The galley, the kitchen, no matter what you call it, it's very likely the heart of your home.  Today, while opening storage boxes and digging through the contents I was flooded with memories. As I pulled each item out of the cardboard boxes, unwrapping the paper layers, I remembered recipes, local food markets and hundreds of family meals aboard. In 2011, when we sold ZEN,  I painstakingly wrapped each item, sealed the box and tucked it away in our basement. Six years later in 2017, we moved from Portsmouth to Newport. The galley boxes moved too.  Occasionally, I'd field questions like: "Do we really need to hang onto all this stuff?"   Fair, especially because we try to live very minimally. But I could never bring myself to Marie Kondo those boxes. They felt like a hope chest to me. They represented a promise. A dream that we would move back onto a catamaran. 

Needless to say, it was a special joy to unpack my hope chest today, 9 years later. The gear consisted of pots, pans, dishes, silverware, knives, and a few gadgets we had used on our land yacht, our truck camper. The gadgets had a common theme: coffee! 

My favorite item, hands down, is my pressure cooker. My Indian father swore only pressure could make a perfect basmati rice. In 2008 it became important to add this form of cooking to my repertoire.  It allows long-distance sailors to stock the deep freezer with tougher cuts of meat. Beyond making rice in only 4 minutes, stews can be had in 30 minutes from start to table.  It boasts faster cooking time for everything. But most importantly, it uses minimal propane. That's a key benefit because finding propane can be a chore in far flung destinations.

My go-to cookbooks kept us well-fed across 30,000 nautical miles and many evenings ashore. "Pressure Cooking for Everyone" by Rodgers & Ward and "The Pressure  Cooker Cookbook" by Patsalis - we are not sponsored...just providing links for your convenience. From soups, to stews, and even bread (a definite favorite for the crew of ZEN), my pressure cooker earned the title "most imporant tool" in the galley.

One of our most memorable galley meals happened in a really special anchorage, the Tobago Cays. Click the pic to learn about this local crustacean dish and unique place of origin. 

Now it's time to organize all the cookery. Does anyone have a favorite shelf liner they'd like to suggest? Please share a link and your thoughts in the comments. 

I love being tucked away in this space. It's got everything I need within arms length, including an escape hatch glittering turquoise water beneath our hulls. We pray to never have to use this hatch for its intended purpose. For now, it gives me a unique view and keeps me close to the big blue ocean.