Baking Aboard

John - your bread solutions sound good, but I don't do the food prep. That is why I got married and I couldn't have made a better choice. When it comes to cooking/meal preparation, Terri is an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10: However I never tell her that because I don't want it to go to her head. When she asks me to rate a dish, I never give her a 10 regardless how good it is. If she got a ten, that means nothing could be better and I want her to always try to do better.
 
oldgrowth":qjmgrksg said:
John - When she asks me to rate a dish, I never give her a 10 regardless how good it is. If she got a ten, that means nothing could be better and I want her to always try to do better.
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Just as I thought, a real "HARD NOSE" at heart!

Joe.
 
Sea Wolf":jo0k6h3c said:
Just as I thought, a real "HARD NOSE" at heart!

Joe.
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Nah, Joe. I've seen Dave and Terri together... he couldn't be more complimentary. Like most of the C-Brat couples I've met, the guys are fortunate that the ladies even let them hang around. :wink

Here's a solution to fresh baked stuff that we've been using onboard: not to sound like an infomercial, but the GT X-Press has been a great addition to our cooking. It is an electric grill, much like the sandwich makers that were popular about 10 years ago. The wells are deeper, though. We have made single-serving cakes (two at the same time, one angelfood, one devil's food), cinnamon rolls, biscuits with eggs, brownies, cookies, grilled sandwiches, tortilla pizzas. It only takes a few moments for it to heat up, and doesn't warm up the cabin like the Wallas.

And, yes, I did see this thing on a middle of the night infomercial months ago while not being able to sleep... thinking about our C-Dory. Joan saw an appliance almost identical at Walgreens, that they called an "omelett maker" - $9.99.

It's been good for us for some variety, YMMV.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
JamesTXSD":fnfvfuqj said:
Sea Wolf":fnfvfuqj said:
Just as I thought, a real "HARD NOSE" at heart!

Joe.
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Nah, Joe. I've seen Dave and Terri together... he couldn't be more complimentary. Like most of the C-Brat couples I've met, the guys are fortunate that the ladies even let them hang around. :wink
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Jim - I have spent a year tring to make everyone here think I am a "HARD NOSE" and you ruin it in one post. :wink :wink
 
Dave and rest on the galley:
Thought we were talking food here, turns out we are involved in nose contest, be it hard or soft... I don't do too much prep either, the machine does it. Creativity comes inn by what you decide to throw in with the rest of the dough ingredients; that’s! were genius comes in.
Curious thing about bread, though, you can put just about anything in it and you most probably will not taste it once it's done. I eve did sauerkraut once and the tasters did not identify it. You can put avocado in it, for example, and you will not taste it, but it does give the bread an extraordinary smoothness. So why put it in? Same reason you go fishing… fun! and nourishment.
Rest of the stuff I add you would not know, like "pixbae" or "nance;" tropical things, but you could look them up in the Internet.
John
 
OK, you guys convinced me, went to the net looking for a GT X-Press...MOST places reported out of stock. One place was offering it for $40 + $15 S/H PLUS a second one for only the $15 S/H, so we are going to have two for $70, if this was not a net rip off or something - anybody want to split the total and get one for $35?
 
Never thought of using a pressure cooker but I'll bet it will work great on the Wallas. Didn't even realize you could bake with one.

And I'm so impressed that you guys are baking! Serious brownie points, no pun intended.

The GT Xpress sounds interesting Pat, but don't you have to plug it in?
- Rene
 
primative":2ilrud7u said:
... And I'm so impressed that you guys are baking! Serious brownie points, no pun intended.

The GT Xpress sounds interesting Pat, but don't you have to plug it in?
- Rene
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Yes, you have to plug in the Xpress. Not a problem when hooked to shore power, and the Honda generator makes it easy when at anchor. I made omlettes this morning: 7 minutes, and I didn't have to fuss with it or even look at it 'till they were done. Spray it with Pam, heat it up (takes a minute or so), pour in the eggs and what ever else you want (cheese, ham, sausage), close the lid. Come back in 7 minutes. I am a lousy cook and I can't mess this up. I also put an English muffin in the bottom and top when I want "finger food." And the best part: the Blonde is impressed when I make breakfast! :thup

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
I think on the infomercial you get two of the little cookers for $39.95 if you call in the next 3 minutes. Like JamesTX, I found some similar items, sandwich cooker, waffle cooker, and omelet cooker at Alco and Target for $9.95.

The infomercial has some recipe ideas that are incredibly fast and delicious. I tried the Stove Top Wild Rice Stuffing mixed with Campbell's Garlic Mushroom soup. No water. Just mix the two together and put into the omelette cup thing about 5 minutes. Very good.

John
 
We have been using a "BakePacker" for years and love it! :thup

http://www.bakepacker.com/index.html

Betty Crocker has mixes available at the grocery store that are the perfect size for the BakePacker Ultra-Light we use. All you need to do is add water and mix in plastic bag. Way easy! The baked products do not have a crust, but there is nothing like a warm poppy seed, blueberry, triple berry treat for breakfast on the boat! :smilep

We will also buy the box mixes and cut them in half for the Ultra-Light model, subsituting powered egg and milk as required by the mix directions. This produces honey corn bread, ginger bread and a few other delights for dinner.

The Ultra-Light is the perfect size for three people or two very hunger people. I would not take Coho out without a few mixes aboard to use with our BakePacker.

Jim
 
December "PassageMaker" magazine has a very long article about using a small pressure cooker on board. Even has a recipe for barbequed ribs.

John
 
Here is the entry from the November / December PassageMaker table of contents:

Cooking Afloat...Under Pressure
Every boater has found that one thing that makes life under way easier, and part of the cruising lifestyle is sharing those secrets and experiences. Steve Ford's enthusiasm for cooking with a pressure cooker is contagious. Check out his techniques and wonderful recipes, and you'll be headed to the store to add a pressure cooker to your galley!
By Steve Ford
 
OK, not on the boat, but made Huevos Rancheros in the GT X-Press 101 for dinner tonight (Patty has been down with something bad four like four days, so on my own for food) - one word, AWESOME!!!!
 
Pat Anderson":3aqpba8n said:
OK, not on the boat, but made Huevos Rancheros in the GT X-Press 101 for dinner tonight (Patty has been down with something bad four like four days, so on my own for food) - one word, AWESOME!!!!
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Would I steer you wrong? 8) Since Patty hasn't been feeling well, I hope you made something for HER to eat, too. :wink:

Here's a clean-up tip if whatever you've cooked doesn't wipe right off: put a wet paper towel in the cooker before it cools and close it. Seems to make cleanup easier.

Those "pop open" cans of cinnamon rolls are easy to make, too, for breakfast.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Yes, they make great buttermilk bisquits from the fridge and also those refrigerator cookies work well. Just put a couple of the pre mixed cookies in each well. John
 
www.grilllovers.com/shopItemDetail.aspx?ItemID=7791097
$12.99

Stovetop_Oven.jpg



For 13 Bucks I think I am going to try this out. You could certainly bake other things in this than three potatoes I would think.
 
Well, David, that would certainly eliminate the need for 110volts... Great find. John
 
Back to Moose's original thought on the Air Bake pan system. Those are pretty neat in that you put everything in, heat up the closed, double walled pan/pot until the top thermometer registers the right color (red, green, yellow) for the thing you're cooking, then take the pan OFF the stovetop and place it in it's insulated travel case, and then go whereever you want while the food is continuing to cook for hours. This would help when you want to leave the anchorage, and don't want to wait around until the food is baked, cooked, whatever.

They are also kind of like an "on-the-go" crock pot. You just put all the stuff in, heat it up to red quickly, take it off the stove and put into the insulated carry case. You can cook bisquits and cakes in them also. That would eliminate the need for the 110 V hook-ups.

They would be good for chili on hunting trips, esp. duck hunting. People can open the pot, eat, and close it back up off and on for hours without outside heat. With my three active boys, it was hard to get everyone to eat at the same time, but the Air Bake keeps the food hot for hours, even on hunting/fishing trips.

John
 
There was a product called the "Turbo Cooker" which could cook fast and bake on top of the stove using a small amount of water in one pan with a 'liner' pan suspended above. There are pics on the internet. I am thinking all you'd need to bake on top of the stove is a pan inside a pan with the smaller inside pan raised off the bottom. They put water in the larger, bottom pan and claim super-heated steam does the baking.

John
 
I was searching through old messages to figure out how I was going to cook once I got my boat. I am a cornbread fiend and can't think of anything in the world better in the morning than a steaming hot cup of coffee and a piece of cornbread...but how do I bake the cornbread on the Wallas stove?

AnchortownJim to the rescue! He mentioned the Bakepacker a simple $21 gizmo that fits into a pot and using Glad food bags allows you to bake on a stove.

http://www.bakepacker.com/

I bought it and tested it tonight. Of course, I don't have my boat or the Wallas stove to test it on, but on my home stove it was very simple, very tasty and here is the kicker....VERY CLEAN. You cook in a Glad bag! All it takes is boiling water and it does everything else. Once the food is baked you open the bag and eat the contents. The pot and the bakepacker only need to be dried.

Thank you AnchortownJim!

-Sarge

p.s. - Thank you C-Brats for hosting this kind of discussion.
 
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