From Latitudes and Attitudes November 2008 page 102-105

Stocking the Galley Pantry
This life, and the nourishment thereof, is about more than just survival.  It is, or should be, about good company and sharing and all the pleasures that enrich and restore us as human beings.  We thrive on this at home.  How much more so should we thrive, then, where water’s edge meets wind and sky?
The galley of a sailboat is a doll’s house kitchen pared down to the barest necessities. How on earth—or sea—will you manage?  A toy pantry, how quaint! The merest suggestion of counter space . . . .
The demands of a tiny postage stamp galley are utterly different from those of terra firma kitchens with ample pantries, broad central islands, and unlimited conveniences.  In a galley you may have gas or electricity—but not always.  And then there will be the times when you will find it difficult just to stand upright. How can you propose to produce extraordinary cuisine in conditions like that? Dinner? Somebody send out, please.
Let us not give up the ship so soon. Where is it written that to acquire the art of sailing you must also surrender the art of eating? One can find romance on the high seas without having to forgo the sensual pleasures of the palate. The secret? Well, there are only two, really.
First: Truly great food does not always have to be a production number.
Second, and most important: Everything depends on your pantry.

The Art Of Eating…
There are those who set to sea content to merely subsist on stews from cans whatever the weather, either from lack of imagination or just because it seems easy. I call this giving up.  With a little forethought and with almost the same ease, you can feed your spirit as well as your body.  You can create real cuisine.  From a tiny galley!
How?  You know the old pirate adage:  a ship is as only good as the loot in her hold.  A galley guru’s loot is of a culinary nature, i.e. ingredients.  Make them the best that they can possibly be.  The best occasionally means the most expensive, but not always.  It’s what tastes best.  In the case of a galley, the best not only has to be delicious but also save your time and your health as well as be able to be stored without spoiling for long periods.  It should be compact enough to stow without having to jettison the engine to create space.  A tall order, growing taller with every requirement.
Repeat this simple mantra: You can’t make good food with bad ingredients...

 © Lisa Hayden-Miller, Galley Guru-Effortless Gourmet Cooking Afloat
no portion of this article is to be reprinted without express permission of the author

See the whole four page article including two delicious and easy gourmet recipes