Auntie's Junk Drawer

Before rummaging through the drawer, check out these useful galley tips from the Tech Net:

Can Openers,  Coffee,  Conch,  Green Produce Bags,  Ice Cream,  Ice Making,
Key Lime Juicer,  Lobsters,  Pasta,  Scones, Sea Salt,  Silicone Galleyware,  Tortillas,  Vacuum Sealers (food),  Vegetables.

Related:  Oven/Stove,  Refrigeration,  Propane.

Make a single-pot meal before you head offshore.  This should be something non-sloppy that can be served hot or cold if reheating becomes prohibitive due to rough seas.  Serve in bowls, and you'll only need a fork or a spoon.  Pasta Nova Scotia is a good example.

Of course you can always make up sandwiches in advance.

Large containers of oats from the store have lids that aren't too boat friendly. Rough seas or big wakes can knock that container over, and you'll find stray oats in strange places for weeks.

A one-gallon plastic jar, with a screw-on lid will house them securely and keep them fresh.  The square shape is easy to store upright or on it's side. Never lose your breakfast again!

Use fiberglass window screen as a strainer in your sink drain.  It easily catches all gunk and is disposable.  (Blackfoot)

Pretzels and other snacks sometimes have a lot of loose salt or seasoning laying on the bottom of the bag. With scissors, snip close to a corner of the bag.  Shake and release the salt through that hole. Then open the bag and fill your serving bowl.

Test for freshness before you crack the shell. Believe it, this is easy on the nose if you find a spoiled one.  Fill a cup or bowl with plain water. Place the egg in it.  If it floats, it's a bad one... think "belly up."  If it sits on the bottom, it's a good one and deserves your love.

Why does that happen? A spoiled egg emits gas within it's shell.

Baking mixes have a small amount of oil in them that will get rancid.  So pay attention to expiration dates and keep your stock rotated.

Canned New Zealand butter, commonly found in the Bahamas, is equivalent to 1/2 pound. (Scaramouche)

Olive oil. Store bulk oil in the fridge and decant into a smaller bottle for daily use, which is always fresh.

Easy to solve. The smelly culprits are usually food packages. They're non-organic, so they can't go directly back to nature with the fish bones. What to do?  Stuff the stinkin' offenders into an empty jar and cap it or into a zip bag.  Store it outside on the deck until your next trash run.

No bugs, no odor.

Bell Pepper, chopped.

Cheese.  It's not perfect, as some thawed cheese has a crumbling tendency. Best bet against the crumbles is to thaw thoroughly to room temp before opening the package.

Cookie Dough. Make your favorite recipes at provisioning time when all ingredients are likely to be onboard. Freeze the dough in zip-bags.

Cream Cheese.

Marinated Meat.  When freezing meat, add some marinade to the zip-bag before tossing it in the freezer. The meat will self-marinate when thawing.

Meatloaf.  Make enough for one or more meals. Place each raw portion into a sealed zip-bag.  Later: Thaw and bake.

Milk.  Afterwards, shake thawed milk vigorously before opening, to blend the solids back into the liquid.

Onion, chopped.

Whole Roasted Chicken. (Bought hot at supermarket delis.) Allow it to cool to room temp. Transfer chicken and it's juice into a zip bag and freeze. Later, thaw and heat for 20-30 mins.  Save the wishbone!

This is the job that never ends
And it goes on and on, my friends.
It doesn't matter where you are at sea or on land,
You can't escape the daily soap and suds on your hands.

Found by Salty Paws

01 Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.
02 Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome. Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.

03 Protect your dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.
04 Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
05 Protect a cast iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
06 Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free filter.
07 Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
08 Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
09 Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.
10 Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.
11 Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes, as needed, in a coffee filter.
12 Use strips of coffee filters instead of expensive hair waxing strips.
13 Put a few on a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease.
14 Keep them in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."
15 As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or applique work on soft fabrics.
16 Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.
17 Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in them to put in soups and stews.
18 Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your engine.
19 Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and to clean up small counter spills.
20 Can use them to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.
21 Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.
22 Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.
23 Use them to sprout seeds. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.
24 Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters between books.
25 Use as a disposable 'snack bowl' for popcorn, chips, etc.

Well-crafted printable cards are available online
and they're free to grab. Google on 'recipe card printable'.
Organizing recipes isn't what most of us would choose to do with our time, but it might make a good boat bound day project.