Decadent eating in limited spaces

So this is a bit of an introduction to what is going to be yet ANOTHER blog we're creating just for cooking aboard vessels and in tiny homes and Vardos.  We're calling it Onboard Cooking, and we're going to explore all kinds of campsite, vessel, trailer, tiny apartment, tiny home, tiny spacecraft, tiny submarine....you get the idea....cuisine.

Eating well is one simple decadence in which any one may indulge.  It only takes a bit of invention and research.  I hear so many people complaining that they'd love to make a decent meal but they only have one burner, or they have no refrigeration, or it's too hot out, or it's too cold out, or they're broke......

....trust me, we've been ALL those places.

And yet we've been able to make really amazing food in limited circumstances.  Full disclosure, we're not only both foodies, we're also living history re-enactors, with a knowledge of older ways of prepping foods, and we're former restaurant owners and caterers, with a great love of eclectic and fusion cuisines.

Take yesterday as an example.  The day was fine, and we hit a lot of the local farmstands for fresh--and inexpensive--food for dinner.  Fresh Zucchini, fresh eggplant, onions, garlic, corn....one of the wonderful things about being around the Chesalpeake is the food.

This time we chose to make dinner on shore, using one of our faves, the dutch oven.  We sauteed chopped onion, garlic, mushrooms, a bit of ground turkey, and some of the scraped out innards of the eggplant in the pot, spicing liberally with toasted cumin and coriander, oregano, thyme, basil, salt and pepper and paprika and a tad of orange zest.  Cinnamon, allspice, or nutmeg would also have been a good taste match.

 We added the filling to the hollowed out eggplant halves

 Placed in the heated dutch oven

 And topped with fresh diced tomatos

 And a mixture of romano, mozzarella, and panko bread crumbs

 Then you bake, about 15 min.  This really only takes about 20 coals to do the whole meal.

 wow

 wow and yum

 And this was the dining room.

And we hated it as you can see.  We're driving the rest of the folks in the marina crazy with the smells of our cooking.

If that seems elaborate, think again.  It was only an eggplant, some onion and garlic, and a bit of frozen ground turkey, and some spices.  The difference between the mundane and the spectacular is just a bit of invention.  

So please visit our original blog Floating Empire to follow our adventures on the water, Morgainne's blog Life, Art, Water for an artist's life aboard, and our new blog Onboard Cooking for great ideas on cooking fine food in limited spaces.  In future I promise more how-to videos, recipes, cooking gear, and lots and lots of great food.

This boat livaboard adventure has been a really great experience for us.  Come share it.

M