We've Got Crabs

 

I mentioned on FB the other day that David came home with a crab net. We had dinner with some folks who mentioned how good local blue swimmers were. “Hmm … what's a blue swimmer?” and we learned that they were the local blue crabs, so of course, our interest was piqued. Hence, the new crab net.

I checked on line with the South Australia fisheries to see if we needed a license and we didn't. We asked Kim, a local whose boat is across the dock from us, more about catching blue crabs locally. “Where's a good spot?”, we queried, hoping he might share a tidbit. “Off the end of your boat, I reckon”, he responded. Really? Here in the marina? Evidently yes! Wow … how easy is that?

So after coming home with a crab net one day, David returned from the local chandlery the next day with a bag of frozen fish heads. We weren't really ready to start crabbing yet actually, but when the compressor on the fridge went and those fish heads started thawing, it provided some incentive to begin the crabbing experience immediately.

David stuck some fish heads in a net bag, tied it to the crab net and we lowered it off the end of the dock next to the boat. Sure enough … a blue crab (and they definitely are blue) came a'calling within an hour or so. Then another ... and I got a kettle of water boiling. I looked up cooking instructions on line … not much different than cooking lobster. I sincerely apologized to them when I put them in the pot. They turned immediately from blue to red. We researched how to clean them … no mallets involved like we used to use when we ate them in the Chesapeake. It's simple, painless (unless a crab gets you with his sharp, pointy pincer) and the crab meat is as sweet as can be. Oooooh, la, la.

We did see a few crabs swimming away from our net every once in awhile. Locals Dwayne and Kelly came for dinner one night and we asked a few more questions. “Is there a better bait, like chicken skin or necks?”, we wanted to know. “It's illegal to use chicken or beef as bait in South Australia”, Dwayne told us, “… fish heads are the usual. Place them so they're in the middle of the net, not near the outside edge. The crabs will eat from outside of the net if they can reach the bait.” (tricky crabs, huh?). Aha, David had tied the very aromatic fish head sachet to the side of the net and immediately made the adjustment. Sure enough we had enough crabs for dinner again last night.

Life is good … despite the hiccups.

In the Galley - Preserve Today...Eat Tomorrow

 

They call it preserving here. We call it canning or can processing in the States. I'm not sure why it's called canning when you put the preserved food into glass jars, but who cares? I only know that canning is a way of life on the boat that allows me to have lots of extra already-cooked food aboard that lasts a long time, without too much hassle and without refrigeration. I've talked about it before.

I had just done an inventory of our preserved chicken and ground turkey (mince) and found we were woefully low. We had Tasmanian apples and blackberries left, but not much else. Theoretically, home-canned goods, if preserved properly, will last for well over a year or two, but ours have never lasted that long - we eat them long before their “eat-by” dates. Since I've been back, it's been easier to grab a jar of canned chicken and use it for chicken salad sandwiches or in chile or with pasta sauce on spaghetti, than making an hour long round-trip run to the local grocery to buy something else for dinner.

When I saw the sign in Farmer Joe's for boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $8.99/kg (~$4/lb), I jumped at the chance to replenish the stock. I asked for 10kg (22 lbs). When the clerk indicated that a whole case was 12 kg and asked if I was interested in the whole thing, I asked if I could get a discount. One of the things about being a cruiser, we're thrifty and we're not shy. She consulted the manager and sure enough, I got my chicken for $8.50/kg. The 25 lb box'o'chicken was not very portable, but the clerk thankfully divided it up into three large, double-wrapped plastic parcels which fit neatly into my newly purchased trolley cart. Nothing else fit, but I was definitely chicken-rich and I headed back on the train to the boat.

Once back aboard, I dug out the pressure cooker and fired it up. I got all my jars and lids washed and proceeded to jar and process all the chicken. I use the raw method, so no cooking or prep required for the chicken other than cutting it up into chunks that fit easily into the jars. In no time at all, I had 24 jars of all white meat chicken breast, cooked and waiting for me to use during our upcoming passage. Along with the fish we expect to catch, we'll have enough to last for several months.

Hunting, Gathering and Foraging in Port Adelaide

 

Whenever we arrive in a new port, there's a few days of wandering around aimlessly trying to figure out what's available and what's where. David was here long before me, but he really spent his time working on the boat, not exploring. He went to the local Foodland for whatever he needed and called it good. It's time to start thinking about provisioning for our next passage, so I was interested in checking out more shops to see what they had to offer and how prices compared.

The Port Canal Shopping Centre is just across the way from the train station in Port Adelaide, so it's pretty convenient. There's a Cole's Supermarket and a K-Mart (yup, K-Mart) right there. The Centre continues for a couple of blocks or so with little shops inside mall areas till finally you reach the promised land … Farmer Joe's Fresh Food Barn.

Here I found fresh produce, eggs, fresh chicken and so much more ... for so much less. Green grapes are in season here ... on sale at Coles for $3.20/kg; Farmer Joe's had the same grapes and same quality for $2.49/kg. The best deal was the boneless chicken breasts, my favorite for canning/preserving. I saw the sign $8.99/kg and I was all over it. (another blog, another day)

Not having a car to tote everything entails a challenge of its own. You have to be able to carry everything you buy and it's amazing how fast your backpack and grocery sacks fill up when you're shopping and you still haven't purchased everything on your list. If you want 5kg (10lbs) of potatoes, you need to forgo purchasing something else on this trip or you're overwhelmed. You can only carry so much. Remember, once we get off the train, we still have a 15 minute walk back to the boat … toting everything we bought. Our old tote cart had given up the ghost to rust and abuse long ago, so I broke down and found another trolley (tote cart) in the local discount shop … that would be either The Reject Shop (think Big Lots) or Cheap as Chips. I like Cheap as Chips simply because of their name. These type stores carry everything from breadboards and bottle brushes, to totes and cellophane tape (all of which we needed) and lots of stuff we don't need.

I'm glad I bought the drag-along trolley. It's saved lots of sore shoulders and backs toting heavy groceries back to the boat, not to mention I can buy more at one time. The fact that I look like an old granny walking down the street … well, that's another topic of discussion. The point is not everything is available at the same store. I get what I need at Cheap as Chips, I load up at Farmer Joe's, keep my receipts handy, and head into Coles and/or Foodland for whatever else is on the list. I've gotten to know where yogurt powder is cheaper or where dishwashing soap is on sale. Usually, there's not much room left in the tote and there's always an issue if I'm alone trying to pull the tote and push the cart at the same time. It's doable, but rather comical to watch.

Folks ask how we spend our time on a boat and isn't it easy to get bored? How can you get bored when it takes an entire day to hunt, gather and forage for food? And that's just a week's worth, if we're lucky. We haven't even made it into Adelaide's Central Market yet, but that would be an even longer distance to cart everything. And this is just for food … it's a whole other adventure looking for boat parts and brew supplies.

Next comes an inventory of everything aboard to see what we need to stock up on for the upcoming passage. We may need more than a trolley … we may need to rent/borrow a car.