Panic buying my way to an over full, fully laden larder.

Having never sailed across the Atlantic before, and with our longest crossing to date being the 6.5 day sail from Gran Canaria to Sol with a crew of 2. Add in the self imposed anxiety of laying on delicious Christmas Beef Wellington (our traditional Christmas lunch) with all the trimmings & and sparkling New Year’s Eve. I found myself at a loss and slightly overwhelmed with what we might want and need for 14-20 days at sea.

Every time my friends ask me if I’m nervous about crossing the ocean my stock answers is that I’m naively excited about the open ocean adventure but constantly stressed about having enough exciting food for a foodie crew of 2 guys & a girl.

Eventually I decided that the best way to move past the anxiety was to create a menu, with the help of my favourite recipe app Any List, I compiled a collection of my top dishes. Here’s what I came up with

Tates Galley – Atlantic Crossing Menu

Breakfasts

• Toast with a choice or peanut butter, marmalade, jam, marmite, cheese, butter
• Yoghurt (home made, we invested in a yoghurt maker)
• Granola (home made)
• Oats
• Eggs
• Truffle pate (Christmas day)
• Salmon & scrambled eggs (New Year day)

Lunches

• Sandwich with a choice of toppings ham, chorizo, jombon, cheddar, brie, Spanish cheese, tuna, eggs, tomato, home made hummus
• Asian slaw
• Tuna & bean salad
• Pies frozen
  • Beef & Guinness,
  • Beef & pork
  • Chicken & mushroom
• Frittata
  • Spinach & Feta
  • mixed veg & chorizo
  • cheesy salmon
• Beef Wellington, spiced red cabbage, leeks & roasted potatoes (Christmas day)
• Leftovers

Dinners

• Home made pasta
  • creamy carbonara x2
  • roasted veg, tuna & feta x2
  • ricotta ravioli with a chilli, lime & sage butter x2
• Cobb roasted pork – New Years Eve
• Cauliflower, aubergine, lentil curry
• Maltese olives (sausage shaped beef mince wrapped in a minute stake, slow cooked in a rich tomato & olive sauce)
• Paella
• Chilli con carne
• Chicken curry
• Home made butternut gnocchi with blue cheese sauce
• Mushroom risotto
• Sausage stew
• Korean sticky pork
• Freshly caught fish on the braai

With a slightly clearer if not overly ambitious idea of what I’d like to serve the shopping could commence.

The larder

• Fruit
  • Red apples
  • Green apples
  • Pears
  • Water Mellon
  • Mangoes x 3 (one got squashed & went over board on day 2)
  • Oranges
  • Limes
  • Lemons
  • Grapefruit x1
  • Bananas
  • Pomegranate x1
• Veg
  • Cauliflower x1
  • Leeks x3
  • Red peppers x3
  • Tomatoes ripe
  • Tomatoes green
  • Potatoes
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Padrón peppers x1 pack
  • Cucumber x2
  • Garlic
  • Onions yellow
  • Onions red x2
  • Butternut
  • Carrots
  • Cabbage white x3
  • Cabbage red x1
• Dry store
  • Eggs x104
  • Tinned tomatoes
  • Tinned tomato purée
  • Tinned tuna
  • Tinned mushrooms x2
  • Tinned peas x2
  • Tinned sweet corn
  • Tinned mixed beans
  • Tinned kidneys beans
  • Tinned pineapple x1
  • Tinned peaches x1
  • Coco nut milk
• Frozen
  • Individual pies x9
  • Apple pies x3
  • Pork leg x3kg
  • Beef wellington fillet x1kg
  • Spinach x 2 bags
  • Peas x 1 bag
  • Sweet corn x1 bag
  • Mahi Mahi x3 portions
  • Tuna x3 portions
  • Maltese olives x3
  • Italian sausage x 6
  • Chicken breast x 6
  • Marinated chicken pieces x1 bag
  • Pork mince 300g x2
  • Beef mince 500g
  • Smoked salmon 350g
  • Bacon x2 packs
  • Greek yoghurt starter powder for 100L of yoghurt
• Fridge
• Chorizo x 2
• Italian salami x 2
• Jambon sliced x3 packs
• Ham sliced x2 packs
• Pancetta x2 unsliced blocks
• Jambon cubed x6 tubs
• Brie x3
• Cheddar
• Feta
• Spanish cheese x 2
• Halloumie x1
• Parmesan x3
• Ricotta x3
• Blue cheese x1
• Pate x2
• Puff pastry for the wellington x1
• Pizza base x1
• Dried fruit & nuts
• Treats
  • Crisps
  • Celebrations festivities chocolate box x1
  • Dark chocolate bars
  • Christmas Figgy pudding x1
  • Panettone small x1
  • Bags of sweets
  • Christmas pudding slices
  • After eights x1 box