Cooks Afloat!: Gourmet Cooking on the Move

This exquisite cookbook instructs the epicure-boater on how to make magnificent gourmet meals using only a limited galley pantry and plenty of fresh food from the ocean: from spicy Haw Mog Hoy (mouthwatering spicy steamed mussels with a touch of Thailand) and Coquilles St. Jacques (a delectable creamy scallop dish), to a Sesame Seed Crusted Halibut with Sun-dried Cranberry Salsa (need we say more?) and Sea Asparagus Salad (mussels and samphire in a sweet balsamic vinaigrette).

Cooks Afloat! covers a broad range of culinary delights, including mouth-watering appys (Pears with Curried Crab) and warm-you-up soups (Seafood Bisque with Crab, Shrimp and White Wine), as well as easy to prepare sauces and dressings (Wild Gooseberry Sauce). Add quick-and-easy pasta and rice dishes, salad alternatives (when the fresh veggies are gone), a surprising section on breads and bread-making, and a sweet catalogue of cookie, muffin, cake and pie recipes and you have a complete how-to manual for gourmet cooking on board. Other how-to sections include tips for wild berry picking, canning, sprouting your own seeds, and how to recognize and harvest intertidal treasures and catches from the deep.

Written and developed during the many summers the authors have spent exploring Alaska, the Queen Charlotte Islands, Vancouver Island and the connecting coastal waterways, David Hoar and Noreen Rudd bring a wealth of experience to each exceptional chapter of this book. With tips on food preparation and storage while on board, an indispensable chapter on provisions for the gourmet galley, and ideas for preparing rough weather meals, Cooks Afloat! is a must-buy for every boater - and dryland seafood gourmand.

Geneticist and molecular biologist David Hoar started scuba diving at age thirteen, long before Jacques Cousteau made the sport popular. His understanding and knowledge grew as he dove for pleasure and also to collect specimens for the Vancouver Aquarium. Semi-retirement has allowed him the time to pursue his lifelong love of the sea. Cooks Afloat! is a record of his broad knowledge base in marine biology, seafood collection and preparation and creative cookery, where, aboard the Pacific Voyager, the galley has become his laboratory.

A physician and specialist in Medical Genetics, Noreen Rudd started scuba diving over twenty-five years ago, which opened her eyes to the wonders of the underwater world. At age fifty, she relinquished a career in medicine and research to explore new interests, including music, native cedar bark-weaving and culture, beading, food photography and, of course, cruising the Pacific Coast. Cooks Afloat! grew out of her responsibility for all aspects of meal-planning aboard her and co-author David Hoar's boat, Pacific Voyager.