... Crazy Love's influence from Mexico

Provisions in Mexico haven't been entirely different than the US. There are Walmarts and Costcos and a place called Mega that puts my Vons (local grocery) in North Park (San Diego, CA) to shame.

There are a few items difficult to come by.

Wine ... It's expensive and you can't find it in a box here. I had read in Michael Greenwald's book The Cruising Chef Cookbook:

Buy Wine --- plenty of that. It's cheap and available in America, like nowhere else.

I should have loaded up the bilge. But good tequila and rum are very affordable and mixed with V8 splash I feel like it fends off Montazuma's revenge and gives Dave and I a multivitamin boost in one tasty beverage.

Canned or pouches of chicken are sparse. However they have miles of canned tuna in every grocery spot. We did find pouched but spiced shredded chicken that is pretty tasty as long as you are in the mood for Mexican.

Peanut butter. It's available, just expensive and I've found myself aboard with an unbelievably unexpected peanut butter snob. We've imported Santa Cruz's best direct from San Diego. Thanks Carol and Chris!!

Shelf stable milk in drink boxes now make cereal possible every so often.

The bakery sections are incredible and there is a tortilleria in every store. They taste so good.

We're off the map a bit now away from the mass market grocers. But they still have everything we could need. And rest assured the 20 peso beers on the beach more than make up for any missed calories (if only).

We do eat out, however there are plenty of nights we cook in.
Here are some Mexican inspired Crazy Love (Amor Loco) recipes:

Pan Enchiladas

• Poblano pepper
• Onion
• Small can salsa, rojo (red)
• Chilorio de pollo (shredded seasoned chicken)
• Black refried beans
• White cheese
• Corn tortillas
• Green avocado salsa

Filling: Sauté the onion and pepper in olive oil for a few minutes. Mix in the chicken and about a cup of refried beans and the red salsa to taste (we like spicy). Heat through.

Use corn tortillas. Fill, add some cheese and roll. Place in the sauté pan. Fitting in as many that fit one layer in the pan.

Pour the green salsa over the top, layer with some of the extra filling if you like, and top with cheese. Heat till the cheese melts over medium heat.

Serve with chips and Crazy Love margaritas.

Leftovers can easily be made into chilaquiles the next day for breakfast. What are chilaquiles? Only the best breakfast dish in all of Mexico. Essentially breakfast nachos! Fried corn tortillas, layered with the reheated leftovers and scrambled eggs.

Baja Papas

We first saw these at a taco shop in Ensenada. They are a smashed loaded potato. You can get them topped with asada (seasoned beef), chicken, chorizo, cheese...you get my drift.

Our aboard version I like to think as slightly healthier mainly with a few added veggies.

• 2 potatoes or papas peeled, diced, and pressure cooked 4 min at 15 psi
• Poblano pepper
• Onion
• Squash
• Garlic
• Salt and pepper
• Butter or Margarine
• Chorizo (seasoned pork sausage)
• Cheese

Sauté the veggies in butter, season, set aside. Fry the chorizo. Layer the potatoes with the fixings. We used American and a white cheese found at one of the local markets.

Provisioning success! No refrigeration, no major grocery stops and we ate very well for 3 weeks. The following is my food diary.

On Sunday November 17 we left Half Moon Marina in San Diego after a grocery stop and for a pizza of course. We started this habit at the beginning of our cruising in May. The night or afternoon before heading out on a long voyage we order an extra large pizza and we have excellent leftovers for Day 1 and sometimes Day 2!

Sun Nov 17

• Dinner: leftover pizza and wine

Mon Nov 18 (Leave Zuniga Jetty and head to Mexico)

• Breakfast: Bagels with cream cheese and apple
• Lunch: Turkey Sandwiches and Salad (dressing is Dave's mix of olive oil and balsamic)
• Dinner: remaining pizza

Tues Nov 19 (arrive Ensenada)

• Breakfast: Bagel with cream cheese and yogurt
• Lunch: Cheese and Crackers (a quick snack before heading to the Port Captain, Immigration, etc)
• Dinner: Empanadas at Julia's Empanadas with cold beer (more like a late lunch, early dinner)

Wed Nov 20

• Breakfast: Pancakes by Dave with real maple syrup
• Lunch: Street Tacos out then Salad
• Dinner: Wings and local craft beer at Cerveceria Wendlandt followed by more Street Tacos

Thurs Nov 21

• Breakfast: Apple and Pastries from a local bakery
• Lunch: Turkey Sandwiches
• Dinner: Delicious Ceviche and Fish Dinner out on the town

Fri Nov 22 (left Ensenada)

• Breakfast: Bagel with turkey and remaining cream cheese, last yogurt
• Lunch: Apple and peanut butter with cheese and crackers, last pastry from Ensenada
• Dinner: Chili mac and Salad

Sat Nov 23

• Breakfast: Pancakes by Dave with real maple syrup (interrupted by the Coast Guard)
• Lunch: Leftover Chili mac and turkey sandwich
• Dinner: Creamy tomato sauce with pasta and pesto sprinkle, wine

Sun Nov 24

• Breakfast: Eggs with green onion and pepperchinos with pesto sprinkle
• Lunch: Leftover pasta and apple with cheese
• Dinner: Stir fry w/ tofu, mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, onion and stir fry suace over rice, wine

Mon Nov 25

• Breakfast: Parfait (Boatmeal (without the water and powdered milk) with yogurt)
• Lunch: leftover stir fry
• Dinner: Almost Mom's Chili, wine

Tues Nov 26

• Breakfast: PB & J bagel and apple
• Lunch: leftover chili
• Dinner: Kielbasa Sausage Supper , wine

Wed Nov 27 Tuna caught!

• Breakfast: Sashimi
• Lunch: Fish burrito and leftover kielbasa supper
• Dinner: Seared Tuna with cabbage and carrots over rice with stir fry sauce, wine

Thurs Nov 28 (Thanksgiving, arrived Turtle Bay)

• Breakfast: Tuna scramble
• Lunch: Tuna sandwiches
• Dinner: Salami w/ cheese and crackers, tuna croquettes, butternut squash curried soup, wine

Fri Nov 29

• Breakfast: Apple and peanut butter
• Lunch: at the El Morroco (only open restaurant w/ excellent WIFI in Turtle Bay)
• Dinner: leftover soup then a dinghy ride to Thalassi for rum with cheese, salami, and crackers as well as Ensenada rolls with Will

Sat Nov 30 (left Turtle Bay)

• Breakfast: Bananas and Ensenada roll
• Lunch: leftover soup and rolls
• Dinner: TVP tacos w/ avocado and remaining tuna croquettes

Purchased the following in Turtle Bay: bananas, apples, kiwi, avocado, onion, tortillas, ensenada rolls (or baja buns not sure what they are called but they are a slightly sweet, dense bread roll)

Sun Dec 1

• Breakfast: Boatmeal
• Lunch: Chef Boyardee raviolis w/ Salami Sandwich
• Dinner: Rosie fusion (Indian, Polish) Potatoes and Butternut Squash with Indian seasoning and Smoked sausage

Mon Dec 2

• Breakfast: leftover Rosie fusion with added scrambled eggs wrapped in a tortilla
• Lunch: PB & J with a kiwi and apple
• Dinner: BBQ Beans w/ Chicken and Skillet Corn Bread with slaw

Tues Dec 3

• Breakfast: Boatmeal
• Lunch: leftover BBQ bean dinner w/ quesadilla
• Dinner: Tomato sauce w/ TVP and pasta

Wed Dec 4 (arrived Bahia Santa Maria)

• Breakfast: Dave's pancakes w/ Peanut butter (no more syrup)
• Lunch: leftover pasta
• Dinner: Veggie soup w/ tofu served with parmesan cheese and avocado, skillet corn bread (Shared w/ Will on Thalassi... we supplied dinner, he supplied rum)

Thurs Dec 5

• Breakfast: Tofu scramble (tofu and scrambled eggs wrapped in a tortilla)
• Lunch: leftover soup, apple w/ peanut butter and cheese
• Dinner: Aboard S/V Lilo -- Lobster and FRESH BAKED BREAD (they have an oven) and we supplied the Clam Chowder

Fri Dec 6 (left for Cabo)

• Breakfast: Oatmeal (instant maple and brown sugar)
• Lunch: Pepperoni, cheese and the leftover bread from the night before (courtesy of Lilo) with jam and a Diet Coke!
• Dinner: Tuna noodle casserole

Sat Dec 7 (very rolly through the waves toward Cabo, easy meals were best!)

• Breakfast: Boatmeal
• Lunch: Pepperoni and cheese and crackers
• Dinner: Chili mac

Sun Dec 8 (arrive Cabo San Lucas)

• Breakfast: Apple and peanut butter

Let the cold beer and tacos flow!

We arrived Cabo San Lucas on Sunday 12/8. A supermercado is one block from the marina where we can reload on the staples.

• All of the meals above were not the only food... snacks such as peanut butter and cheese crackers, cookies, mixed nuts, trail mix and other shelf stable goodies supplemented our eats. We finished up our boxed wine on Thanksgiving day. Note to self, provision more wine. I believe Dave ate an entire jar of peanut butter himself... we almost went through 2 small jars.

• The water tank provided ample drinking water for the two of us. We were very conservative to only use this water for drinking and cooking (and even then we would boil pasta in 1 part sea water/ 1 part fresh). Dishes are washed in sea water. The marina water in Cabo has been through their own treatment system, we have tested it and decided to fill up (but added just a tiny amount of chlorox just in case.) Testing means: I gave Dave a glass of water and he seems fine!

TVP= textured vegetable protein

Boatmeal= Oats, granola, and dried cranberries mixed with powdered milk and water, sprinkled with cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar or brown sugar. Allow to sit for the oats to soften. Served cold or should we say boat temperature. Recipe courtesy atomvoyages

Eggs= powdered, although now if we choose we can find unrefrigerated fresh eggs here in Mexico

The day before Thanksgiving Dave snagged a tuna on his hand line enroute to Turtle Bay. Our first fish aboard Crazy Love! With respect to the catch, we wanted to waste as little as possible. This is made even more difficult without refrigeration which meant we had an answer to what's for dinner?... and what's for breakfast?... and what's for lunch?

We did our best with the cleaning. We steaked most of the fish and filleted the tail. Even with our hack job we had more tuna than Dave and I could possibly eat.

I was worried about how best to keep the fish the longest and without getting sick. I'm not sure if it was the right thing to do, but I felt it would last longer cooked as opposed to raw. The day of the catch I pan fried all the fish with exception two choice steaks I kept separate for dinner. Pan fried in a little olive oil and all purpose seasoning.

Sashimi for breakfast

As part of Dave's "fishing kit" he ensured we picked up some wasabi before our departure. A little soy with a little wasabi and he was happy eating sashimi the morning we caught the fish. I must admit it was just a little too early for me to eat raw fish...and the funny thing is I introduced Dave to sushi.

Fish Burrito for lunch

For lunch we had one lone tortilla left in our "pantry". The tortilla warmed with a melted slice of american cheese, piled with the pan fried fish, some shredded cabbage, carrots, ranch dressing, a wedge of lime, and CA chili sauce was delicious! Plenty to share between the two of us.

Seared Tuna for dinner

Dinner was simple. Seared tuna steaks with olive oil, salt and pepper and my special stir fry sauce. My intention was to sear these rare, however the pan didn't quite get hot enough and they were a little more done than I would have liked. Very tasty nonetheless. I served some stir fried cabbage and carrots in the same sauce over rice.

Stir Fry Sauce In equal or almost equal amounts and to taste (I have this pre-mixed in a bottle ready to go):

• Soy Sauce
• Sesame Oil
• Hoison sauce (jarred from the asian section)
• Rice wine
• Asian Chile Sauce or CA Chile Sauce (to taste for heat)

Tuna scramble for breakfast

• Scrambled eggs, from powder
• dried vegetable mix
• crumbled cooked tuna
• asiago or parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper

I rehydrated the vegetables in the powder egg mix with water for several minutes. I then cooked the eggs adding the tuna, cheese and seasoning at the end to warm the tuna and melt the cheese.

Tuna sandwich for lunch

Pretty simple really. I make this with canned tuna as well. Sandwich bread spread with a little laughing cow cheese wedge (these are sold non-refrigerated and last quite long on the shelf). I mix the tuna with some ranch dressing (thank you hidden valley for selling individual serving sizes), mustard, and some juice of the pickled banana peppers. I threw some of the banana pepper rings on the sandwich as well. Seasoned with all-purpose seasoning and/or salt and pepper.

Tuna croquettes as appetizer to Thanksgiving dinner

I had to incorporate the tuna into our Thanksgiving meal! Course 2 it was, and you can find the recipe here.

After two days and six meals... we had our fill.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. Dave and I were fortunate to be at anchor in Bahía Tortugas.

As a special treat after our 6 day journey I prepared a four course celebratory meal.

Course 1: Salami w/ Asiago, Hard Monterey Jack, and Crackers

Course 2: Tuna Croquettes

• 1 cup tuna, fresh if you got it
• 1 cup rehydrated hashbrown potatoes
• egg, powdered about 2 tablespoons and a little water
• quarter onion, finely diced
• 1 tsp mustard
• Elbert All-Purpose Seasoning to taste (you can use seasoned salt or monterey steak seasoning)
• corn meal
• olive oil

I had cooked up the tuna meat we had left as I thought it would keep better unrefrigerated once cooked as opposed to raw. Combine the cooked tuna, potatoes, egg, onion, mustard and seasoning. Form into cake and roll in corn meal. Brown in olive oil. Serve warm with a little California Chili Sauce ... or hot sauce of your choice.

** If I had real eggs this would have formed better cakes. I should have added a bit of flour to help bind them. They tasted delicious even if they fell apart just a little.

Course 3: Butternut Squash Curried Soup

• 1/2 small butternut squash, cubed
• 1 large potato, peeled and cubed
• 1/4 cup dried vegetable mix
• 2 tablespoons Indian Spice Mix***
• Dash Cinnamon Sugar***
• 1 large can of chicken
• 1 can cream of chicken condensed soup
• 1 cup cooked rice, leftover from a previous meal
• Salt and Pepper

Place the cubed butternut squash, potato, dried vegetables, spices, and salt in the pressure cooker and cover with water. Bring to pressure and cook at pressure 4 minutes before turning the heat off and letting the pressure naturally release.
Then add the remaining ingredients and heat until the soup just begins to simmer.

Course 4: Brownie Scramble with Irish Coffee

We had just a little whiskey left on the boat, really just 2 fingers. I thought what better way to enjoy but in an Irish Coffee with just a little warm chocolate goodness. It wasn't pecan or pumpkin pie but it sure tasted good.

***Spice Mixes:

Indian Spice Mix

• Paprika (3)
• Chili powder (3)
• Turmeric (2)
• Garam Masala (2)

Cinnamon Sugar

• Cinnamon (3)
• Granulated Sugar (2)
• Nutmeg (1/2)

So we made it to Santa Cruz Island, what's for dinner?

I don't typically plan specific meals for specific nights, especially when we are looking at provisioning for more than a week. Rather, I try to stock ingredients that I can mix and match and keep things a little spontaneous in the galley.

Having lots of cabbage, I wasn't sure what to do with it so I turned to Miss Vickie for inspiration. First recipe under cabbage in the index: Colcannon. It is apparently a traditional Irish potato and cabbage casserole. Well we have the cabbage, we have potatoes, and this is what I came up with:

Rosie's Colcannon (slightly adapted from Miss Vickie... ok completely bastardized from Miss Vickie's recipe)

• 2 cups green cabbage, chopped
• 3 small carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 bunch swiss chard, chopped
• small can spam, cubed
• concentrated chicken stock, + about 2 cups water
• 1 tblsp olive oil
• Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 1 1/2 cups dried hash brown potatoes, reconstituted
• 1 1/2 cups milk (from powder)
• 2 tbslp cream cheese
• 2 tbslp sour cream

In the pressure cooker, cook the onion and spam in the olive oil till the onions soften and the spam begins to brown. Stir in the cabbage, carrots, and chard with the concentrated chicken stock and water (about 2 cups). Season with a generous amount of Montreal steak seasoning.

Lock the lid and bring to 15psi for 4 minutes, then allow to naturally release. In the meantime, heat enough water (in the teapot) to reconstitute the hash brown potatoes.

Add the reconstituted potatoes to the pot. Stir in the milk, cream cheese, and sour cream.

I added in the cream cheese and sour cream because these needed to be used up since they were not refrigerated but they added a nice extra creaminess to this soup-like dish.

Did you notice I snuck in the spam? Instead of canned meat this dish would be delicious with ham steak, kielbasa, or without the meat and served as a side.

If you don't use spam a bit of salt might be needed.