Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Under lockdown day 38: Food and Garden

So what does one do when one is under lockdown for a month or more? One cooks and eats. Eggs ranchero for breakfast, Greek salad, and pasta for lunch, lentil soup for dinner, Strawberries with melted chocolate for dessert. Freshly grown parsley, marjoram, green onions, and rosemary from my garden add subtle flavour. Coffee in the morning and mint tea with lemon in the afternoon.


Typical breakfast on board Eidos.


Lunch or...
pasta for lunch.


Strawberries with chocolate sauce for desert.

Herb garden on board Eidos.
It is not easy to grow a garden on a sailboat, but very satisfying if you can manage it. For one, the salt air is not conducive to growing plants. For another, the boat motion discourages adding anything that can't be secured in place.
At first, I experimented with aloe vera in a pot which I moved to the sink while sailing. Aside from longing to grow something, I wanted it for the valuable leaves that can be used on the skin in case of sunburn. I had to give it away when I was traveling away from my boat and buy a new one upon my return, but I loved having my small garden.
Next, I asked Bob, a friendly carpenter to build me a planter box big enough for a small herb garden. I had the perfect spot for it inside, but unfortunately, there was not enough light there in winter so I moved it to the stern of the boat on top of the gas locker that I rarely use. The boat is very steady there so it is safe from being overturned and the parsley, green onions, and rosemary that grow there seem to be happy. 
But I couldn't stop. I still had the aloe vera in another pot and then mint that had to have its own pot because it will take over any space it can get to. Next, I got a small marjoram plant because the tea made with it gives protection against viral infections and this was early 2020 when coronavirus was a big problem. I added some pepper seeds to it that have just sprouted and will buy a cherry tomatoes plant next. Who knows, perhaps a miniature lemon tree as well? Oh, and a basil plant which is a must every spring in Greece. It's supposed to discourage mosquitoes as well as provide the main ingredient for pesto. So, it can be done. 

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