Food In Many Forms

Each time we go on a sailing trip for a week at some marvelous destination, I look up what other people have done for meals. It always feels like there are very few resources available, so I thought I would add my menus to the collective knowledge base, talk about what was easy to find, what was hard to find, and what I want to remember for next time. For your reference, we sailed with Dream Yacht Charter out of Portorosa Marina in mid-September. This is considered shoulder season for the Aeolian islands. The weather felt like shoulder season, but the vibe on the islands was "off-season" - a lot less nightlife and fewer people. The Menu  Saturday   Portorosa        Sunday Panarella by dinner  Monday Panarella  Tuesday Panarella > Stromboli   Wednesday Stromboli > Salina > Lipari  Thursday Lipari > Vulcano  Friday Vulcano > Lipari >  Mari...

Last week, a good friend of mine texted me, "I just made a very involved pasta salad". At the time, I thought, "hmm, okay cool... random, send me the recipe." But now after having made said pasta salad, I realize how much that is the understatement of the year. "Very involved" is exactly how I would describe it. Don't believe the New York Times' estimated prep time of forty-five minutes - it took me closer to an hour and a half or two hours to make. But it is pretty delicious. And a ton of food.  Ingredients: 2 lb ripe campari tomatoes, cut in wedges 5 Tbsp Olive oil Salt and pepper 2 or 3 garlic cloves, pressed 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional) 2 Tbsp capers, rinsed and chopped (optional) 2 medium eggplants, about 1 pound 12 oz whole wheat ziti or other short pasta 6 oz mild feta 1 small bunch of basil, for garnish Directions: 1. Heat broiler. Put tomato wedges in a shallow baking dish in one layer. Drizz...

My recipes need to be turned in next week, so I was in a scramble to find a good vegetable side dish after making some very lackluster spinach cakes. I needed more bright color, which initially made me think of spinach, but eggplant also has a beautiful color . The big issue with eggplant that I always hear is that it soaks up oil very quickly, so I reduced the olive oil from 5 tablespoons to 1 tablespoon, and it turned out great! I served it with toasted French bread and spread the eggplant mixture on top like a crostini - delicious! Ingredients 1 tablespoons olive oil 1 1 1/2-pound eggplant, unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1 medium onion, cubed 4 large garlic cloves, chopped 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings in juice 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil Directions Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add eggplant, onion, and garlic cloves. sauté until eggplant is soft and brown, about 15 minutes. Add d...