Sometimes Onions Go Bad
Mike and I have been sailing around the Mediterranean Sea for seven summers. Each summer we decide if there will be passages or if we will just have some 12-14 hour long runs. All this means to me, "What do I provision?" We've discovered our fridge can only be assured of 5-6 days of meat-when placed in there frozen. I try to buy all the liquid we will need on the trip, or at least close to it. It is really a challenge carrying 20 liters of juice, water, tea etc up a hill from a grocery store. When I make the estimate for liquid I use a rule of thumb-minimum 3L per person per day. I do not include milk or alcohol in this estimate.
Then for meal planning I try to plan for skillet meals with good cuts of meat and fresh vegetables. We buy fresh fruit and dehydrated fruit.
Since our travels are always no more than four-five days away from a marina or harbor to re-provision, I've learned to go minimal on my purchases. I used to buy tons of stuff, thinking we needed it all, just in case we couldn't stop. This turned out to be a big waste of money and food. We love to go to shore and enjoy the local people and local restaurants. If I'm worried about my provisions, instead of enjoying the moment where we are, then I'm taking away from the joy of the journey.
But, even with my more streamlined approach to provisioning, sometimes onions go bad. I've learned here in the Med, fruits and vegetables are picked vine ripe-which means they will go bad much faster than we are used to. Any fruit or vegetable that has been kept in the cool open area of the store should be refrigerated. Any fruit or vegetable that is in the center of the store or on shelves can be kept in one of the locker drawers or hung from the grab rails. Yesterday, I found a bad onion and the whole drawer needed washing out. Then, I rechecked all the fresh food before tucking any of it away. We ate out last night and had left-over swordfish and grilled octopus. Our sandwiches for lunch today were delicious!
The most important thing about provisioning is to keep it simple. Keep it tasty. Keep it flexible. And especially keep it fun.
Then for meal planning I try to plan for skillet meals with good cuts of meat and fresh vegetables. We buy fresh fruit and dehydrated fruit.
Since our travels are always no more than four-five days away from a marina or harbor to re-provision, I've learned to go minimal on my purchases. I used to buy tons of stuff, thinking we needed it all, just in case we couldn't stop. This turned out to be a big waste of money and food. We love to go to shore and enjoy the local people and local restaurants. If I'm worried about my provisions, instead of enjoying the moment where we are, then I'm taking away from the joy of the journey.
But, even with my more streamlined approach to provisioning, sometimes onions go bad. I've learned here in the Med, fruits and vegetables are picked vine ripe-which means they will go bad much faster than we are used to. Any fruit or vegetable that has been kept in the cool open area of the store should be refrigerated. Any fruit or vegetable that is in the center of the store or on shelves can be kept in one of the locker drawers or hung from the grab rails. Yesterday, I found a bad onion and the whole drawer needed washing out. Then, I rechecked all the fresh food before tucking any of it away. We ate out last night and had left-over swordfish and grilled octopus. Our sandwiches for lunch today were delicious!
The most important thing about provisioning is to keep it simple. Keep it tasty. Keep it flexible. And especially keep it fun.
NEVERLAND Journey
Who: Mike Gould-Captain
Port: Onancock VA USA
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