Pink Eyes

I was thinking about potatoes the other day. There's no accounting for the thoughts that race or dilly-dally their way through my head. Something pops up and I've gotta deal with it. Why potatoes? Well, we were passing Meredith's Fruit and Veggie store and I saw a huge sign announcing they had Pink Eyes on sale. Have you heard of Pink Eyes before? It's another name for conjunctivitis, I know, but I figured this Pink Eye had to be a fruit or veggie, so that narrowed it down some. We didn't have time to stop, so I made a mental note (very risky) to research this a bit more. A few more miles up the road, Ye Olde Oyster Cove Store announced Pink Eye availability, too. But their sign was a bit more specific: Fresh Dug Pink Eye Potatoes. Aha...now we were getting somewhere.

We stopped. Not only did they have Pink Eyes, but they had Moonlight Brushed, Nicola, Dutch Creams and Red Rascals. Potato heaven! I had to stop to think of the last time I experienced such potato nervana. It certainly wasn't the South Pacific with their small, soft, gnarly spuds sitting in bug-infested dirty bins. It was at a fresh market on the island of Chiloé in Chile. I remember being absolutely astounded at the variety of sizes, shapes and colors of potatoes that were for sale...orange, yellow, white, green, even bright purple. I stopped and took photos and the locals looked at me oddly for taking the time to photograph something so common.

Potatoes were actually first cultivated in Peru around the same time the locals there domesticated the llama. The Incas grew potatoes and made a flour-like substance comparable to wheat flour for bread-making. The Spanish explorers brought the first potatoes back to continental Europe in the mid-16th century, just in time for the Poles to start cultivating them for use in making potato vodka. English explorers brought white potatoes back around the same time and introduced them to Ireland and Scotland. They had a hard time being accepted though. The Brits considered them dirty, evil and poisonous. They even started a society to disclaim these ugly tubers: Society for the Prevention of Unwholesome Diets, aka SPUD. It wasn't until the Irish starting immigrating to the States and growing them back in the 1700's that Americans explored the wonders of the white potato and they became a popular starchy vegetable. I still don't remember seeing any purple ones in the US though.

On our trip back to the States last summer, we stopped in Blackfoot, Idaho at the Potato Museum. Here the mighty potato is revered. We saw all things potato including potato lotion, couch potatoes, potato chips and plush stuffed potatoes...even Marilyn Monroe modeling a potato sack in a potato field.

All this just to say, we now know what Pink Eyes in Australia are. See how my mind wanders.

One cuppa, two cuppa, three cuppa, more

I'm not sure why, but on the boat I'm a tea drinker. In the States, I drank coffee pretty much all the while I was there and never thought twice about it. Perhaps, because everyone in the family drinks coffee; it's there, the Mr. Coffee is always ready to brew and it's just more convenient. David drinks coffee on every continent. But me, as soon as I step foot back on the boat, I put on the kettle for a cuppa and it's always tea. The problem I'm finding is that with the cooler weather here and my new writing projects, I'm sipping tea all day long. I'm usually up early and have my first cup before 0600 and then it's constant throughout the day. Heat the kettle, make a cup of tea and … the cup is empty again. I don't even remember drinking it all; it's just gone. My usual morning tea is regular old Lipton black although Earl Grey with its distinctive bergamot addition is a real eye-opener. I take it “white”, that is, with milk.

Australians drink tea...probably as much tea as Americans drink coffee. They stock Lipton in the supermarkets. Dilmah from Sri Lanka claims to be 100% Ceylon tea and is a popular brand here. Twinings makes an Australian Afternoon Tea that I have yet to try, but plan to. Lord knows I drink tea well into the afternoon. In fact, sometime I'm sipping my last cup as David is pouring the evening glass of wine. Interesting to note, if an Australian invites you to “tea”, it usually means a dinner invitation, not just a cuppa.

There are definitely lots of teas to choose from, no matter where we are. There's Perfect Tea from Papua New Guinea and there are Indian teas and Chinese teas available. I always judge the local population's interest in a particular food by the amount of shelf space that is allotted to it in a big supermarket. Tea definitely takes up a lot of shelf space in Woolworths and Coles here. My favorite tea from New Zealand was Black Adder, a strong anise tea that really made my taste buds stand at attention. It's got a huge snake on the front of it, but I like it anyway. South Africa offered their native rooiboos tea, but I was never able to acquire the taste for it. I never got into Argentina's bitter maté either. And then of course, there was coca tea in Peru, but we won't get into that.

We visited Celestial Seasonings Tea while we were in Colorado last summer. We enjoyed their free tour and stocked up on herbal teas. I love their “zingers”. Tart and tangy lemon, mango, acai, cranberry, raspberry. It's evidently hibiscus that gives their teas the “zing”. Bengal Spice is a wower. I'm not content with a “hint” of anything. I like whatever flavor I choose to be full strength. If it's cinnamon and clove...let me have it. And then, of course, there's the Celestial Seasonings artwork, quotes and interesting trivia on the box. Always a lift-me-up as I'm downing my fifth cup.

Brew-meister at Work

As if the boat is not already torn apart enough with the battery load testing/charging/equalizing process going on … oh, yes, that's still in process … David decided to make beer today. He's been making beer since we arrived in Australia last November. We initially decided to make our own beer because 1) even inexpensive beer in Australia is very expensive (US$50+/case); 2) beer kits are easy to find and fairly inexpensive in Australia probably because of #1 above, which appeals to our frugal mindsets; 3) it was a fun challenge on a rocking boat and something we'd never tried before; and first and foremost, 4) we like drinking beer. He gathered together all the ingredients. It's pretty much a kit, but this still took over an hour since things got “put away” six months ago when we left for the States and now finding them again is challenging... some things may never be found. The notion of having a new batch of beer was incentive enough for him to root around and eventually find everything he needed. It wasn't hard to locate the 27 liter/7 gallon plastic cauldron in which he mixes his brew though. It's pretty hard to lose something that big. As he added boiling water to the brew mix and yeast , it foamed up and the steam rose and he looked more and more like a warlock brewing something other than beer. I half expected eye of newt and a few desiccated frogs to be added, but I was disappointed. He's brewing an Australian Pale Ale this time, but there are lots of “flavors” to choose from.

A yeasty smell overtook the boat … overpowering even the smell of the bilge. A pleasant, earthy, bread-ish smell conjured up images of Oktoberfest. He moved the 20 liters of anti-fouling paint, which has been resident beside the mast, to the forward cabin, so he could make room for the 7-gallon plastic container containing the brew. We really need a few more things on the sole next to the mast. There's not nearly enough to trip over yet.

Mixing the yeast and brew mix together is pretty much all there is to it. Now we wait for a week or so. The specific gravity (an indicator of alcohol level) will be tested after that time and once it remains the same for two days in a row, it's ready to be bottled. It will sit another week or so in the bottles and then it'll be ready to drink. Might be done in time for Hallowe'en. You're certainly invited aboard for a taste.

Not spilling or kicking over the 7 gallon container of brew is also key to the process. So far...so good.