Simplified cauliflower gratin

1 cauliflower, cut in pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon flour  (paleo flour if going keto)
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano, or more
2/3 cup panko or bread crumbs (optional if going keto)
1 tablespoon butter, cut in small pieces
Salt, pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 390F (200C)
In a big bowl, mix the cauliflower, cream, flour and 3/4 of the parmesan; 
Add salt and pepper
Transfer to gratin dish, and cover airtight with aluminium foil
Bake 30 minutes
In a bowl, mix the rest or the parmesan and the bread crumbs.
Remove the foil, spread the mixed cheese and bread evenly, add the pieces of butter
Continue baking uncovered until the gratin is golden and cauliflower tender, 10 to 15 minutes
For a more intense color, finish with 3-5 minutes on high broil
Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Can be made ahead and refrigerated; reheat in oven at 300F

Boat people, too busy to post

So here I am, sitting in my windowless cubicle at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, outside temperature 46 degrees Fahrenheit, while Raconteur is (probably) at or near Union Frigate Island, SVG.  Susan and JP arrived to Grenada on 31 January, and splashed the following Monday (I think), the 5th of February.  A series of challenges - mostly with the watermaker - ensued - I'll just have to hope one of them tells the stories - and the poor things were trapped in Grenada until the 3rd of March, when they made the epic sail to Carriacou and then on to Union yesterday.  It was always going to be a bit of an abbreviated and interrupted sailing season - JP had to be in Europe mid/late January - and now we are doing the move out of the Chester house starting the 18th of March, so the boat people are coming back (instead of Leigh going down).  That will entail packing, moving out, storing most things in Stevensville for now, and driving the new Santa Fe and a UHaul to Florida with wine, clothes and whatever we don't want to put in storage.  We'll be in Europe for the second half of April, so Raconteur will be back on a mooring in Grenada and looked after by a boat minder, until the first part of May.  Leigh hopes to join for maybe Memorial Day...to be seen!  There...I've done a post for 2018.

Baack again!

It was with a slight sense of déjà vu that we boarded the American Airlines flight to Grenada on Thursday the 16th of January, this time with a full complement of veterinary students from the local (US) university. No less than eight service dogs, half a dozen service cats and uncounted other animals boarded the flight with us, a tribute to the ingenuity of veterinary doctors and doctors to be.  We moved in to the "cruiser motel" of Cool Runnings, and started the so called splashing process - with only two business days and a week-end to prepare the boat, we were counting both on total luck and hard work to be ready. Poseidon smiled on us, and despite an unexpected plumbing failure on Sunday morning, we were ready for the launch on Monday.
We are anchored in Prickly Bay, checking all systems, cooking up a storm to fill the freezer, and enjoying our swimming off the transom and our rum punches. 

Goodness - no posts after March?

JP and Susan were in Puerto Rico in March, and I joined them there on the 24th.  We had a great sail around the east coast and the Spanish Virgins - I managed to drown my camera in a squall, but otherwise it was a great time.  Here are some random photos.

We left to fly to Europe (San Juan to JFK, JFK to Nice, and then Nice to BWI on the 17th (me) and the 21st (JP and Susan), which worked pretty well) and then JP and Susan headed back to PR on 9 May.  I'll have to leave  it to them to chart the southbound voyage, but I think they were able to stop at ??St Kitts  ??Nevis along with the usual spots.  They got back to Grenada in late June and flew back to Miami on 2 July, with Raconteur safely on the hard.  Here are a few photos Susan sent me, from Tyrell Bay on Carriacou to the haul-out.

All told, we had about 140 Raconteur days in 2016.  JP and Susan will return to her on 11 January, and once there is a float plan Leigh will try to figure out where to meet up.  We had lots of off-season (?!) events - two more visits to Roger, in July and in October, for his 90th birthday; a joint 60th celebration for JP and Leigh in NH in August; a blow out wedding in Kansas City, also in August; Leigh's mom's 80th birthday party in Lauderdale in November, and a visit from the oldest son of our French friends the Rogieri's in Chester and Lauderdale in December.  Merry Christmas and Happy 2017 to all!

A little tour of Puerto Rico

March 18 2016

Marina Puerto del Rey

We moved from Vieques to the giant marina of Puerto del Rey, near Fajardo. 

With 14 docks, over 1000 vessels and a permanent carrousel of golf carts ferrying people and luggage around, it is an impressive sight. 


After squeaking our 13"6' beam into an approximately 15 foot slip, we went to rent a car for a little driving tour of the island.

We first set out to the south, on the back roads through Juncos to Guavate for one of the culinary monuments of the island, Lechon Asado. (roasted suckling pig).






Continuing on the scenic route 184,

Central valley in Yabucoa region

we drove a semi-circle in the mountains and central valleys of the island and were very impressed by the natural beauty of it, and how little tourism there is outside of San Juan. 

We finally arrived in Yabucoa and followed the seaside to Patillas and Guayama, where we eventually found a little hotel on the water.

Near the hotel in Guayama

Time to try another prized local dish, Chillo Frito (fried red snapper) as well as well as the local flan de coco. We are rapidly regaining all the pounds we lost on the boat.

Chillo frito

The next morning, breakfast of champions in the covered market of Guayama with Domplines (fried bread) and excellent Habichuelos Guisados (red beans in sauce) to accompany our coffees. A trend is clearly developing.

We continue to Ponce, where we stopped in 2011 on our original southbound trip, for a lunch at the Casa del Jefe (more local specialties, obviously), and some shopping. 

And then, back to the mountains through

the middle of the island, to Adjuntas, 

Add caption

the capital of Puerto Rico coffee production.

We score a few pounds from a small producer who also has a coffee shop in the town square, have one of the strongest expressos of our life, and continue towards the lake region, stopping at the Lago Dos Bocas.

It is already evening when we arrive in Arecibo, and the only recognizable hotel is right on a 6-lane highway. We decide to go for a guesthouse or boutique hotel, but discover that these never have signs, and that a few web entries lead to ruins. As dark settles we find a place that looks good, but the air conditioning of this boutique hotel (2 rooms!) is down. The manager tells us he has another property, and leads us to a place that we had ignored as looking like a crack house. It is just under renovation, but it is clean, the beds are ok and the manager brings us missing supplies. 

The next morning we are off to the famous beaches of Rincon to see the surfers. We first stop at Crash Boat Beach, a very charming family beach. 

Crash Boat Beach

The crowds and the volume of the boom boxes are very impressive, and everyone seems to have a great time.


As for Rincon, the surf is absolutely flat, and there are no surfers. Susan learns the sad difference between a surfer bar and a sailors bar by getting served the weakest piña colada of the island. We will have to retry somewhere else. JP prudently sticks to local beer.


It is time to drive home and rest for our climb the next day of El Yunque, the tallest mountain here. Following the excellent advice of fellow cruisers Karen and Michael of Mischana, met in the marina after a four year hiatus, we start early and arrive as the site is still deserted. 

We have a wonderful walk through this rainforest and get to the top in about two hours, walking most of the way in a mist, with occasional raindrops. 




The top is supposed to be the best view of the many climbs in the Caribbean, but obviously it is rarely to be seen due to the permanent cloud surrounding the summit. With a little thought for the millions of Japanese who have this experience every year at the Jungfraujoch, we start our climb down.

Best view of the Caribbean 

As we climb down, we cross more and more people going up, and when we get to our car, every parking lot is full. We cross another 176 cars and buses on the park road going down. Where did they all go? 

What to do after a few hours of healthy exercise? Go to the Kioscos for more PR fried food, of course! 

The real Piña Colada

The Kioscos are a long row of beach shacks, ranging from very basic food stands to restaurants, in Luquillo, just north of Fajardo. We indulge in an octopus salad and chicken-stuffed fried sweet plantain. Susan can finally enjoy her piña colada, from the selection of the pineapple to the eating of the innards and of course the drinking.

Vieques

15 March

From St. Thomas, we crossed to Vieques or Isla Nena, the small companion island to Puerto Rico. As usual on crossings, we were trying to fish, an activity that has been spectacularly unsuccessful this season: fish caught = 0 lures broken away by fish = 4

Oh no, not another barracuda!

That day we caught a good size barracuda, which we released due to ciguatera concerns. He did manage to break the lure however, so the score is now fish 0  - lures 5

Night bait

At least we can still catch bait if we run out of lures - or make a fritto misto.

We anchored in Bahia Salina del Sur, a wonderful anchorage where one sadly still cannot walk ashore, as it is part of the old Navy shooting range, and not all unexploded ordnance has been removed. This is a very sore subject with the locals - the Navy jobs are gone but the long term negative effects are there to stay for decades at the present remediation rate. 

Our neighbors in Bahia Salina del Sur

Trop petit, mon ami...

Meanwhile it is very beautiful, with many nice conch shells (all too small to keep, so no conch salad, alas) and has no cell phone service if one wants quiet.

We moved to Ensenada Sun Bay, next to the small town of Esperanza the next day. Esperanza is about 5 blocks square and very quiet, but people are extremely friendly and helpful. 

Esperanza dock and beach

There are a few beachfront cafés, bars and restaurants, as well as tour operators for the nearby bioluminescence bays. We judged the moon was too bright for those, better luck another time.

The next day we took a maxitaxi to the main island city, Isabela Segunda, and visited the local art gallery (many temptations, which we resisted) and the old fort, now a museum of local culture and resistance to the Navy activities. A delightful garden lunch at Conuco, which also features interesting art and great sangria (warning: rum loaded) completed the day.

St. John and Great St James (St. Thomas) USVI

12 March St. John

Did you say traffic?

We had never explored the US Virgins and were interested to see St. John, much of which is a National Park. They do not make entry easy. Cruz Bay, the only entry point, is a ferry-infested tiny harbor with no space, plenty of reef and a customs dock always full except when you return by dinghy. Once cleared and duly briefed by the Park Service on mariners' duties, we headed north to the mooring field of Caneel Bay, with beautiful views of St. Thomas, Great St James, Jost Van Dyke and a series of small US Virgin islands.  It is very spectacular, but not peaceful, as cruise ships, fast motor boats, ferries, tour boats et al. all zoom by on this highway between the USVI and the BVI. 

The next day, we moved to the South coast, and it was a different world - quiet, just a few boats in the mooring fields of the Park. 











We moored in Little Lameshure,a delightful small circular bay. 

Don't step on me

We went snorkeling among the rocks, many fishes, nice rays, but also the most sea urchins we had seen in years. When we walked the parallel trail the next day, we realized we had swum close to a mile total.

Termite nest

We spent the next day walking through the nearby park trails, very nicely maintained, enjoying old plantation ruins, beautiful vegetation and some animal life.

14 March St Thomas

Ever ordered a pizza while snorkeling? The place for it is the anchorage West of Great St. James Island, in the south of St. Thomas. 

Floating pizzeria and delivery vehicle

This bay has a reef in the middle which makes for good fishwatching, and best of all there is a floating pizzeria anchored near the shore. We swam there on our return from the reef and ordered their specialty, Pizza Cubana, basically all the components of a cuban sandwich on a pizza. 

After an hour or so of swimming in the (comparatively) colder water of the Virgins, this was quite a welcome treat.














And some more Virgin Gorda pictures, just because:

Saba Rock Hotel

Lunch at Leverick Bay

Racing in style