Cooking on an island of the high seas

As on all islands located further out at sea, the selection and quality of food here are limited. The fact that the mainland is 1500 km away doesn't make things any easier.

In January and the first half of February, the selection of fish here isn't comparable to, for example, on the Spanish mainland. What's available here is beef, milk, cheese, and deep-sea fish such as high-quality tuna, swordfish, and grouper.

Many foods have to be brought in by ship or plane, which certainly doesn't make them any fresher. The people who were born here have long since gotten used to it, or rather, have never known anything different. For us, it's an adjustment.

But since we're often on islands, we're familiar with it, prepared, and have our workarounds. I always bring a wide variety of spices, and Rainer brings ground whole-wheat flour, sourdough starter, and a baking pan. Since apartments often only have coated pans, he sometimes brings an uncoated one. Not this time, though, because there was a stainless steel one available.

Since we have an outdoor kitchen here with a fireplace grill, sink, and roof, we can invent the best things imaginable together. I also try to get an apartment with an oven, which doesn't always work out, but usually it does, like here.

Today we're having calamari with baked potatoes; we bought the rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves at the market yesterday. The wine, including the port, is exceptionally good here and really reasonably priced.

Bon appétit!Read more