San Blas Crabs

There are two kinds of crabs in Mark and my life these days, while hanging about the San Blas islands. Neither plays a very important role, but they are present around us every day. The first one is a tiny crab of the grey kind. Every time we take a shower off Irie’s back step, we see them settled near the water’s edge of the step. They scurry away and try to hide when you come too close, but they are our permanent pets. We’ve been having some for months. They start out tiny and then grow to about an inch, which is really not that big. We tolerate them down there, but get a bit creeped out when they reach all the way in the cockpit.

The other kind of crab is of a bigger kind and of the color red. The Kuna Indians selling fish, lobster and undersize conch sometimes carry them in their dugout canoes when they sail or paddle from cruising boat to cruising boat. Until recently we have not bought any, because – honestly – we didn’t really know what to do with them and they seemed a lot of work. The only time we saw one while snorkeling was when they were out of season. We always said we would try one of those crabs one day and that moment came a few days ago, when Mark noticed a biggie in one of the passing canoes. We managed to buy this “giant” male for $2; a really good deal. Somehow, we also managed to get the creature with all its appendages in our pressure cooker, which is our biggest pot and “lobster steamer”. Then, it took Mark over an hour to get all the juicy meat out of the shell, legs and massive claws. He collected about a pound of lovely fresh crab meat, which was turned into two delicious dinners. I discovered I like the taste even better than lobster. What a spoil!

The crab was slightly too big for our pressure cooker, but was a perfect fit for our sink. Unfortunately, you can't steam a crab in a sink...

Mark needed to use a tool from his toolbox to conquer the big claws...

Tools for successful San Blas crab meat picking. And, the fruit of Mark's labor; lots of crab meat!

Final result (1/2 anyway): a lovely crab pasta dish - I couldn't resist posting another picture of food!

The Importance of Good Meals: Samosas

When the weekend comes around, a little more time and effort is put towards the meals on Irie. For many cruisers there is no difference between the days anymore, “every day is Sunday”, but for us, after a busy week of work off or online and being too tired to cook big meals for dinner, it does make a difference when Saturday arrives. Sunday is even better! In the past, we have organized yummy brunches in our cockpit (or have been invited by friends for breakfast) and sometimes, we have the urge to put a great dinner together.

Sunday, it was time again for homemade samosas. We were a bit tired from Saturday’s events and it was yet another very hot and humid day, having us sweat constantly. Slaving in the kitchen all afternoon was not very desirable, but we had all the necessary ingredients, it was Sunday and we were looking forward to this wonderful Indian dish. We stuck to the plan and when our friends Susanne and Jan came over in the early evening with a tasty salad, we presented them and us with some really delicious samosas, the best I have ever had. What a treat! Yes, good food is important on Irie; it even warrants a few blogs a month!

 

American (Italian?) Home Cooking on Irie

Since we’ve been living on Irie, Mark has been craving a very special pasta sauce from his (younger) days spent with friends in the Oakland, CA area. I have heard a lot about this wonderful sauce and, based on the descriptions, wished I could have tried it. Not that my spaghetti bolognaise isn’t any good or special, but – we ALL know – Sean’s sauce is the best. To reproduce this famed pasta sauce, however, we needed the right ingredients, a few hours to spare and … the recipe!

Words and ravings turned into deeds a little while ago and Mark contacted his friend Sean to obtain his family’s scrumptious pasta sauce recipe. I was sent to Grenada’s most extensive supermarket, the IGA in Spice Island Mall, and came home with Italian sausages (expensive!), ground beef and pork (no veal available), fresh parsley (lucked out on that one), a block of Parmesan cheese (luxury!), Italian bread crumbs and tomato-based products. The other ingredients (spices, garlic and the like) already made their way to Irie as usual provisions. A visit to the fresh meat store in Whisper Cove Marina added a 4-pack of lamb merguez to the meal idea. Other than the canned tomatoes, no vegetables took part!

When you go through a bit of effort and expense to make a special dinner, it is customary to invite some friends to participate in the extravaganza. Susanne and Jan from SV Peter Pan couldn’t make it, but Rosie and Sim from SV Alianna – being avid meat eaters and food lovers – didn’t hesitate to come over. The four of us did our best to make a serious dent (and almost finish) the big pot of extraordinary pasta sauce with ten giant meatballs and nine sausages. The salad barely got touched, the fresh bread was a success, three bottles of red wine accompanied the feast and yes, we did serve pasta with the sauce!

The cook preparing his anticipated meal

Plenty of (big) meatballs...

... and sausages for four people

I'm in charge of making drinks (and baking bread, which has a tendency to collapse)

  

Plenty of dirty dishes afterwards!