cream, which he tossed with stir-fried veggies and served over rice. We also had some mini eggrolls that I made last week and froze in batches of ten. I think I made 60 egg rolls that day! Time consuming but very simple: cabbage, carrots, and onion.

Wednesday: We just joined a softball league, and we had a team meeting that night so we ate out. We will be playing Thursdays after work, so we will probably not be cooking that day.

Thursday: Sausage stew with sweet potatoes and apples .Husband is always asking for stew for dinner, but I really despise the beef stew/carrots/potatoes dish, an try to come up with alternatives. The flavors in this dish were fantastic!

Friday: Chicken Parmesan. We really love the veggie fake chicken patties, so we used these instead of real chicken. When I made all that lasagna, I had some leftover pasta that I froze and used it here. Homemade sauce and lots of mozzarella cheese!

Saturday: Pizza. I recently discovered pizza yeast! I was very excited to try it as the package says no rising is needed, and it doesn’t give dough that “spring back” quality when you are trying to stretch it into the pizza pan. However, I have now tried it twice with different pizza dough recipes, and I really don’t like it. It gives the crust more of a biscuit taste and texture.

You may remember that when I was writing last year, we were eating vegetarian. We were both kind of tiring of meat, and we stayed veg for about a year. Gradually we started eating meat again, and we are back to a few times a week now. I don’t know if makes a difference to the budget, since meats and veggies are equally expensive.

The sun finally came out again on Sunday, and I spent a great day at one of my favorite beaches.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week!

Flame-Kissed Chicken Skin

My husband T, describes his perfect day at the beach as such: "Best girl, cold beer, and flame- kissed chicken skin". Not sure about the last one, but this is from the guy who lovingly described the texture of a tenderloin I once cooked as "Noodles of Beef". Last week was our wedding anniversary, and he kidnapped me from the studio for a beach BBQ to celebrate. We went to our favorite beach,

the day was beautiful, and he planned ahead and brought everything! I mean everything...food, drink, chairs, towels, sunblock, even the book I was reading. He takes his beach days very seriously.

He recently bought a little travel grill called the Son of Hibachi, which he was eager to try out. Apparently it gets the coals hot very fast due to it's stovepipe design

opens up for two grilling surfaces,

and the best part, comes with a snuffer bag! For those, like me, that don't know about grilling stuff, this is a special carry bag that you put the hot coals and hot grill into when you are finished, so you can transport it immediately. Very ideal if you take your grill in the car or on the boat.

He grilled some marinated chicken, and served it with coleslaw and chips...delicious!

We enjoyed lunch and some champagne, then it was off to meet some friends...indeed, we transported the hot grill in the snuffer bag without causing a fire or the car exploding...good purchase, T!

I have been terrible on the budget this week ($15 a day for food and drink, lunch and dinner)...I think we went a little over every day. I have been very busy at the studio and have not been taking the time to plan ahead too much...so lots of easy meat and potato meals, soups, and pasta.

Two highlights of the week were the corned beef I did in the slow cooker (which I paid $17 for! It was maybe a pound and a half) served with potatoes and sauerkraut,

and meatloaf served with roasted red potatoes and carrots.



I vow to be back on track this week, it really helps to save money when you are paying attention!

Stayed tuned for my next post...I am sharing a post with my studio blog, Water Candy, and making water candy sushi!

Thanks for stopping by, and you can follow me here, too!
http://www.watercandyglass.blogspot.com/

Budget: OVERBOARD!

How ironic that my last post was about preparing for a hurricane...and then we had one! If you follow the weather, you know that last week Hurricane Earl hit us here in the Virgin Islands. We knew he was coming on Monday, and I started the day normally... showering, checking emails, etc...much to the irritation of husband who was busy securing lines on our sailboat (home) and powerboat (business). I didn't think that we would get weather so soon, then the rains came and the winds picked up and our boat was tossing and turning! One big gust threw the boat and stuff came crashing off the countertops! I packed my "ditch bag" as fast as I could and told T: "The dog and I are ready to go!"

We packed up and headed to our friend's house at 8 a.m. They have a great place (we stay there to watch their dogs when they are away)...huge TV with a million channels, (we have no TV) great hot shower, (boatyard shower for us!), big fridge and freezer with everything you'd want (tiny dorm fridge with no freezer for us!). We arrived, and much to our dismay, they had been out of power since 5 a.m! No TV, no shower, everything melting in the freezer. Sigh.

I was dying for an egg sandwich for breakfast, and thankfully they have a gas grill outside...so, grilled eggs

We sat through the rains all day, and cooked a pork tenderloin on the grill for dinner, along with some veggies...no complaints here!

We did have to scoop water off the deck with a dustpan to fill the toilet so that we could flush, but probably more than you want to know!

Hurricane Earl came down at a 3 or 4 strengh, and we were so worried about the boats! We wanted to check everything, but were trapped by fallen trees and a curfew. Finally we got home...everything OK! I was amazed. Home and business still floating, not a single thing amiss. BUT...Hurricane Fiona was supposed to hit that night! We stayed another night with the friends...skipped dinner because we all got ridiculous playing Happy Hour Trivial Pursuit (drink a shot everytime you miss a pie piece).

Next day we went home, everything still ok...and our power was back on. Some parts of the island were restored just a few days ago!

So -hurricanes done, and we were off to North Carolina for a family reunion...not sure that would happen because another hurricane was threatening. We made it, it was great...my brother smoked a pork for 12 hours with a homemade raspberry chipotle BBQ sauce that was amazing...so much good food all weekend!

Long story short, the budget was nowhere to be seen for about 2 weeks! Faced with an emergency, you buy whatever you need NOW, whatever the cost! There are actually laws here against stores price-gouging in an emergency...so no trouble there.

Whew! Crazy couple of weeks. One of our first meals back was gigantic smothered burritos...

tonight is chicken with corn and mash...needing some comfort food!

Thanks for stopping by!

Smokin' Beets

Well, my beets were smoking, and not in a good way! Confession: I have never prepared fresh beets. My impression was that they take forever to cook, are difficult to peel, and the canned ones are just fine!

A restaurant on the island used to serve a veggie burger with beets and goat cheese, but I didn't have a chance to try it before they took it off the menu...but it sounds so good I wanted to try at home, and with fresh beets. I looked at lots of recipes for roasted beets, and yes, they seemed to take forever. One recipe reviewer said she just did them in the microwave for 10 minutes, then ran them under water and the peel just rubs right off!

I had to give that a try. My beets were kind of small, so I put them in the microwave for only 8 minutes. The first couple minutes they smelled great- like beets! The next couple minutes they smelled like potatoes...and soon I was smelling burning popcorn. Hmmm, that's interesting.

Eight minutes up, I open the door and the paper plate I'd set them on was burned (popcorn smell) and my beets were shriveled and literally smoking. Black smoke was pouring out of the little holes I'd made so they wouldn't explode. Well. Luckily I had a few more beets! This time I put them on for less than 3 minutes, just until they smelled good (and on a glass plate this time), took them out and tented them with some foil til they were cool. I wasn't able to rub the skins off, so had to do it with a paring knife, which was a little tricky now that they were soft.

Instead of a veggie burger, I marinated 2 portobello mushrooms in balsamic and garlic, salt and pepper, then pan fried til golden. I had a taste for those little Hawaiian buns, so I made the sandwiches into sliders, stacking the beets, mushrooms, red onions, and goat cheese. WOW. Delicious! I have to say the fresh beets were tastier than canned (of course), and now that I have my method down I will try again!

I served these with what started as sweet potato fries, and ended up as a sweet potato hash brown. They never got crispy in the oven and were sticking and making a big mess, so I smushed them in a fry pan with some oil and cooked til crispy. Tasted great!

Came $1 under budget this week (it's $105 for breakfast and dinner, food and drink) and this is what we ate:

Sunday: Crispy Rosemary Chicken with roasted red potatoes and asparagus

Monday: Portobello Beet Goat Cheese Sliders

Tuesday: Lobster Feast (see last post!)

Wednesday: Soup and Beef Springrolls

Thursday: Leftovers with Basmati Rice

Friday: Date Night (T took us out for pizza)

Saturday: Chicken with roasted green beans and carrots

Thanks for stopping by, hope everyone has a great week!

Octopus Brains

Well...that's one more thing that I don't need to try twice! Husband and I went out for happy hour a few days ago to our favorite restaurant, Craig and Sally's. They have great wines and a menu that changes everyday, but we like to sit at the bar and order tapas (which also change everyday). We ordered a couple different plates: chicken/pork pate with dijon mustard on a baguette, brie on crostini with honey and guava jelly, meatloaf sliders, and octopus salad.

Oh, the octopus salad. The bartender warned that it might be a little...intimidating...but we were game. I think I was expecting some sore of salad with rings of octopus legs, sort of like a calamari. What we got was a mound of bright red mini octopus. I sliced the legs off one for my first taste...as T put it, "rubber bands covered in hoisin sauce"...I thought the taste and texture was ok, but I couldn't get over what it looked like. Whole, two to three inch long, octopuses! My next bite was the round, grape-shape, which even though T reminded me is the body and not the head, I couldn't get "brain" out of my brain. I bit into it and the braininess squished around my tongue and that was it for me!

On a less adventurous note, we did great on the budget this week, mostly because I bought a whole chicken and we had that twice for dinner and twice for lunches. Buying the chicken whole costs about $6.50, and if I buy just a boneless breast it is about $5. On the boat, our fridge is not big enough to hold a whole chicken, but we are still house sitting this week. I spent $56.86 this week, so $48.14 into vacation fund!

Menu this week: Monday was a big salad and baked potatoes, Tuesday was steak with a salad and stuffed mushroooms, Wednesday was falafel with tomato soup, Thursday was Brick Chicken, a recipe from Bon Appetite that has become my new favorite. You remove the backbone so that it lays flat,

then cook it 45-60 at about 400 with a weight on it. You are supposed to use a brick wrapped in foil. Last time I used rocks, and this time I used a very heavy glass pan with a cast iron pan inside of it.
It is falling-off-the-bone tender when finished! It's cooked with a rub of grapeseed oil, lemon, and rosemary, but anything you used would be good.

Anyway, Friday was the octopus night (T paid so this does not come off my budget), Saturday was chicken wraps with tomato soup, and Sunday was stuffed squash with soup and salad.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Brick Chicken

This week I stepped out on All Recipes and tried two new dishes from the recent issue of Bon Appetit magazine. The first was Chicken al Mattone, which is a whole chicken roasted under a foil wrapped brick. The trick is that you have to remove the backbone so it lays flat. I have never cut up a raw chicken before. It was gross! I didn't have a brick, so I used a cast iron pan filled with foil wrapped rocks for added weight.

We ran out of propane sometime during the roasting process- which I didn't realize until the cooking time was up! We hooked up a new tank and I had to guess at the rest of the cooking time, with the help of a meat thermometer. It was the best roasted chicken I have ever had!

The second recipe from the magazine was Schnitzel-wiches, which was really easy- a pork schnitzel on a bun with lettuce and tomato- plus it's really fun to say a bunch of times!

Other meals this week were Mexican Ravioli and Edamame Won Tons with mexican-asian stir fried vegetables on the side. (Thanks to all of the suggestions on the recipe exchange!!) I also made French Onion soup, Borscht, and finished with pizza night. T has been begging me to make a coconut cream pie, so we had that for dessert last night. I couldn't believe that it cost almmost $10 to make it home made! The grocery had frozen ones for about $8, but I think making it fresh was worth it! I spent a total of $72 this week, so $33 into vacation fund!!

I don't have meal phots this week, so I'm sharing the view again from the villa we are house sitting. This week Hurricane Bill passed about 400 miles from us, so we got some storm bands coming through.

Have a great week everyone!