Maalu IV bristles with navigational aides and I have
struggled to keep up with a similar level of cooking aides in the galley. My
right hand aide is Ninja or 'The Ninj' as he has become
affectionately known. He is an electric multi-cooker who can pressure cook,
steam, saute, bake, roast, grill, air fry and even make yoghurt! He looks
something like a cross between Henry the Hoover and a Cyberman. He has added 11
kg of weight to the boat but has been worth every gram. Nicholas was persuaded
to build him a Ninja Cave so he even has a cosy home in the main cabin
where he can rest or cook depending on the sea state. If it is calm he is
allowed out and can be seen cooking on the saloon floor! He has kept us very
well fed with a minimum of effort and very little washing up so he has become a
firm favorite with all the crew.
I have to report that we have had two injuries whilst on
this passage and both are culinary related. As many family and friends are aware
my main concern was someone sustaining a burn whilst cooking. I am devastated to
report that this has happened.........to Ninj and it was all my fault! He has
two lids, one of which is fixed permanently to him but the pressure cooker lid
is separate and has been a pain to store. I thought that I had found the ideal
solution which was to lash it to the top of the stove. Unfortunately, when
boiling eggs for lunch, I didn't notice that his lid was close to the lit flame.
He didn't complain and there was no smell of burning as he sustained a full
thickness burn. In fact his injury went unnoticed until he was next called into
service. I am pleased to report that although there are cosmetic
consequences his function has not been impaired.
The second injury was to the cook's pride. The crew were
fulsome in their praise of my cooking. Pancakes for breakfast had been popular
previously and therefore after a tough night I offered to cook them again. What
could go wrong? It was only blowing a force six with a three metre swell!
Pride does come before a fall and the fall was truly spectacular with pancake
mix ending up leaking into every possible space including the fridge, freezer
and under floor storage space. There is some debate about what exactly was said,
none of which is repeatable here. Pancakes have not been on the menu since but
the consequences of the spillage continue to be felt.
Maalu IV has a very large chest fridge and a pretty
spacious chest freezer. The latter is rather energy hungry and not very
efficient. The fridge is fantastic except for one quirk. It can be switched to
freezer mode after which it freezes anything and everything with remarkable
efficiency. During the pancake debacle I must have inadvertently flipped the
fridge to freezer as I cleared up. Two days later our energy consumption was
through the roof and everything in the fridge was frozen solid! Fortunately
most of the fridge contents will survive their ordeal and the generator plus
solar panels have replenished the batteries.
m_NinjJono