Good Sunday morning. It is my first Sunday off of the ship and I thought I would take this opportunity to say hello and to share photos from my last days on board and departure day from the Spruceglen. I am sitting here sipping coffee taking in the beautiful perfume of the Hyacinth which is sitting beside my laptop and which I could not leave behind in the store on Thursday. The simple pleasures of life ashore. Last Sunday at this time I would have just finished serving breakfast to my dwindling crew (we were down to 5, plus me) The rules are: no chief cook required when there are less than 5 crew onboard. I was scheduled to get off the ship on the 16th with another crew member. The remaining 4 crew members who were still doing winter maintenance in the engine room would then fend for themselves. I was not worried for them because a few of them enjoy cooking.

My view today. I wish you could smell the beautiful Hyacinth.

Saturday night I cooked steaks that one crew member had asked if he could prepare them in his special marinade. When he asked I accepted his offer right away. Lay-up is more relaxed and offers these occasions that don't present themselves when the ship is operating and everyone is busy. One night after he finished working, he came down to the galley, I had left out my knife and cutting board and the next day I came into the galley and saw the marinating steaks. We cut the steaks ourselves from a slab and I asked what he did with the balance of the steaks. He said there was none left. After overcoming my disbelief that the small container of marinating steaks was all that was left, we broke into laughter. He said he cut them thicker than I do, of course he was preparing 10 steaks and I usually prepare 20. The steaks marinated for three days and I have to say they were delicious. I shared with him that with a full crew I don't marinate or add extra seasonings because not everyone likes their steak with a sweet asian marinade, but I thought his steaks were really delicious. He was pleased because he said I cooked his steak to a perfect medium rare. One Crew member doesn't eat steak so I made baked salmon. I had baked salmon the night before instead of the usual deep fried fish and chips because my dwindling crew preferred baked over fried. The salmon comes in big fillets and there are three frozen together in a box so I had to defrost all three. I already planned what I would do with all the cooked salmon and Saturday night for my non-steak eating crew member was one use. I also planned to make salmon salad sandwiches for Saturday's lunch. Making the salmon salad sandwich with these fillets is far superior to making salmon from a can. I knew this would be a popular choice but wanted to make it even better so I made homemade pita bread. A little steam escaped as I sliced open the warm puffy breads. It was a real treat as I filled each pita bread to capacity with salmon salad before handing them over. As a second choice I had wanted to make my famous cauliflower falafels. I had been talking to one crew member about them and I didn't have many days left before leaving so the little falafel patties finally made their way into the pita bread and onto my menu last Saturday accompanied by a garlicky-garlic mayonnaise. Usually Sunday's onboard are cinnamon bun Sundays but because the crew member leaving on the Friday before loved cinnamon buns I made them on Friday. For Sunday's lunch I made cheddar broccoli soup (always a popular soup) and grilled cheese sandwiches. I made a beautiful salmon pie with bearnaise sauce, The night before I had served the salmon with egg sauce and didn't want to make the same for my salmon pie so I made a bearnaise sauce. I had a piece and was so disappointed that nobody ordered the salmon pie. When the one crew member returned his empty plate, where what seemed like just a few moments prior I stacked a grilled cheese sandwich I mentioned that I was surprised he didn't ask for the salmon pie. He replied he didn't see it on the menu. This often happens, they see the prepared plate of the person already sitting at the table and say "I'll have the same" He said right away, I'll have the salmon pie with the sauce too.

The homemade pita bread was the perfect envelope for the salmon salad sandwich

The first time I made pita bread I imagined my mom magically blowing the little rounds full of air. I always think of my mom when I make pita.

The little falafel patties ready for the oven

This was a small piece of the salmon pie with bearnaise sauce. I tired a little and thought it was delicious. Only one person had a piece, the rest opted for the grilled cheese.

roasted curried cauliflower with broccoli cheddar soup and grilled cheese

I believe this will be in the next book. I will see if Lorraine likes it as much as I did.

I wanted to make a nice Sunday supper and decided on Turkey dinner. Everyone's favorite and it would give me leftover Turkey for Monday, my last full day on board. I made homemade cranberry sauce which went very well. I emulsified mine a little so I had to convince them that yes, it was homemade. I made it with maple syrup instead of sugar and it was delicious. I made dressing, mashed potatoes (I can count the remaining potatoes with one hand) and made a delicious gravy to pour over everything. Of course I had opportunities to start packing Sunday night but I am a last minute packer and in my mind had lots of time to pack. I also knew that Monday's meals would be easy to prepare and allow me some extra time to organize my things or at least that's what I told myself, knowing I probably would still wait until Tuesday. Usually when I make soup from scratch, I boil the bones of whatever protein I have, put it in the fridge overnight and skim off the congealed fat. I didn't have the time to do that with my turkey bones from Sunday's supper so I put the pot on 06h00 filling my big pot to the brim because I wanted to make enough soup for Monday and for Tuesday. It's nice having a big walk-in fridge so I boiled the turkey bones sending the smell of turkey throughout the vessel. I strained the turkey bones and set it in the fridge for an hour before putting the pot back on the stove and adding the larger dice onions, carrots and celery. I like the larger vegetable pieces for turkey soup. There is never very much fat from the turkey bones, but I still wanted to try and skim whatever fat rose to the top. Once the vegetables were cooked I added the egg noodles. I always add too many noodles. For lunch I offered a turkey clubhouse sandwich and a poutine. I had lots of turkey gravy leftover and it melted the curd cheese to the hot crispy fries. Monday night, I finished my three week job with a crew favorite: butter chicken (well it was turkey, but somehow, butter turkey doesn't sound as inviting) One crew member asked to make the dessert and I happily agreed. I made a video and will share it soon but I have a picture to share with you today. He made the best creme brulee I have ever had. It was beyond delicious in flavor and texture. It was the perfect way to end my last full day.

It was the most delicious and velvety texture! The best creme brulee I ever had.

I had schlepped a large bag of almond flour on board and decided I should make my delicious almond cookies before I left. They will be in the next book and everyone that I share them with says how good they are and how filling. I always say it’s like eating a handful of nuts.

A candidate for next years 2025 porthole calendar

It was such a beautiful evening. Usually when we are underway, the snow blows off but being at the dock offered this photo op.

The best way to finish my stay on a ship…butter chicken (turkey) and homemade Naan bread

Last dessert was my mom’s pie filling cake. If I was here full time I would make sure to have some baking pans. The edges come out a little dark when I use a stainless steel steamtable insert to bake cakes in.

As is the norm for me I left all my packing for the last minute. The dinosaur of a stove on the Spruceglen is going to be replaced this winter so I did not clean it is usually a part of my clean-up. I cleaned the fridge and freezer and was put in charge of turning the freezer back on when I was finished organizing it. Turning the freezer off when cleaning makes it so much easier. I'm a winter girl but working in the freezer is really cold. The switch to turn back on the freezer was located inside the door beside the cold room door. I was always curious knowing that what lies behind the door houses the secret world of machinery and mystery...the engine room. As I made my way over to the freezer "on switch" I took a peek down the stairs with wonder and curiosity. I look forward to Mitchell Mouse exploring the engine room one day. The weather has been snowy for days but Tuesday, (my favorite day of the week) and departure day offered a beautiful sun filled day. It makes departing so much easier. I started my Tuesday morning making my last breakfast for my little crew. After cleaning up breakfast for the last time, I moved all my personal items over to one side of the galley. I cleaned and packed my kitchen items until 14h00. My room is one deck above the galley and it is also the deck where the basket is so each time I went upstairs, I took some of my items with me up the steep stairs until all my personal items were in one place. I then started to pack. Since I wasn't flying I was able to put some of the more fragile items in a separate bag and was happy I didn't have to jam them into my suitcase. The ship keeper operated the crane to lower my luggage to the car and another kind crew member walked me down the deck to make sure I didn't slip. I appreciated the gesture because walking on the deck with snow is much different then going down a clean deck. I was extra careful going down the gangway and took an inward sigh of relief when I stepped on solid ground. I was also happy that my trip down the deck and gangway was a one way trip. Another job completed. I mentioned that I was working on a video with the highlights of my 2023 shipping season. It's so nice having the high speed internet and I find myself working on the next book and the video. So far we have two events in February planned and I will post them in the next few days. We are just confirming the details. One will be in Ashtabula, Ohio and one will be in Massena, New York. The events are always so much fun and we always look forward to meeting people. We will have books available at both events and will be happy to sign your books if you come by. Here is an article that appeared in the Maritime Magazine recently. I enjoyed speaking with the journalist and you can read the article, just click on the following link https://maritimemag.com/magazine-111/#magazine-111/78/

Have a wonderful Sunday.