民以食為天 ─ 準備篇 (Provisioning)

我從未和食物有過如此親密的關係。

以往，食材剛買就放入冰箱，壞了就丟掉，超級市場裡包裝好的新鮮蔬果我最愛，因為我無法辨識好與不好、新鮮與否，我無法信任菜市場小販是否看我一副傻不愣登的模樣而敲我竹槓。大賣場品質一定、因大量進貨而價格穩定，我不需要多花心思。

我們的船上沒有冰箱。曾經航行四個月的朋友苦口婆心的告知我們東西到了北方選擇性少，價錢貴得離譜，在西雅圖買得到的，我們喜歡的口味就應該盡量囤積。

我從未如此的希望我身邊有個老人家，可以傳遞給我在沒有冰箱情況之下食物保存的智慧（沒有冰箱食物真的可以保存嗎？）。

首先，我們開始跟固定的農夫買東西。西雅圖每個星期不同時間都有農夫市場，你買到的蔬果就是販買給你的人親手種植的，所以他們有著一手資訊如何儲存，保鮮期限等。在購買中我們也閒話家常。賣我們燻鮭魚的漁夫告訴我們如何捕螃蟹、怎麼釣魚。

和台灣的傳統市場一樣，在這裡你可以試吃。我就曾繞了市場一圈，先喝了有機蔬菜湯、二分之一片的烤起司三明治、新鮮的巧克力球、大塊的燻鮭魚、再喝一小杯的蘋果汁、吃一片沾有新鮮果醬的餅乾。在試吃中，我開始幻想食材無限的可能。

真正開始航行之後，除了食物烹煮時提供我一天疲累之後最佳的慰藉，學習如何分配、照顧他們才是重頭戲。

我們船上一開始裝載的新鮮蔬果有七顆巨大包心菜、十幾顆的洋蔥、數不清的蒜頭與用不盡的薑，十幾顆蕃茄，幾枝節瓜，三打雞蛋。水果有二十顆的蘋果、半打鮮黃香蕉、半打青綠色香蕉、參雜數顆酪梨、香吉士、葡萄柚。乾糧則有米、有麵、有九大袋早餐穀麥片、有乾香菇、有花生醬、豆子罐頭、各式湯罐頭、鮪魚和鮭魚罐頭、麵粉發粉泡打粉鬆餅粉，Rob沒有會活不下去的各式茶葉，我沒有會發脾氣的咖啡。偷偷的，我塞了Rob最愛吃的黑巧克力，我最愛吃的洋芋片與餅乾（沒有飯後甜點怎麼活？！），所有瓶瓶罐罐的調味料。

我的母親生長於九個手足的大家庭，她可以眉頭不皺一下，三天三夜馬不停蹄準備十幾二十人新年大餐。我只有一個弟弟，我煮菜都是給自己一個人吃，請超過四人的朋友來家裡就倍感壓力。大多時候我都飯來伸手、茶來張口。而如今，我得張羅五個月的食材，在沒有冰箱，沒有儲藏室的狀況下進行。我想我估計食材數量的能力就如同選擇大樂透數字差不多。我怎麼可能知道二個人五個月要吃多少蒜頭？喝多少湯罐頭？需要用多少橄欖油？

以我最大的想像力與許久不用的數學計算能力，將我們的船裝滿食物，迎向接下來的照顧工作！
（待續）

[Translation]

I've never had this close of a relationship to my food before.

In the past, I simply bought food and threw it in the refrigerator. If it went bad, I threw it out. My favorite was to buy pre-packaged apples from the supermarket. Since I don't know a good apple from bad, the traditional market stalls didn't work for me. I never knew when the sellers would look at, see my ignorance, and take the opportunity to unload their second rate merchandise. Large stores have a dependable level of quality, and they buy in such large quantities that the price is stable. It didn't take much of my time or attention.

Our boat has no refrigeration. Friends of ours who traveled through these same waters for four months told us that as we went further north our grocery selection would get smaller and the prices would be higher. Their advice was, if they have what you want in Seattle, you should get it.

I've never before wished that I had an old person at my side, someone who had lived without refrigeration and could tell me all the secrets for keeping food (can you really keep food without a refrigerator?).

For our first provisioning, we bought from farmers in Seattle's weekly farmers markets. The apples we bought were grown by the very hands that sold them to us, so we had good advice on how to store them and how long they would last. Each time we made a purchase, we would ask lots of questions and get as much information as possible. The man who sold us smoked salmon told us how to catch Canadian crabs and fish.

Just like Taiwan's traditional markets, you can try a taste before you buy. So, before buying, I made a full circuit of the farmers market trying a bit of everything—a taste of organic soup, a tiny bite of a grilled cheese sandwich, homemade chocolate truffles, a big piece of smoked salmon, fresh fruit juice, a cracker spread with fresh fruit preserves. As I tasted these items, I started to imagine all the possibilities that food offers.

After we departed, in addition to the comfort that food cooking on the stove brought me, I started studying how to apportion the food for each month's use and how to keep each item fresh and which ones to use before they went bad.

When we left, we had a good load of fresh apples, seven heads of cabbage, over a dozen onions, an uncountable number of cans and ginger to last a lifetime. We departed with nearly a dozen tomatoes, several zucchini squashes, and three dozen fresh eggs. In addition to our 20 apples, we also had a bunch of ripe bananas and a bunch of green bananas, a few pears, a few oranges, and a couple of grapefruit. Our dry stores included rice, flour, and nine big bags of granola, and dried shiitake mushrooms. We took several jars peanut butter, cans of beans and cans of soup, caned salmon and caned tuna. We brought bread flour and pancake mix. Rob brought small teashops worth of the high quality tea he cannot live without. I brought a supply of coffee that keeps me from losing my temper in the morning. Secretly I packed a few bars of Rob's favorite chocolate and packages of cookies and potato chips for myself (How can one live without desert?). And finally, a large selection of spices and flavorings.

My mom grew up in a large family with nine brothers and sisters. She could spend three days and three nights cooking a New Year's banquet for 12 people without batting an eyelash. I have only one brother. When I cooked, it was only for myself. If more than four people came over at once, it was an intense pressure to cook for them. Mostly I've had food simply by putting out my hand and tea has been sent directly to my lips with no effort on my part.

But now, I have to plan food for a five-month journey, with no refrigeration and very little storage. My guesses about how much we need seem to be like picking lottery numbers. How would I know how many heads of garlic two people need for five months? Or how many cans of soup we will eat? Or how much olive oil we will consumer?

So, using my best imagination and my rusty arithmetic, I have packed our boat full of my best guesses of what we will need. Now begins the job of caring for and rationing the food.

(To Be Continued)