Friday, January 15, 2016

Preparing for Life Aboard...Cooking With the Wonderbag!

OMG! I have to start out with how much I
absolutely love my new Wonderbag!  I have to admit I was skeptical when I first read about the Wonderbag's ability to slow cook a meal without electricity. I mean let's be honest, this does sound too good to be true, but after doing some research on the product and the company, I was very impressed and excited to give it a try. An added bonus is that for every Wonderbag purchased, the company donates a Wonderbag to a family in need in Africa.

I ordered my Wonderbag and waited patiently for it to arrive. On the day it was delivered I read through the cookbook that it came with and picked a recipe to start with, Hearty Tuscan Bean Soup. I figured this would be a safe choice, nothing to make us sick if we ate it undercooked and  I had some leftover ham that I would use in place of the bacon.  I followed the rest of the recipe as written. It only took a few minutes around noon to get all the ingredients ready. I brought everything up to temp in my Magma cookware, put the lid on tight and sealed it in the Wonderbag just like the instructions stated. At dinner time I opened up the bag and removed the pot and voila! The soup was piping hot! I scooped it into bowls and Emily garnished it and the family sat down to enjoy. It was absolutely delicious. The flavors were perfect, the soup was hot and in one meal it was devoured.

Ok, that was easy and now I was ready to try my hand at something a little more complicated. I chose a second recipe, Poblano & Pork Tenderloin Chili. I must tell you that this was one of the most mouth watering dishes. The tenderloin was cooked to perfection, something I would not have believed without trying.  The family was sold, the Wonderbag would be a permanent addition!

I have since began creating my own recipes, each turning out a huge success.  I love that we are conserving energy.  I also love that I can get dinner preparations out of the way early in the day before any chaos sets in and have a hot meal when we are ready to eat. The Wonderbag has proved itself worthy of the Empyrean galley and replaced the electric slow cooker forever.

Click here to view the Wonderbag website
Click here to purchase the Wonderbag on Amazon






Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Southwind is For Sale

So the day has come to list Southwind for sale. We have spent many hours as a family working on her and bringing her back to life and we are hoping that we will be able to find someone who will sail her and enjoy her as much as we have.  It is hard to believe that just a couple of years ago Southwind was sitting on the hard waiting for her demise.  She is a great boat and deserves to be sailed.  It brings us joy to see her sitting in her berth and even greater joy when we hoist the sails out in San Diego Bay.  We knew that the day would come to part with her because she just wouldn't be large enough to accommodate our family on a long journey.  Empyrean is now enveloping all of our time and energy as we prepare her for offshore and therefore, it is time to allow someone else to step in and find adventure in the smooth sailing on Southwind.  If you or anyone you know may be interested in owning this classic sailing vessel please feel free to send us a message and we can answer any questions you might have.