Strawberry Delights

In England, the strawberry season is well underway and these succulent little tastes of summer are cheap to buy in the markets or supermarkets. So, to take advantage of the best of the season, why not make some quick and simple strawberry treats. You can get the kids involved too.

To make strawberry chocolates, first put a pan of water on the stove and place a heat-proof bowl on top. Make sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl. Break some chocolate into the bowl to melt gently. We prefer dark chocolate with 70%+ cocoa solids but use whatever you like. White chocolate works too.

While the chocolate is melting, rinse, drain and pat dry the strawberries. Leave the stalks intact. Discard any berries which are not firm.

When the chocolate has melted, dip each strawberry - leaving the top uncovered. You may need to use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the strawberries as you get to the bottom of the bowl. Draw straws to see who gets to lick the bowl at the end!

To set the chocolate, place the strawberries upside-down on a wire rack. If you haven't got a wire rack, try the rack from the oven and cover with cling film. Alternatively, scrunch up some aluminium foil, place on a tray and set the strawberries in the depressions. Leave for a few minutes to allow the chocolate to start setting then place in the fridge to harden. This takes about 30 minutes. Tuck in as soon as the chocolate has hardened. The end results are cheaper than a box of chocolates and more healthy too. You can also serve them as an after dinner treat or as part of a cockpit or pontoon party - if you can resist the temptation to eat them all yourself!

Should you find yourself with a glut of strawberries, a simple and quick dessert is strawberries with Greek yoghurt served with chocolate shavings. Wash the strawberries, slice off the tops and cut in half. Put one dollop of Greek yoghurt into the centre of a small bowl. Arrange the berries artfully around and on top of the yoghurt. Use a speed peeler or sharp knife to shave some chocolate over the top. Done in about 5 minutes.

PS The strawberries used in this post were from Kent and cost £1 for 2 punnets (cartons). This quantity made 4 desserts and about 2 dozen chocolates.

Seafood Barbeque with a difference

Howtocookonaboat is organising a barbeque on the beach in a couple of weeks and went along to Jun Tanaka's Seafood Barbeque event today at the Chancery Court Hotel in London for inspiration.

Held in the courtyard of the hotel, the day couldn't have been better: hot, sunny, blue skies - a perfect summer's day. Plus a cool soundtrack playing in the background before the start. Greeted with a glass of Veuve Cliquot champagne - one of our favourites - howtocookonaboat had front seats to watch the demo.

Jun started off with rosemary smoked mackerel with fresh horseradish sauce. This was of particular interest as mackerel is the predominant catch when we're out fishing so we're always looking for new ways to cook it.

Next up was blackened salmon with cucumber and yoghurt which doesn't sound particularly appealing but think cajun cooking and it's the spices on the outside which become dark - the fish is moist and succulent on the inside.

Then it was onto creating foil parcels of loveliness for the barbeque. 'En papillote' is a standard technique which we use all the time on board to cook fish, but this is the first time we've seen this used on the barbie. Jun cooked mussels with coconut and lime leaf and red mullet with chorizo, tomatoes and paprika this way.

But the dish with the biggest 'wow' factor for us was the scallops with orange and ginger butter. With only a short preparation time then 5-6 minutes on the barbeque, these are so simple to do and taste absolutely divine!

We also discovered how to make flat breads to cook in a flash over the barbie.

After the demo, everyone got to taste these creations together with an assortment of fresh salads. Suitably inspired, we feel an early morning trip to Billingsgate Market coming up and there will definitely be no 'bangers and burgers' at our next beach barbeque!

PS Jun used a gas fired barbeque for his cooking. We use a portable Cobb barbeque with charcoal.

Island Tomatoes

As the 80th Round the Island Race kicks off next week, I thought it timely to write about some of the produce from the Isle of Wight.

Despite sailing around the coast of IoW for many years, the interior is a relatively unexplored place for me. However, tomatoes from Brian Morlee's farm in the Arreton Valley have started to filter through to my local greengrocers, so it's not been necessary to catch a bus from Cowes to the interior stock up.

The loose tomatoes, vine tomatoes and cherry tomatoes are burtsing with flavour. Open a bag of Island tomatoes and, unlike many supermarket varieties, they smell of tomatoes. Maybe this is due to all the sunshine and the fresh sea air.

Scandelicious!

One of the challenges for provisioning for a long cruise is how to keep bread on board. One answer is to bake it yourself but an easier way is to buy Scandanavian crispbreads. These originated in northern Sweden and Norway where flour-milling was feasible only in the spring and autumn when the millstreams contained enough water to work the mills. However, storing 6 months of flour was impossible so prompt baking of bread that would keep was essential. The solution was the thin, dry crispbread with its virtually unlimited shelf life.

Crispbreads are ideal for using on board either as a snack or part of a lunch. We're talking actual Scandanavian crispbreads here, which are full of flavour, not Ryvita which in our opinion has as much taste as cardboard. For snacks, eat with a slice of cheese such as HUSHÅLLSOST - a round and mild tasting cheese - or with cream cheese plus a few slices of cucumber. For a more robust lunch, serve with Sill Dill (marinated herrings with dill) and Sill Lok (marinated herrings with onion), boiled new potatoes and sliced beetroot. All these can be sourced from jars or cans.

Alternatively, for a de luxe version, serve with smoked salmon or gradvalax if available. These items are usually vacuum packed which make them ideal for on board. Remember to store in a cool place.

As a special treat, if you are at anchor, a shot of ice cold vodka or aquavit is a superb accompaniment.

Smaklig måltid!

It's Pancake Day!

Or Shrove Tuesday to be more exact. Whatever you like to call it, today is the day for perfect pancakes. Click here for our recipe for the pancake mix. It only takes a few minutes to prepare and the secret is to let the batter stand for about 30 minutes before using.

Our secret weapon is the 'boaty' frying pan which cooks really evenly and makes great rectangular pancakes. Sometimes, I nick this off the boat and bring it home if I want to make pancakes for Beef Wellington as the shape is just right for this dish.

Whatever you add to your pancakes - enjoy.

Pot Noodle: gift of god or spawn of satan?

The Pot Noodle snack first made its appearence in the UK in the early 1970s. It was quite an innovation at the time and the ritual of adding boiling water and seeing it come alive was a big departure from processed cheese sandwiches for lunch. 'Chicken and Mushroom' was the one to go for...probably because that was the only option at the time.

Now, a 90g Pot Noodle is available in 19 different flavours including 'Original Curry', 'Southern Fried Chicken' and 'Christmas flavour'. The 21st century version of 'Chicken and Mushroom' contains: dried glucose syrup, chicken flavouring, E635 (which is 4 times stronger than monosodium glutamate) 4g of salt, another 10 E numbers and a sachet of soy sauce.

On the positive side, they are very light in weight and therefore seem to find their way into the ship's stores of many racing yachts. All you need to do in the middle of the English Channel or Celtic Sea is to boil a kettle, add boiling water and a few minutes later, you can tuck into something hot. A quick survey of my regular sailing buddies revealed nothing good to say about the actual eating experience and the case against the Pot Noodle is as follows:

"the only good thing is the hot water" - Juno
"I had one forkful and had to throw the contents overboard" - Pure Magic
"a pot full of chemicals which has no place onboard" - Freelancer
" good for creating a percusion section during a crew sing-song but little else" - Just for Fun

Special protection for Cornish pasties

Cornish food manufacturers have won a nine-year battle to win special protection for their most famous snack - the Cornish pasty. This means that any products made in Devon, Wales or the rest of Britain are now banned from being called Cornish pasties.

From now on, only products made in Britain's most south-westerly county will be allowed to be called Cornish pasties. As well as this geographical restriction, there are other elements to consider. Products that include carrots and which are crimped on the top – rather than the correct Cornish style of on the side – will be banned too from claiming to be the real deal.

The ruling, issued by the European Union, puts the Cornish pasty in a select group of products including Champagne and Parma Ham, as well as 42 British specialities such Kentish Ale, Melton Mowbray pork pies, Arbroath Smokies and Cornish clotted cream.

We love proper Cornish pasties and always buy some at Rowes Bakery when we're in Falmouth. These are very different from the pale imitations seen in the large supermarkets so hopefully the supermarkets will have to have rethink now and consider buying their supplies from smaller producers who are located in Cornwall.

London Boat Show 2011

Our first publication, 'Recipes from the Little Ship Club Galley' will be on sale on stand C85 at this year's London Boat Show at Excel from 7 to 16 January.

If you are visiting the show, do drop by and say "hello".

Tim Tams and Tea

On a recent sailing trip on Juno, the Aussie bowman introduced us to Tim Tams - a chocolate biscuit from Australia. Apparently, 1 in every 2 households (presumably in Australia) contains a packet of Tim Tams and around 35 million packs are sold each year.


For the non-Aussies on board, at first sight, Tim Tams appeared to be identical to the British McVites's Penguins and indeed the concept is the same. However, Tim Tams are 'double-coated' with chocolate and this could be source of their strength in the Tim Tam Tea challenge. The rules of the game are to bite off each end of the biscuit and then suck hot tea through the centre before the whole thing collapses into the bottom of the mug. The winner is the person who can draw tea through the biscuit in the fastest time. (You don't have to drink all of the tea by the way).

For the next round, we substituted Penguins for Tim Tams and were disappointed to find that they crumbled too quickly and unfortunately weren't up to the job.

So thanks Dutchie for bringing Tim Tams on board and idle moments afloat will never be the same again.

Day Twenty-six : the final leg

Just after midnight, we slip our mooring and depart Dittisham towards the entrance to the River Dart. The storm has blown through although the sea is still choppy. With a decent breeze behind us, we make the tidal gate at Portland Bill and are abeam the Needles by 1400. We're back in the Beaulieu River by 1630 and the sun is shining again. But after 950 miles there's no time to relax as we have to change over from cruising mode to racing mode for the British Classic Yacht Regatta which starts tomorrow.

Once most of the jobs are done, we relax with a well earned G&T in the cockpit and have a simple supper of pasta and tomato sauce.

Day Twenty-four & Twenty-five : still storm-bound

The weather forecast is still grim, so we decide to sit tight in Dittisham. Half the crew head back to London and I check into the Red Lion Inn for the evening. Outside, the clouds race past and the rain starts to lash down. At the Channel lightship, gusts of 52 knots were recorded that night with a wave height of 4.5 metres.

Next day's forecast is for SW veering W 5 to 7 occassionally 8 with sea state being rough and occasionally rough at first. So it looks like we'll be sailing the day after.

Day Twenty-three : storm-bound in Dittisham

We clear off the Town Quay by 0830 (because you have to make way for the ferries which operate during the day) and motor up the River Dart towards Dittisham. Gales are forecast in sea areas Plymouth, Portland and Wight so we're heading in land to avoid the storms over the next couple of days. After finding a mooring, we do some jobs then go ashore for a wander. We discover the Red Lion Inn and stop there for lunch: hake for some, sea bass for others. It's all delicious and very well priced but not the same as catching it ourselves. But we still hadn't caught any sea bass anywhere so paying for it was a justifiable option at this point. Finish with 'thunder and lightening' ice cream which is vanilla ice cream with pieces of honeycomb mixed in.

After a leisurely wander back to the boat, some of the crew still have room for an afternoon tea of scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Needless to say that nobody is particularly hungry at supper time, so a light salad with cheese and crackers fits the bill nicely.

The weather is looking truely awful now and we are very glad we are tucked up in Dittisham rather than making an night passage towards Portland.

Day Twenty-two : Falmouth to Dartmouth

After a very quick shop for scones, pork pies and cornish pasties from Rowe's Bakery, we cast off. Starting with one layer of clothing is a little misguided as when we round St. Anthony's Head (see photo opposite), showers mean that the full wet-weather gear is deployed again. We see 3 dolphins south of Dodman Point, after a lunch of warm cornish pasties and baked beans, and pass south of the Eddystone Rock at 1530. The weather is fair at this point but the clouds are building along the fronts behind us.

As we approach the entrance to the river Dart, the weather is fair and some smoked salmon needs using up so we make some canapes to nibble before we change course for Dartmouth.

We tie up at the Town Quay and decide to give the galley a night off. Instead, we eat at Rockfish which was opened this summer by Mitch Tonks just down the quay from his flagship restaurant The Seahorse. Here we feast on local crab salad - absolutely lovely! But the highlight of the evening was meeting Mitch himself and having an in-depth discussion about the mystery 'cod' we caught off Baltimore. Really wish I'd taken a photo of the mystery fish before it was prepared for cooking but that would have meant the rain ceasing. So we have to make do with a verbal description and Mitch comes to the conclusion it could have been a Pollack.

Time for a quick nightcap and the Dartmouth Yacht Club and a check on the weather. More storms forecast, so it' s uncertain if we'll continue eastwards tomorrow.

Day Nineteen to Twenty-one : Across the Celtic Sea

After a morning of rain, the skies finally clear. We decide to set off for Falmouth tonight as there appears to be a weather window for the next 36 hours before more gales kick in.

This means a trip in the dinghy over to Castletownshend to reprovision for the passage from the only store in town. Chicken salad wraps and ham and cheese sandwiches are prepared for the crossing and after these are done, there's not a lot left to do but wait until it's time to depart in the evening.

Dinner before we weigh anchor, is a store cupboard stand-by of wild mushroom risotto.

Then, it's time to depart and once out of the shelter of the harbour, the sea is still moderate to rough after the storms the previous evening. After a bumpy start, the swell subsides further out in the Celtic Sea and we make good progress, hitting the tidal gates for Land's End and the Lizard spot on.

We arrive in Falmouth 38 hours and 210 NM later and the sun is shining! After the first hot shower in what seems like days, I check the ship's stores and write a new shopping list for the crew to do a quick shop. Barrie and Nicola return with a lobster, some crayfish tails and some hand-dived scallops from Arwanack's. The lobster is already cooked, so is served as a starter with salad - delicious! For the main course, the crayfish and sauted scallops are combined with a little vegetable stock and white wine then served with linguine. What a treat!

Day Eighteen : Sherkin Island to Castletownshend

Today, the plan is to sail about 25 NM from Sherkin Island (see photo) to Castletownshend with the LSC yachts, drop anchor and have dinner at Mary Ann's. However, the wind is light and right on the nose. Despite tacking at regular intervals, we make no progress so eventually give in and switch the engine on - the coastline is very rocky so this is for safety reasons.

As we approach the entrance to Castletownshend, the rain lashes down again and the wind starts to blow up. Everyone decides that is now too rough to launch the dinghies to go ashore, so the evening at Mary Ann's is cancelled. Instead, we have sausage, baked beans and new potatoes at anchor.

Now, we need to decide if we press on towards Kinsale or head across the Celtic Sea towards Falmouth tomorrow - weather permitting.

Day Seventeen : Around the Fastnet Rock

We don't usually eat out for breakfast but today we made an exception and walked through the country lanes to Rolfs Country House on Baltimore Hill. A change from our usual muesli on board, we had sourdough bread and a full "Irish" plate of eggs, sausages, bacon and black pudding (looked identical to a full English to me).

Then back to the quay to await the delivery of the repaired mainsail and hoping it would arrive in time for us to depart as planned. The rain gathers momentum and visibility turns quite poor as we motor out the harbour entrance and set sail for the Fastnet Rock. Frustratingly, the wind is right on the nose and as it's quite a rocky coastline, we feel it's safer to proceed with the engine on.

After Clear Island, we lose sight of land in the mist and set course for Fastnet. Last year, I raced out here in the Rolex Fastnet Race and never saw the Irish coast as the lighthouse is a mark of the course and is rounded to port before setting course for the Isles of Scilly. Thus, I hadn't realised how close the Irish Coast actually is to this famous light house. As we approached, the waves were crashing against the rock and the rain intensified. Once round the rock, we headed back towards Baltimore and did some fishing in the harbour entrance hoping to catch that elusive sea bass before heading in. 5 mackerel and 1 unidentified pollack-type fish later, we still didn't have any bass so packed up the lines and headed towards Sherkin Island.

Tonight, we were supposed to meet up with the other crews for a beach barbeque but with the weather raining stair-rods, understandably this was postponed. Instead, we gutted our 'pollack' and stuffed it with the fennel leaves (picked from the Iles of Scilly) lemon, onion and parsley before baking for 45 minutes and serving with new potatoes, carrots and white wine. There was more than enough for 4 people and it was absolutely delicious - whatever it was.

Meanwhile, in England there is a heatwave.

Day Sixteen : Baltimore

Wind and rain give way to sunshine for our lay day in Baltimore.
The mainsail is collected by courier for repair then we visit the one and only grocery store in town - Gala - and stock up with provisions from a rather limited choice. Prices for basics, such as cheese, are even more expensive than in Crosshaven and again we are left wondering how local people manage. Strangely, there is a wide selection of newspapers and magazines available in French and German as well as English but we find out later that there are well established French and German communities here.

We walk out of town, past abundant bushes of fuschias, towards the headland to get a close-up of Lot's Wife which we missed yesterday from the water. There is an amazing micro climate on the cliffs with marsh plants, such as sedges, on the top of the hills which is quite unusual. We spot some people fishing from the rocks below and wonder firstly, how they got down there and secondly, if they have caught any sea bass. So far, we haven't caught any sea bass but are hopeful that we will before our voyage is over.

Dinner tonight has been arranged at "The Lookout" so a shower is required and some fresh clothes found for the occassion. Showers are at the local pub - Jacob's Bar - and cost 3 euros a time. For this price, I'm expecting Bulgari soap and fluffy white towels, but the showers are in the store room and the tile are cracked and quite dirty. The water is hot and runs for as long as you want so at least it doesn't cut out after 3 minutes or anything. There is no Bulgari soap or fluffy white towels.

About 30 people from the Little Ship Club convene for drinks at The Lookout and we all enjoy a decent meal. Despite consuming a large quantity to fish over the past few weeks, I go for the salmon and mackerel salad to start, followed by the local cod.

Day Fifteen : Glandore to Baltimore

Gale warnings are given over the radio so we depart Glandore before the weather closes in. It's only 17 NM to Baltimore, so we should get in before the gales hit this area. Forty-five minutes out of Glandore, the visibility deteriorates so we stay well offshore to avoid the numerous rocks which pepper this coastline.

The entrance to Baltimore is tricky to spot as the cloudbase is right over the cliffs. It should be really easy as there is a massive white day mark - "Lot's Wife" - on the eastern side of the approach (see photo). However, today it was hidden and therefore no use whatsoever.

As we wiggled through the entrance, swarms of kids in dinghies were zipping about - oblivious to the rain and having lots of fun. Baltimore is a major sailing centre and there are several schools here which run summer camps for children. After managing to avoid mowing down several of the Lasers, we found our way to the town quay and rafted up in the pouring rain.

The key objective now was to get the mainsail repaired. Bizarrely, there are no sailmakers in Baltimore and we eventually found one in Goleen some 20 NM away who would pick up the sail and repair it.

Tonight we eat ashore at the Jolie Brise Restaurant. I chose the local Galley Head prawns which were absolutely tasteless as they were practically still frozen. At the other end of the scale, the white wine we ordered had not been chilled so had to be sent back. Verdict: avoid.

PS: photo above of Lot's Wife was taken the next day when it wasn't raining.

Day Fourteen : Crosshaven to Glandore

Finally, we cast off and leave Crosshaven towards Glandore. The scenery is stunning as we sail westwards passing Daunt Rock and Galley Head. It's still quite blustery and on the final approach to Glandore, the mainsail rips. Fortunately, it's near the foot so we reef down and carry on.

After 9 hours sailing, we pick our way through the tricky approaches, leaving 'Eve' to port and 'The Dangers' to starboard. It's very shallow in places and the anchorage at Union Pier is quite crowded but we find a suitable spot to drop the hook. Afternoon tea is taken somewhat later than usual - at 1830 - on account of the earlier bumpy passage. Out come the fishing lines and the catch of the day is 1 mackerel and several small crabs which are returned to the water.

Dinner tonight is chorizo with butter beans and a little rice. This is very quick to do - about 20 minutes.

Day Thirteen : Still in Crosshaven

We're still in Crosshaven as the forecast for sailing to Kinsale isn't looking very good. Another day in Crosshaven means we'll have to skip Kinsale, which is a pity as this town is considered to be the gastronomic captial of County Cork, and go on to Glandore.

So instead of sampling a Kinsale restaurant, we have Sunday dinner on board with all the trimmings using the lamb chops bought yesterday from Kidney's. I make roast potatoes for the first time on a boat much to the delight of the crew. Served with carrots, broccoli and red wine gravy, our dinner goes down a treat.