It was spring of 1982 and I was months from high school graduation. On the horizon was a summer serving as crew on a 101 ft schooner and the beginning of college in the fall. It was also a dull and dreary day sitting in the teeny boatyard office of the marine electrician where I worked as an assistant after school.
And then he walked by. Oh. My. God. He was tall and lean and tan with mussy sun-bleached blonde hair that curled at his collar, and he had the swagger of someone who’d been at sea for a long period of time. I jumped from my stool at the workbench and peeked around the doorway to see where he was going, eyes fixed on his firm tush. There was a sailboat in the sling a hundred or so feet away and he was talking to two men examining the keel.
To be honest, hubby and I aren’t fans of chicken breast. We prefer thighs which are juicier due to the higher fat content. But every now and then I feel like doing something fancy with chicken and opt for breasts especially when stuffing. Using olives marinated in olive oil kept these moist and flavorful.
My husband and father-in-law love sweets and dessert is always highly anticipated after I’ve made a nice dinner. I often make complicated baked goodies but in my pursuit of eating healthier I’ve been working on new ideas. This one satisfies the sweet tooth and is so easy to whip up in minutes. Better yet, all ingredients are readily available at our 
Tofu: You either love it or hate. I have always hated it. And really, for no reason other than I had an iguana and that’s what we fed him, so why would I want to eat reptile food? Plus it has a look, taste and texture that is just weird.
This is a delicious, hearty vegan breakfast that is made the night before and ready to eat right from the refrigerator. I’ll make this when we are at sea in warm climates and the crew needs a quick meal going on/off the sunrise shift.
I served as “chef” at a recent Writer’s Retreat and many of our attendees had a variety of food preferences and needs. To please everyone, I created this vegan version of “meat in a lettuce cup” and also made a version using ground turkey in lieu of the chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans). I served it for lunch with sides of tortilla chips and salsa and a tray of raw, bite-size veggies. The pans were empty, so I’ll take it as a hit!
This is one of those dishes that was inspired by a special at the market; I see a sale on a protein and build a menu around it. I’ve had veal piccata at restaurants but never tried cooking it myself. Traditional veal piccata is made without mushrooms, white wine is used instead of stock, and paper thin lemon slices are cooked on top of the cutlets in the oven while the sauce is made. I like a good challenge, so did a little research and came up with this recipe using ingredients and flavor profiles that we enjoy.
We always have leftover buns when we do a hot dog or sausage barbecue with friends. And not being big bread eaters, they sit until I either feed to the ducks in the marina, throw away or make into bread pudding. All of these ingredients are available at our local 
This easy-to-make sangria is chock-full of summer fruit which makes for not only wonderful flavor, but a tasty snack. It’s perfect for barbecues and picnics, refreshing and travels easily in a container with a lid. It does take a bit of prep as it’s best with at least 12 hours of marinating time for the fruit to infuse the wine. I made mine on July 3rd for an Independence Day party and a week later I finished the last of the batch: Delish! All of these ingredients are readily available at our local 
