Jan Irons

Hi! I'm Jan Irons. You'd think that with over 10 years and 11,000 miles of commuter cruising from Annapolis, MD to Cartagena, Columbia and back, I'd be an expert when it comes to cooking on a boat. But not exactly. I'd rather be snorkeling, taking photos, hiking, interacting with locals, kayaking, or even climbing the mast! Luckily, I have a friend named Carolyn Shearlock, that lived aboard a Tayana 37 in the Sea of Cortez. Being in different oceans didn't stop me from picking Carolyn's brain on a vast array of cooking related subjects mostly via e-mail. On one memorable occasion in the San Blas Islands, Panama, a Kuna man in his wooden dugout paddled up with the frozen chicken we ordered the week before. I was expecting boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Instead I got a stiff frozen whole chicken... complete with feet and head! I was cooking fresh fish, so I stuffed the entire chicken, head down into my totally empty freezer. But no matter how hard I crammed, that chicken's feet stuck out the top. At the time I didn't find any humor in it, but I should have taken a picture! Immediately after dinner, David asked if I had any reference aboard on how to cut up a whole chicken. No. Living aboard Winterlude six months a year changed my attitude about cooking. When my lifestyle relaxed, I had time to contemplate whether food deserved more attention than my typical "oh crap, is it time to eat again?" attitude. It became an adventure to try new vegetables and fruits found in the local markets as well as new recipes. The Boat Galley Cookbook began with Carolyn and I laughing about how much I had learned over the years. We wondered if we should pass the knowledge on to other cruisers. The first thing I told Carolyn we had include was how to cut up a chicken. From there the adventure continued ... and believe me, if I can do it, you can do it! We hope you enjoy The Boat Galley Cookbook as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you!