48 N. Magazine - Galley Essential feature
I had the pleasure of meeting Amanda Swan Neal at the Pacific Sail & Powerboat Show in 2019. She and her partner have been sailing the world and teaching other’s the “ropes” aboard their Hallberg Rassy 46 Mahina Tiare III. They are both highly accomplished sailors, and huge role models for me. Amanda is also an author and chef, her cookbook The Essential Galley Companion has provided me with much wisdom regarding cooking aboard, preserving food, and pro tips from a Galley Queen!
She interviewed my for her monthly galley column in 48 North magazine (October 2019 issue), you can read the article here and read further for the entire interview with links to my featured recipes.
Age: Quincey - 30 Mitchell - 31 Panadcat - 7 (Immortal in cat years)
Occupation: Q - Nutritionist, M - Professional Captain and Sailing Instructor. We also run adventure sailing charters aboard our vessel, Esprit.
Nationality and yacht home port: US Flagged, home port Park City UT
Boat name: Esprit
What does the boat name mean? Lively and spirited
Design and year built: Kelly Peterson 46 - 1990 Hull #30
What are your sailing plans? World cruising and leading adventure sailing trips for guests to enjoy the magic and learn more about sailing and cruising! We’re starting off from San Francisco Bay and plan to sail to Southern California and the Channel Islands before moving on into Mexico. After that, will it be Hawaii and then Alaska, French Polynesia, or back though the Panama Canal to the Caribbean?!
How long have you been sailing? Q - almost 10 years M- my whole life
How did you learn to sail? Mitch leaned from his father on small boat on lakes growing up, and Quincey on big boats in the Caribbean when she met Mitch.
What attracted you to sailing? It is still very romantic, the sailing lifestyle. You can get lost in it and leave the cares of shore behind you for a little while. It’s challenging, physically, mentally, sometimes emotionally. We enjoy the freedom it gives us as live-aboard to explore the world with our tiny home.
Describe your personality: Quincey has a very gentle, friendly nature. She has the itch for adventure, and loves seeking new thrills. Mitchell is friendly, outgoing, and determined. He is very level-headed, especially in scary or intense situations, which makes him a great captain and instructor.
Do you get seasick? Quincey has only felt queasy aboard a boat once! She can whip up fantastic meals for the crew down below while underway and not feel the slightest bit affected. Mitchell, even with his many miles offshore, can still get seasick. It’s usually triggered by smells (diesel exhaust is the worst) or by motoring through rough seas.
What do you take for seasickness? We have found several holistic, natural remedies that work very well. Taking high dose Vitamin C, avoiding alcohol, fried foods, and coffee for a few days before passage helps prevent seasickness. Ginger tea and candy chews have been effective, and an herbal mouth spray called “Not Now Nausea” by HerbPharm provides the quickest relief.
What is your galley layout? Our Kelly Peterson 46 has a spacious U-shaped galley to port of the companionway, with loads of counter top space and pantry storage. We have a 3-burner Princess stove/oven that works great (not so much for baking bread though!). Originally, we had separate fridge and freezer units, but we are in the process of simplifying the systems on board and becoming more energy efficient. We converted the freezer to be the new fridge, as it is the largest and most insulated space, with an Isotherm water cooled fridge unit. The old fridge space now functions as a cooler, the we can load up with ice when needed, or use as dry food storage.
What are your galley priorities? Countertop space! We love cooking and entertaining, which requires various levels of food mis en place and serving. We also value the U-shaped galley for its comfort and safety, you can really wedge yourself in there while underway and not fear being thrown across the boat in large seas.
If you were to change one thing in your galley what would it be? Replace the stove with a 3-burner Dickenson Mediterranean range. We installed one on our last boat and it was a dream to cook on and bake in! The broiler function was excellent, and you could fit a full-sized cookie sheet!
What is your one must have galley item? A plastic pastry cutter. We use it with every meal as a way to scoop up food from the cutting board (a trick Q learned from her cooking classes). It’s is also handy for quick clean up and drying of the cutting board by scraping the food debris and water off the board.
What food concerns did you have on a sailboat/at sea? Keeping enough fresh food on board, we eat a lot of vegetables. We are trying out new ways of preserving fresh food for passages, like canning and fermenting.
What special provisioning have you done for passages? We like to prep lots of quick bites and snacks, so that the crew can easily have something on hand to eat when they get hungry. Our savory rice cakes were inspired by Mitch’s long distance bike races. This requires making coconut sticky rice in the pressure cooker or rice cooker, and layering in a casserole dish with spiced shredded chicken and finely chopped veggies, then cut into squares. They are easy to eat on the go, filling, and way better for you than sugary protein bars. On that note, we also make our own protein bars using dates and nuts as the base (see recipes)
Do you can food or make preserves? We are newbies to canning, but often ferment foods like saurkraut, kimchi, and kombucha.
Who does the cooking/cleaning/provisioning? Usually Quincey, who has the most experience with meal planning and spends her spare time perusing cookbooks for more ideas. Quincey loves grocery shopping! Mitch, not so much. Mitch is very creative in the galley, and a breakfast pro! He makes the best eggs and potato breakfast, and he is our own personal barista. We take turns cleaning up from meals, or usually have one person wash and the other dry/stow.
What is your comfort food? For Mitch, it’s anything with a good salty crunch! He is a sucker for chips. Quincey loves sweet things, and is very apt at healthify-ing dessert recipes. She has many Paleo, low-sugar versions of classic favorites, like chocolate chip cookies, that feel indulgent but less sinful :)
What is your favorite food at sea? Hearty soups are great, since they are easy to throw all ingredients into the pressure cooker. Plus, soup is healing and comforting food for the crew, and easy to digest if anyone is feeling seasick.
What is your favorite at sea recipe – Anything that can be enjoyed from a bowl! We really enjoy the Umami Bowl (see recipes); the components can be made ahead of time, like the buckwheat, vegetables, and boiled eggs, and can be assembled quickly at meal time.
What is your favorite in port recipe – Persian Breakfast platter (see recipe). It’s such a lovely lazy-morning meal to share with friends over coffee, in a beautiful anchorage.
What inspires you when you create meals onboard? We’re inspired by the local foods and flavors or wherever we happen to be in the world. We have also been recently inspired by the book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat. Her advice is to get familiar with these four basic elements of good cooking and their sources, so that you can freely create delicious food without recipes and with whatever ingredients you happen to have.
Has your diet and the food you eat changed throughout your sailing adventures? Yes, we certainly eat more simple meals, since we don’t have a giant kitchen that can store all sorts of food and spices. Even before moving onto the boat full time, we have eaten mostly plant-based and vegetarian meals. This way is in line with our environmental and health values, and it’s easier to store foods like dried lentils and beans on board rather than requiring lots of energy to freeze meats.
What your worst or funniest galley/food/ shopping incident? We used to store our beautiful ceramic pie dish in the oven, and part of prepping for getting underway was to latch the oven door closed. Once, while on a hard port tack sailing upwind in San Francisco Bay, we heard this terrible crash and both knew exactly what had happened. Our beautiful pie dish had flown out of the oven smashed into the companion way steps, shattering into a hundred pieces! Luckily, the oven door wasn’t damaged, but we had a few new dings in the teak sole.
What is one of the most memorable meals of your sailing travels? When we were delivering Esprit from Panama back home to Berkeley, CA, the roughest part of the trip was getting around Point Conception, north of Santa Barbara. It was rough seas, and we were down a crew member who had to disembark in San Diego. We were all exhausted, grumpy, and ready to be home. The last thing I wanted to do was cook something, but I knew a warm meal would seriously improve morale. I whipped together a quick soup with onions, carrots, spinach, canned beans, and canned tomato and spiced it up with thyme and garlic. It was so simple and savory, and the crew all agreed it was the best part of that 60 hour passage.
What is your favorite cookbook? The Tiny Mess cookbook (by Trevor and Maddie Gordon, and Mary Gonzales) which features all sorts of people living in tiny-home and unique dwellings. It’s a really neat concept, with beautiful photos and delicious recipes! We may be a little bit biased, since we’re in it :)
That and Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat.
What local specialty foods have you made aboard? Living in San Francisco Bay, the seafood is really fresh and delicious. When in season, we like to get fresh mussels from Berkeley Bowl Market and make Tom Kha Mussels with black rice (see recipe). This is a great meal for utilizing the pressure cooker and sharing with friends over a celebratory meal.
What advice or wisdom can you give? Play around with spices! And try to find the freshest spices. The right spice or herbs can make even the simplest meal taste spectacular. Our favorite of the moment is Za’atar, a spice made from dried thyme, marjoram, and sesame seeds. It’s great on any kind of vegetable or meat, or accompanying the Persian Breakfast Platter (see recipe)
Have you recently added anything new to your galley or what’s on your to buy list? Our recent addition is a cast iron dutch oven, it took a bit of creativity to find a safe place to stow such a large and heavy item, but it’s worth it for the yummy stews and roasts we can make in it!