Mariquita's New Season; Here We Go Again!

Isn’t it nice to feel wanted? Having avoided blogging for a whole month due to lets say - Life - I feel it's time to return to the keyboard and once again divulge recipes and classic boat adventures, spurred on by popular demand.

When I say popular demand I mean my Mum asked me when I was going to blog again so I thought I’d best get on it.

I was pondering on the metaphor of a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis as Mariquita is freed from her winter state in preparation for the new season ahead. But then I thought that was all a bit flouncy for the roughty-toughty sailor that I am so instead I’ll just tell you how good she is starting to look as we take off her protective deck covers and cap-wrap. Her cap rail has been sanded and has a lovely new coat of varnish. George and Billy have been re-rigging and once again the mast base is maze of freshly varnished and leathered blocks awaiting halyards and jiggers. Our hands have suffered from sanding and sewing leather and now that the sun is more out then in we have had to dig out the sunscreen from the bilges for regular application.

New crew! We have had quite a crew change for the season ahead so a big ‘Hi’ please to Adam, Pippa, Catherina and Martha! Yesterday they all had the mildly frightening introduction to the Mariquita Crew Manual; an instruction guide to their racing positions which when read through on dry land can seem somewhat overwhelming. But even so we are all getting pretty excited about the up and coming season ahead and putting some sails up.

We are UK bound. We plan to set sail from here in Cogolin in the South of France, April 12^th.  The journey will take us through the Gibraltar straights, into Atlantic waters up past Portugal, Spain, a hop (we hope) across the infamous Bay of Biscay and into English waters heading for home. In the next few weeks I shall be stocking up and provisioning, pre-cooking and praying for flat seas; the memories of cooking dinner whilst off the coast of Portugal in 40 knots of breeze, the fruit bowl (and me) flying across the galley whilst Mariquita slammed into huge waves, are still reasonably vivid.

Then whilst in the UK we have very busy schedule training and racing and getting involved with all sorts of exciting ‘events’. More of which I shall let on when I’ve been given the go ahead from the Captain, but suffice to say I’m sure you’ll want to stay tuned for ‘hot off the press’, inside info.

It’s all so exciting!

33 Degrees will be a year old in a few days. I was just looking over some of last years blogs and it is great to read and remember the adventures and food and experiences we had.

Here’s to more of the same.

Thanks for reading, I’ll be back shortly with recipes, rigging and reflections on life aboard a beautiful classic sailing yacht preparing for the long sail home.

Cheers!

 

The Drive.

On Sunday George decided we should go for an 'off-roading' session in his beloved Landrover in the snow and explore the tracks and trails around the hills of the Cogolin area and beyond. Being a bit of a snow-freak I of course thought this was a splendid idea so with snow chains attached, we set off.

With the dependable grunt of the Landy in chains, a force to be reckoned with, we climbed up and above the village of La Garde Freinet and into the narrow tracks of the snowy hills. This is an area more suited to bathing in the famous Cote D'Azure sunshine which teases and tickles the lavender and vineyards and olive trees into flower and fruit. But as we drove, we passed by many a fallen olive bough, the burden of cold snow too much to carry for some.

We continued to climb and twist and turn, the view opening up over the white valleys of the French Riviera on one side, the other side stretching for miles towards the distant piercing-white of the Southern Alps busy catching some rays. The views were paused in their tracks as we slowly ambled through the darkened tunnels of trees, hooded heavily with snow and silence.

 George stopped the car occasionally so I could take photos and it seemed that the stillness the snow had brought with it had effected him somehow. He was very quiet.

But he's like that when he's deep in thought so I left him to it and continued to admire my beautiful view. Lucky old me.

Then after a while George decided to stop to show me a path that led to a view apparently worth photographing. I smiled inwardly thinking how sweet it was for him to indulge my love for my camera and a good view.

We sat on a rock under an olive tree and took in the stillness and the amazing view of the snowy valleys in front of us.

And then he got down on his knee and asked me to marry him.

Oh and I said 'Yes'.

Our Rock.

Now Thats What I'm Talking About!

Oops, was that me? They do say be careful what you wish for but this is what I'm talking about! Snow falling in La Garde Freinet is a very rare event indeed but in the course of an evening I think we've had six inches already and it's still floating down like a billion angry feathers.

I love it!

I think a snow boarding trip could be imminent.

Unfortunatley George has a Landrover and the snow chains to go with it, so trying to blag a day off work tomorrow to build snowmen and take millions of pretty white photos could be tricky. Oh well, more sanding it probably is then. And I'll stick with 'probably', because you never know...

Trying to move Billy's car. Good sign for tomorrow...?

The crew house

Here I am in winter maintenance mode... glamerous no?

Oh look! I'm sanding.

Tim and Joe trying to keep warm in the forepeak

If you made it all the way down to the bottom by the way, it's still snowing.

Sugar and Wheat-Free Roasted Butternut Muffins.

Well I’ve got myself into such a pickle. I feel cheated of my Lazy Sunday. Things started on the wrong foot when I woke up early enough to go to work. That’s always a disappointment on a Sunday isn’t it?  The laundry pile is threatening to take over the universe and I’ve got so many things to do, I’m in a tiz-woz about where to start. I’ve had to write a ‘To Do’ list with the 3rd entry being ‘Brush Your Teeth’. At least that one is achievable; hang on…

That’s better. And now the recipe for those muffins with a fresh and minty out-look and calming cup of coffee. Everything else can wait. This is what I want to be doing today, my Lazy Sunday. The rest can wait. Everybody else can wait!

I don’t even have kids yet.

But back to those muffins I promised yesterday.  After they had been extracted from the oven and left to cool on their little rack in the kitchen, I returned a little later to find that half of them had already been eaten; the boys licking their lips without a glimmer of suspicion in their eyes. I took the risk of uttering those undesirable words; ‘sugar and wheat-free’ so as not to feel that I had knowingly tricked them into a corruption of their rugged steak and beer-swilling masculinity. But this information didn’t seem to faze them at all.

Interesting.

So as always, these are easy enough to make on a boat or caravan, provide plenty of good energy and fibre, taste fantastic warmed with a little butter and lemon curd or natural yoghurt, however you please. But yes, they are totally sugar-free and wheat-free and if you only use corn (maize) flour, they can be gluten free too. And if you are a steak-eating, beer-swilling sailor type, it would appear that you will also like them. Who knew?

So for 12 large muffins you will need;

1 large butternut squash

200g wholemeal spelt flour

100g of fine corn flour (maize)

2 tsp baking powder

50g unsalted butter

200ml natural sugar free yoghurt (goat or dairy, I used goat)

1 free-range egg, beaten

2 tsp of vanilla extract

25g desiccated coconut (optional)

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp mixed spice (optional)

Zest of 1 lemon, juice of half or if you prefer use an orange instead.

Method;

• Heat the oven to gas mark 5/190ºC, 375ºF.  Cut the squash in half and place cut side down onto a lightly greased baking tray and bake until soft, about 45-mins to an hour.

• When the squash is cooked remove from the oven to cool and turn the oven up to gas mark 6.

• Now sift the flours into a large bowl and add all the other dry ingredients including any of the spices you would like to use

• Melt the butter and then mix into a smaller bowl with the yoghurt, beaten egg, vanilla extract, lemon (or orange) zest and juice.

• Using a fork, roughly mix the yoghurt mixture into the bowl of flours, blending the ingredients together but not too much.

• Mash the cooked butternut squash with a fork. Add this to the muffin mixture and fold the butternut in with a large metal spoon. Again, do this gently and you don’t have to over-do it. Muffin mixtures always work better if they still have a few lumps here and there.

• Put a good couple of tablespoons worth into each muffin hole in your muffin tins and if you like, shimmy a little extra cinnamon over the tops before putting into the oven. Bake for about 25-30 minutes but check them after 20 as your oven probably doesn’t lie about its temperature like mine does.

Well now, that’s another tick in the box. Well done me. My Grandmother used to say, ‘Everything in moderation’, and she lived till she was a hundred. Think I might take a leaf out of her book and leave the ‘to-do’ list till a bit later. Mustn’t over-do things.

Now, lets not all get too excited but I do believe that that is snow over in them there mountains…

Things are looking up.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers!

Sugar-Free Muffins in the Making

At last we have rain. That’s not something you hear said very often unless you live in the Serengeti or here when there is no snow in the Southern Alps, mid-winter. If there is rain down here, there is the strong possibility of snow up there – we hope and pray.  So today, being Saturday and rainy, is a perfect day for baking. Methodical, easy baking with the predictable happy ending that most baking produces and every rainy day needs.

I’m currently baking a whole butternut squash in the oven which will be the main ingredient for today’s Butternut Muffins. Now these little mounds of treasure are muffins with quite a difference. You could call them savoury – or you could call them sugar-free. Depends on the psychological edge you need them to have. I am calling them sugar-free because that is the aim of my New Year resolution so far; to depend on sugar a lot less than I didn’t realise I apparently did…  (Let’s not dwell on whether that makes sense; it feels like it makes sense).

I’ve always considered myself to be without a sweet tooth. When I was a kid I would spend my ‘sweet money’ on prawn cocktail crisps or sketch books and crayons. I have obviously always liked chocolate of course, although without the strange emotional need for it that some (girlfriends) experience. But generally I’ve always said I’m more of a ‘pastry girl’.

But doing a bit of research I have discovered that I do actually consume a fair amount of sugar and cutting it out or down is a much harder task then it may first sound. White breads,  white pasta and white rice send blood sugar levels soaring; most convenience, pre-packaged foods, pickles, ketchups (ouch) and dairy products like yoghurts etc and when you start adding it all up it doesn’t half make you think.

And checking out my muffin tops I decided to find some healthier ways of eating and some low-sugar alternatives to those times of the day when one finds ones head very unexpectedly thrust into the fridge or the bread bin looking for a ‘hit’.

I found this recipe for sugar-free, butternut squash muffins and have given them the usual Suzy-twist to make them more acceptable to my gluttonous palate. They are not meant to be a savoury snack but a sugar-free ‘sweet’ snack. I know that doesn’t make sense because they have no sugar in them but by teasing your brain and taste buds with the flavours of cinnamon and vanilla, you can feed your craving but not your muffin-tops with muffins!

Now I think my butternut should be roasted and ready and the amusing display I have been watching out of my bedroom window of the neighbour trying to ‘walk’ her cat has ended in – I would say – reasonably predictable failure as it walks off, tail and nose held high in the absolute opposite direction. So I shall go bake and I’ll be back later with a recipe and pictures.

I reckon these would be great for kids too and also for breakfast. If you’re not worried about your sugar intake then these muffins warmed and smeared with some honey would be pretty good and since they’re full of good fibre, they would still be a very healthy and low-sugar snack. But don’t let that put you off.

Try ‘em and see. They are delicious, soft and light and fluffy and very satisfying. Even and especially at that time of day around 4pm when biscuit tins around the world are being wrenched open in the search for a blood-sugar revival.

Thanks for reading, back soon.

Cheers!

Mimosa Monday

The yellow spray of Mimosa as I drive to work in the warmth of one of January's Mondays, fills me with concern for the lack of snow in the Alps and the little action my snowboard is experiencing. When the winters are cold and the snow is deep you can almost feel the excitement waft down to you in an over-flow of exhausted fun which beckons you up with charmingly chill arms.

This year there is no welcoming pierce of white invitation from the mountains this side of France. To find good snow we must travel north where apparently they are drowning in the stuff. There is no doubt about it; we’re deeply jealous. We could take a weekend and travel a little further afield to satisfy our snowboarding cravings but then we’d have to take more time and spend more money and that’s not part of this winters plan. The purse strings are puckered and tight.

My days on Mariquita are rattling on at a gentle pace of typical boat maintenance. I have painted deck heads and beams and varnished floors and cooked some lunches. It is an unfortunate disposition when one has a blood-curdling reaction to sandpaper and also works on an old wooden boat – but I do and always have. I shudder even at the thought of sandpaper and anything of a similar texture such as bricks, unglazed terracotta or blackboards. The thought has me bucking in uncomfortable shivers. Consequently a good few of my jobs on the boat verge on the torturous and take a great deal of mental persuasion to get the job done. It’s not all roses.

However it will all be about the blossoming Mimosa; the warm, scentful and tiny yellow buds that emerge in their thousands around the Cote D’Azure at the first inclination of a new season. Whether you’d prefer the cold and snow or not, there is nothing we can do about it. Mother Nature follows her nose and here she is bidding for Spring.

A Saag Aloo Round-Up

We had perfect rice cooking techniques, then we had naan bread and now we have Saag Aloo.  This is probably my most favourite friday-night-on-the-sofa meal. It is vegetarian but really, from one meat eater to… perhaps some others, you won’t miss it here.

I made this for lunch on the boat, served with a crunchy salad which rattled with toasted flaked almonds and bean sprouts, served with a yoghurty, lemony dressing full of zing and zest. And homemade Peshwari naans to complete things.

The great thing about the saag aloo is that it is so satisfyingly filling and tasty. Served with some grilled, fiery red tandoori spiced chicken breasts, this becomes a truly hearty feast of tummy rubbing proportions; naan bread, chutneys, yoghurt and papadums – oh yeah. But the saag aloo on its own is a perfect partner to any girls Friday night on the sofa with a glass of wine and some soft doughy naan to mop up. Pyjamas and a good movie with Robert Downey Jr in and what more could there be to satisfy? I ask you.

And as you can see (out of my fantasy box) it makes a great crew lunch on a cold boat too, served with a salad. Slightly different take there but just as welcome.

My version is quick and basic but tastes divine. It’s probably a million miles from a proper saag aloo recipe but this is all about cooking and loving food and doing both of those things on a boat or in a caravan or anywhere else that may not have a super-dooper kitchen.

Or just because you’re on your own and it’s Friday night and you want something a little bit special but easy to cook whilst you watch Robert Downey Jr on the box. I’m with you Girlfriend.

So for a quick and very tasty Saag Aloo you will need

 

4 medium non-descript potatoes. Or 8-10 small new potatoes

800-900g (1 large bag) of fresh spinach

2 medium brown onions roughly chopped

3 cloves of garlic, sliced or roughly chopped

1 inch knob of fresh root ginger, grated

1 tbsp garam masala or curry powder or a bit of both…

2 tomatoes roughly chopped

1 tsp sugar

1 bunch of fresh coriander

Knob of butter

1 small pot of natural yoghurt

Method

• The quickest way to make this is to boil the potatoes first. Don’t peel, just chop into bite-sized pieces and bung onto boil right up until they are almost cooked. They need to have some bite left in them so that when you add them to the pan for the saag aloo, they don’t turn to mush. Now you must save the potato water by draining the potatoes over a bowl or jug to collect at least 200 ml of the stock.

• Whilst the spuds are doing their thing, heat up a nice heavy pan and add some olive oil and a knob of butter. When the butter has melted, add the roughly chopped onion. Cook over a medium heat until they are translucent, around 5 minutes or so. Then to the onions add the garlic and ginger and finely chop the stalks off of the fresh coriander (about a tbsp) and add that to the pan. Continue to sauté over a medium heat.

• Now add the chopped tomatoes. These give the dish that touch of acidity needed amongst the potato and spinach and round the finished dish off brilliantly.

• Add the potatoes and turn the heat up a little to get a good bit of sizzle going. This is the perfect moment to add your spices. The heat will open up the aromas and accentuate that Indian flavour the Garam Masala provides in abundance. The colour looks good too. Season with salt and pepper and add the teaspoon of sugar. Feel free at this point to add fresh chilli’s if you’d like a little kick.

• Now add the saved potato stock to the pan and bring to a gentle boil. Then turn the heat down to low and leave to simmer for ten minutes or so until the potatoes are cooked through and the dish has thickened a little.

• I like to chop the washed spinach up a little before I tip that in. It will be a huge mound of leaves in your pan but it soon wilts down as you stir it in to the aromatic potatoes. Let this cook for about another 5 minutes. Check the seasoning, adding more salt if the spinach has diluted the flavour a bit.

• It should be fairly ‘creamy’ by now and if you wish you can stir in the fresh yoghurt just before you serve or you can serve the yoghurt as an accompaniment. I also like to finish it off with a squeeze of fresh lime or lemon and a sprinkling of lightly toasted flaked almonds and the chopped fresh coriander leaves.

See there, now that was pretty straight forward. But a taste sensation, believe me. In fact, if you are on your own-some forget the fork, just scoop the soothing, deep green Indian stew up with some fresh naan bread and lick your fingers without apology. Robert Downey Jr won’t mind at all.

I hope you’re enjoying your weekend too. I’m planning very little for tonight. A good fire and movie night I think.

I wonder who’s cooking.

Thanks for reading,

Cheers!

P.S I forgot to say; by all means use frozen spinach, about 400 g and halve the amount stock as the frozen spinach will add some of its own liquid but it is just as good.