 I have to say that when I first started seeing the ads for Instant Pot, it made me think of an infomercial. It's one pretty inexpensive appliance that can do it all! Well, guess what, it really can. One of the ways I like to use it is to heat up soup that I have made. This method is so perfect for travel days. When I was at home, I made batches of soups, chili, meatballs, etc. So in the picture I have my Food Saver sealed chili and the IP with water in it. I generally have pulled the soup from the freezer the night before and defrosted it. But if I didn't, I'd just stick it in the pot on the "keep warm" setting for a couple hours to defrost. Then I put the bag into the pot and put it on soup mode which will boil the water and heat the soup in the bag. I usually place the pot in the sink just in case of wake/etc.   When we are ready to eat, I cut the bag open and pour the content into bowls. I could have heated the soup in the pot itself, but this way I have no cleanup!
Here is provisioning tip of you are around the Seattle area at the start of your cruise. From the public dock on Bainbridge Island you can walk to our awesome market, Town and Country, in three minutes. They usually have 6-8 varieties of soup/chili going that you can buy and put into a paper container to eat. AND, they sell these same soups right next to this hot bar area, already bagged and refrigerated. They also have an awesome cioppino base where you can just added your own desired seafood. (Note they also have an even bigger store in Poulsbo, Central Market, but it's a long walk from the marina). This is hearty and healthy food, with easy procurement and no mess prep.
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 Mahalo has an induction cooktop. Cooks fast and is a breeze to clean up. But I often find myself needing to start a generator just to use the cooktop. So I got this nifty portable induction cooktop, which can be powered by the inverter. There are smaller, low profile units. But reviewers said they had loud fans. And I don't want one where a pan is going to hang over or cover the controls.  This would also be useful for people with smaller inverters. You can set the wattage used!
Another bonus is being able to take it up to the flybridge, where I have plenty of electrical sockets. Like if I want to boil some corn to go with whatever we are bbq'ing, it's very convenient. Like most things, got it on Amazon!  While I have been enjoying cooking from scratch on board Mahalo, I also like to have meals prepared ahead of time. Especially for lunch, when we are underway. I bought this Food Saver vacuum bagger from Amazon, and I really do like it. Besides pre-made bags, it also has a tube-roll that allows you to make bags of any size.  Here we have two of my black bean burgers. With no or very little air left in the bag, the freezing is superior to any other method. And you only have a small amount of trash after you consume the food.
Soups & stews & bolognese really are great for the underway meals. Defrost the night before in the refrigerator, then put into the InstaPot before getting underway. I have been buying uncooked shrimp already frozen in a bag, which contains about 30 shrimp. . Sealing portion sized amounts means less air to turn frosty in the bag. I don't take the FoodSaver itself on board, it's kind of bulky. It was about $150, money well spent. |
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