CURRY QUINOA

This recipe is so delicious we make it on a weekly basis. It’s good for lunch or dinner and leftovers are good cold. The original recipe called for it to be made with kale, but I prefer the flavour of spinach. Paul adds feta cheese to his portion. What I like about this recipe is while the quinoa is cooking you can do all the chopping. This recipe comes together in under 30 minutes.

Ingredients:
1 (14 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk
1/3 cup water
1 cup quinoa (white is best)
1 tsp garlic, minced (1 clove)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 TBSP curry powder
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 TBSP chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup raisins, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
3 green onions, sliced finely
3/4 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
1/2 bag spinach leaves, chopped
feta cheese (optional)

Directions:
-In a large pot warm coconut milk over medium heat, stir in ground ginger, turmeric, curry powder, cardamom, garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir for 1-2 minutes until spices are well blended into the milk.
-Add water and quinoa, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, remove from heat and let rest for 5 more minutes.
-While quinoa is cooking quarter the tomatoes, chop the spinach, green onions, raisins and cranberries.
-Fluff the quinoa and add the tomatoes, spinach, green onions, raisins and cranberries and mix well. Serve immediately (top with feta cheese if you like).

Guadeloupe

The problem with premade plans is they won’t always turn out perfectly as you’ll see explained in this blog.

We had everything in order for our friends, Laurie and Joe, to arrive into Antigua on February 21st. We took a mooring in Jolly Harbour and asked them to taxi to the marina where we’d meet them, then sail them to Guadeloupe where they would fly out of. We saw their plane go over and went ashore just in time to meet them at the dinghy dock. They were hungry and thirsty, so we went into the pub by the poolside for a round of drinks while they enjoyed a few appetizers. I had made chili on board which we only needed to heat, so no full meal was necessary.

The following morning Paul and Joe went ashore to clear everyone out. We departed Antigua for Guadeloupe at 10am. While protected by the island of Antigua the winds and sea were decent, but as soon as we got out from the lee of the island the sea state became quite unstable. The winds were over 25 knots so we were already single reefed, but the horizon had some squall clouds on it so we double reefed. We ended up hitting the tail end of 3 squalls. Some with gusts of up to 45 knots. Now this is not fun for seasoned sailors like us, so you can only imagine how it can incapacitate our guests. They were flat out on their backs for most of the trip.

We arrived in Deshaies, Guadeloupe at 4:30 in the afternoon. Thankfully the anchorage is well protected and our friends recovered from the passage fairly quickly. The following day we all ventured ashore and walked the mile or so up hill to visit the botanical gardens. No dogs were allowed so Paul sat outside with Charlie while the rest of us went through and enjoyed the plants and birds. First stop once inside is the feeding of the koi, and believe me when I say they are well fed. They are huge and there are hundreds of them in the ponds throughout the gardens.

I enjoyed the bright colorful birds they had in a large outdoor arbor. Most of them were busy eating the fresh grapefruit slices that were hung for them. A few were hopeful that we had food, but the food dispenser was empty so we had nothing to offer. I also enjoyed the plantings and it was particularly interesting to see the orchids growing in their natural habitat.

We were all tired after trekking through the gardens. Paul and I started walking downhill with the dog, while Laurie and Joe organized a ride back to town on the free shuttle. Laurie managed to communicate to the driver to pick us up along the way.

We left Deshaies the following morning for Les Saintes (a small group of islands 37.1 miles from Deshaies). This sail was slightly better than our previous crossing, but the seas were still rough and the winds still high so we were double reefed again. Our guests faired better on this trip having taken some Gravol as we departed.

We anchored and I took Charlie aboard in the kayak to a small beach littered with sea glass (score). We spent one night at anchor and moved onto a mooring the following morning as soon as one freed up. We all ventured into town where we found a place that sold fresh baguettes. We also located some free WiFi in a new little creperie not far from the dinghy dock. We enjoyed crepes and galettes here a few times over the course of our visit.

The streets are busy with people from ferries that come over from the island of Guadeloupe several times a day loaded with tourists. There are many little shops and restaurants here and there are multiple grocery stores within walking distance. Scooters are the main mode of transport here and they are weaving around between those who are on foot throughout the village.

Our days were spent wandering the town, enjoying galletes and baguettes. We did the hike up the hill to visit Fort Napoleon. This time Charlie and I sat outside while Paul did the tour with Laurie and Joe. Our evenings were spent playing Farkle or scrabble after a short swim.

Before we knew it the week with our guests was over and it was time for them to leave. They opted to take the fast ferry over to Trois Riviere, Guadeloupe rather than do another passage in the rough seas. Good choice I’d say. So we bid them goodbye and we dropped the mooring and moved to an anchorage called Pan de Sucre. Here there was a small beach and some snorkeling. The winds continued and boats were coming and going. Each evening we were kept busy watching that no one fouled our anchor while setting theirs. Boats often drag in this bay so it was nerve racking.

I’d finally had enough and really wanted to get somewhere with more protection from the winds that never seemed to let up. We chose to sail back over to Guadeloupe on March 3rd. While on route we were hailed by Ullyses in French. Paul responded in French, much to my surprise, and eventually both parties converted to English. They were asking for us to take some photos of their boat while under sail. We were happy to comply.

Our plan was to sail to the Jacques Cousteau marine park, but we ended up stopping in a bay just a few miles south of there. It was well protected from the winds so we actually had some time to kayak Charlie ashore and to deliver the photos to Ulysse who’d also anchored here behind us. They invited us for wine that evening and returned our USB key with a few photos of us. They had sailed recently sailed across the Atlantic and still had their crew with them. Nice people and we did our best to communicate. Thankfully they all spoke better English than we spoke in French.

That night the winds were really high and we dragged. Usually it’s simple to haul the anchor and reset, but to my surprise we had snagged a tarp full of muck. It took me about 10 minutes to get it off the anchor while Paul kept the boat pointing into the wind. In the end we chose a place behind all the other boats to reset in case we dragged again. Thank goodness for our anchor alarm. We weren’t the only ones who dragged that night. We certainly didn’t get much sleep here.

With winds still high sustained to 38 knots and gusting to 50 knots, we passed by the Jacques Cousteau marine park and made our way back to Deshaies. Here we cleared out on March 5th and sailed back to Antigua. No squalls, but we were double reefed all the way back and still made an average of 8 knots. We’d have another week or so of these higher winds to endure before they finally abated. You just can’t predict the weather.

ROTINI WITH ARTICHOKES, WALNUTS & OLIVES

The flavours in this dish burst in your mouth. I like to make this dish ahead and serve cold, but it is just as delicious hot. To make this gluten free, use any gluten free pasta. Our friends enjoyed this dish with us on a recent visit to Blue Sky while in Guadeloupe. Here’s the recipe Laurie. Enjoy and thanks for bringing the Red Lentil Rotini, it was delicious in this dish.

Ingredients:
12 oz. Rotini or other bite sized pasta
5 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and chopped
¼ cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
¼ or less cup oil-packed sundried tomatoes, chopped
¼ cup quartered grape tomatoes
½ tsp salt
½ tsp red pepper flakes
¼ tsp ground black pepper
3 tablespoons dry white wine
½ cup vegetable broth
2 TBSP minced fresh parsley or basil

Directions:
-Cook pasta according to package directions, approximately 10 minutes, drain and rinse
-Heat oil in skillet over medium heat, add garlic & red pepper flakes. Cook until fragrant, approx. 1 minute
-Stir in walnuts, artichokes, olives, tomatoes, salt and white wine.
-Add broth and simmer to blend flavors, approx. 2 minutes.
-Add the cooked pasta to sauce and mix well. Adjust seasonings and add parsley/basil and let cook another few minutes to allow flavors to blend into the pasta.
-Serve immediately or store in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve cold.