Cruising is not only boat repair in exotic places . . . it's finding awesome food in fabulous spots. It's taking what you find one place and taking it with you when you go somewhere else. It's melding tools you bought in different countries with produce bought where you happen to be. And it's sharing it all with those you love.

When we visited Totem last month in Panama, this was one of the dishes we had for a late lunch in the cockpit, shared with Andrew from Utopia, spiced with laughter and stories. It's a dish they encountered in the Maldives. Here, we make it with gift tuna caught in the Caribbean, a coconut bought in the Guna Yala and grated with a tool purchased in either Tonga or Papua New Guinea, lime juice from a Colombian grocery store, and eaten in the cockpit with some Americans, an Aussie, and a Brit/Frenchie.

Don't have those things at home? Try tuna from a can. Lime juice from a lime. Reconstituted UNSWEETENED coconut flakes (plump them in coconut milk for extra mmmmmm). Even bought whole wheat tortillas, if you must. What is critical, though, is the relaxation and ease and laughter it's shared with.

No better spice for any meal.

MASHUNI (dish of tuna and coconut from Maldives)
Roshi (recipe follows)
fresh grated coconut (or can sub unsweetened desiccated coconut rehydrated in coconut milk)
fresh tuna (about 3/4 lb - can sub in dolphin-safe tuna in a can)
lime juice
hot peppers/sauce to taste

ROSHI: (makes about 20)
4 cups of flour (1/2 white 1/2 whole wheat)
pinch salt
3 glugs oil
2 c BOILING water

1. Mix flours and salt together. Glug in oil. Add in boiling water all at once, holding back about 1/4 c to make sure you need it.
2. Mix with a spoon until cool enough to handle, then knead until smooth. Form into golf-ball size balls and let rest under a cover for about 30 minutes.
3. Flatten and cook until beginning to puff on both sides, flipping after a minute or two, in a hot ungreased skillet. Better to undercook these a bit rather than overcook them!
4. Cover as they come off of the skillet, to steam and keep them finishing the cooking process.

MASHUNI:
Cook tuna until done, then flake into shreds.
Combine equal parts tuna and coconut in a large bowl.
Add in 4 TBS (or more!) of lime juice
(OPTIONAL - IF YOU HAVE IT) Fresh greens of some kind. Hot pepper, chopped up super-fine.
Dash in hot sauce to taste.
STIR to combine, and serve with fresh roshi. Pull off a piece of roshi, then pinch the mashuni in the roshi.

Ideally served in the cockpit of a sailboat anchored somewhere beautiful, but you can always just pretend.

PS. Did you know there's another blog you can follow? I write about projects, plans, and dreams about the cruising life over on Cruising Musings - and there's even a podcast if you're so inclined!