Pasta Lunch Aboard

 Ever had to eat two-minute noodles every day for a week in a row? They soon start to taste like packaging material. Some Facebook posts even claim that they contain some preservative or oily ingredient that is really bad for you. However, beggars can't be choosers and for ease of preparation aboard, very few other starch staples beat them.

We recently had this dish on board the yacht Rhapsody of my friend Les, who graciously allowed me to use the galley.

This recipe will appeal to everybody who have been compelled to eat two-minute noodles for extended periods. The dish is exceedingly easy to make, even on a bouncing boat in the middle of the ocean. And the only cooking is for the water. It makes a welcome change from sandwiches and we had it many times on our last transatlantic delivery.

This dish can alternatively be made using leftover rice or noodles.  In the event of using these, no cooking is required.

The ingredients may vary and one may prepare it as a pure vegan dish, vegetarian, or with some meat or fish ingredient.

Ingredients for three to four portions

Starch

3 blocks two-minute noodles

3 cups boiling water

OR

Three cups of boiled rice

OR

3 cups of cooked pasta

Meat/Fish

1 can tuna in brine

OR

4 vienna sausages, cut into wheels

OR

1 cup leftover meat from the braai, shredded or cut into fine strips

OR

1 cup smoked snoek, shredded

Vegetables

1½ cup shredded cabbage

1 medium onion, chopped

½ green bell pepper, chopped

1 carrot, julienned or grated or cut into thin wheels

½ cup fresh sprouts. I have used mung beans, alfalfa, fenugreek and lentil sprouts, sometimes in combination.

½ cup cucumber, finely chopped or grated

1/2 cup raisins

1-2 fresh Thai chillis, chopped finely. This makes the salad tangy. One chili in this dish is not enough to burn you, two will add a little bit of glow.

For the vegetarians

½ cup chopped dried fruit

½ cup chopped nuts

3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise

3 tablespoons chutney. For the non-South Africans, this is a spicy minced fruit preserve looking like chunky dark apricot jam. Normally used as a saucy condiment with curry dishes. You may use apricot or peach jam and more chilies in lieu of chutney.

Process

Soak the two-minute noodles in the boiling water. In the mean time prepare the rest of the ingredients. The list is not extensive and mostly you will not have all the ingredients above. The onion and cabbage are not really negotiable, the rest is up to the chef. Use your imagination.

The rest is simple: Mix all the ingredients thoroughly, dish up and enjoy!

This post compiled for the GBYC newsletter.

Authored by Johan Zietsman

Last updated on 2013-01-05

Day 13: Night Duty and Pasta Lunches

Tonight I am on early night duty. This means the 21h00 to 00h00 shift, the three hours up to midnight. Actually not too bad for one's personal routine. Dinner around six, then some socialising after dinner, while washing up, then playing cards. After that a forty winks catnap, then the stint on watch. Then you get to sleep during the bulk of the night, waking up in time to watch the sun rise over the horizon.

All the other slots mean that you either work two slots in the night, or that you sleep in two stints in the night. We argued the pros and cons of the various watch duty slots, as this is the one area where everybody have the same experience after a week and can thus argue with some authority. Unlike most arguments and debates of this nature.

I contend that really doesn't matter physically. It is one of those psychological things in life. Your experience of the watch duty is largely influenced by your perspective, or world view, if you will, on whether it is good or bad to be awake in the wee hours of the night. In this instance the world view is probably dominated by the idea that one needs to sleep the prescribed eight hours per night, going to bed by nine in the evening. Or something similar.

Life on board differs from this in that one has to adopt a three hour on, six hour off routine. And in the psychological sense as well.

In our case, the three of us have adapted very well and life is a pleasure on board. However, I get the impression that this is the part of a long voyage that gets to people and what determines whether this life afloat suits them or not. The other major part being away and out of sight of the land. Apparently some people have a phobia related to openness, rather like the opposite of claustrophobia. And don't forget being cut off from your favourite media,but that one should not count as yo need to understand this succinctly before embarking on a voyage. Something to plan for.

We are now just a day or so away from St Helena island and one can feel the excitement building. This leg of the voyage took a bit longer than expected due to a lack of wind. Even Renier, a veteran of many deliveries, got jittery with the slow progress. Hopefully we shall have more wind on the next leg of our voyage.

As for the standard lunch of two minute noodles, I am happy to report that we made a major breakthrough and that this stuff needn't taste like packaging material any more. The recipe is really simple, add some mayonnaise, then some tuna and sprouts and voila! you have proper food. I have reported some of this in an earlier blog and now am confirming my findings.

The sprouts are easy to grow, another delightful discovery on this voyage. Use a wide mouthed see-through jar with a breathable lid. We used plastic canning flasks, replaced the lid with some mutton cloth stretched over the mouth and kept there by an elastic band.

The process is easy. Take a spoonful of seed of your choice and soak them overnight in the jar in lukewarm water. Drain the water from the jar and leave the jar on it's side in a warm place. Rinse the seeds once or twice every day, thereby keeping them moist. Rather like watering the garden. The sprouts should be ready to eat after three days. Or when your appetite gets the better of you. There is quite a variety of seeds suitable for growing like this, it is light to pack, easy to grow and makes a nourishing addition to any meal. Not to mention that you basically then have fresh veggies every day. Very economical at home too, it is much cheaper than buying the grown sprouts from your greengrocer.

Authored by Johan Zietsman
Last updated on 2012-12-12