Prep Work in the Galley and/or Kitchen

Organization is about the single most important skill to have as a cook.  Sure, making food taste good is critical.  Safety and cleanliness are imperative.  Life is made even better when beautiful, interesting ingredients become part of a repertoire.  If, however, you can’t put it all on the table at the same time?  Not good.  Being safe and clean are inextricably linked to being organized.  And a beautiful ingredient doesn’t do much good if the whole package doesn’t come together into one moment.

To this mix, lets sprinkle a range of outdoor temperature from 35 degrees to 90 degrees peppered with a tilt that can get things sliding off counter tops and stove tops, topped with some wave action which sets the whole galley in motion.  Garnish this with the fluctuation of a super dry and sunny environment to sopping wet.  Under these circumstances, organization becomes imperative to any successful sailing cook.

This was an especially good morning with lots of prep help. That row of zippies makes a girl’s heart happy.

My throwback prep crew from a couple of years ago. xoxo

Part of being organized is working ahead and having the prep work done before begining to heat up a pan or add flour to a bowl.  That’s where our morning team comes into action.  The first cups of coffee are awarded to those early morning risers who come to spend their time waking up with us by peeling carrots and chopping onions among a myriad of other tasks.  The more we can prep before breakfast, the smoother our day goes.  Every day.  Because much of our produce comes from either my garden or our CSA, more prep work is required.  Just think about the difference between de-ribbing a pound of spinach, washing, and then drying it OR zipping open a box of spinach.  Now times that by 20 and you have the difference in prep time between farm-grown and store-bought.

Annie
Thank you to all those who come to share our quiet mornings.