Becoming Foodies

Alright, it's been awhile since I've posted.  We're home and getting back into the swing of things.  Mostly this means applying for jobs and avoiding the boat.  Neither of us were ready to take the boat out last weekend - she is a good boat and we love her, but we needed a break.  So we went out on Dwayne's boat, where we lazed it up as passengers.  For the Fourth, however, Southern Cross will be representing sailboats everywhere amidst all the powerboats that gather in Tull Bay.  Of course, they all anchor in about three foot of water so we'll also be representing dinghies everywhere just so we can join the party...

I've been more or less addicted to Food Network since I have access to a TV again.  As such, I've also been making some meals that are actually gourmet (as opposed to the chili mentioned here).  To start, I took advantage of the oven and made some baguettes.  Apparently the reason baguettes are so different from bread is that they are baked at a much higher temperature, and they are baked with a pan of water present.  Mine didn't taste nearly as good as I remember actual French baguettes tasting, but I think those bakers tend to have a little more experience than I do.

 A couple days later, I worked on some fresh salsa (my own recipe).  This is something we made pretty frequently on the boat, but we never had limes or cilantro to put in it.  Also this one has green onions because their flavor is a little milder and I'm not a big fan of onions.  Between Kyle and me, a bowl of this lasts around ten minutes.  The base, of course, is tomato and green pepper.  I also added a shot of hot sauce, fresh garlic, some lemon pepper, and some chile powder.

While I was making salsa, Kyle got in on the action by making a recipe I'd watched Bobby Flay make on TV.  He had to modify it a little; he used regular milk instead of coconut milk and we didn't have any swordfish so we substituted baked white fish.  Therefore we had white fish with a coconut, lime and green chile sauce.  This recipe is really unique - it combines some very distinct flavors.  Surprisingly, the cilantro was very mellow and the ginger wasn't a prevalent flavor either.  It was a fairly sweet sauce but after dinner we decided it went well with chips too.  In fact, it melded well with the salsa.

And then today I tried a salad I'd been wanting for some time - Corn and Black Bean Salad with Basil Lime Vinaigrette.  I didn't have any basil on hand so the recipe was lacking that, and I substituted green peppers for red.   The vinaigrette was very limey but once it was on the salad it wasn't overpowering.  I really enjoy the addition of mango to the salad, but wish the corn was a little louder in this salad - I used fresh grilled corn on the cob.  Either way it's a delicious salad.  I really like mixing fruit and vegetables to give dishes an extra zing, and limes are definitely one of my favorite additions to a meal.

So maybe by the end of summer we'll both be gourmands.  That is going to make boat food quite a bit more expensive, however.  We'll see.  Actually everything that we made here was pretty cheap, it's the dishes that use expensive meat that I've been avoiding :)

If anyone tries these recipes, let me know what you think!