Cooking on a Boat (Complete with Recipe)
The hardest part about transitioning to living aboard has been learning to cook in a small space, and with a propane oven. Really, I should show you my space. Maybe once I get it all clean, yeah? But the upside is, it’s so small that even when it’s dirty, it cleans up real quick. Just another adventure.
I have been wanting to keep track of the recipes that really work for cooking aboard, and share them here. Another thing that makes it a wee bit harder for us is that I’m avoiding gluten, dairy and meats (except seafood). Stir-fries and Mexican food are popular!
Doubt the kids will enjoy this one, but I’m making it for a camping trip, and I’m sure at least some of the adults will like it. Will be a nice lunch on a hot day for me, too!
Black Bean & Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 can of black beans, rinsed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
- 1 cup (or more if you please) of corn – cut from the cob or frozen
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 cup red onion
- 1/2 tomato, de-seeded and chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
For dressing
- 5 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin, or to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Cook your quinoa however you like. I prefer to toast it slightly, and then cook in a pot with a 1:1.5 ratio. So, 1 cup quinoa, 1 & 1/2 cup water. I like to salt this, too. Bring to boil, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes or so. Keep an eye on it. You want the quinoa to still be kinda crunchy. The coils should be mostly intact.
While that’s happily bubbling, add all the other ingredients together in a big bowl (or your biggest cooking pot if you’re like us and don’t have big bowls!). Add more or less of each thing, depending on your taste. You can really be flexible with this. Add some jalapenos if you want it spicy. I added some hot sauce. Whatever. Go with your gut on this.
Once the quinoa is done, cool it down some, but not completely, so that the flavors can co-mingle a little easier. I like to do it quickly, and spread it out on a plate and fluff it a few times. Add to your big bowl/pot. Stir and taste. Add more of anything you think is needing some help.
This is a decent amount. Dinner for 3-4, or a side for 6-8.
This looks delicious and is totally not something I would ever even think to make except… I read your recipe and thought, “Hey, I could actually do that!” So I think I will and I can’t wait! But I could halve the recipe, right? I’m thinking my family of picky eaters (including Andy) will probably balk at this one.
Out of curiosity, what’s your typical go-to lunch that is easy to make and you know the kids will eat well?
Yeah, you could definitely halve it. I imagine it would save for 3-4 days, so if you think you would want to eat it that long, you could do that
Peanut butter and jelly! Quesadillas with plain yogurt. Leftovers. Just a mishmash of things sometimes – apples, bananas, flavored yogurt, granola bars, string cheese, grilled cheese, hummus and chips…
Depends on what they want. It changes a lot!
Vick loves that you are doing this. I like the looks of this one and wonder if we’ve made something similar before.
This is so funny because I was at a luncheon yesterday where someone brought a black bean, corn salad and someone brought a quinoa salad. I mixed them together on my plate and thought it was the yummiest thing ever and now I find just about the exact same concoction here! I will definitely be making it this week. My kids will love it.
We have lived on a boat a year now with our 3 children, cooking has been the hardest thing for me to do….. Your salad looks yummy! I use my pressure cooker the most~
I’ve cooked a lot for years now, so adapting to cooking in such a small space, and with limited ingredients has been a challenge. I am coming into my own with it, though! It’s forcing me to stay more organized while I cook (a huge problem for me), and to prep my ingredients fully before I start. I used to just meander around the kitchen, adding things as I felt like it, but now it feels like a race once I light the fire