QUICK TRIP TO TOLEDO
Good morning from the Atlantic Huron. It's Thursday morning, and we were leaving Toledo with a load of coal. I was excited to find out we had a trip to Toledo, Ohio because Lorraine (my sister, best friend, and publisher) and I will be in Toledo, Ohio, for an event (talk, book signing, and meet and greet) on September 11 at the National Museum of The Great Lakes. We look forward to it. I was slightly disappointed when I woke up, heard the engines, and felt the ship moving. We were already on our way to Sault St Marie with this load of coal. I had wanted to go out to take pictures of the Toledo loading dock. I don't get there very often, and I thought the long line of train cars filled with coal that went as far as the eye could see would make a great photo. We arrived in Toledo Wednesday just before supper. I was a little tired at the end of my day and reasoned with myself that I could come out and take pictures and perhaps a little video in the morning. I am more creative in the morning. I saw the setting sun on our port side and thought the rising sun the following morning on our starboard side would make a great backdrop. I never imagined we would already be on our way. I remind myself I am where I am meant to be. I went to get my morning coffee and realized in my galley estimate that we would be able to enjoy a trip through the river during the daylight hours, and if it was not during meal service, I could come out and wave at the Marine City and Port Huron webcams.
This is my only photo from our time in Toledo. We were not there long. Lorraine and I will be back September 11th for a talk, book signing meet and greet. I will update the details soon.
When we left Superior earlier in the week, I calculated that if we didn't have any delays in the Soo, I would miss the opportunity to wave to you on the webcams and glide peacefully through the rivers in the dark on our way to Nanticoke. (My favorite part of my sailing trips is looking out my porthole as we transit all the rivers, Welland Canal and St Lawrence Seaway.) I jokingly mentioned to the Captain at supper shortly after we left Superior on the 16th, "It would be ok if we lost a little time so we didn't get into Nanticoke so late and receive the groceries when I should be sleeping." He smiled at how silly my request was and moved along with his tray of food. On Monday, the 19th , I heard that the time to receive the groceries had changed and not for the better, they were originally scheduled for 22h00 but they were now coming at 02h00 and I know that I will have to get up an hour before that because my ankle (with the two broken screws in it) needs some time to wake and limber up. I am an eternal optimist and believed that we are not there yet and perhaps the timing will be in my favor...A girl can dream. I went to bed early Monday night, anticipating getting up in the middle of the night to receive the groceries. I set my alarm for 01h00. The watchman usually knocks on the door with a quick "groceries are here," but I needed extra time for my ankle. The 01h00 alarm woke me from a dead sleep, but I instantly tuned in to the silence...we were not unloading; could I be that lucky that we had to anchor? I opened marinetraffic and checked our location. The words Port Dover Anchorage sprang out from my phone. I tried to contain my joy that I would not have to get up for groceries. I didn't want to be so excited that I couldn't get back to sleep. How lucky am I? Later that morning, when my alarm rang, I went out to get my coffee just as the engines turned over with the one-hour notice to make our way to the dock. The timing was perfect! The groceries were rescheduled and came at lunchtime, but I was not complaining. There were lots of deck crew and in no time the groceries were stored in their proper place.
Sitting at anchor 06h00 wondering when we would go into Nanticoke and receive our groceries.
This is joy hearing the engines warm up so we can make our way into Nanticoke during the day.
This is us on our way to pick up our $13,000 grocery order, and of course unload the iron ore from Superior.
We left Nanticoke as I was going to bed on Tuesday. I will share the meals that I have made over the past few days. I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to make a little video for you of our morning trip up through the Soo Lock, but I forgot to set aside some time to fill out the customs papers for Lorraine. She is mailing books every day this week. Each night she sends me a list of books and I fill out the customs papers itemizing each book. I am the computer person in our partnership, and I am happy to do it. It's fun delivering a book that people have been waiting for and I feel like I am a part of this fun task if I at least fill out the paperwork. I am very grateful that we have Starlink, which is making this internet-dependent task much easier. I will share this little video I made in the meantime. "Time to make lunch"
One of the last meals I shared with you was Chinese food. I had some sweet and sour pork left over and decided to transform it into a delicious lunch item. I mentioned that I get many requests for individual recipes so I am starting to photograph the steps/ingredients as I make my meals. I especially want to show how easy it is to make something entirely new using leftovers. Food is too expensive to waste, and I often like the leftover recipes more than the original meal. The pork-filled buns were a huge success. I made them for the first time on the Spruceglen and as I was making them I sent a message to the Captain from the Spruceglen. He really liked when I served them for the first time and I always think of him when I make them now. I love when food has a memory attached. For supper, I made something that I don't make often. Chicken fried steak. I giggled when I explained multiple times to the crew that it's not chicken it's steak, it's just called chicken fried steak. I appreciate when the crew try something they are not familiar with. It went over well and the few pieces that I left out after supper were gone before long.
I am often asked how I get my buns so uniform in size. It's practice. I eyeball them. This is how I filled the pork buns. I served them with a sweet BBQ sauce. These are easier than you think and I used pizza dough which I took from the freezer the night before and left on the counter. By morning it was perfect to use and fast.
I served the pork filled buns and BBQ sauce with deep fried home fries and garlic mayo.
The chicken-fried-steak which I served with the traditional white sauce. I served it with boiled potatoes, pesto pasta, or rice and yellow beans.
The second cook on the Huron is very nice to work with. I worked with him last year. I noticed right away when I joined this time that he had lost a considerable amount of weight. He explained how he did it, and I mentioned that it pretty much follows the recipes in my new book. When I make something from the new book I always offer him to try it. He especially liked the cauliflower thins. They are easy to make and fun to eat. I took a few head of cauliflower and riced them in my food processor and portioned them for easy use. It is really easy to make simple changes to the foods that I am preparing for the crew. Friday I made hamburgers/cheeseburgers for lunch and he had chicken on his cauliflower thins. For supper it was fish and chips. Half the crew ask for baked fish instead of deep fried. I like mine dredged in almond flour or deep fried in my almond flour batter (the recipe is in the new book.) Saturday was pizza day and the second choice was a tuna sandwich. For the second cook and myself, I put the tuna on the cauliflower thins that I had made the day before. The sandwich went great with the goulash soup.
I made this chicken sandwich on the cauliflower thins for a crew member who avoids eating red meat. He came back and said he really liked the cauliflower thins and gave it a thumbs up.
Both the second cook and I had a tuna sandwich on the cauliflower thins. The first time I had cauliflower thins was from the freezer section in the grocery store. I bought the Outer Aisle Brand. I knew right away that I wanted to try and recreate my own because I don't have access when I am on the ship. I am happy with this recipe and it is very fast and easy to make.
I always think of my mom when I make this soup. She didn't actually make this soup, but it makes me think of her.
Friday is fish and chips in my galley. Half the crew have baked fish and the other like it deep fried. I found these nice thin fries in the freezer. They made a nice plate.
This is the photo that I used in the new book beside the Deep Fried Fish made with almond flour recipe. I don't have any almond flour left onboard so I couldn't make my batter for the second cook and myself, but I told him how good it was and thought he would like how crispy it comes out.
Sunday was cinnamon bun Sunday. We didn't have any cream cheese left to make the frosting, so I used the mascarpone cheese that I found in the fridge. For my Sunday brunch, I defrosted three smoked salmon sleeves. I had a little of the bearnaise sauce leftover from the previous steak night (I shared those photos with you already). I also had two loaves of bread that I left in the oven too long. I want to share with you that I also have cooking mishaps, but whenever possible try to save it. The bread was too dark on top, so I just cut the top off the bread and used the slices to make smoked salmon toast with bearnaise. My second choice was smoked salmon pasta. Several crew members asked for the combo: Salmon toast and salmon pasta. It made a nice plate. I made a little cauliflower gnocchi with salmon for myself. I can't wait for Lorraine to try it. I think she will like it. For those who don't like smoked salmon, I made an Italian frittata. Sunday supper was baked ham with pineapple sauce, corn, and scalloped potatoes.
The mascarpone cheese frosting was missing the cream cheese flavor, but it looked good.
The salmon toasts on the the homemade bread turned out really well. I wish I had capers to add.
I was glad that I didn't throw away my homemade bread that I left in the oven too long. I cut off the overbaked top part and it made a perfect base for the salmon toast with bearnaise sauce.
I used a cauliflower thin cut in half for my version of the salmon toast. I ate it after I took this photo and it was delicious.
Several of the crew asked for the combo plate. The pasta with smoked salmon cream sauce and the salmon toast.
The Italian frittata for those who don't like smoked salmon.
I'm working on a cauliflower gnocchi. This is my third attempt. I have to say, I think I am getting close. This bite was delicious. I liked the texture of the cauliflower gnocchi.
One of these days I am going to have to take note of my pineapple mustard sauce. The crew often come back and say how good it is. It is always a little different because I just kind of add a little of this and little of that, but I think I need to actually take note. I liked how it came out using grainy mustard. They don't have regular Dijon mustard here but sometimes it's nice to be forced to use something else.
Monday the 19th was a bouncy day, I made Italian sausages on homemade buns with peppers and the second choice was pasta with homemade tomato sauce. For supper I took out fried chicken from the freezer. It comes pre-cooked, and you just have to heat and serve. At the time I thought we were getting groceries throughout the night and I wanted to make something that was an easy clean up so that I could go to bed early. I don't usually like processed food but this chicken passed my taste test. It was tasty and after spending 40 minutes in the convection oven came out crispy. My second choice was my now famous beet-meat shepherd's pie. One crew member asked to try it. When he came back with his empty plate I asked if he liked it. I specifically asked if he liked the topping, and he said, yes, I liked the potato topping. I answered it's not potato, it's cauliflower. I wish I had taken a video of his reaction. He did not believe it was cauliflower. The second cook chimed in and said the same; he thought it was potato too. I see a mini e-cookbook in my future titled...Really? It's cauliflower? It tastes so good!
It was a bouncy day on Lake Erie. I have some great video and look forward to sharing with you what I am referring to when I say bouncy.
I wish I had a video of the surprise on the crew members face when he brought back his empty plate. I asked if he liked the cauliflower topping, he could not believe it was cauliflower and was sure it was potato. He is not the first to think that.
Groceries were delivered Tuesday while I was serving lunch. I made Dahl soup, Asian Beef and noodles, and my mom's ham salad. When the groceries came in, I saw the familiar box of salmon. They sometimes send it fresh and this was one of those times so I set it aside and decided to use it for supper that same day. I also got a case of beautiful eggplant. I had a lot of Italian sausages left from the previous day and decided to make stuffed eggplant. I got some beautiful baby kale in the order and sauteed that with onions and peppers to add to the broken-down sausage. It was so delicious. While I was preparing the meal, one crew member looked at the eggplant I was about to cut and asked "What is that" (I am paraphrasing) I explained it was an eggplant, he continued on saying he had never heard of or seen that before. I said I will give you some to try at supper. It turned out he loved it and asked for a second one to eat later.
The Dahl soup always goes well.
The stuffed eggplant was a success. I had mine without and the cheese and it was so good that I kept an extra piece to enjoy the next day. It went really well with a side of cauliflower rice. I can't wait to make if for Lorraine, she is going to love it.
Wednesday was fun walking into a full fridge! The fresh kale inspired me, and after making my dough for sub buns, I made my Tuscan soup. My food memory from the Tuscan soup is how much the staff loved it when I had my restaurant. It was one of their favorites. The crew likes it now and there was none left at the end of the day. I made macaroni and cheese to go with the sub sandwiches. I prefer to make my mac and cheese with fusilli noodles instead of the traditional macaroni. I like how the cheese sauce hangs in the little curls of the noodles. I made meatloaf with mashed potatoes, gravy, and fresh corn on the cob for supper. My second choice was shrimp. Most everyone asked for the combo plate and I happily obliged.
The Tuscan soup was a favorite from my staff when we had the restaurant for 24 years. It is now a crew favorite.
A sub sandwich is always better on homemade buns. I like to make my mac and cheese with fusilli noodles.
This was one of the last plates I was fixing for a crew member and I asked if I could take a photo before I handed it over. He said "Give me your phone, I will take a picture of you with my supper." He had the combo plate, meatloaf, gravy, mashed potatoes, fresh corn on the cob and shrimp with garlic butter.
It's getting close to my cut-off time to get ready for work. I really enjoy writing to you and sharing my meals and the highlights of my days. I would love to write more often. It took me a few days to write this and I already have more photos from our trip to the Soo and the meals I made on our way there. I also have some fun video to share of me waving to you at the Soo Webcam. I was in touch with the person operating the webcam and they helped me with the best place to wave to you. I will share that with you in a few days. Thank you to everyone who is sending comments and photos of you with your new book. It is always fun to see that they have arrived. Lorraine and I said yesterday we wish we could deliver them in person. Have a wonderful day.
Lorraine has been busy mailing out books in Canada and the US. The customs agent recognized her and commented that he has seen her every day this week.
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