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!

Boatyard Stack-Up

Nope- not a bunch of pancakes or a really big sandwich...this is our marina during hurricane season! We are in the Caribbean, and those of us with boats take extra precautions. Many people like to haul out (take the boat out of the water) for the season, and our marina is a popular and safe spot. Is is very strange to see layers and layers of boats stacked up on the jack stands, with the masts towering above. Just doesn't seem right to see boats like this out of the water! We do not haul our sailboat or our power boat...we stay in a lagoon that is a very safe spot ( not a lot of wind, not a lot of storm surge)...but if a big storm comes we will get off the boat and stay with friends.

Normally this time of year on the island is quiet, but husband and I have both been very busy...I just opened a store for my glass art, and T has been busy doing adventure charters on our powerboat...I regret that dinners have suffered a bit! We came in a little over budget this week ($110, should be $105), and this is what we had to eat!:

Thursday: NO DINNER! We were both so tired from long days and opted for liquid dinners (never a good idea when those liquids are beer and wine!)

Friday: T took me out to Randy's restaurant...we split fried mozzarella, caesar salads, linguine with a creamy pesto, and a reuben...we spent all afternoon boating and we were so hungry we had a bit of everything!

Saturday: Sweet and sour salmon with fried rice...really good!

Sunday: The island's annual Chili Cook-Off! About 50 booths set up on the beach and compete for the title of best chili...we definitely sampled them all, though I think T's Cranberry Chili is still the best I have ever had.

Monday: Lemon pepper pasta (from newest Vegetarian Times mag) with chicken soup

Tuesday: Green chile pork stew...all day in the slow cooker= yum!

Wednesday: Leftover stew with grilled cheese sandwiches

Thursday: Black bean and sweet potato enchiladas with a raspberry chipotle sauce (my invention...T was skeptical but loved it!)

Oh, also this week I tried my first star fruit! Our neighbor gave us one off of his tree...no need to peel, just slice it like a star. Tasted like a cross between a pear and a kiwi, with a little crunch. T served it over eggs with hash and bacon...wow!

Hope everyone has a great week, and thanks for stopping by!

Green Bean Tartine

Isn't it great when suddenly you like a food that you thought you hated? For me- green beans. Yuck. I probably haven't touched them since...well, probably since I was a kid and couldn't leave the table until I finished all my veggies. Oh, I do eat green bean casserole at Thanksgiving, but mostly just the french fried onion top!

Husband has been asking for beans for dinner, so a couple weeks ago I picked up a few and roasted them with red potatoes. Amazingly, they tasted just like asparagus (which I love). This must have been a fluke though because I really hate green beans, right?

It has been about a million degrees with no breeze here on the island, so all I wanted for dinner last night was vegetables, and set out to find whatever was least expensive. I ended up with a bunch of green beans (and beets and a cabbage and mushrooms), so I made a green bean tartine. I made an asparagus and goat cheese tartine a couple weeks ago - it was delicious and easy and no cleanup because it is cooked in a foil packet! So this is what I did:

Start with a piece of foil maybe a foot long. Fold it in half and then unfold it, and make a little box with one half. Lightly oil with olive oil and place whatever bread you have on the bottom. I used leftover wheat for one and rye for the other.


Combine all your vegetables with about a cup of chicken (or vegetable) broth, along with a couple tablespoons balsamic and salt and pepper. I used green beans, cabbage, mushrooms, red onions, and beets. See my last post for how NOT to cook a beet. This time I boiled them.




Pile all the vegetables on top of the bread. Combine a couple eggs with about a quarter cup of your broth, and pour it on top. Sprinkle some panko and lay a sprig of rosemary on top.



Seal the packet and bake at 400 for 30 minutes.



Top with goat cheese. Eat every last bite. Throw away the foil. Done!




My budget ($105 for the week) was a little off this week because we popped up to Ft Lauderdale for a long weekend, and I don't do the food budget while we are on vacation. (Whenever I come in under budget for the week I put the extra into Vacation Fund, so I feel ok about spending more while on vacation. So it all works out.)

Before we left we had to finish whatever was in the fridge, and I think the highlight was pulled pork made from a tenderloin, served with coleslaw. The tenderloin went into the slow cooker with a can of root beer and a little balsamic. I made a BBQ sauce with pureed mango, honey, and cayenne...I loved it, T thought it would be better on chicken since it wasn't a "real" BBQ sauce.

The highlight from our weekend away was a portobello bruschetta we had at a brick-oven pizza place. Really tasty and interesting because it wasn't served on bread which I always thought was necessary for bruschetta (am I uninformed?) I do have to say the size of the portions everywhere we ate were ridiculously huge (and our servers told us that yes, most people eat it all)...I guess no wonder so many Americans are overweight!

Ok, I just realized our tartines were ridiculously huge and we ate every bite (but veggies don't count, right?).

Anyway, hope everyone has a great week!