Just before Thanksgiving, my husband decided to demo our 1960′s decrepit kitchen. For two years I lived with a stove where only two burners worked and an oven that wouldn’t latch shut. The black painted cabinets had a permanent greased stained finished and the pink tile was chipped from years of abuse.
But the kitchen had some good qualities. It had a large refrigerator, a dishwasher and could hold more than one person in it and it would not lurch unexpectedly. I know…these points I make aren’t typical attributes for a rundown kitchen. Yet after six years of cooking in a galley that could barely fit two people and at times I would have to be strapped into (I’ll explain), a stationary kitchen, even one as malfunctioning as mine, was going to be a luxury.
Don’t get me wrong…my galley was great! I would whip up some tasty meals on our boat. I would make empanadas, sushi, pressure cook whole chicken, and throw together a home-made apple pie. My husband would help me make fresh corn tortillas for fish tacos. I didn’t even miss not having a microwave.
Those were the good times. However there were times when I wanted a dishwasher. It seemed like we were constantly washing dishes. And there was a time I had a complete melt down in my galley.
It was when I was in the final stages of
completing a big bowl of potato salad. We were on a passage that had rough seas. Usually I strap myself into the to the galley to keep me from flying out of it. But I didn’t. So after I had spent hours cooking the potatoes and letting them cool before I peeled off the skin then cut the onions and diced the dill pickles it all when to hell. I was mixing in the mayo. The boat lurched and my bowl of potato salad flew out of my hands and completely dumped out onto the cabin floor.
I had a complete meltdown, like a two year does with a red face and horrific screams. My meltdown was worse than a two year old’s since I could swear like a sailor. Luckily for my husband this only lasted a few excruciating minutes and I came back to my senses.
So having an old stable kitchen even one as dysfunctional as mine was not a problem. But here is the weird thing…now that we have a new kitchen with a working stove, beautiful cabinets and counter tops, I miss my galley.
I think it is time to get back on the boat.
