Eating Is Fundamental and Slowing Our Roll

Ideally, while on passage we will all eat together and not resort to eating each other. Planning the menu and supplies was driving me a bit nuts until I happened on a method that did not involve learning how to use spreadsheets. Now, it is a simple, if somewhat tedious task in which I have confidence.

And we all know that sometimes life moves too fast. The answer to an overly fast-paced life is often slowing down and appreciating the little things. But, what happens when a sailboat is moving too fast? Well, you put on the brakes –sort of.

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Pignoli Cookies

Non-Sailing post warning: This post has nothing to do with sailing, sailboats, boats, nautical knowledge, or seamanship. Moreover, this post may cause sudden bouts of baking, higher than usual cholesterol, and even causing people to like you despite your mediocre personality.

I was asked to make a short recipe type video for a Corinthian Yacht Club event, so I chose pignoli cookies. These pignoli cookies are the simplest and best-tasting cookies I know how to make I learned from Mary- an elderly (in hindsight, she was probably 60) Italian neighbor in Queens when I was 10 or so. Several of the neighborhood kids were recruited to help her cook during the holidays in exchange for the variety of cookies, cakes, and baked clams. Yes, I know- baked clams don’t seem to fit, but they were so good!!

Anyway- here’s the video.

Although this is a sailing-related blog, COVID gave me an opportunity to put on a few pounds. So, you can find some other good recipes by clicking these links: bagels, butterflied shrimp, tater tots, french toast, and NY style eggrolls.

Quarantine Craving- New York Style Egg Rolls!

A New York egg roll is not really Chinese food. It is a regionalized version of an Americanized version of Chinese food. A genuine experience of eating a New York egg roll should first burn the roof of your mouth just enough to be sensitive (as opposed to the molten lava/cheese burn of a genuine New York slice of pizza that ought to leave a piece of skin hanging from the roof of your mouth) and cause the crispy egg roll exterior to be a painful irritation with every bite all while at the same time a single drop of hot oil meanders down your lip to your chin leaving a 2nd-degree burn trail. But, this foodie version of self-flagellation should be overwhelmed by the crunchy explosion of the shell, followed by the natural crunch of cabbage, the savory flavors of tiny shrimp (possibly sea monkeys) and bits of discarded roast pork, all melded together with cloyingly sweet duck sauce as the Chinese mustard also seers your sinuses to the point of tears.

I needed this experience to stave off zombie-apocalypse depression. So, I set out to make them and share the relatively simple recipe here with you.

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