Cooking gadgets - show yours

A forum for discussing topics relating to MacGregor Powersailor Sailboats
User avatar
pitchpolehobie
Captain
Posts: 593
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2019 8:46 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: USA, OH

Cooking gadgets - show yours

Post by pitchpolehobie »

:macx:
Hawkins 1.5 L pressure cooker, heats up well. Cooked Brussels in 3 min once at temp.
Does anyone else use a pressure cooker on their boat?

Image



Small wok shaped skillet to cook eggs for 1-2. It has that nonstick stone layer and eggs slide off really well w a few sprays of Pam avocado oil.recommended. my small water pot for boiling is in the background too.
Image
2002 MacGregor 26X: Remedium
Tohatsu 25HP
Cruising Area: Inland Ohio, Lake Erie
User avatar
Be Free
Admiral
Posts: 1914
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2012 6:08 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Steinhatchee, FL

Re: Cooking gadgets - show yours

Post by Be Free »

I have to admit that I'm still in the stone age when it comes to cooking on board. I consider it a major culinary feat if I put the canned ravioli into a pot to heat it up instead of just putting the can right on the burner. Come to think of it... warming it up is often optional.

The only thing I use my Origo for on a regular basis is heating water for instant coffee.

You are never going to get me to eat Brussels sprouts no matter how you cook them but I'd love to hear about cooking gadgets and particularly about recipes that work on an alcohol stove.
Bill
2001 26X Simple Interest
Honda BF40D
"If I were in a hurry I would not have bought a sailboat." Me
User avatar
dlandersson
Admiral
Posts: 4973
Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2010 10:00 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Michigan City

Re: Cooking gadgets - show yours

Post by dlandersson »

Not "I'll show you mine if you'll show me your's"? :)
pitchpolehobie wrote: Sat Jul 10, 2021 5:38 am :macx:
Hawkins 1.5 L pressure cooker, heats up well. Cooked Brussels in 3 min once at temp.
Does anyone else use a pressure cooker on their boat?

Image



Small wok shaped skillet to cook eggs for 1-2. It has that nonstick stone layer and eggs slide off really well w a few sprays of Pam avocado oil.recommended. my small water pot for boiling is in the background too.
Image
svscott
First Officer
Posts: 269
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2016 8:35 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26D
Location: Erie PA

Re: Cooking gadgets - show yours

Post by svscott »

I haven't used my alcohol stove except to take the chill off before going to bed one night last October.
I've got a butane stove in my old Mac I've only used for heating water for instant coffee.
I use my portable propane grill whenever I get the chance though.

Image
1987 26D - Three Hour Tour; 1998 26X - to be named
User avatar
Starscream
Admiral
Posts: 1564
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:08 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Montreal, Quebec. 2002 26X - Suzi DF90A

Re: Cooking gadgets - show yours

Post by Starscream »

Origo 1 burner alcohol stove mounted in the galley, Dickinson Sea-B-Que on the stern rail. The Origo gets the most use. Cooking for 5, three of which have staggering appetites.

Our go-to meal is pasta with veggies and precooked chicken. Boil water, make the pasta, drain and set aside. We have a collapsible seive that just fits in the sink. We bring chopped fresh broccoli, so sauté that with the chicken and add a premade jar of sauce, in the largest, lightest pan that we could find to fit, actually a bit too large for the burner so one has to adapt to the hot spots. Add the pepper and parmesan. mmm

Just got back from a 4 day trip. Second meal was similar in a way...rice noodles and a homemade peanut sauce with more broccoli and canned baby corn and canned water chestnuts. A home run. Canned veggies are great cuz they don't take up room in the cooler.

Day 3: hotdogs on the BBQ. We never eat hotdogs except on the boat. Awful things, but soo tasty. Just the right mix of salt and fat to trigger the brain.

Lunches are mostly sandwiches and cut up veggies. Lots of sliced meat, vacuum packed lettuce, and sliced cucumber.

I premade pancake mix for breakfasts, with sliced bananas and maple syrup. I make enough for three days and pack the eggs right in the flour container. A big box of cheerios, and yogurts, with more bananas, and a container of blueberries and strawberries . And the unbelievable amount of snacks.

When we leave it's all about where to pack things. We have an Igloo cooler that held ice for the entire trip, with 1" of additional rigid insulation fiberglassed into the bottom of the tub that the cooler sits in under the aft dinette seat. We use 1-litre unrefrigerated milk containers so that only 1 litre at a time takes up space in the cooler. I drain the water out as it builds up, and add bagged ice whenever I can to use for drinks, which go in a second cooler under the table.

We have cargo nets above the table and above the galley. The one above the galley is strung in front of wire shelves so that it holds the stuff on the shelves in place while heeled. We went through an area of the St. Lawrence River that runs at about 5 knots and has huge eddies that run back upriver, creating some Haulover Inlet - like conditions, so we still tossed a bunch of stuff on the floor despite the net. The admiral was screaming, but more like a roller coaster scream than an ima kill you scream.

Sorry, off topic. Origo single burner and Sea-B-Q.
User avatar
Democritus
Chief Steward
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2020 3:58 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Santa Rosa, CA

Re: Cooking gadgets - show yours

Post by Democritus »

No special equipment. Just your standard Origo single burner stove. We do have a couple go-to items that are easy to prepare on board. The pancake mix is great because you just add water.





Occasionally we'll make an actual meal. Last time we were out for the weekend I made salmon and asparagus with a salad and a baguette. I often find I don't have much of an appetite on the water so, although we usually bring a ton of food, we often bring a lot of it back with us.

:)
Vince
"Spiraling Shape" 2002 26X
Tohatsu MFS50A
User avatar
Chinook
Admiral
Posts: 1730
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 7:20 pm
Location: LeavenworthWA 2002 26x, Suzuki DF60A

Re: Cooking gadgets - show yours

Post by Chinook »

We do a couple of things which greatly enhance the quality of meals while on board. We prep many of our dinners at home, ahead of time. This can involve chopping veggies, sauteeing them, precooking meat, adding spices and sauce ingredients, then measuring out serving sizes, and then bagging them up in seal-a-meal bags. We freeze these entrees, and then keep them in the Engel fridge, which we set cold enough to run as a freezer. We stack all our pre-prepped frozen meals in the bottom of the Engel, and then cover them with a tightly fitting piece of insulating styrofoam. The top space in the Engel, above the styrofoam partition, is used for sliced cheese, lunch meat, and condiments, which do well at or slightly above the freezing temp. I keep a thermometer in the top area to monitor temperature. When an item is scheduled for dinner, I shift it into our ice chest to slowly thaw. Cooking involves filling the coffee pot with water and slipping the seal-a-meal bag into the water. We boil the water which heats the meal, and then the hot water is used for coffee, tea, and/or cleanup. Very efficient with fuel and water, and also, we avoid having to store raw ingredients on board. The used plastic meal bags take up very little space in the wastebasket. This system works great for stroganoff, chili, stew, spaghetti, chicken alfredo, and also breakfast omelets. We seal, freeze and store our meats like steak, chicken strips, pork chops, and fish, being careful to thoroughly trim fat and waste at home. We carry a well insulated ice chest for condiments which don't fit in the Engel. The beer, pop, juice, tomatoes and lettuce go in the cooler. We use romaine lettuce, carefully washed and separated at home, stored with paper towel strips between leaves, and contained in gallon sized zip loc bags, with care to keep it out of the melt water. With this system we were able to have all our fresh food aboard for a 3 week trip, just needing to buy ice a couple of times, a few apples, and maybe some additional lettuce. I'm sure we could stretch our food packing to 4 or even 5 weeks without needing to do a major grocery shopping stop along the way.
Drifter
First Officer
Posts: 332
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2010 3:56 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Borneo

Re: Cooking gadgets - show yours

Post by Drifter »

I haven't been able to replace my missing Origo so far :|
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2925
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: Cooking gadgets - show yours

Post by OverEasy »

Hi Pitchpolehobie

The Admiral loves her home based pressure cooker.
She uses it for lots of meals (but hasn’t tried Brussels as yet :wink: ).
She would love to get one sized for our Mac26X…. Where did you find yours?

We use an induction cooktop when we have shore power.
Eventually we will add an inverter so we can cook a meal or two off the house battery.
A pressure cooker would save time which saves power.
We have two sauté pans and a shallow pot that suffices for most of our needs.
Somewhere at our home in NH we have a Farberware perk pot that we will try on the induction plate.

We also have a fold away two burner propane that is part of our hurricane/blizzard/ice storm/power failure emergency kit that we can bring on board when needed. (Not really keen on any pressurized propane or flammable fluids in the cabin. :o :? )
We are going to be mounting a new propane/gasoline vapor monitor in the cabin in the future.

We also have a portable gas grill that we have yet to mount on the boat.
We will temporarily use it on top of the sliding companion way when needed.
Eventually we will be mounting it on our TBD stern arch next spring.
(We ant to make sure that it is mounted well away from the engine fuel tanks.)
The TBD aft arch will have storage for the propane cylinders.

Best Regards,
Over Easy
8) 8) 🐩
User avatar
pitchpolehobie
Captain
Posts: 593
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2019 8:46 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: USA, OH

Re: Cooking gadgets - show yours

Post by pitchpolehobie »

OverEasy wrote: Thu Aug 19, 2021 11:53 pm Hi Pitchpolehobie

The Admiral loves her home based pressure cooker.
She uses it for lots of meals (but hasn’t tried Brussels as yet :wink: ).
She would love to get one sized for our Mac26X…. Where did you find yours?

We use an induction cooktop when we have shore power.
Eventually we will add an inverter so we can cook a meal or two off the house battery.
A pressure cooker would save time which saves power.
We have two sauté pans and a shallow pot that suffices for most of our needs.
Somewhere at our home in NH we have a Farberware perk pot that we will try on the induction plate.

We also have a fold away two burner propane that is part of our hurricane/blizzard/ice storm/power failure emergency kit that we can bring on board when needed. (Not really keen on any pressurized propane or flammable fluids in the cabin. :o :? )
We are going to be mounting a new propane/gasoline vapor monitor in the cabin in the future.

We also have a portable gas grill that we have yet to mount on the boat.
We will temporarily use it on top of the sliding companion way when needed.
Eventually we will be mounting it on our TBD stern arch next spring.
(We ant to make sure that it is mounted well away from the engine fuel tanks.)
The TBD aft arch will have storage for the propane cylinders.

Best Regards,
Over Easy
8) 8) 🐩
I think it was a gift but eBay has them. I have a 1.5L Hawkins that heats up easily on the origo alcohol stove. They're 20-25 bucks
2002 MacGregor 26X: Remedium
Tohatsu 25HP
Cruising Area: Inland Ohio, Lake Erie
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2925
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: Cooking gadgets - show yours

Post by OverEasy »

Hi Pitchpolephobie

It it aluminum or steel?

8) 8) 🐩
User avatar
pitchpolehobie
Captain
Posts: 593
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2019 8:46 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: USA, OH

Re: Cooking gadgets - show yours

Post by pitchpolehobie »

OverEasy wrote: Fri Aug 20, 2021 8:25 pm Hi Pitchpolephobie

It it aluminum or steel?

8) 8) 🐩
I have the aluminum one.
2002 MacGregor 26X: Remedium
Tohatsu 25HP
Cruising Area: Inland Ohio, Lake Erie
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2925
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: Cooking gadgets - show yours

Post by OverEasy »

Hi Pitchpolehobie!

Thanks for getting back to us.

As Fribble :(
We are trying to standardize on using an induction cook top to avoid any open flame or fuels in the cabin…. Aluminum doesn’t induction heat very well :(

The pressure cooker is a great idea though!
I’ll just have to keep looking to find one made from steel….🤔

Again, Thanks!

Over Easy
8) 8) 🐩
User avatar
pitchpolehobie
Captain
Posts: 593
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2019 8:46 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: USA, OH

Re: Cooking gadgets - show yours

Post by pitchpolehobie »

OverEasy wrote: Mon Aug 23, 2021 7:48 am Hi Pitchpolehobie!

Thanks for getting back to us.

As Fribble :(
We are trying to standardize on using an induction cook top to avoid any open flame or fuels in the cabin…. Aluminum doesn’t induction heat very well :(

The pressure cooker is a great idea though!
I’ll just have to keep looking to find one made from steel….🤔

Again, Thanks!

Over Easy
8) 8) 🐩
Hawkins does make a stainless induction compatible also!
2002 MacGregor 26X: Remedium
Tohatsu 25HP
Cruising Area: Inland Ohio, Lake Erie
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2925
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: Cooking gadgets - show yours

Post by OverEasy »

Hi Pitchpolephobie

Thank you!👍
I appreciate very much your finding that out! :)

Best Regards
Over Easy
😎😎🐩
Post Reply