Kaimusailing

The question about the image on the last post was, “It looks like a smudge. Is it masts? Is it one you took or he took?”. My response was, “I'm not that bad a photographer to take a picture that bad.”
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I recommend Michael Swallow.
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It was time to clear the decks and fire up the engine, see if it runs. The water separator fuel filter looked like it was in bad shape, its paint was peeling off and the inside looked like small rust particles were trapped in the filter. The particles could have come from bad gas. I had a replacement filter, so replaced it. The day tank was flushed and filled with fresh gas. The old gas was dumped into a clear container and it was definitely separated into two layers. I need to deal with the gas in the main tank also. The day tank is only 3 gallons, so it is enough to run the engine for about 2 ½ hours at 6 knots, more than enough to get us out on the bay for a shakedown.
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The engine fired up, but ran roughly. It settled down after it warmed up. When the engine sits for a long time without running, one of the problems it has is float valves in the carburetors not sealing properly. This dumps fuel, makes it overflow. The engine has four carburetors, so it is very likely to have this problem. After fresh fuel is in the system these symptoms go away. I hope.
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From time to time I post a recipe that may or not be significant. A long time ago I made a dish that I called Chicken Cacciatore. I was trying to use less ingredients, make a simpler dish. Also I had to make it for a dock party, so it had to be substantial. I used 5 lbs of skinned chicken thighs, 3 lbs of sliced onions, 1 ½ lbs of sliced mushrooms, a ladle full of minced garlic, a jar of spaghetti sauce rinsed out with some red wine, and simmered it for a long time. It turned into a kind of soup, so I scooped out the non-liquid “stew” and set aside, then reduced the liquid to about 1/3, when it got more like a thick sauce. Then I returned it all back together. I brought it down to the party in the same huge cast iron kettle it had been suffering in for hours. It was gone quickly and someone asked if I worked in a restaurant. No, I'm a TV engineer.
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I decided to make a smaller dinner today and started the process when I realized I didn't have any crushed tomatoes or any canned tomatoes. I stopped using canned tomato sauces a while ago. I could make something without tomatoes and live with it, but then I realized I had a pile of Roma tomatoes on hand that I chopped into salads. Why not use them?
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It all started to make sense. The Romas were starting to give up the ghost anyway, so it was a good idea to use them up. I knew how to process them. I had seen several TV videos including one by Martha Stewart. Blanch them in boiling water for a couple minutes, then remove the skins in a bowl of cold water. Traditionally they are then squeezed until the seed and liquid pop out. I halved them on “the equator” and rinsed the seeds out using my pinkie finger to scoop them out. The tomato halves were then diced and reserved in a bowl.
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A large cast iron skillet was brought up to high medium heat with olive oil and 4 skinned chicken thighs were browned in it. They were dusted with an italian spice mixture and old bay seasoning. A cup or two of onion and pepper slices (frozen, sorry) were tossed in. Four large white mushrooms were thinly sliced and added. I added the tomatoes and dusted with garlic salt. A glass of cabernet was tossed in. At first the skillet was too full to do anything with the contents, but after things were aboil, the cover was removed, and uncovered, the mixture reduced enough to scrape the bottom of the pan and mix things up. I tasted the sauce and it was good. When it was reduced even more it was ready and it was good.
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The picture is once again from saatchiart.com, called Il Cacciatore, by Masia Piero of Italy. Cacciatore means hunter.