Trader Joe's

 

Not far away from us, down on Route 1 in Foxboro, right next door to the Patriot's football stadium, is Trader Joe's. We remember our first time visiting a Trader Joe's in California. Back then, there weren't many Trader Joe's around and it was a real novelty-type store. Today there are close to 500 stores … and it's still a novelty and fun to shop there.

It's a grocery store, so how novel can you get? How much fun can it be? It's just not your usual grocery store, that's all. It's down-to-earth, gourmet, and affordable … even for parsimonious sailors like us. The moment you walk into the bright and airy store, there's an energy and a fun atmosphere. From their funky little newsletter to the murals on the walls and all their unusual products on offer, there's lots to take in. We head straight to the samples of hot coffee and graze on from there. Depending on the day and the season, there might be tastings of cheese, wine, crackers... whatever. It's always good.

Trader Joe offers lots of private labeled stuff which appears to be specific to the region, like Pilgrim Joe's Clam Chowder for the New England market, for example. Their cheeses are wonderful. Chocolate, maple syrup, nuts and frozen foods are usually an especially good bargain. Our favorite offering though is Charles Shaw wines, affectionately known as “3 Buck Chuck”. Yup, a bottle of very drinkable Cabernet Sauvignon (or Merlot or Chardonnay) for $2.99. Really? This alone makes the trip worthwhile. Wine connoisseurs hate it, but that's just them. We find it perfectly adequate. The bottles even have corks (though that's a debatable attribute and a discussion for another time).

Employees wear Hawaiian shirts and plastic leis around their necks and seem genuinely happy to be working at Trader Joes. They smile. No one's ever too busy to stop and answer a question or point you in the right direction. It makes customers happy to be shopping and spending their money there. Customers talk and joke amongst themselves. It's a friendly kind of place and brings out the best in people. We compared TJ's employees recently to employees working at the local WalMart who appeared sullen, aloof and generally unhappy. What does that tell you?

There was an article in Business Week about TJ's that stated “the chain quintupled the store numbers and increased its profits by ten times between 1990 and 2001.” Pretty impressive. Incidentally, they're owned by a German trust, the same people who own Aldi's, another interesting, not-your-usual-type grocery store that we really enjoy and that we've visited worldwide from Wisconsin to Argentina to Australia.

Guess if we ever have to get part time jobs, this might be a possibility. Not sure how we'd look in Hawaiian shirts though.

Salty Dogs and Old Salts

 

NaCl … sodium chloride … we learned about it in basic chemistry and we use it at the table every day. Salt has significance in many religions and historically it was used as currency. Heck, the English word “salary” comes from the Latin salarium argentum, a salt ration paid to Roman soldiers. It's odd when something we take for granted and that is so commonplace has a whole new meaning when you see it in mass quantities … like salt, for instance. It's hard to imagine not having it readily available, yet we never really gave much thought as to its source … until we started sailing, that is.

Our first encounter with salt production in quantity was the abandoned salt pans of Grand Turk. At one time, Salt Cay near Grand Turk was the world's largest producer of salt. In its heyday, over 100 vessels a year left the island with their cargo of `white gold', a valuable trade commodity, important in food preservation to the colonies in the north. This solar evaporation method entailed letting sea waters into large shallow basins and then baking it dry in the scorching sun. A system of canals and sluice gates, powered by windmills were used.

Saltrakers then raked the crystallized salt into small piles, carted it to the salt sheds for storage where it was packed into cloth bags, then carried to the salt lighters for transport to the larger ships anchored offshore. As we viewed the abandoned salt pans, man-made canals and dilapidated windmills, we tried to imagine the industry in full swing back in the 18th century.

Our next noticeable encounter with salt production was in Bonaire. As we sailed along the coast, we observed white mounds lined along the shore and wondered what they were. We took a land trip and discovered the white mountains were piles of salt and belonged to the Cargill Salt Company which operates a large salt production facility on the island.

The largest salt flats in the world are in Bolivia at Uyuni, but we didn't stay at the Palacio de Sal, a hotel made entirely out of salt blocks.

In the Galapagos, we saw the rusty red hue of abandoned salt pans, but apparently they no longer harvest the salt.

Probably the most impressive salt works we saw in our travels was in Namibia where the mountains of salt were moved with huge plows.

From a distance, the salt looks like snow but this close to the equator? Not a chance.

We recently learned that during the 1830s, there were 442 salt works on Cape Cod … right in our own backyard. An old sketch from the Provincetown Museum showed salt windmills along the shore. Who knew? Obviously, not us.

Our friend John once commented that we should start the Nine of Cups Salt Company and harvest the salt off the stainless and rigging after long passages. We haven't resorted to this yet, but you never know what sort of efforts the future budget will require.

So … from a couple of old salts, you can take this “with a grain of salt”, determine if it's “worth its salt” or perhaps even consider us “the salt of the earth”. No matter …lest, you leave feeling thirsty from all this salt talk … here's an easy recipe for a Salty Dog.

Mix 4 oz of grapefruit juice with 2 oz of gin or vodka. Add ice and stir. Pour into salt-rimmed glass. Garnish with slice of lime. Enjoy!

Pressure Canning Food

Because we have limited fridge/freezer space and because the fridge/freezer consumes lots of power, we've looked for other ways to stock provisions that do not require refrigeration. Canning is one option. Recently when I talked about provisioning, I mentioned that we “can” some items before leaving on a long passage. Let me clarify that “canning” in the USA translates to “jarring”, “bottling” or “preserving” in other countries.

I first tried it in Chile just prior to our Pacific crossing and it worked out well. We've met lots of tried and true sailors along our path who preserve some of their provisions by can processing, but it was Kiersten on the Danish boat "Sol" who inspired me to get started. They have no refrigeration on their boat and can meat regularly. We chatted about it and decided it was worth a try. In anticipation of our Pacific passage, we purchased a 16-quart Presto aluminum pressure canner when we were back in the US and hauled it with us in our luggage on our return. It was certainly big and bulky, but worth the hassle. A lot of stuff fit inside it while we were transporting it, and when we aren't using it, it becomes a storage bin aboard. Note there is a difference between a pressure cooker and a pressure canner. We have both aboard.

We were able to purchase 1/2L (pint) jars in Chile at the local hardware store. Pint jars seem to be the right size for a meal for two. I purchased extra lids just in case I couldn't find the right size in the next country I visited. Kiersten shared a tip that she regularly reused lids without a problem and actually purchased items in the supermarket that came in the correct size jar for subsequent use in canning. For our first few rounds, I took a more conservative approach and used new jars and lids.

I also purchased a book on the subject "Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving" which answered lots of questions and provided exact procedures to follow, so I didn't poison the crew. The book also contained lots of recipes and ideas for canning entire meals. The National Center for Home Food Preservation has a great site and lots of practical information for safe pressure canning, too.

I pressure canned 72 pints of ground turkey and chicken breasts that first time … enough for 72 dinners. I used a raw pack method which saved me from having to cook the chicken in advance. I took raw chicken (skinned and deboned), cut it into chunks and packed it into the prepared jars. Boneless, skinless breasts are the easiest, if they're cost effective. I followed the directions carefully, but honestly, there's not much to it. Note that we don't eat red meat, but beef, lamb and pork can just as well. It wasn't difficult and though it was time and propane intensive for a couple of days, seeing the bin containing the results of my labors was very satisfying. Between the fish David caught en route and our canned stores, we never had to buy meat (had it been available) all the way across the Pacific. Fish can be canned, too, but we usually only fish at sea and canning en route is not a practical thing to do.

Because several people have asked, I'll tell you that the preserved chicken product looks like chicken out of a can, except we think it tastes better. It's juicy, tender and delicious. It makes its own broth as it processes and I use this as stock when I'm cooking. Take any recipe calling for chicken and just add it … it's all cooked and ready to go. It makes a delicious chicken salad. The ground turkey (and I imagine ground beef would be the same) comes out in a clump and didn't look that appealing at first. It tastes great, however. Again, since it's all cooked, I can just add it to whatever recipe I'm cooking … chile, spaghetti sauce, taco mix ... and obviously the cooking time is significantly reduced. Another benefit to can processing is that you know exactly what's in the jar … no additives, no additional salt or sugar.

Once I figured out how easy the process was, I was a canning fool. When we were in Chile, apples and blackberries were in season. Canning fruits and veggies, I learned, is easier and less time consuming than meats, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. The results were wonderful. Having blackberry shortcake or fresh apple crisp en route, long after the other freshies were gone, was a special treat.

We found a heavy-duty plastic crate which held all 72 pints. I marked each lid with the contents and canning date. Whenever I use a jar, I wash it thoroughly and place it back in the crate for subsequent use. I found used cardboard dividers designed to separate wine bottles to cushion the glass jars. (We just happened to buy some wine.) David lashed the crate to the saloon table, so it was out of the way, but we have easy access to it by just removing the locking lid.

Now I find that having my bin of canned chicken and turkey is so convenient, I wait for chicken and ground turkey to go on sale and can up a storm when I'm in port to keep the bin full. If we're lucky enough to find enough berries or fruit to pick, we're quick to take advantage. We've kept canned processed foods for a year or more and it still tastes great.

Note: There are several precautions to take before, during and after the canning process to insure safety. They're not difficult and they're not cumbersome, they just make sense. Read up on the process before rushing out to buy a canner and jars. Follow directions carefully. You'll love the results.

Our friends, John and Shawn, aboard Active Transport are good cooks. They love Indian food and other recipes that would not make sense to cook while at sea. They make up large batches of their favorite meals and pressure can them in appropriate size servings before leaving on passages. John is just completing a book on the subject. I helped to edit it, so I had a sneak peek and know that his tips are practical, reasonable and easy to understand plus there are lots of recipes. If you're interested, let me know and I'll send along his contact information.