Galley Essentials with Amanda
“Grace, Grace; Mahina Tiare” “Mahina Tiare, Grace, Channel 78? “M.T, Grace, so good to hear
from you guys… Neisha’s become quite the cook, in fact, she’s been wanting to bake a cake for Amanda for quite some time now, so you’ll have to visit.” We’d met the Collins family
of Shane, Nicole, Neisha, Jessica and Jackson in 2007 when we both moored in the village of Ellos, Sweden. They were outfitting Grace for a family voyage back home to Mooloolaba, Australia. Neisha was seven at the time and the twins, Jessica and Jackson, were five. As Grace, a Halberg-Rassy 46, is a sistership to M.T, the Collins’ were eager for outfitting advice and we spent a few enjoyable hours together sharing ideas.
So, how could anyone turn down
a slice of cake even if it meant an adventurous two-mile, upwind, wet kayak from the head of Opunohu Bay, Moorea to Grace’s outer reef anchorage? Knowing that they might be heading to sea that night for Huahine, John and I paddled strong… the rewards of cake a high second to again meeting the crew of Grace. It was a fleeting and fun catch up on the years of miles and adventures… with a super delicious chocolate cake to boot.
Neisha’s Chocolate Cake
2 cups water 3 cups sugar
1 cup butter - chopped ⅓ cup cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 3 cups self-raising flour 4 eggs Preheat oven to 325°F.
Grease deep 10x13 baking dish then line with baking paper. Combine water, sugar, butter, and sifted cocoa and soda in medium saucepan; simmer until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil then reduce heat,
48° NORTH, DECEMBER 2010 PAGE 36 Fudge Frosting
¼ cup butter ⅓ cup water ½ cup sugar
1½ cups confectioners’ sugar ⅓ cup cocoa powder Combine butter, water and
sugar in small saucepan, stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Sift confectioner’s sugar and cocoa into bowl then gradually stir in hot butter mixture. Refrigerate 20 minutes until frosting thickens, beat with wooden spoon until spreadable.
An Interview with Neisha Collins by Amanda Swan Neal
simmer 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to large bowl, cool to room temperature. Add flour and eggs, beat until mixture is smooth and pale in color. Pour mixture into pan, Bake 50 minutes. Stand 10 minutes then turn out onto wire rack to cool. Spread cold cake with fudge frosting
Jackson, Neisha, Nicole, Amanda, Jessica and Shane with chocolate cake aboard “Grace.”
Three weeks later we happened to share our first anchorage with
Grace when a 17’ southerly swell made it prudent that we return to Bora Bora rather than sail for Maupiti as planned. We’d experienced a 3.6 knot ebb current and high surf as we exited the pass from Bora Bora and felt it would be unwise to risk to exposed south pass on Maupiti. On returning to the lagoon we’d chatted with Grace on the VHF and discovered they were enjoying a motu anchorage near the pass. Great; a perfect opportunity to interview Neisha!
What is your sailing experience? I’d only done a little bit of sailing
in Australia and New Zealand before we got Grace; we’d rented some boats to see if we liked sailing. After sailing Grace in Sweden we sailed to France, the Mediterranean, Panama, Galapagos and now French Polynesia.
How does the galley work for you?
I think the galley is very
small, though I don’t mind the high bench height. The pressure cooker has to be kept screwed down on the stove as there is nowhere else that it will fit. We have a very deep fridge. We fill our water bottles with the pressure tap as it is faster,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74