When we provision we plan for a variety of meals. Some require fresher ingredients and others we could prepare weeks out in a journey (if only we had that much water). We do not have refrigeration so this adds another level of planning. However, at this point in our trip, we've really never been more than 3 or 4 days away from a grocery stop.

When possible we like to buy fresh local ingredients from a farmer's market and then hit a grocery for the staples. Yesterday we were lucky enough to hit both in Santa Cruz. This farmer's market does not allow any arts and crafts, only food and music. They did however, have some very good looking locally caught fish which inspired a tasty dinner plan.

Many people have inquired if we fish. It seems logical right? We live on a boat on the water. We pass many, many fishing boats commercial and charter. We've even been yelled at for accidentally disrupting a chum line (we didn't know I promise and were honestly just trying to get out of the big, faster fishing boat's way, but who throws a fish?). Dave even has the cruising guide to fishing on his bookshelf, we just haven't bought any of the equipment nor have we purchased the license. Its on our to do list. Since we haven't done yet, purchasing the just caught yesterday albacore seemed just right.

On further exploration of the market we added fresh veggies for a salad, local baked whole wheat sourdough, and some tasty fruit. We then swung by the Trader Joe's for yogurt and a block of cheese (which do well in our cooler without constant refrigeration), tortillas (which are easy to store), canned tomatoes (which are good for a variety of meals), and sausages (which also stand up to our lack of refrigeration).

After our 30 minute row to the dinghy doc against the wind and current and mile walk to the market we rewarded our efforts with a stop midway through our errands at 99 Bottles.
Per Dave, the selection on tap and in bottles rivaled our old neighborhood beer bar, Toronado.
Schlepping the groceries back, weaving in and out of tourists snapping pictures of Sal's cousins (sea lions) on the wharf we made it back to Crazy Love without dousing the groceries or each other. A small miracle really.

Dinner turned out to be one our best yet!

Albacore Tune with Fresh Salad and Bread

• Fresh locally caught albacore tuna steaks
• Olive Oil
• Lemon
• Montreal Steak Seasoning (not just for beef on Crazy Love)

While I coated the tuna steaks with olive oil and seasoned them liberally with the steak seasoning Dave prepared the salad. I pan fried the steaks about 2 1/2 minutes on each side.
Turning the high flame down to low after 30 seconds on each side and squeezing the lemon over them as they cooked.

Served with the bread and butter (yes we keep the butter on hand) and balsamic vinaigrette for the salad too.

This meal is a prime example of using all fresh, almost all local ingredients.

Not always the easiest option. For days late in the grocery rotation we have meals like the following that require ingredients that could be found stored in that long lost bomb shelter and still taste delicious.

Almost Mom's Chili

• 1/2 cup dried beans
• 14 oz Canned Tomatoes (Chili ready)
• 1/2 Onion
• 2-3 Garlic Cloves
• 1/2 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein) + 1/2 cup water
• Olive oil
• Chili Seasoning (Rosie's Mix)*
• Pasta

We keep a container of dried beans. Currently its a mix of Red Mill's 13 Bean and Red Mill's Black Beans and something I can't remember.

The dried beans are soaked at least 6 hours in water prior to cooking. Just a step to do after breakfast.

I cooked up some pasta in the pressure cooker (as a pot, not under pressure) prior to cooking the chili. Leaving it in the strainer in the sink.

The soaked beans are then added to the pressure cooker (pouring off most the water).
In the frying pan I sauteed the onion and garlic until soft, then added the TVP (rehydrated with the 1/2 cup water). This is then added to the pressure cooker with the beans and the can of tomatoes. These tomatoes just happened to be chili seasoned. Add Chili Seasoning, about 1 1/2 tablespoons or to taste. Then add just enough water to ensure that everything in the pressure cooker is covered.

Lock the lid, heat over high flame until it comes to 15 psi pressure then turn the flame to as low as possible to keep the pressure up for 20 minutes. Turn the flame off and let the pot naturally release the steam pressure. Open the lid, add the pasta, and serve.

We did have a few slices of kraft singles in the bottom of the cooler that were tasty melting over the top with a few crumbled ritz crackers. It's always good with a little sour cream on the top too, but we didn't have at the time.

Mom's chili growing up had chili seasoned pinto and kidney beans (canned) and ground beef instead of TVP and was seasoned without the cayenne pepper. But this is really close!

Chili Seasoning* - One of my pre-mixed seasonings

• Chili powder (3)
• Cumin (1)
• Cayenne pepper (a couple dashes)

We are very much enjoying Monterey with its fine breweries, fun wildlife, and the Coastal Recreational Trail that makes this city very walkable!

Getting here was surely not easy and in preparation we not only ensured our safety gear and navigational devices were in order but we wanted to make sure we would have plenty to eat. Not knowing how much motoring, sailing, or how much the swell would rock the boat we wanted easy to grab nourishment.

Dave had read somewhere in one of the many blogs he follows about the usefulness of the vacuum thermos. You know the one, the green Stanley thermos...the one that can withstand nuclear demolition. We use this often to make rice and decided to experiment with making a soup.

Stanley Thermos Rice

• 1/2 cup rice
• 1 cup water

To make rice we use the pressure cooker pot. After breakfast, add rice and water (2:1 ratio water to rice) and bring to boil. Let boil for 2 minutes then pour into the thermos. Seal it, shake it, lie it on its side and by dinner time you have a lovely, fluffy rice.

Stanley Thermos Soup

• 1/4 cup rice
• 3 cups water (enough to fill thermos)
• 1 packet liquid concentrated chicken broth
• 1 cup chopped veggies (we had carrots, green onion, radishes, green beans, and bok choy)

Bring water to boil with rice in pressure cooker pot. Pour into thermos, chuck in vegetables and chicken broth packet. Seal it, shake it, secure the thermos for the trip and enjoy a nice soup in a couple hours.

We had soup and buttered rolls at about 8 pm (11 hours after prep).

Lessons Learned

1. The soup was lukewarm (seems we waited a little to long to enjoy it) and
2. It was pretty bland (not sure what I was thinking not adding any additional seasoning)

It was still good lukewarm as we were pretty chilled as the sun went down and a few splashes of Tapatío spiced it right up.

In addition to preparing the soup in the morning we started with a hearty breakfast, ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches with yogurt and fruit. I made about 5 PB and J sandwiches to enjoy with carrot and dip and pretzel crisps at lunch. Plus we had plenty of trail mix, snack bars, and apples handy.

We didn't starve and we made it!

Yes of course this 26 ft boat sports a galley! It has been fun provisioning and creating meals along this journey. In this section we'll share some of our ideas for meals, recipes, and provisions. I hope some of them sound good enough to prepare for yourself on a boat, camping, or in your home kitchens.

The galley on Crazy Love is:

• Two burner alcohol stove (burns denatured alcohol)
• Built in cooler (no refrigeration, but it does hold ice up to 48 hours)
• Hand pump sink (connected to our 20 gallon water tank)

We have 3 pots:

• Teapot
• Fry pan (non stick)
• Pressure Cooker

The cooking and eating utensils are minimal but work!

We keep a stocked pantry with dry goods, some canned goods, and as you've noticed we add fresh produce as often as we can find farmer's markets and grocers along the way.

If you know us, we like to bake. Dave has made a name for himself with his famous cinnamon rolls and I come from a long line of Schimenecks and Dudzinskis that make excellent baked goods.

Baking without an oven...well it doesn't really work. But when that craving hits you for something warm with maybe a little chocolate we got creative.

Skillet Brownie Scramble

• 1/2 cup brownie mix
• 1 tblsp dried eggs
• 1 1/2 tblsp crisco *
• 1/4 cup water

*You can use vegetable oil, but its easy storing crisco on the boat

Melt the crisco in a skillet. In a bowl, combine the brownie mix, egg, melted crisco, and water. Just enough water so the batter is a little thicker than normal brownie mix. Pour the mix onto the heated skillet. Mix like you would be making scrambled eggs till it thickens enough to form a brownie patty. Flip to cook through.

Serve warm topped with vanilla yogurt or vanilla pudding or (if you are in luxury) vanilla ice cream.

Then there are days like today that our sweet tooth took us to a Morro Bay bakery and we indulged in a chocolate custard pastry and a cinnamon roll. I feel we earned it after deploying the dinghy and rowing to shore!