The Christmas in Hopetown, on Elbow Cay in the Abacos (Bahamas), was all that we’d hoped for and more. We’d sailed in, been gifted the use of a mooring right in the harbor, and met up with family and friends. Evenings were spent at one house or restaurant or another, showers were taken (long, lovely, not-worrying-at-all-about-water showers) and we even got to use the washing machine a few times. Bliss.

Between the crowd of people there, we estimated we were responsible for at least 7 houses being rented on the small island. 

They’d all flown in, of course, bringing various foods with them that they supplemented at the local grocery stores. When it came time to leave, there was a fair amount of that food left.

So very much food. Way too much food to fit into our tiny fridge, and so much food (and wine! And beer!) that we were eating from those stores well into the Exumas, 2 months later.

There’s a lot that can be stored unrefrigerated. Eggs, for instance, and onions and peppers and tomatoes and limes. We stuffed the fridge with what NEEDED to be in there (think meat. Pretty much meat. Meat and butter.), changed menus around to eat through the stuff that would go bad first, and did what we could to preserve the rest.

Including a bag of pre-peeled garlic.

Garlic, as you may know, is a cruiser’s favorite. Bought in full heads, with the papery skin still attached, garlic lasts almost forever unrefrigerated. I love the look of garlic braids (which reminds me – have not had one of those in a while!) as edible decoration.

I will admit, however, that it’s way more fun to deal with garlic when someone else has peeled it. When you’re planning on cooking multiple meals for 20+ people, having pre-peeled garlic on hand is almost a necessity (if you’re somewhere that kind of thing is easily accessible, that is!), and there was an almost-full bag of the stuff in the boxes of goodies we were handed before the crew hopped on the ferry to go catch a plane.

Garlic that has already been peeled has a shelf-life. Here’s how you can store it, almost indefinitely.

Roasted Garlic

• Peeled garlic cloves
• Olive oil

1)    Garlic cloves in a baking pan

2)    Olive oil to cover

3)    Roast at 300 for 20-25 minutes, or until it’s starting to smell good . . .

4)    Store in a tightly sealed container, oil and all, in the fridge.