Smoke, impellers, fridge in a sulk..what next? Engine out tomorrow..
So I said the Ionian was somewhere over there? Hmm and there it will stay for a few days. Yesterday getting ready to come into Marina di Leuca I was leaping around with lines and noticed smoke (steam) coming out from the starboard exhaust. Quick run to other side and no, nothing there plus more water coming out. Alerted the Boss who has spent past couple of hours trapped in the engine. It's most likely the impeller (yes we have a spare and a spare for the spare..) but wow, whoever designs boats ...
Little Tips
If you have a cat or dog onboard, get one of these window wipers. Simply sweep across the wooden floors and all the shed hairs are in one place, easy them to vacuum or sweep into dustpan. Quick too although tommy hasn't worked out how to use it yet..
My best friends in the cleaning department undoubtedly have to be baking powder and lemon juice - just make a paste and use a warm cloth. From effortless oven cleaning to degreasing counters, scrubbing floors and decks. Slightly ...
Herby Meatballs
A very easy make ahead dish, tastes great warmed up after a long day at sea!
Ingredients for the meatballs:
250g minced beef (or pork or chicken?)
1 small red onion, very finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin and ground coriander
Finely chopped herbs, I used parsley, mint and dill (chop double, 1/2 is for sauce)
1 tbsp ground almonds
A little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Just combine all ingredients very well, shape into balls (I made ...
Chocolate Coconut Bites
My first attempt, not very pretty but tasty? Oh yes! If I'd remembered to spread the paste on greaseproof paper they would've been far easier to remove.
Ingredients:
100g coconut (desiccated or flour, I only had flour)
1 heaped soup spoon raw honey
3 heaped soup spoons coconut oil
Either blitz together in a food processor or beat frantically with a wooden spoon until a smooth light paste. Spread on greaseproof to desired thickness and chill until hard (roughly 30 mins).
Whilst that's ...
Easy Marinated Pork Chops
A kick of ginger, citrus and garlic. Obviously this would work brilliantly with chicken too!
Ingredients:
2 Pork chops
Grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 small orange plus grated knob of ginger and garlic cloves to taste.
Juice of the lemon, glug of olive oil, tsp honey, a dash of sea salt, freshly ground pepper
Combine ingredients and leave for at least an hour, turn meat occasionally to coat well.
Throw on your barbecue or in a sizzling frying pan until cooked, turn to brown ...
The Ionion is somewhere over there apparently….
Truly loved being in Roccella Marina, the free bicycle loan is genius (just leave a small contribution at the end of use for maintenance) and the cycle path is perfect all the way to the square. Poor tommy ran all the way there and back then promptly slept for the rest of the day, bless.. Excellent butcher, green grocers and other things that always make me smile :-) Pizza by the metre made the Boss smile.
Trip from there to Le Castella wasn't much fun, to say the sea was confused is an ...
Not just a boat mascot
I'm sure the dog thinks that at times, definitely when meeting fellow cruisers for the first time in several years with no recognition but the others say "oh look it's tommy"! I bet there's tons of woofs of agreement out there, we get it all the time right? :-)
Ok, I'm assuming we all keep their vaccinations up to date but what research do you do to find out what additional treatment they may need to avoid creepy crawlie things and diseases in other countries? I've never found one search ...
Soufflé Egg Muffins
Easy peasy but they do sink a bit when they cool..
This made enough for 6 deep muffins.
4 eggs, separated
2 slices Parma ham
1 finely diced red onion
1 medium sized grated courgette (zucchini if that makes more sense?)
1 medium sized grated carrot
Pepper and herbs (I used oregano)
Set oven to 180
Whisk egg whites until stiff.
Mix all other ingredients together, add a spoon of egg white to loosen the mixture and then gently fold in the egg whites.
Pour into a VERY well greased muffin ...
Baked Stuffed Mushrooms
Quick lunch? These hit the spot for us with some salad.
Ingredients for 2:
4 decent sized mushrooms, remove stalk (keep it) and clean
1 small diced onion
Grated garlic
2 slices chopped ham
Roughly 2 tblsp grated Parmesan
Pepper, lemon zest and herbs (I used parsley)
Pangrattato (recipe in "Now then, ooh")
Oven set to 180.
Sauté the onion, garlic and chopped mushroom stalks. Take off heat and mix in other bits. Fill the mushrooms and sprinkle with some Pangrattato. ...
Almond, Walnut & Herb “Pangrattato”
Crunchy little crumbs to sprinkle on baked eggs, stuffed mushrooms or anything that needs a little more texture!
Ingredients:
1 slice almond bread
1 heaped tblsp chopped walnuts (not too fine, you're after crunch)
Grated lemon zest and garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
Herbs of your choice, I had to use this amazing local oregano!
Just toss this in a small frying pan with a glug of oil. Gently stir around for roughly 5 mins.
Keeps for just a couple of days so I only ...
