Just wonderful! I feel like I'm with you on the voyage. I love cooking, and camping, and I lived in Brazil without a refrigerator in the 80s, which totally reframed my ideas about what *has* to be refrigerated. You are an amazing chef!
Thank you Justine!! I appreciate your comment and I’m so glad you enjoyed this. Also, so cool you had that experience in Brazil. I’d love to know more! Sounds like you thrived, too!
I actually just opened a tube of wasabi paste tonight to make some wasabi mayo and I hope it doesn’t *actually* need to be refrigerated (even though the tube says it does!). It’s always a new experiment on SV Chérie!
Precisely! We have excess solar capacity as it is, but we’ve had a string of cloudy day lately and haven’t got back to 100% charge for about a week! If we had a fridge, we’d potentially be in trouble. We’d need to somehow find more space for solar, or charge our phones & computers less (which are honestly more important)! But without a fridge, we’re totally fine. We have very low risk of ever getting down to zero.
Cory — I love this so much. “Mastering the constraints you’ve chosen” could be the manifesto for every long-haul traveler I admire. Your galley notes read like a captain’s log + field guide — socks for apples, foil for carrots, flipping eggs like hourglasses — and that peanut-butter-and-pinto chimichanga deserves its own flag.
As a slow-travel spreadsheet nerd, I felt seen by your provisioning tracker. This is the part most people never talk about: the quiet systems that make freedom possible. No fridge isn’t deprivation; it’s intimacy with your food, your energy, your boat—and yourselves.
Here’s to tiny floating cities, chosen limits, and meals that taste like capability. When you publish that provisioning sheet + recipes, I’m first in line.
Thank you Kelly! I love that you connected with “mastering the constrained I’ve chosen.” I feel like this is the absolute KEY. I know people with kids, for example, who feel like their wants & desires are on pause until the kids are out of the house. But I balk at that. We all know examples of folks with huge hurdles, disabilities, & demands who still manage the life they want — including folks with kids. Hell, I know families who live on sailboats and thrive on tight budgets like us! Often, the constraints are in our minds.
Have you thought about an off-ship cooler? When I lived in Holland we left the beer on the balcony to keep cool. You could do similar with a waterproof container - throw it overboard and haul it up when you want something. Might be good for cheese, something small and heavy with rope attached.
That’s a good idea! I haven’t heard of this before. I do keep cheese & butter against the hull below the waterline to take advantage of that temp difference. I’ve also chilled cookie dough by dipping the bowl in a container filled with sea water, which I can take into the boat through a dedicated faucet in the galley. I like that idea though! Maybe we can do that when we’re at our next anchorage for awhile, especially when we’re having guests :)
Really interesting to hear how you are handling the practicalities. Especially now that we all consider fridges, ovens, etc to be basic essential appliances. Such a cool way to learn about and connect with sailors from past times.
Thanks William! I agree! One thing I’ve yet to confront yet is what to do if we catch a big fish. We may have to learn to smoke it or dry it! I’d hate to waste any of that, and there are only 2 of us on board. Though, our cat loves fresh fish.
Thanks for sharing your food storage tips, I could use them for living in a van too. Can’t wait to clear up fridge space by taking out the bulky eggs and condiments!
One question though, if you leave the pot of leftovers on the stove, would the boat rock it out of place?
Thanks for reading along, Sue! I’m so happy to hear this was helpful for you. I also found a really good book about this that is geared toward people with either no fridges (like me) or small fridges (like most others in our situation!) (https://a.co/d/2RzkhfG). With the condiments though, just make sure to use a clean utensil :)
For the leftovers, thankfully our stove is on a gimbal! So, it is free to move as the boat rocks side to side. If we were to rock hard, it could be a problem, but so far, no issues!
That was a really awesome read. You make a great point that for centuries, sailors had no refrigeration, and somehow they survived. We could say that about many modern conveniences. You demonstrate that knowledge and planning can compensate for it.
Thank you for reading, Brad! I’m glad you caught all that about the historical aspects. I want to dig into this more, actually! I’m still not sure how they stored enough fresh water, for instance. But you’re right: it’s all about planning. It’s also not undue hardship — for me, it’s connection to something bigger.
Great stuff Cory! Tip for you; If you can, buy your jam/jelly in single serving packets. They're shelf stable and will last for months. You can get them in restaurant supply stores or on Amazon, etc.
This is amazing, Chas! Thank you! We thought of this, actually, but haven’t had luck finding any of these packets at normal grocery stores. But we’ll try Amazon!
Amazing!! I’m glad to hear it, Ted! If I would’ve read this a year ago, I also would’ve learned a thing or two to potentially apply to land life! If you experiment with something new, lemme know 🙌
Just wonderful! I feel like I'm with you on the voyage. I love cooking, and camping, and I lived in Brazil without a refrigerator in the 80s, which totally reframed my ideas about what *has* to be refrigerated. You are an amazing chef!
Thank you Justine!! I appreciate your comment and I’m so glad you enjoyed this. Also, so cool you had that experience in Brazil. I’d love to know more! Sounds like you thrived, too!
I actually just opened a tube of wasabi paste tonight to make some wasabi mayo and I hope it doesn’t *actually* need to be refrigerated (even though the tube says it does!). It’s always a new experiment on SV Chérie!
As you rightly say fridges need electricity and unless you can power it using solar then it's your battery that's taking the hit.
Precisely! We have excess solar capacity as it is, but we’ve had a string of cloudy day lately and haven’t got back to 100% charge for about a week! If we had a fridge, we’d potentially be in trouble. We’d need to somehow find more space for solar, or charge our phones & computers less (which are honestly more important)! But without a fridge, we’re totally fine. We have very low risk of ever getting down to zero.
Cory — I love this so much. “Mastering the constraints you’ve chosen” could be the manifesto for every long-haul traveler I admire. Your galley notes read like a captain’s log + field guide — socks for apples, foil for carrots, flipping eggs like hourglasses — and that peanut-butter-and-pinto chimichanga deserves its own flag.
As a slow-travel spreadsheet nerd, I felt seen by your provisioning tracker. This is the part most people never talk about: the quiet systems that make freedom possible. No fridge isn’t deprivation; it’s intimacy with your food, your energy, your boat—and yourselves.
Here’s to tiny floating cities, chosen limits, and meals that taste like capability. When you publish that provisioning sheet + recipes, I’m first in line.
💛 Kelly
Thank you Kelly! I love that you connected with “mastering the constrained I’ve chosen.” I feel like this is the absolute KEY. I know people with kids, for example, who feel like their wants & desires are on pause until the kids are out of the house. But I balk at that. We all know examples of folks with huge hurdles, disabilities, & demands who still manage the life they want — including folks with kids. Hell, I know families who live on sailboats and thrive on tight budgets like us! Often, the constraints are in our minds.
Thanks again!
Exactly. I love how you put that — the constraint isn’t the problem, it’s the canvas!
When we stop waiting for the perfect circumstances, life suddenly feels a lot more alive.
Here’s to mastering the version we’ve chosen (and finding the beauty in its limits).
Hear hear!
Have you thought about an off-ship cooler? When I lived in Holland we left the beer on the balcony to keep cool. You could do similar with a waterproof container - throw it overboard and haul it up when you want something. Might be good for cheese, something small and heavy with rope attached.
That’s a good idea! I haven’t heard of this before. I do keep cheese & butter against the hull below the waterline to take advantage of that temp difference. I’ve also chilled cookie dough by dipping the bowl in a container filled with sea water, which I can take into the boat through a dedicated faucet in the galley. I like that idea though! Maybe we can do that when we’re at our next anchorage for awhile, especially when we’re having guests :)
Really interesting to hear how you are handling the practicalities. Especially now that we all consider fridges, ovens, etc to be basic essential appliances. Such a cool way to learn about and connect with sailors from past times.
Thanks William! I agree! One thing I’ve yet to confront yet is what to do if we catch a big fish. We may have to learn to smoke it or dry it! I’d hate to waste any of that, and there are only 2 of us on board. Though, our cat loves fresh fish.
Thanks for sharing your food storage tips, I could use them for living in a van too. Can’t wait to clear up fridge space by taking out the bulky eggs and condiments!
One question though, if you leave the pot of leftovers on the stove, would the boat rock it out of place?
Thanks for reading along, Sue! I’m so happy to hear this was helpful for you. I also found a really good book about this that is geared toward people with either no fridges (like me) or small fridges (like most others in our situation!) (https://a.co/d/2RzkhfG). With the condiments though, just make sure to use a clean utensil :)
For the leftovers, thankfully our stove is on a gimbal! So, it is free to move as the boat rocks side to side. If we were to rock hard, it could be a problem, but so far, no issues!
Wow gimbal! That would be super flex in a van!
I’m surprised that’s not already a thing!
That was a really awesome read. You make a great point that for centuries, sailors had no refrigeration, and somehow they survived. We could say that about many modern conveniences. You demonstrate that knowledge and planning can compensate for it.
Thank you for reading, Brad! I’m glad you caught all that about the historical aspects. I want to dig into this more, actually! I’m still not sure how they stored enough fresh water, for instance. But you’re right: it’s all about planning. It’s also not undue hardship — for me, it’s connection to something bigger.
Great stuff Cory! Tip for you; If you can, buy your jam/jelly in single serving packets. They're shelf stable and will last for months. You can get them in restaurant supply stores or on Amazon, etc.
This is amazing, Chas! Thank you! We thought of this, actually, but haven’t had luck finding any of these packets at normal grocery stores. But we’ll try Amazon!
Yup, Amazon definitely has them. Worth it so the Captain can have his PB&J. 🙂
Maybe I don't need all the details...but there are food preparation tips I'll remember and apply! You're doing pretty well
Amazing!! I’m glad to hear it, Ted! If I would’ve read this a year ago, I also would’ve learned a thing or two to potentially apply to land life! If you experiment with something new, lemme know 🙌