Cooking Without Refrigeration / Microwave

[barnakiel]

Pasta with oil and garlic.

Get good pasta (Italian best). Cook it 'al diente' (half-hard to those who like pasta to be like toothpaste).

Pour some olive oil into the frying pan and slightly fry chopped garlic in it. Chuck the pasta on top and mix. Add salt and herbs (fresh basil my fave).

Funny - never used micro or fridge in my life (my mom did use fridge) - so 'recipes sans micro and fridge' sound to me like 'recipes sans McDonnald')

;-)

[Kathleen]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

Beware of "night soil" in those poor countries.

Anyone have a good rice pudding recipe? (using powdered milk and canned butter)

Ocean Girl,

I've never made this but the recipe was given to me by a friend. If you need to cool it or keep it, it does require refrigeration though. It has no butter, but does have rum.


Ingredients:

• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 3 cups milk (can use powdered milk mixed to the amount needed)
• 4 sticks cinnamon
• 1 can condensed milk
• 1 vanilla bean
• 3/4 cup dark rum
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup jumbo golden raisins

Directions

1. In a heavy medium sauce pan bring milk and cinnamon sticks to a boil over medium heat. Add rice, return to a boil then simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. While rice is cooking place the rum, 1/4 cup water and raisins in a small pot. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to simmer and cook until almost all the liquid is absorbed, (you want some left over to mix into the rice when it's finished). Set aside to cool.
3. Add condensed milk and scrape vanilla bean into the rice. Continue to cook over low heat stirring often for an additional 15 minutes or so or until rice is creamy, but still has some liquid left in the pot. It will still seem rather soupy, but in order for it to be very creamy when cool, you remove it from the heat at this stage.
4. The rice pudding will keep for 1 week covered in the refrigerator.

Actually, just gobble it all up and wash it down with the rest of the rum!

~Kathleen

[s/v Jedi]

Kathleen,

That recipe can be improved by soaking the raisins in 100% dark rum (no water) or a 50/50 mix of water + orange juice. A nice variation is to use a spiced rum, like the one from Capt. Morgans.

About vanilla: the worlds biggest user of natural vanilla is Coca Cola. When they switched to their "new Coke" recipe in 1985 (with artificial vanilla, it was a scam to produce cheaper cola), world vanilla consumption dropped by 50% (!!) Coca Cola drinkers voted with their wallet and classic coke prevailed... and the vanilla plantations in Madagascar survived.
To keep vanilla on a boat, it needs to be sealed with as little air as possible, but not vacuum packed.

cheers,
Nick.

[ragdoll]

I thought all sailors canned there own meats, I just had rib meat on rice I canned last spring, not because I'am far offshore, just to lazy to go to the store. Canning butter is very easy and last till you use it 3-5 years or more. I even cook hambugers and then can them, and I can have my hambuger in paradise. Taste a little different, but really good when you ain't been in port for several weeks and all fresh food is gone except the fish, the shrimp and anything else that happened by. Get a pressure canner.

[roger.waite]

I don't really do recipes, but here's what I mistreat my friends with ...

Coconut milk with raw or cooked fish is brilliant. Just leave the fish soaking in the milk. Can add cucumber (survives pretty well outside the fridge) for salad. Or cook with spices etc for curries and savoury dishes.

Pancakes with maple syrup (from those nice Canadians) make a great breakfast, especially if you have some bacon still in edible form. We find traditionally cured bacon lasts ~ two weeks in a temperate bilge. Quality chorizo and other 'dried' sausage also last well. And when the cupboard is spectacularly bare, dried minced beef from climbing shops gives a base for chili con carni etc.

But before things get quite that desperate, many red and green seaweeds have good protein etc content. Nice to go for a stroll round the rocks, then cook in a stir fry on rice. Good shellfish is often within snorkelling depth ... raw sea urchin roe is considered a delicacy those braver than I!

Need building blocks: balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, soy and a good pile of spices. Mature cheddar / dried yeast help add depth of flavour. Beans and sprouts are good when all else is gone. Dried mushrooms work well soaked well in advance. Olives (yum). Lentils (eek).

Dry roasted coriander seed wakes up the most shrivelled vegetables. Toast whole in a dry fry pan (not non stick), grind and store in pottle.

Hmmn, starting to think seriously about cooking something ... and I feel a mighty thirst developing

[annk]

Nice thread, but I am curious how you keep asparagus without refrigeration!

I use a lot of lentils, tasty, nutritious, cheap and last a long time.

Canned butter,either commercial or home done is good. I prefer to brine my own as once opened a commercial can needs using or refrigerating. Brining means I take out what i want for a couple of days and the rest will keep.

My longest ocean passage so far was 32 days(!) we had minimal refrigeration which was used for dairy products once the fresh meat was finished(around 10 days).

Hot tip: wrap cheese in kitchen towel before storing in plastic containers(after its opened) seems to stop any mould growing.

I make Irish soda bread, no need for yeast and cooks in just 30 minutes.
1lb flour
400mls milk
4tsp lemon juice
1 tsp baking soda

mix all together to make a softish dough. Knead briefly. Form into 8inch round. Mark a X on the top and bake in a hot oven for 30 mins. Delicious.

A 1lb loaf keeps the two of us going for a couple of days, with sandwiches at lunch and maybe with pate(home canned).

Anne Hill has a book Cruising on a small income, which has excellent tips on cruising without refrigeration. The same goes for Beth Leonard, The Cruisers Handbook.

It's perfectly possible to keep tomatoes for a month, bought green and stored in the dark. Cabbage for months(!), onions and potatoes almost indefinitely.

I also recommend Lynne Pardeys book The care and feeding of sailing crew

[osirissail]

Don't forget about "green sacks" - they are available from health food or food coops or camping/wilderness stores. They are green in color and have a chemical in the plastic that will prevent spoiling of vegetables for extra weeks or a month. I had head lettuce last 3 months once. Other fresh veggies, chlorox washed, dried and put in the green sacks will last longer than you want them to.

[Kathleen]

Originally Posted by ragdoll

I thought all sailors canned there own meats, I just had rib meat on rice I canned last spring, not because I'am far offshore, just to lazy to go to the store. Canning butter is very easy and last till you use it 3-5 years or more. I even cook hambugers and then can them, and I can have my hambuger in paradise. Taste a little different, but really good when you ain't been in port for several weeks and all fresh food is gone except the fish, the shrimp and anything else that happened by. Get a pressure canner.

Ragdoll,

I have to ask, but how do you can butter?

As for pressure cookers of any kind, I'm terrified of them as my mother once put a chicken in flight with a broken seal. Everyone says the new pressure cookers are nothing like the old ones, but I cannot seem to get over my fear of them.

~Kathleen

[Kathleen]

Asparagus will keep at room temp for several days as long as the ends have water. Also, the greenbags that are mentioned by Osirissail will help with any kind of veggie if you can keep it from baking in heat.

I really want the pate' recipe!

~Kathleen

[jm21]

Whenever I am on a boat I always make a real breakfast...maybe just a tradition in my family but it's definitely something that's stuck with me. Over the years I've experimented a lot with my two favorite breakfast ingredients: scrambled eggs and hash browns. These dishes seem 'basic' to a lot of people but done right they can be really outstanding.

Scrambled eggs style 1
1. put a pan on a low heat
2. crack 3 eggs into a bowl
3. add about 1/4 cup milk (i never measure, but that seems like about right)
4. whisk eggs vigorously for 30-60 seconds. Enough to get some foam on top but no peaks.
5. put 2 tbsp butter into the pan (less if dieting)
6. pan should be warmed up by now and butter should slowly melt
7. when butter melted pour the eggs in
8. constantly stir the eggs as they began to cook. They should be cooking very slowly. If not turn the heat down.
9. when eggs are mostly cooked (as you stir, watch the trail your stirring utensil leaves. when the eggs are first cooking the eggs should reform behind the stirring utensil. When there is very little reformation happening in the track of your stirring utensil they are almost cooked) gently stir the eggs into a mound in the center of the pan.
10. when there is no more liquid egg flowing from the mound, flip the mound over gently.
11. cook about 10 second longer (longer for firmer eggs) and serve eggs immediately.

Scrambled eggs style 2 (might not be possible without refrig.?)
. warm up a pan over very low heat. some ranges might not go down this low in which case you will have to take the pan on and off the heat.
. put 2 tbsp of butter in the pan
. crack 3 eggs in the pan, quickly.
. stir the eggs briskly
. when the eggs are just barely forming up, remove from heat. add 2 tbsp or so cool creme fraiche or sour cream. Serve immediately. It's a little bit goopy so good to serve over a piece of toasted bread or hash browns.

Things to add to scrambled eggs:
chives
pre-cooked mushrooms
salsa (works surprisingly well)
basil
pesto (can be used to make 'green eggs')
cheese (tintern tastes great with eggs)


Hash browns
Never written down a recipe for this and always do it by sight and taste, so timing might be a bit off...
1. dice 3 red potatoes into smallish pieces (russets are OK, I remember Yukon golds turning out very poorly)
2. dice or slice half an onion
3. take 2 strips of thick cut bacon and slice into small strips (Have to remove this if on more than a weekend trip)
4. put pan on medium-high heat and warm up.
5. add 1tbsp butter and one tbsp oil (I actually prefer vegetable but olive is fine)
6. add potatoes, pepper and salt, garlic powder if available, chili powder if available. stir the potatoes up so they are evenly coated with oil, butter, and seasonings. The garlic and chili really add a lot to the hash browns. Substituting fresh for the powder is possible if you add the garlic and chilis in towards the end, but I don't think it works as well. Johnny's seasoning salt also works really well in place of the salt, garlic powder, and chili powder.
7. saute potatoes, turning once every 3 minutes or so
8. if onions are sliced, add them after about 2 or 3 flips. if diced, add them after about 3-4 flips.
9. at about 3 flips add the bacon. I find that the potatoes start to dry out midway or so into cooking and adding the bacon adds some oil to the pan that moistens them up. If you don't have bacon I would add another tablespoon or two of butter.
10. when potatoes are golden brown, soft to the taste, and onions are soft, serve. Great with a couple poached, soft boiled, or over easy eggs over the top.

[Badsanta]

Originally Posted by ragdoll

I thought all sailors canned there own meats, I just had rib meat on rice I canned last spring, not because I'am far offshore, just to lazy to go to the store. Canning butter is very easy and last till you use it 3-5 years or more. I even cook hambugers and then can them, and I can have my hambuger in paradise. Taste a little different, but really good when you ain't been in port for several weeks and all fresh food is gone except the fish, the shrimp and anything else that happened by. Get a pressure canner.

I have never canned meat but would like too. I have bought several books on canning but when it comes to meat they dont say much. Do you have any suggestions as to a book or books? The canned meat at the store or online is either to large or of poor quality. Any suggestions would be great,
Many thanks

[gbanker]

Cooking without refrigeration? Can't remember the last time I used my refrigerator to cook anything............

[SusanneAmes]

We’ve cruised for 4 years without regular refrigeration. I am a biiigg fan of UHT milk, especially the small boxes. The packaging is eco unfriendly L but it tastes much better than powdered. I didn’t feel like it was very inconvenient, and always had several choices of what to have for dinner. I stock up on canned butter whenever I can find it.
Risottos are one of my favourite boat meals, because they are: easy; yummy and rich tasting without lots of fat; easily enlivened with canned ingredients such as olives and artichoke hearts; and usually even better the second day.
In lieu of recipes, here are my 3 favorite cookbooks:
Joy (aka, the Bible)
Cooking under pressure by Lorna Sass – a brilliant work with lots of helpful information, I have made about ½ the recipes and enjoyed every one
How to cook without a book by Pamela Anderson – a good overview of lots of basic cooking techniques, most of which are very boat adaptable.

[ragdoll]

Ragdoll,
I have to ask, but how do you can butter?

As for pressure cookers of any kind, I'm terrified of them as my mother once put a chicken in flight with a broken seal. Everyone says the new pressure cookers are nothing like the old ones, but I cannot seem to get over my fear of them.

~Kathleen
CANNING BUTTER
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Use any butter that is on sale. Lesser quality butter
requires more shaking (see #5 below), but the results are the
same as with the expensive brands.
2. Heat pint jars in a 250 degree oven for 20 minutes, without
rings or seals. One pound of butter slightly more than fills one
pint jar, so if you melt 11 pounds of butter, heat 12 pint jars. A
roasting pan works well for holding the pint jars while in the
oven.
3. While the jars are heating, melt butter slowly until it
comes to a slow boil. Using a large spatula, stir the bottom
of the pot often to keep the butter from scorching. Reduce
heat and simmer for 5 minutes at least: a good simmer time
will lessen the amount of shaking required (see #5 below).
Place the lids in a small pot and bring to a boil, leaving the
lids in simmering water until needed.
4. Stirring the melted butter from the bottom to the top
with a soup ladle or small pot with a handle, pour the
melted butter carefully into heated jars through a canning
jar funnel. Leave 3/4" of head space in the jar, which allows
room for the shaking process.
5. Carefully wipe off the top of the jars, then get a hot lid
from the simmering water, add the lid and ring and tighten
securely. Lids will seal as they cool. Once a few lids "ping,"
shake while the jars are still warm, but cool enough to handle
easily, because the butter will separate and become foamy
on top and white on the bottom. In a few minutes, shake
again, and repeat until the butter retains the same consistency
throughout the jar.
6. At this point, while still slightly warm, put the jars into a
refrigerator. While cooling and hardening, shake again, and the
melted butter will then look like butter and become firm. This
final shaking is very important! Check every 5 minutes and give
the jars a little shake until they are hardened in the jar! Leave
in the refrigerator for an hour.
7. Canned butter should store for 3 years or longer on a cool,
dark shelf. [It does last a long time. We have just used up the
last of the butter we canned in 1999, and it was fine after 5
years.] Canned butter does not "melt" again when opened, so
it does not need to be refrigerated upon opening, provided it
is used within a reasonable length of time.
---------------------------------------------------------


Cannng is easy and safe if you learn and use the basics. Get a newer "pressure" cooker and start learning the basics and then make your own recipes. I buy whats on sale a lot, sometimes I can raw meat, sometimes I can precooked, crock pot are handy for pre cook, like ribs or roast or other cheap cuts. I am still working on bacon, NOT THERE YET. I miss celebrity canned bacon.

[ragdoll]

Originally Posted by Badsanta

I have never canned meat but would like too. I have bought several books on canning but when it comes to meat they dont say much. Do you have any suggestions as to a book or books? The canned meat at the store or online is either to large or of poor quality. Any suggestions would be great,
Many thanks

* Exported from MasterCook *
IDENTIFYING AND HANDLING SPOILED CANNED FOOD
Recipe By :
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Canning Information
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
***** NONE *****
Do not taste food from a jar with an unsealed lid or
food that shows signs of spoilage.

You can more easily detect some types of spoilage in
jars stored without screw bands. Growth of spoilage
bacteria and yeast produces gas which pressurizes the
food, swells lids, and breaks jar seals. As each
stored jar is selected for use, examine its lid for
tightness and vacuum. Lids with concave centers have
good seals.

Next, while holding the jar upright at eye level,
rotate the jar and examine its outside surface for
streaks of dried food originating at the top of the
jar. Look at the contents for rising air bubbles and
unnatural color.

While opening the jar, smell for unnatural odors and
look for spurting liquid and cottonlike mold growth
(white, blue, black, or green) on the top food surface
and underside of lid.

Spoiled low-acid foods, including tomatoes, may
exhibit different kinds of spoilage evidence or very
little evidence. Therefore, all suspect containers of
spoiled low-acid foods, including tomatoes, should be
treated as having produced botulinum toxin and handled
carefully in one of two ways:

* If the swollen metal cans or suspect glass jars are
still sealed, place them in a heavy garbage bag. Close
and place the bag in a regular trash container or bury
it in a nearby landfill.

* If the suspect cans or glass jars are unsealed,
open, or leaking, they should be detoxified before
disposal.

Detoxification process:

Carefully place the suspect containers and lids on
their sides in an 8-quart volume or larger stock pot,
pan, or boiling-water canner. Wash your hands
thoroughly. Carefully add water to the pot. The water
should completely cover the containers with a minimum
of a 1-inch level above the containers. Avoid
splashing the water. Place a lid on the pot and heat
the water to boiling. Boil 30 minutes to ensure
detoxifying the food and all container components.
Cool and discard the containers, their lids, and food
in the trash or bury in soil.

Thoroughly scrub all counters, containers, and
equipment including can opener, clothing, and hands
that may have contacted the food or containers.
Discard any sponges or wash cloths that may have been
used in the cleanup. Place them in a plastic bag and
discard in the trash.

ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿ * USDA Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539
(rev. 1994) * Meal-Master format courtesy of Karen
Mintzias


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


CANNING MEATS
Ground or Chopped Meat
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bear, Beef, Lamb, Pork, Sausage, Veal, Venison
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Procedure: Choose fresh, chilled meat. With venison, add one part
high-quality pork fat to three or four parts venison before grinding.
Use freshly made sausage, seasoned with salt and cayenne pepper
(sage may cause a bitter off-flavor). Shape chopped meat into patties
or balls or cut cased sausage into 3- to 4-inch links. Cook until lightly
browned. Ground meat may be sauteed without shaping. Remove
excess fat.
Fill jars with pieces. Add boiling meat broth, tomato juice, or water,
leaving 1-inch headspace. Add 2 teaspoons of salt per quart to the jars,
if desired.
Adjust lids and process following the recommendations in Table 1 and
Table 2 according to the canning method used.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 1. Recommended process time for Ground or Chopped Meat in a
dial-gauge pressure canner.

Style of Pack: Hot. Jar Size: Pints, Quarts.
Process Time: 75 minutes for Pints, 90 minutes for Quarts.
Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of 0 - 2,000 ft: 11 lb.
2,001 - 4,000 ft: 12 lb.
4,001 - 6,000 ft: 13 lb.
6,001 - 8,000 ft: 14 lb.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 2. Recommended process time for Ground or Chopped Meat in a
weighted-gauge pressure canner.

Style of Pack: Hot. Jar Size: Pints, Quarts.
Process Time: 75 minutes for Pints, 90 minutes for Quarts.
Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of 0 - 1,000 ft: 10 lb.
Above 1,000 ft: 15 lb.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THIS I am still trying to get it right, not, maybe I can use your help!

Canning Bacon
Something to remember when using this recipe: keep the grease off everything! You will have trouble getting the lids to seal if you allow thegrease to splatter on the jar rims or on the lids and rings. Do everything slowly and carefully to keep everything clean. One more thing....this is not a USDA approved method, can bacon at your own risk.
* 1 Pound of bacon for each quart jar
* Parchment paper
* Roasting pan or other pan for the oven
* Quart jars, lids, rings and Pressure Cooker
Procedure:
* Boil jars, lids and rings for 10 minutes, keep simmering.
* Get water in Pressure Cooker boiling
* Trim long sheets of parchment paper so that they will fit, rolled up in a quart jar. The paper should not be any wider than the jars are tall from their bottom to their necks.
* Lay strips of bacon on a baking pan or roasting pan and pre-cook in a 350* F oven until they are about 2/3 their original length, but do not cook them until they are crisp. If they are crisp when they are placed in the jars, they will crumble.
* After pre-cooking, place the strips of bacon, still limp, on a sheet of trimmed parchment parchment paper. Roll the paper and bacon up and insert this roll into a hot, sterilized quart jar.
* Pour the grease from the bacon into the jar, do not fill more than 2/3 full of grease.
* Process at 10 pounds pressure for 1 1/2 hours. Higher elevations should use 11 pounds pressure.
* To cook: Open sealed jar, unroll paper and remove bacon. Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp.