Cooking – Riveted

Kasaan | Sunsets and Quiche

Laura Domela — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 18:17:12 +0000

The sunsets in Kasaan are so beautiful. These are three photos from last night, at different stages.

As the sun sets, the low golden light shines bright on the village and the hillside (behind me)…maybe I’ll take photos of that next time, but it’s hard to look away from the changing colors in the sky. Speaking of changing colors, the aurora forecast for last night was high, and since we had a mostly clear sky, I set an alarm for 1am…but by then some clouds had come around so there wasn’t anything to see. I checked again around 3:30am (the sky was clear) but I just saw stars. Of course this morning, the facebook page for Aurora Notifications was lighting up like crazy with a ton of photos of last night’s lights. Bah! We’ll try again tonight maybe, but so far today’s sky is cloudy.

We were in the market a few days ago and I wanted to get some flour and yeast to make some pizza dough, but they only had 5 lb bags of flour and I didn’t feel like trying to find a place for that bag in the kinda-full cupboard back on Airship, so as I was browsing the wall of Bob’s Red Mill small packages of a zillion kinds of flour, I spotted this bag of gluten-free pizza crust, and we decided to try it.

I bought some yeast, but this bag actually came with a package of yeast inside. We made one small pizza with half the dough (and some homemade red sauce), and it turned out really good. We both prefer pizza dough with gluten (mainly because of the texture), but this was not bad at all. The next morning I made some tiny breakfast quiches (in muffin tins) using a little more of the dough (I’d wrapped it in plastic and kept it in the fridge overnight). Those turned out great, so this morning I had some leftover sausage and cabbage from last night’s dinner, so I got out a round cake pan, and with the rest of the dough I made kind of a quiche (eggs, cheese, sausage, spinach, cabbage, a little salsa, salt and pepper). It turned out great!! This dough is actually perfect for quiche-like things…and if you’re gluten free, I highly recommend it for pizza too.

Update (for Pat):

Here are my notes on the quiche I made. Heat oven to 350. Following the directions on the Red Mill package, spread some dough with wet hands (makes it way easier) over the bottom and sides of a round, greased cake pan. Par bake until you can touch the dough and it doesn’t stick to your fingers. In a separate bowl, mix four eggs, a handful of whatever shredded cheese you want, chopped spinach, salt and pepper, and if you like, some chopped cooked bacon or chopped cooked sausage…a spoonful of salsa, etc. You can really put anything you want in here.

Pour mixture into par baked crust and return to oven until the center is a little bouncy to the touch. If you wiggle the pan and the filling jiggles like it’s still liquid, cook it for a bit longer. You want the eggs cooked and not runny. Mine took a while (45-50 minutes) but I’m cooking in a boat oven, which isn’t always as consistent (or as hot) as a home oven.

Slice into wedges and serve with hot sauce.

There, that’s my recipe.

p.s. For the individual muffin-sized quiches, do the same thing…they don’t take as long to cook.

The Lékué Silicone Bread Maker

Laura Domela — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 16:43:01 +0000

I am not a baker. At all. I very rarely make cookies, and I seldom even buy bread. But a friend of ours recently told us about this Lékué silicone bread maker (it's really just a floppy bowl with a slot and a tab) and I thought it might be cool for the boat and/or the Airstream when we did want some bread.

(I got mine here for $35)

I first tried the easiest recipe in the book that comes with the Lékué: Quick No-Knead Bread. It's basically flour, yeast, salt, water…mix together right in the bowl, let proof for an hour at room temperature (or 10 hours in the fridge overnight) and then microwave for 3 minutes (totally not baking). It was good, but definitely could have used some oven heat for making the crust nicer.

Last night I went for the second easiest recipe: Easy-to-Make No-Knead Bread. Flour, water, salt, yeast, olive oil. Mix all ingredients together in the bowl, cover the bowl with a towel and let proof overnight. I stuck it in the warming drawer (off) to rise overnight and it was nice and bubbly this morning. I sprinkled some chia seeds on top and then closed up the bowl around the dough.

Into the oven it went! The instructions said to bake for 40 minutes at 392 degrees F then turn the dough over and put back in the oven for 10 more minutes. And then…we had bread! I'm a baker! (Not really.) But look!

It turned out great…fluffy inside with a light and crunchy crust on the outside.

This Lékué silicone bread maker is going to be super handy. Mixing the dough right in the same vessel you cook the bread in saves a lot of work and cleanup. This no-knead recipe is easy, and can be modified for a whole wheat version as well. The Lékué is even dishwasher safe!

Plated is Awesome

Laura Domela — Fri, 11 Dec 2015 01:42:30 +0000

We've been trying out a new service called Plated. Plated delivers everything you need to create "delicious chef-designed recipes." You receive a weekly box of fresh and seasonal ingredients, pre-portioned for the recipes you choose. The recipes/ingredients are meals for two, and you can opt for two, three, or four meals (for two) per week. You get to choose from 7 standard meals (included in your normal price) with the option of a slight upcharge for a "Chef's Table" meal with slightly more expensive ingredients. (Also available: desserts.)

A friend recommended Plated to us, and after some research into some of the other similar services, Plated definitely looked like the best one with the most interesting recipes and the most variety. We've been using it now for a few weeks and it's fantastic. There hasn't been one meal that we didn't like. The ingredients are fresh. The pre-portioning is brilliant and makes things SUPER easy, and it's perfect for the boat!! We opted for a 3x/week plan, but added a fourth dinner to the delivery we got right before we headed up to the boat. It made cooking dinner a breeze. Having all the ingredients pre-portioned without having to have a mega pantry on the boat is pretty sweet!

Here's this week's box (with the recipe card for Mu Shu Chicken with Pancakes on top, which was delicious, by the way):

The ingredients come like this, in an insulated, ice-filled box:

Most of the time, all you need to have on hand is salt, pepper, and olive oil!

From the Plated website: Steak frites, creamy shallot sauce, and sautéed spinach (this was also was SO good) with ingredients and info:

Here are a few of the dinners from our upcoming order:

Beef bibimbap with sautéed mushrooms and spinach:

Roasted cod tacos with butternut squash and cabbage slaw:

Chicken pad thai with bok choy:

You can create your taste profile however you like, and include or exclude poultry, beef, fish, vegetarian, pork, shellfish, and lamb. We're total fans! I love to cook and experiement, but it's definitely been fun to learn some new dishes (I've already made two favorites over again).

Also, Plated in combination with the advent of Amazon Prime Now is a pretty sweet combo. Amazon Prime Now is an app where I can shop (via my iPhone) from several local grocery stores (New Seasons, Uwajimaya, World Foods, and Amazon) and my order is delivered within two hours (not by drone). We seldom even have to step foot in a grocery store anymore. Heaven!

(Last four images courtesy of Plated)

We “Fixed” Another Thing

Laura Domela — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 12:40:00 +0000

Behold, Airship’s new grill:

It’s the small Sea-B-Que made by Dickinson Marine, and so far, we rate it very highly. It’s brushed stainless instead of polished shiny stainless (which looks crappy in about 5 minutes), and it’s got ceramic, separatable grill sections (easy removal for cleaning), and even (gasp!) medium and low settings (that work!!)

We contemplated the large one, but for 99 percent of our use the small one is just fine (and more portable and efficient). The only thing the large one has that the small one doesn’t (besides more space) is an automatic igniter, but we can order one of those to fit our grill once we are home.

We’ve cooked on it twice now, and it’s fantastic, and WORLDS better than our old Magma that came with the boat (and bonus, it stays lit for more than two minutes)!

First we made burgers (messy, messy burgers, with chorizo and blue cheese) and the clean up was super easy. Last night we grilled the Coho fillets and same thing…just wipe the cool ceramic grates clean and you’re good to go.

We gave our old grill to some fishermen on the dock in Juneau before we left the marina. Hope it does what they want.

Lemon Risotto and Grilled Coho

Laura Domela — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 17:29:48 +0000

Airship Goes to Alaska

We made this last night and it was SO good, I thought I'd share.

I found this risotto recipe from the NY Times in my inbox yesterday morning, and remembered I'd brought from home the last of a bag of arborio rice in case I wanted to make some risotto while we were cruising. Well turns out after seeing this recipe I DID want to make some risotto! I modified the recipe a bit (of course, because that's what I do). I'll post it how I modified it below next to the original:

LEMON RISOTTO WITH ZUCCHINI

Ingredients:

7 to 8 cups well seasoned chicken or vegetable stock, as needed (I used 2c clam broth and the rest seafood stock)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup minced onion (I used shallots, because I prefer them over onions)

Salt to taste

1 pound summer squash (mixed varieties), diced (I used zucchini, because that's what I had)

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1 to 2 garlic cloves (2)

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2 cup dry white wine, like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc (I used Prosecco…it's what I had)

2 teaspoons finely chopped lemon zest

1 to 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (to taste)

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (didn't have parsley, so added a little Italian seasoning)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Put your stock or broth into a saucepan, and bring it to a simmer over low heat with a ladle nearby or in the pot. Make sure that the stock or broth is well seasoned.

2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the onion (shallot). Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the squash and a generous pinch of salt. Turn the heat up to medium high, and cook, stirring often, until the squash is translucent but not too soft, about five minutes. Stir in the rice and the garlic, and stir until the grains separate and begin to crackle. Add the wine, and stir until it has been absorbed. Turn the heat back down to medium, and begin adding the simmering stock a couple of ladlefuls (about 1/2 cup) at a time. The stock should just cover the rice and should be bubbling, not too slowly but not too quickly. Cook, stirring often, until the rice is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of the stock, and continue to cook in this fashion, stirring in more stock when the rice is almost dry. You do not have to stir constantly, but stir often.

When the rice is tender all the way through but still chewy, in about 25 minutes, it is done. Taste now and adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add another ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley and Parmesan. Remove from the heat. The mixture should be creamy (add more stock if it isn’t). Serve right away in wide soup bowls or on plates, spreading the risotto in a thin layer rather than a mound.

The risotto came out just right! It spread nicely into a thin layer covering the bottom of the plate, and we topped it with a piece of fresh Alaskan Coho (seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil, a little garlic, and a few red chili flakes and then grilled expertly by Kevin on the pain-in-the-ass grill that only has two settings, cold and a thousand degrees), and served with the rest of the Prosecco.

Maybe that grill needs to go on the "Fix-It" list, but I think it belongs on the "Replace-It" list, personally.

Seafoodie Things in Sitka

Laura Domela — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 19:15:58 +0000

Airship Goes to Alaska

The weather! It's STILL like this here in Sitka!

Since Tiffani and Deke left on Sunday morning, we've mostly been depressed catching up on work and boat cleaning and laundry and stuff like that. We ordered an oil filter that'll be here tomorrow, so we'll do our 250 hour oil change here in Sitka this week. We also ordered a new carburetor for the outboard from Gary's Outboard, which hopefully will lessen the amount of swearing when we go exploring by dinghy.

We went for a walk the other day down to the Sitka Sound Seafoods retail store to pick up some fish. We got two pounds of large spot prawns (frozen), some halibut, some king salmon, and some coho. We figure it'd be good to have some fish up in the freezer for when we aren't catching and still want to eat some fish.

I love these wooden houses across the street from the fish market. They remind me of something from a video game landscape:

The other night I decided to cook up the spot prawns. I found a couple recipes and made up my own from there. First, I put some tomatoes in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper to roast them.

I shelled the prawns, and then made a sauce/stock by browning the shells with a chopped shallot in a pan and then adding two cups of white wine to reduce. I reduced that down until I had about a half a cup of liquid and strained it into a bowl for later, discarding the shells and shallot.

I sauteed the prawns for about a minute in the same pan with a little olive oil and then set them aside. Next, I sauteed some garlic and more chopped shallot, adding the saved stock at the end, and some chopped spinach. When the pasta was done, I added it to the pan with the garlic, shallot, roasted tomatoes, some additional chopped fresh tomatoes, stock, and then tossed all that with a bunch of spinach to wilt, then added the spot prawns and a little butter.

I served this topped with a bit of shaved romano cheese and some of the alderwood smoked sea salt I picked up the other day in Sitka from Alaska Pure Sea Salt.

So good!

Spot prawns are so much better than regular shrimp…so sweet and buttery flavorful. Love 'em! Also, did you know that spot prawns start their lives as males and then all of them at some point change into females?

Last night we grilled up some Alaskan Halibut, and tonight we're going to go out to dinner. We tried to get into Ludvig's Bistro up the road (recommended) while Tiffani and Deke were were but they were completely booked on Friday and closed for the holiday weekend after that, so we'll go tonight and toast Tiffani and Deke on their 8th anniversary.

The PowerStove™

Laura Domela — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 16:31:45 +0000

New addition to Airship's crab cooking capabilities (to go with our new large stock pot): The PowerStove.

The PowerStove folds up pretty small and has a nice sturdy bag to hold everything (and it all fits inside the large stock pot):

The PowerStove comes highly recommended by other boaters and crab cookers (it's made in Woodinville, WA!), and I think it'll be great for the Airstream as well! We'll let you know what we think after we get it in use!

(We got ours here at Fisheries Supply in Seattle, WA.)

We are in full-on provisioning mode right now for our multi-month trip to Alaska. Kevin's got two briskets on the Traeger, and we've got 8 one-pound servings of pulled pork already frozen and ready for the deck-top freezer. We did a Costco run and stocked up on organic frozen vegetables, and I froze a bunch of fresh pesto in small serving sizes. We'll head up to Airship in the next day or so to do a bunch of packing and stock-taking.

So! Excited!

Healthy(ish) Chicken & Waffles

Laura Domela — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 14:36:25 +0000

I've never made fried chicken, and although I own a waffle iron, I've only used it once in the last 5 years. But then last week in North Carolina we had some delicious Chicken & Waffles at Beasley's Chicken & Honey, so when I came across a "Grain-Free Waffles" recipe the other day, I thought I might see if I could find a good "Fried-Free Chicken" recipe to go with the "Grain-Free Waffles", and then try my hand at a healthier version of chicken and waffles.

Not only did it work, it was delicious!

I used regular organic milk for the waffles instead of almond milk, and I used maple syrup where it calls for maple syrup or honey.

Here is the recipe I used for the chicken. The changes I made to it were:

(1) I omitted the onion,

(2) I substituted Panko bread crumbs for regular bread crumbs, and

(3) I used boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of bone-in skin-on breasts, thighs, and drumsticks.

Next time I'll kick it up even more with a bit more cayenne and maybe some chipotle in the coating. I served the chicken & waffles with a side of pure maple syrup and a side of Deke's wing sauce (using Frank's Red Hot cayenne hot sauce as a base), and a simple spinach salad with grape tomatoes and avocado. SUPER yum!

Panko Fried Oysters (that we harvested ourselves!)

Laura Domela — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 14:31:33 +0000

Yesterday was pretty cool…getting our own Pacific oysters from a public beach in Hood Canal, shucking and cleaning them right there in the dinghy, coming back to Airship and cooking 'em up all yummy!

Here's the messy, "during" photo:

This is how we prepared them. First, I made some hot sauce for dipping:

1/4 c light mayonnaise
1 Tbsp horseradish (I used the small package of prepared wasabi left over from the supermarket sushi we grabbed a week ago or so…I knew that would come in handy!)
1 tsp Dijon
1 Tbsp lime juice
a tiny bit of sugar
about 1 tsp. chipotle tabasco

Into to fridge with that until we need it.

Next, we mixed up in Bowl 1 – an egg dip (egg, milk), in Bowl 2 – a flour dip (flour, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder) … (I would have used cayenne instead of the paprika/chili powder but we apparently don't have cayenne on the boat…yet.).

Then, Bowl 3 was the panko coating (panko breadcrumbs, with some dried oregano and basil). I rinsed and patted the oysters dry, then did (1) egg dip (2) flour dip (3) another egg dip, and then (4) panko coating. Coated oysters went onto a tray with plastic wrap, layered with plastic between oyster layers.

That tray went into the fridge for an hour or so until we were ready to cook. Several recipes I found said to use peanut oil for frying, butI used coconut oil.

Fry them until golden brown on one side (about a minute and a half), turn and brown the other side for another minute or so. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately with the hot sauce (which was really good!) I served ours with sautéed spinach and a bottle of Dominio IV 2013 Viognier from Oregon.

These oysters were delicious! Kevin said they were the best fried oysters he's ever had, but I'm pretty sure gathering and shucking and cooking your own oysters right where you are probably contributed to that feeling. (But wow, they were seriously good.)

Guess where we're headed at low tide today before we leave?

Fancy French Sauces

Laura Domela — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 22:02:00 +0000

Breakfast on the boat this morning was a bed of wilted spinach, topped with a good handful of freshly cooked/cracked Dungeness crab, an over-easy egg, Hollandaise sauce, and a sprinkle of chives (with a side of sliced tomatoes). Super yum!

Our cheffy friend Jake turned us to these great Christian Potier sauces a while back, but until recently they were unavailable in the U.S. They are now though, and they're super convenient for RVing and boating. Each box contains three sauce packages, and each package of sauce serves two. You just stick the sauce pack in the microwave for 30 seconds and it's ready to serve. (Actually, the lemon dill sauce we tried on our halibut last night needs 30 seconds, but the hollandaise we tried on our crab benedict this morning only needs 10 seconds…learned that the hard way.) They're shelf stable for up to a couple months which makes them ideal for an on-the-road or on-the-water quick kicked-up meal when you don't have the ingredients (or the desire) to make fancy sauces from scratch.

You can get them here. You're welcome.