Whew, it’s a tight fit. Making dinner on a sailboat can be challenging at times compared to cooking in a land based kitchen. Glad we got the biggest 3 burner Force 10 stove we could shove into that hole…
When we moved out of the condo and onto the boat, we dumped a bunch of our extraneous kitchen supplies. Some of which included cookie sheets, beer & wine glasses, mixing bowls, muffin tins, Pyrex dishes, our 12″ square-side Calphalon risotto pan, blenders, etc., all of which no longer fit inside or on top of the new stove, or in the storage lockers we have on the boat. Most of it was donated to Goodwill, and some of the better items went to Jeni’s Mom.
One thing we both agreed NOT to surrender was our trusty 12″ Calphalon skillet (along with our 4 qt. pot, and the 2.5 qt. vegetable steamer). All excellent pieces of cookware, and well seasoned after many years of flawless use, especially the 12″ skillet. Rounded sides and a flat bottom make it perfect for sautéing onions & garlic, simmering a delicate pasta sauce, or browning our favorite ground meats. And, it cleans up perfectly with the mere wipe of a soapy sponge.
Last night, I cooked up some fish (talapia fillets from CostCo) in one of those sauce mixes courtesy of Campbell’s soup. Also boiled up a little pasta and steamed some green beans. All at the same time. Needless to say, as you can see from the picture it’s a pretty tight fit on the cooktop. Also, with all 3 burners running at the same time it requires a bit more patience waiting for water to boil, but we prevailed none the less and managed to sustain our need for protein, carbs, and vegetable (at least for one more night).
Tonight’s menu consists of crock pot chicken with pressure-cooker rice and a spinach salad. A bit easier, since you just “set and forget” the crock pot ’til it’s done. Rice in the pressure cooker takes literally 12 minutes, and the salad is a no-brainer. So goes life on a 350 square foot “floating home”…..