This year is another one of those milestones for me…it adds up to 720 moons for me throw in a blue moon or two…I look back at the roads I have taken to get here and I swear if someone had said 40 years ago I would be here and now I would have asked "and what drug are you doing?…" but nonetheless here I am…cooking my way through the “Middle Passage” honoring those that came before… a thought comes to mind that the Godmother of my daughter once told me after I had made the worst Jambalaya  (and I thought I was so good) she thanked me for all of my hard work and then preceded to explain what I had done wrong…Belle said “perfect your cooking and it came take you places you could never image” thanks Belle….

So how did Dani come to be on Freedom Schooner Amistad??? Eliza Garfield…it all began in Hawaii when we worked on Tole Mour together…(and that is another story)…and I had my doubts, because sometimes I don’t play well with others…. but as I gave it more thought how could I pass this opportunity up…the mission was one I could contribute to and feel great about not to mention the adventure of sailing to different ports…while doing what I loved …cooking…the challenge can be the moving platform on which I work…you know I love the food channel but I would love to see some of the chefs hang with me in my galley…it can be a balancing act…cooking at an angle…catching things as they fly by you and sometimes being propelled out of the galley stirring a pot on your way out the door…then there is “Madame Pele” she who must be obeyed (my diesel stove) if you have never cooked on one it is a feat unto itself…she has to be warmed up at least 45 minutes to an hour before cooking can begin…pull a lever to heat the oven and the whole top evenly…and it can get pretty toasty in the galley on a warm day…my refrigeration is a top loading stack things in…and the freezer which is a new addition are wonderful…for two years I didn’t have a freezer and there were three large coolers that worked over time…I cook 3 meals a day for 15 to 22 people…usually I make fresh bread of some kind daily sometimes twice a day…cakes, cookies, other specialties there’re the different dietary needs of the crew…but you know what I love every minute…(even when I am having a “black lady fit”…and then there is provisioning…now being in different countries has been an education…I found some of the most amazing and not over processed fruits and vegetables in the UK and the cheeses…how wonderful…the open markets in Freetown…and then Cape Verde… markets, and the cheese….buying fresh fish right from the small fishing boats…and did I mention the cheese….so when I go provisioning it is a full on production…I usually end up with 5 to 6 trolleys (shopping carts)… I really can’t explain my system…it is something I feel…it is the same way with preparing meals…I usually come up with a plan as I am waking up…so I am excited to see what shopping in Barbados has in store…well, its time to see if I can coax “Mickey” out of the rigging but “Fogo” keeps chasing him up there…or maybe I will just sit here under the coconut tree that is growing out of the deck and contemplate the next meal….

By the way, doesn’t anyone know how to get in touch with “Paula Deen”? I would love to be a guest on her cooking show….she is my favorite….

Happy spring solstice,
 
This week’s menus so far

Monday, 17 March: St. Paddy’s Day Erin go Baugh ham and cheese omelets, bread, jam, cereal

lunch-burgers, homemade buns, fries, cheese, salad, ice tea

dinner Roast beast, sautéed cabbage, mixed veggies, rice, irish soda bread, ice tea.

Tuesday: breakfast- banana pancakes, cereal, milk juice

lunch- tuna sands, cabbage and veggies, brie, cream cheese, bread, crackers, ice tea

dinner-pasta, meat sauce, veggie sauce, sautéed zucchini, sautéed mushrooms, homemade bread and garlic butter

Wednesday: breakfast cheese frittata, chorizo, oatmeal biscuits, jams, cereal

lunch-ginger beef, fried rice, Creole chix, ice tea

dinner- whole roasted chicken, stuffing, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, cranberry sauce ice tea

Thursday: breakfast- fruit coffee cake, cereal, juice milk

lunch-chicken veggie, stuffing, noodle casserole, cole slaw, ice tea

dinner- fried pork chops, baked beans, pear chutney, corn, cauliflower, pea sautéed, homemade bread, ice tea

Friday, 21 March, Good Friday, Spring Solstice- breakfast-bulls eyes, big bacon, cereal, juice, milk-

lunch-dani’s falafels, couscous, tapenade, hummus, shrimp empanadas, homemade chapattis, chutney, ice tea

dinner-marinated baked mystery fish, coconut rice, broccoli, homemade bread, ice tea

Me ke aloha to all my nuggets, friends, hau’oli la hanau to my big sis, Marie, and SGI Ohana…Looking forward to connecting with SGI in Barbados…keep an eye out for the low black schooner….


Ashay
Ancestor in training
Chef dani

 

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