Cooking in small spaces, strategically

Wherever you are, a shortage of space shouldn’t lead to compromises on cuisine.

So I strategize. Truth be told, that’s half the fun.

For starters, I plan meals with an eye to making one pan do double or triple duty. Then there’s the matter of keeping prep scraps to a minimum and odors at bay, especially during long stretches without touching the mainland, with its siren song of resupply and ability to offload trash.

Refrigeration helps, but armed with a few basic strategies even someone out for a few days with an ice chest can dine well. This recipe for Presque Bay Primavera shows how to ease the cook’s lot.

I start by prepping all my ingredients so everything is ready before cooking begins.

First step is laying down a paper towel. This is for all of the onion skins, broccoli trimmings, pepper innards and such. Then I just roll up the towel and squish it into a small sealable plastic bag. Mess and odors are now compressed and contained.

Here’s what I prep: half an onion, cut in slices. A couple of garlic cloves, sliced. A half-dozen of those small multicolored peppers, sliced. A cup of sliced mushrooms. Four slices of deli ham, slivered. A cup or so of broccoli florets, along with stems sliced thin. Get out some oil, the pasta, white wine (if we have it), salt and pepper.

Now, I’ll get out a 10-inch saucepan, heat a glug of canola oil over medium heat and cook the onion until it starts to soften. Nudging it to one side makes room for the peppers, which will cook while the onion takes on a golden sheen. In goes the garlic, which should just soften, then

I make room for the mushrooms, which cook quickly.

Using a slotted spoon, lift all the vegetables from the pan into a bowl, saving the now-flavorful oil.

In goes the ham, where it frizzles for several minutes until the slivers sear just a bit. Add that to the veggie bowl.

Into the now almost-dry pan, the broccoli gets a quick stir-fry. If I’ve got white wine on board, a splash and a tight lid lets the broccoli steam for a minute. No wine? Water will do. The par-cooked broccoli then joins the ham and veggies. Cover to keep warm.

Now for the pasta, and the beauty part of this routine. I’ve been persuaded that pasta needn’t gambol about in great quantities of boiling water, but cooks well in just enough water to cover, 3 to 4 cups. You need to stir more often, but when you’re on a boat, there’s no laundry to throw into the dryer or phone to answer. Nothing better to do than lean against the stove, perhaps with a glass of wine, and prod pasta every so often.

Besides, when you have a finite amount of water and fuel, no point in wasting it with multiple pans to wash up or long cooking times.

But there’s also a cooking benefit: What little water remains after the pasta has reached its proper al dente now is so starchy that it helps bind everything together, almost like a light sauce.

When the pasta is done, drain any remaining water into a cup, then add the reserved vegetables and ham to the pasta. Sprinkle in some fresh grated Parmesan and let everything heat through once more, stirring in spoonfuls of the reserved water as needed until everything’s heated through. Fill plates from the pan, season, and you have a great dinner with just one pan to wash.

This isn’t rocket science, of course — it’s just different from how I usually cook at home, firing up three burners, or just chucking all the peels into the compost bin.

This sort of cooking inspires a different sort of efficiency, one that’s not focused so much on the clock, but on getting the most from the least.

The process might take a bit longer, but that’s OK, because there’s no place you can be other than where you are.

Which is the sort of thought you think while on a boat, on a lake, in the summer.

Presque Bay Primavera

Serves 2.

Note: Amounts of each ingredient are highly adjustable, depending on what you have on hand. From Kim Ode.

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 medium onion, sliced thin

6 small sweet peppers, sliced in thin rings

2 garlic cloves, sliced thin

Several mushrooms, sliced thin

4 slices of deli ham, or other meat, sliced into thin strips

Broccoli cut into small florets, about 1 cup

1/4 cup white wine or water

1 1/2 cup pasta, preferably a smaller shape

4 cups water

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until it starts to soften. Nudge onions to one side to make room for the peppers, and continue cooking until the onion takes on a golden sheen. Add the garlic to the onion, and make room for the mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are soft.

Using a slotted spoon, lift all the vegetables from the pan into a bowl, keeping any remaining oil in the pan.

Add ham to the pan, and saute for several minutes until the slivers sear just a bit. Add ham to vegetables in bowl.

Into the now almost-dry pan, stir-fry broccoli for a minute. Add white wine or water, then cover to steam for another minute. Add to ham and vegetables. Cover to keep warm.

Pour pasta into the saucepan and cover with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer, stirring occasionally. When pasta is done, carefully drain any remaining water into a cup. Add the reserved vegetables and meat, along with the cheese, and heat through, adding pasta water as needed to prevent sticking. Season to taste and serve at once.

Nutrition information per serving: calories 645; fat 18 g; sodium 360 mg; carbohydrates 94 g; saturated fat 3 g; calcium 57 mg; protein 25 g; cholesterol 15 mg; dietary fiber 8 g.

Diabetic exchanges per serving: 2 vegetable, 5 1/2 bread/starch, 1 lean meat, 3 fat.

Whitefish Cakes

Makes 4.

Note: These are great for using leftover fish, although we sometimes grill extra when we’re having a fish meal just to ensure that we have leftovers. Measurements are mostly “by feel,” depending on the size of the fillets. If you want to add other finely chopped vegetables to the mix, go for it. From Kim Ode.

1 egg

2 Tbsp. mayonnaise (horseradish mayonnaise is great here)

2 green onions, sliced thin

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

2 whitefish fillets, cooked, lifted from skin and flaked

About 1/3 cups bread crumbs, from a can or make fresh if you have bread about to go stale; crushed saltine crackers work, too

Seasonings such as lemon pepper or salt, to taste

2 Tbsp. butter or oil

Lemon wedges for serving

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg and mayonnaise, then stir in onions, celery and any additional vegetables you’ve chosen. Got some parsley? Nice. Add fish and bread crumbs and stir gently until mixture comes together, adding more crumbs if too wet, more mayonnaise if too dry. Season to taste. Form into 4 patties, place on a plate and chill for 15 minutes (this will help them hold together in the pan.)

Heat butter or oil in a skillet. Gently add patties and cook for about 5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Nutrition information per serving: calories 275; fat 18 g; sodium 170 mg; carbohydrates 5 g; saturated fat 6 g; calcium 45 mg; protein 21 g; cholesterol 124 mg; dietary fiber 1 g

Diabetic exchanges per serving: 1 vegetable, 3 lean meat, 2 fat.

Potatoes in Foil

Serves 2.

Note: Keeping the skin on the potatoes makes for less waste, and serving them from the foil packet eases cleanup. The mushrooms are optional, but nice. From John Danicic.

1 cup diced unpeeled potatoes, in 1/4-inch pieces

2 Tbsp. finely chopped onion, red or white

1 to 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Pinch of dried rosemary

1 to 2 Tbsp. olive oil

Aluminum foil

1 (4-oz.) can mushrooms, well-drained

Butter and vinegar, optional

In a medium bowl, combine potatoes with onion, garlic and rosemary. Add enough olive oil to make sure all pieces are coated well. Season to taste.

Tear aluminum foil into two large rectangles, stacking one atop the other. Place potato mixture on one end of the foil, then bring over the remaining foil to make a flat packet, crimping the edges to seal.

Place packet over indirect heat on the grill and roast for 20 minutes, turning occasionally. After 20 minutes, carefully open packet (there will be steam) and add mushrooms. Reseal and roast another 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Serve from the packet, with butter and a splash of vinegar if desired.

Nutrition information per servinG: Calories 133; fat 7 g; sodium 190 mg; carbohydrates 17 g; saturated fat 1 g; calcium 25 mg; protein 2 g; cholesterol 0 mg; dietary fiber 3 g

Diabetic exchanges per serving: 1 bread/starch, 1 1/2 fat.

Storage strategies

Each summer, we try to do a two-week stretch on Mariah without resupply. It’s not a macho test of will, just a yearning to get away from the world for as long as possible. Yet eating well is a priority.

Planning begins with a list of proteins that form the backbone of the menus. For the two of us over 13 nights, that could be two ribeye steaks, a pork tenderloin, four lamb chops, two hamburger patties, two chicken breasts, a can of crab meat, bacon, 10 large shrimp and four whitefish fillets.

Then the strategy begins: The steaks, pork and chicken each provide two meals (six nights), so I keep them from being back-to-back dinners. We may eat half of the tenderloin on Wednesday, then the rest in quesadillas on Friday.

Produce gains admission by how much room it takes in the refrigerator, and how long it stays fresh — what

I call the size-to-succulence ratio. Green beans are great, along with a bag of small multicolored peppers.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit how long it took me to realize that Lake Superior, with its brisk water temperature, means our hull doubles as a root cellar, so I stash apples, potatoes, onions, carrots, lemons and limes in a bin under the forward berth.

That leaves the refrigerator to hold cheeses, butter, yogurt, milk, eggs, bacon, vegetables and sandwich meats. Salads admittedly get short shrift, with a package of sturdy shredded cabbage for coleslaw for the first few meals. Tomatoes last well for a week in a cubby.

Granted, for the first few days, the boat is packed to the gills, making me pay extra attention to where something resides, so it can be returned to that exact same spot.

The meats and shrimp are vacuum-packed and frozen before we leave home. We pick up whitefish fillets in Cornucopia, Wis., about a half-hour from our marina, in packages of two each.

First item into the galley freezer is one of the whitefish packages, then I’ll layer, squeeze and cajole the rest of the frozen goods to fit, topping it off with the remaining package of whitefish, which we’ll eat that night.

The goal is to dine on

13 different meals over a trip. No, we don’t have to do this.

But why not?

5 key keepers

Here are five ingredients I find essential to have on board for great meals.

• A kit of seasonings in small bags or plastic containers, gathered in a larger sealable bag. Easy to reach for and easy to store.

• Red wine vinegar or lemons; a splash just before serving boosts the flavors and makes everything taste more "outdoorsy."

• Good-quality turkey bacon; it fries with far less spatter to ease cleanup, yet adds that bacon flavor to pasta dishes and sandwiches.

• Liter box of white wine; keeps well, adds flavor and doesn't break.

• Garlic. Lots of garlic. Tiny bulbs of flavor.

• OK, there are six essentials: Bags of mini-candy bars — because dessert is good and by that time, I'm done cooking.