David Sanborn Concert

As you know we headed for Annapolis Friday night for a David Sanborn concert. Fortunately this time we were on time, unlike the Euge Groove concert a month or so ago. We also had a friendly couple at our table which also made for a nice evening. My seat was literally 4 feet from where David Sanborn was playing. I had to change out my lens from the telephoto one to the lens that I use for close ups because we were that close. It was definitely nice to be in the front row. Now if only I paid that much attention to all the upcoming artists at Ram’s Head so that I could be online when the tickets were first issued that would be great. However I know myself and I am just not that organized. ;-)

Rams Head On Stage has changed the menu a little but we were still able to order vegan food. They now have a vegan black bean soup which was okay. It was served with white rice, which would never be my first choice but I understand why they did it since most Americans don’t eat brown rice. However it was very mild, too mild if you ask me. Again I am sure this was to cater to the American palate. The next time we go I will make sure to have some hot sauce in my purse. Yes I really will do that. Sorry for the lack of photos of the food the lights had been turned down by the time it arrived at the table.

We also ordered the veggie wrap, which is another new menu item. We asked them to replace the mozzarella cheese with hummus and the server wasn’t sure that they would but they did so all was well.

The concert was very good and David Sanborn still has it. I felt so bad for him though. He had a terrible cold and could barely speak but somehow managed to play for almost 2 hours. Talk about a professional. I think I was more impressed that he didn’t cancel the show than anything else. I would definitely go to see him again the next time he is in town. His music is just so sexy.

After the concert we had to run by the boat because I didn’t remember checking to make certain the boat was locked when I left the second time. I was rushing because I had misplaced my cell phone and ran back to the boat to look for it on board only to realize that I had I all along. Clearly the purse I was carrying, which had my camera, flash cards and extra lens in addition to all my girl paraphernalia, had way too many pockets. See what I mean about not being that organized? LOL

Fortunately I wasn’t the only one who forgot things last night. Dan had left some paperwork in his office that he planned to bring home. Since Dan’s office is close to the boat we stopped to grab that on the way up the road. I hadn’t seen Dan’s new office (they moved about 2 weeks ago) so I went in with him and snapped a few pictures of the view. He has a nice view from his new office due to the two floors to ceiling walls of windows. The city at night is very pretty from his office I thought.  I also included a picture he sent me by cell phone before the furning arrived so you could see it during the day. I imagine his plants will love the windows.  ;-)

Saturday:

The Baltimore marathon was Saturday and ran directly by our marina which closed down access for a lot of the morning. Good thing we had stuff to do at home otherwise that would have been a little annoying.

We arrived at the marina mid afternoon and brought a few things to eat with us of course. Hey it is us and you know we are never going to go without food right? ;-)

I had green smoothies at home and got them semi frozen in two French market glasses with lids and brought those for our lunch. Drinking green smoothies (kale and banana) does get a bit of attention and not necessary in a positive way. ;-) Our boat neighbor Rubin was having some white wine while we had green smoothies. Culture shock anyone? LOL

Our dinner Saturday night had two courses. The first course was a simple salad which included: lettuce, tomatoes, marinated mushrooms and cilantro. The best part was the salad dressing which I made in the Vitamix. I used the cauliflower at Jaleo for inspiration. The salad dressing will be detailed at the end of the post.

In addition to salad I also made a whole wheat pasta dish, heavy on the veg since that is where the nutrition is located. This dish included: red onion, garlic, sherry vinegar, carrot, cauliflower, hot crushed peppers, lemon pepper and fresh cilantro. I finished the dish with chopped walnuts and it was great. Fast and healthy food at home doesn’t have to be boring or bland.

Also I am also slowly figuring out the whole boat food thing which means that it is now much easier to make meals with a more limited pantry than I have a home. Since a few of you have mentioned that you either own sailboats or want to I thought I should share a few of the things that I keep on board to make it easier to prepare food without dragging half my kitchen with me every day. Goodness knows I bring enough stuff as it is so any time I can bring less I am very happy.

Things I keep in the boat pantry for simple meals:

• Whole wheat pasta
• Soba Noodles
• Quinoa (perfect since it cooks quickly not to mention I love that it is a complete protein)
• Short grain Italian rice (so I can whip together risotto if we have guests stop by)
• Small containers (pill bottles to be precise) of commonly used spices and herbs
• Spice mixes (I have been keeping a Mexican, Indian and Southern Italian mix on board)
• Nutritional Yeast
• Pepper grinder
• Chipotle peppers
• Hot sauce
• Sun-dried tomatoes
• Jars of canned tomatoes (good for everything if you are Italian LOL)
• Dried mushrooms (great for soup, pasta or risotto)
• Dried fruit (good snack food or for adding to peanut butter filled veggies)
• Nuts (great for salad, pasta or snacks)
• Dried beans
• Canned beans (for when I don’t have time to pressure cooked the dried ones)
• Jarred artichokes
• Jarred roasted red peppers
• Roasted seaweed (fantastic trace mineral packed snack but also good to add to Asian dishes as a garnish)

Items I stash in the boat refrigerator:

• Hummus
• Salsa
• Onions
• Garlic
• Carrots (to dip into hummus or for salad)
• Something in the cabbage family (kale, cabbage, bok choy etc.) for slaw or soup
• High fiber whole grain bread (Dan likes peanut butter sandwiches)
• Homemade reduced fat peanut butter
• Fresh herbs (varies depending on what I have on hand but cilantro and parsley are common)
• Salad dressing I made a home (varies depending on my mood)
• Apples (these are great with sweet hummus or on a peanut butter sandwich)
• Brazil Nuts (so we get our daily selenium)

Once I had a decent pantry on board I now only bring perishable with me to the boat as well as replacements for the pantry items as I use them up. With this pantry I have been able to make a wide variety of dishes. Even I have been surprised by what I can whip up when we are here.

Fats 101 Series:

I don’t have any reference books with me on the boat to double check my facts which is why I didn’t continue the fat series with this post. So that you know what to expect I plan to write more about fats at least once a week, possibly more often, until I cover everything. If you have any specific questions please be sure to let me know what they are.

Jaleo Inspired Dressing:
makes approximately 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1/3 cup raw sesame seeds (substitute tahini if not using a high speed blender)
1 cup water
Approximately 4 deglet dates (or 2 medjool dates)
1 ½ tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds (substitute ground if not using a high speed blender)
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine everything in your high speed blender and process until smooth. Store in a sealed container in your refrigerator. This would be good as a dressing for any veggies (particularly cauliflower) though we used it as a salad dressing first. If you want it to me more like the cauliflower dish at Jaleo add some minced olives for salty pops of flavor. We both liked the sweet and savory combination of this dressing.

Happy Thoughts:

• We are making fabulous progress on the boat now. Things are definitely coming together. Both Dan and I love crossing items off of our mutual to-do lists. The boat now really feels like ours which is a lovely thing. :-)

• The concert on Friday was very nice. I have been a fan of David Sanborn for decades so it was nice to see him live. My only regret and it is minor is that he didn’t play Bang, Bang which is the song I think of first when I think of him probably because it got so much air time. I imagine for that same reason he is sick of playing it.

• I love having good internet speed on the boat. That really does make a world of difference in getting things accomplished online.

• Being able to relax on the boat most nights has done wonders for my attitude. I thought I was laid back before but I wasn’t compared to my attitude now. For some reason being on the water puts me at ease. I love watching the sunlight dance on the top of the water. Additionally I love my little duck friend who comes when she is called. If only my felines listened half that well. Not like that is likely to happen…ever.

Signing out:

It is time for me to get back to be business of relaxing. I can hear a mug of green tea calling me out to the cockpit. Talk with you again soon, hopefully tomorrow. Enjoy what is left of your weekend.