So-So Meal

Dear Mark and Lonnie,

Well I don't know what to say. Our first pressure cooker meal went just, O.K. We did not have to eat it off the ceiling, no one was killed in an explosion, however, it was not probably as good as it could have been. It might have been because I cooked it, and I am not a cook. But I followed the recipe, to a point. Then went off on my own into unprinted areas.


I changed it a little as I do not always following instructions, as Claudia, or Mark might tell you. I try to be a little creative.

-since there were only two of us I used only 2 chicken breast halves
-we were in a hurry so the chicken was still frozen
-I wanted a few vegetables with dinner so I threw in some asparagus
-I wanted some rice with the meal, so I placed a cup of rice and three cups of water in a separate bowl and covered it with aluminum foil. I then placed the covered rice bowl into the pressure cooker and finally put the pressure cooker lid on and sealed the whole affair.

It took a few minutes for the pressure regulator to begin rocking slowly. I cooked it for four minutes then took it off the stove. We started eating our salads while the pressure slowly came down within the pot. About 10 minutes after we had finished our salads the pressure was released and I opened the cooker. Our first pressure cooker dinner was ready.

Rice was perfect!
Chicken was cooked, moist and tender with a great flavor.
Vegetables were soft and soggy.
At the bottom of the pan there was a great deal of water remaining. Looked like a great soup broth.

I believe Claudia is relegating me back to doing the dishes and staying away from the cooking.

Some of us have it, some of us don't.

What do you think???? Where did I go wrong???? Is there anything you can suggest that can get me out of washing dishes and back in the cooking department.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Ted

Culinary Preparations

Our friends, Lonnie and Mark Philbrick, are experienced cruisers. They have sailed extensively on the East Coast, Caribbean and Mexico. Mark is the captain I have helped deliver boats along the Pacific coast. They both highly recommend pressure cookers. Mark carries his own personal pressure cooker on all his deliveries. That is quite a recommendation.

Claudia's birthday is coming up so I decided a pressure cooker would be a perfect gift. I ordered her one. Tonight I am cooking dinner for Claudia in her new pressure cooker. I really take care of Claudia!!!! She is a saint to be married to me for 39 years.

The menu will be "Soy Chicken", with rice and vegetables. Hopefully, it will not explode and we will not be eating supper off the ceiling. We will all find out how it all goes in our next entry.

The recipe out of the Presto instruction booklet was "Soy Chicken" it said:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 onion sliced
1/2 cup sliced celery
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Place all ingredients in cooker. Close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe and cook 4 minutes with the pressure regulator rocking slowly. Let pressure drop of its own accord.

The pressure cooker is intended to cook meals more quickly, maintain natural flavors, tenderize meat and help retain all nature's vitamins and minerals. I sound like a salesman, actually I just sound like Mark. Claudia now gets the award now for rapid meal preparation and I cannot see how she can do it any faster.

Using the cooker during our cruising it will mean we will be able to go longer without refilling our propane tanks.

Ted and Claudia

Inspiration from Jerry Murphy

Claudia and I just received an email from our good friend Jerry Murphy. He is cruising in his 28' Bristol Channel Cutter, Destarte, in Mexico. At the present time he is in Bahia de Navidad, which is south of Puerta Vallarta. His epistle was a wonderful encouragement. He is sailing the coast of mainland Mexico. He stops along the way and explores inland. He delves into the history and lives on the local economy. What a wonderful adventure. We can't wait to set out.

At the present time the Baja Ha Ha is leaving Monday, October 27, 2008. We will be leaving sometime around that time. At this time, March 20, 2008 we have a couple of boats that are thinking of going with us. Nancy Renzi, on her 32' Island Packet, Aeolus, Sharon Albert on her 38' Peterson, Pearl of Oakland and there are three other couples we met in our cruise Planning class that are talking about going too. We will have to wait and see how everything turns out. There is still about 7 month of preparation and many things can happen between now and the departure date.

We are now working on our boat music system. Mark, the captain I deliver boats with, believes Apple's Ipod is a wonderful music system, so we are searching how to put it on our boat. This means we will not have to take all our CD, LP, and cassettes. We are also trying to decide on what type of insurance we will need to cruise south. If you stay in a marina along the coast they will want proof of insurance-JUST LIKE IN THE USA!

Figuring our range on Fiddler's Green is about 340 nautical miles will make some of our destinations close to our fuel limit. By carrying 20 gallons of diesel on deck, four, five gallon containers we can increase our range to 543 nautical miles. This will add some insurance that we will not run our of fuel attempting some of the longer passages.

Planning continues.

That is about it from here.

T and C