Pothia, Kalimnos - 20th May
Leaving aside the boat's electronic gizmos, each of us has favourite bits of kit onboard that we use day in day out. Leighton has two - an orange handled screwdriver with interchangeable heads and his Feinmaster multitool.
My latest cruising essential is a predictable old favourite, and the other is fast becoming the must-have for all cruising folk who enjoy a bit of reading. Both are so useful that I would go so far to say that if the boat were sinking I'd rush back and rescue them.
First up, that old cruising stalwart, the pressure cooker. I was always put off by those terrifying stories of pressure cookers exploding and refused to have one until now. Since many cruisers swear by them I changed my mind and bought a six litre stainless steel one the other day. I reckon it'll be perfect for quick, comforting meals on long passages. It conjures up in my mind the era of good old-fashioned home cooking, of making do and mending. The first all-in-one stew we cooked in it took me back to the plain, nourishing fare we used to get for lunch at school.
Since then I've been gathering some more inspiring recipes from our neighbours. Dishes like chicken korma, cassoulet and risotto. Did you know you can bung in a whole octopus and it'll come out really tender after 10 minutes? I'm going to love it.
The second was an instant hit when Leighton gave it to me last Christmas. My Kindle.
What a wonderful piece of technology. I'm over the moon with it. I will never have to worry about running short of something to read ever again. No more reading mindless rubbish from book swaps out of sheer desperation because there's nothing else available. No more asking family to lug out loads of new books for me when they visit. I have everything I need right here on my Kindle. It is scarily easy to order another e-book online from Amazon's Kindle store, and there are loads of free reads about. Best of all - they take up no room at all on the bookshelf. Leighton's a fan now too - he's got one as well.
Leaving aside the boat's electronic gizmos, each of us has favourite bits of kit onboard that we use day in day out. Leighton has two - an orange handled screwdriver with interchangeable heads and his Feinmaster multitool.
My latest cruising essential is a predictable old favourite, and the other is fast becoming the must-have for all cruising folk who enjoy a bit of reading. Both are so useful that I would go so far to say that if the boat were sinking I'd rush back and rescue them.
First up, that old cruising stalwart, the pressure cooker. I was always put off by those terrifying stories of pressure cookers exploding and refused to have one until now. Since many cruisers swear by them I changed my mind and bought a six litre stainless steel one the other day. I reckon it'll be perfect for quick, comforting meals on long passages. It conjures up in my mind the era of good old-fashioned home cooking, of making do and mending. The first all-in-one stew we cooked in it took me back to the plain, nourishing fare we used to get for lunch at school.
Since then I've been gathering some more inspiring recipes from our neighbours. Dishes like chicken korma, cassoulet and risotto. Did you know you can bung in a whole octopus and it'll come out really tender after 10 minutes? I'm going to love it.
The second was an instant hit when Leighton gave it to me last Christmas. My Kindle.
What a wonderful piece of technology. I'm over the moon with it. I will never have to worry about running short of something to read ever again. No more reading mindless rubbish from book swaps out of sheer desperation because there's nothing else available. No more asking family to lug out loads of new books for me when they visit. I have everything I need right here on my Kindle. It is scarily easy to order another e-book online from Amazon's Kindle store, and there are loads of free reads about. Best of all - they take up no room at all on the bookshelf. Leighton's a fan now too - he's got one as well.
1 comment:
Interesting: one of your items, Cathy is traditional and the other one very modern.
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