Until I quit my job, I was working 40-60 hours a week and writing 2-3 books a year. Needless to say, I rarely had time to cook or bake, two things I really enjoy. Now that I have the time, I’ve been experimenting with cooking aboard our boat.

It’s not all that different from cooking on land, with the exception of the oven, which doesn’t get quite as hot as its full-size relative. That means turning your bread over to cook the bottom. No biggie. It still comes out tasty! Boat Bread!

So what else is different?

1) Water. On a boat, you need to conserve water (our boat holds 120 gallons). This is especially true in the Bahamas, where most water is RO (reverse osmosis filtered sea-water). Water can run 50 cents a gallon, and although we have a watermaker, it only runs on the generator, which takes diesel. So boaters tend to use less water, especially when doing the dishes or showering.

I do a lot of one-pot meals for easier cleanup. And I’m having a blast since my daughter gave me a copy of a one-pot vegetarian cookbook.

2) Availability of food. Things I’ve been used to finding in my neighborhood grocery store can be hard to come by in the Bahamas, or the prices are outrageously high (usually twice what you’d pay in the US).

Instead of paying $10 for a container of yogurt, I made my own and, surprise, surprise, it was even better than store bought! I don’t have a yogurt maker, so I used a Thermos and it was super easy. Same goes for ricotta cheese. Who knew all you needed was to warm up milk and add vinegar? It’s delicious!

In making ricotta, I ended up with a lot of whey (the liquid that sits on the top of yogurt or a by-product of making cheese). First time I tossed it out. The second time, I found a recipe Vegetables pickled in whey left over from ricotta cheese-making for picking vegetables with whey. The jury’s out on that one (at least for 3 more days), but I’m told it makes delicious pickles.

3) Space. Space is at a premium in a boat galley, especially in the refrigerator, which is dormitory-sized. What I never realized was that in the US we tend to refrigerate many things that don’t need refrigeration. Ketchup, lemon and lime juice, hot sauces, mustard, steak sauce, veggies, fruit, and bread don’t need to be kept cold. Even eggs can be kept unrefrigerated for more than a month, so long as they were never refrigerated to begin with.

4) Time. I have SO much time to experiment, whether it’s figuring out how to use callaloo, a local leafy green that’s a cross between spinach and collards, or how to make my own sour cream.

Even with these limitations, I’ve gotten really good at substituting in recipes, and we’ve been eating really well. Healthier too.