Stocking the Larder
Supplies. What is a good
basic supply list? Probably the best
supply list we came across was in a Bahamas Cruising Guide which we’ve long
since given away. A tick and flick list
covered all domestic supplies, including foods and this gave rise to thinking
about soaps, shampoos, washing-up liquids and the like. To some degree, quantities were
“guesstimated” based on current home consumption, but it was always “one and a
spare” at the very least. Many of these
supplies are seeing us well into another season but it is always better to have
a little more than not enough – as I’m always being told! Here’s a couple of list examples. A three month cruise & a few spreadsheet examples on the Cruisers Forum.
Our Tastes. What do you like
to eat? Food is very important at sea and
dinner became a highlight of the each day for us. So, we needed to consider foods we like,
that are easy to prepare and nutritious.
I found it easy to consult a few favourite recipe books; the Australian
Woman’s Weekly’s “Light & Lean” in particular. Before you call me rude names, I generally use
recipes as a starting point; once I have an idea in my head, I can easily
create” my own versions. I rarely make
cakes but took along a few packets of flour so that if (absolutely) necessary,
we could bake bread. I had one packet
cake mix & ready mix frosting for a birthday on board.
We like a hearty evening meal,
take a light breakfast and will finish leftovers or have a “snack” lunch. So, having chosen 30 or more main meals, I
photocopied them, subjecting them to further scrutiny. For instance, salads of cabbage, pumpkin or
carrot would be perfect for the end of our trip when fresh supplies had run
out. Recipes were then pasted into an A5
diary, in day order, leaving room of course for breakfast & lunch ideas. I used the back of the notebook to include notes
on cakes, drinks, or even just good ideas.
(I am always subject to over-kill!).
This recipe book provided me with inspiration, a tempting picture and a
list of ingredients that I knew I would have on board.
We made some changes to our shop. We were used to using long-life milk but
still purchased a few tins of evaporated milk, a pack of powdered milk and a
container of coffee mate. We did the
same with fruit, including fresh, dried and tinned. I took what bread I could fit into the
freezer, and a few rolls, then purchased vacuum sealed "wraps", rye biscuits and
crackers. Sadly, the only thing missing
was a plentiful supply of cup-a-soup mix, clearly not to American tastes!
Something else I started to do was date the tins. What? I found I still had tins rolling around from
our Trinidad days, so took to them all with a large felt-tipped (permanent)
marker. On the top (the part I could see
on bended knee), I wrote the year of purchase eg 10 for 2010. That way I could easily see what was to be
used up, especially as some of the older tins were starting to rust. And that Vaseline or varnish thing didn’t do
much for me. We were going to be at sea
maybe 30 days or so – not years or months - get a grip! I also numbered the tins, eg 1/5
thinking this would help monitor usage, but that little exercise was a waste of
time. Sticking to a choice from the
recipe book ensured there were always sufficient ingredients, tinned or
otherwise! WJ3 is quite dry, so I
resisted the urge to label each tin with its contents too!
Ingredients. Help me shop for
all these goodies! These recipes, further
modified for sea journeys and minimal washing up, were then translated into
quantities. At best you could do up an
excel spread sheet or at worst a sticky note tally, but in the end, you will
have your quantities; specific, useful foods, not supplies that you don’t have
a clue what to do with!
There is no time
to dither about what to prepare when underway.
We added to our list an almost trafficable quantity of kit-kats, enough tonic/lemon
for a daily happy hour tipple, catering sized tubs of mixed nuts and
tubes of Pringles – the only thing that placates a sea-sick prone tummy.
Buy all your long-life supplies first, then finally
it’s off to the supermarket or farm produce stall to make your fresh produce selections.
The fresher the longer it keeps.
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