Sugar

Provisioning in New Zealand

Provisioning in New Zealand for the upcoming season was a delight. With large supermarkets and a great variety Auckland City has come a long way in the realms of international cuisine. With a varied immigration of nationalities, specialty items now run the length of aisles not shelves.

When provisioning we always take our own canvas tote bags and if it we're provisioning for a major passage we'll even use up to four West Marine Explorer duffel bags. I find it a lot easier to pack similar items in each bag which makes stowing aboard much quicker. Another tip is to remove excess packaging in the store, eg. Removing cereal boxes, taking just the liner and cereal.

It was a fun shop at one of the many Asian food shops for the items needed to make sushi in the hopes of catching MR BIG. Many of our crew are eager connoisseur of wasabi of which we have 6 tubes aboard. I really enjoy Thai Green Curry and purchased the paste in tubs for $2.00. I also bought packs of dried lemon grass for which I've since discovered that you can use chopped young lemon or lime leaves.

This reminds me of two of the best boat warming presents given to Mahina Tiare III. Janet Condino who was on the Antarctica Expedition got to know first hand of John's love of hot sauce and presented use with a box of 25 varieties. After one year of travels we are now a third of the way through the box and going strong.

Lisie Knowles who we buddy cruised Chile with sent us off with a wonderful box of assorted herbs and spices. Purchased from Caitlyns Travel'in Spices (P.O.Box 471, Cody, Wyoming 82414). This girl puts together a great mix of packages designed for the traveler. My favorites are the Sizzlers Barbecue Seasonings and Wyoming Steak Rub and any Cajun style spices.

John and I took an excursion to the rugged North Island West Coast beaches stopping by the orchards and market gardens for fresh produce. To stow these items in our large deep fridge (in which I can't reach the bottom) I need to use a little bit of pre-planning to ensure all will last and get consumed for the next three weeks at sea. My solution is to divide items into large air-tight containers planning a week at a time. Thus long lasting celery, green tomatoes and cabbage get placed on the bottom of the fridge.

Knowing that the passage from New Zealand in the Roaring Forties is a rough one, meal planning was to be simple and one-pot only during the heavy weather sailing. To aid meal preparation I bought four roasted chickens that I deboned and froze in quart-sized freezer Ziplocs to be used in soups, stir-fry's, salads and other assorted dishes.

We also froze six 2 kilo blocks of cheese at $4.00 each and sliced sandwich ham. New Zealand bread is terrific. Available in interesting varieties of sunflower/pumpkin seed, nut and honey, bran and wheat they keep for three weeks in the fridge.

For an added treat we turn our West Bend bread machine that is energy efficient and no mess or fuss...a perfect 3lb horizontal loaf in 3.5 hours. We bought the bread machine at Walmart in Hawaii for $129 and have found that since it bakes a horizontal instead of vertical loaf, we can put two Krusteaz Bread Mixes (6 pack for $7 at COSTCO) in at once, making a loaf large enough for all eight of us.

Dinner out at Mike Radley's (past expedition member who has signed up for Tahiti 99 with his wife Karen) saw us depart with Karen's Sultana Cake. It weighs a ton and would never have been allowed on any race boat I've been on! Karen and with the help of little Kate and Alexander were up at six in the morning to bake it. Being a true kiwi I really enjoy a wholesome fruitcake which tends to give you that needed energy or that treat for time out with a cup of tea. Many thanks to Karen, Kate and Alexander.

Mediterranean Lentil Stew

1 liter water
2T brown sugar
1 1/2 C Lentils (washed not soaked)
1T vinegar or lemon juice
2 T butter
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, sliced
3 tomatoes chopped
4 garlic cloves (peeled but left whole)
2 bay leaves
s&p, spices and herbs to taste.

saute veggies in oil

add water and heat

add lentils, s&p, and bay leaves

simmer 1 1/2 hours or Pressure 10 minutes

add sugar, vinegar and spices and herbs

serve on brown rice....feeds four.

Upon arriving in Raivavae, we found a huge basil bush on the end of the dock. Picking sprigs of fresh basil I encouraged Brian to do a super pesto fettuccine dish that night. This year I purchased a Braun hand blender for the purpose of making dressings and fine chopping.

Pesto Fettuccine

1C basil leaves finely chopped
1/2 C olive oil
1/2 C Parmesan cheese
2 onions sliced
1T pine nuts (these I did not have so used 4T of toasted sesame seeds)
5 garlic gloves minced
1/4 t salt

Mustard Marinade

1/4 C Dijon mustard
1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C lime juice
1/4C orange juice
2 scallion onions chopped
3 garlic gloves minced

marinate fish for 10 minutes then poach in sauce.

saute onions and garlic in sauce pan, add other ingredients
heat and mix in with fettuccine
serves four
I generally allow 100g of pasta per person for a hungry crew

Two days later after numerous rounds of sushi Dorothy tried her hand at "Poisson Cru"

Poisson Cru
Tahitian Marinated Fish

2 lbs fresh fish - Cut fish into strips or small bite size pieces.
Fresh Limes or Lemons - Squeeze enough juice to cover fish and marinate for an
hour or more until the fish turns white. (Do not marinate longer or it will be tough)
Add 1 Cup Coconut Milk
The Add - Salt, pepper, crushed garlic, grated ginger, dash of Tabasco, chopped tomatoes,
grated carrots, chopped onions, and any other vegetable that you think might go well.
Serve chilled on a bed of shredded salad greens.

Not to let a good herb go to waste, I minced another three cups of basil leaves placing them in a jar and covering them with olive oil. This will keep for a month in the fridge and can be used again for pesto, Greek salad, egg dishes or dressings.

Arriving into Tahiti we caught Mr Big and 2 hours later Mrs Big. So now after a passage of no fish we'd landed two 25lb Wahoo. Carolyn went to work instantly producing gourmet sushi and that night a delightful "Mustard Marinade"

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