Red Lentil Trail Mix

Red lentils are great. They're high in protein and fiber, and their small size means they cook quickly.

I already knew that they are air-popped and added to Indian snacks... but, I'd never seen them baked and added to crunchy trail mix before.

I have not tried this recipe yet, but, I have to say that I am intrigued.




Red Lentil Trail Mix (adapted from Three Many Cooks)

Makes about 3 1/2 cups
1 cup red lentils
Assorted add-ins such as dried fruit, nuts, chocolate and seeds

Soak lentils in water to cover until rehydrated. Drain and spread in a rimmed 13- by 9-inch baking sheet.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake lentils on the middle rack. Stir once or twice to promote even baking. Bake until crisp, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Let cool to room temperature.

Mix lentils with remaining ingredients

Living in a small space

This is going to be one of our biggest challenges. My husband and I both have clutter problems that we will need to train ourselves out of before hitting the high seas.

I found some great advice about living in small spaces on the blog Off-Grid in Alaska. I recommend not just this article, but the whole blog. It chronicles the author's move to the Alaskan bush, living in a tent for a year and building a cabin.

Great Online Sailing Resources

I found a list of some really useful navigation sites: http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-maps-for-boaters.html

My favorite so far is Earth NC. It took me a little while to figure out how to use the router, but, once I got it down, I was able to draw prospective routes and calculate the approximate distance we'd have to travel.

Crabbing

Blue crabs are plentiful off Florida's Gulf Coast. A salt water license includes permission to use traps, as well. You can have five traps per person. Found some great information about blue crabs here, including a tutorial for building your own crab traps.

Sunday sailing

We got out on the boat yesterday for the first time in nearly two months. The freshly varnished teak looks great. Going to have to get the bottom scraped this week, since it's been awhile since we've been in the water (too cold!)

I met an old man on the dock while Simon was out grabbing supplies. I wish I'd had a pen and paper to take notes as he casually rattled off all of the sailing options within a few hundred miles, and the conditions of each. He's insisted that we take the boat down to Long Beach, Florida sometime. It's not too far away, so, we'll give it a look.

Reupholstering the cabin

Our boat came with ugly mildewed and worn blue denim cushions inside. We washed it all, but, we're still not crazy with the way they all look.

I finally took measurements to find out how much fabric we'll need. Turns out that doing all the cushions will require about 20 yards. On a forum I looked at, people were saying not to bother with Sunbrella inside the cabin. Since the stuff costs at least twice as much as the option we are looking at, I'll take their word for it for now.

Supplies are looking like they'll cost about $200, plus my time sewing the cushions. I've never done zippers or piping, so, this will be a new experience. We're having a sample of some fabric that we like sent here:

Gonna have to see if we still like it when we see it in person. I liked a different coral pattern, but my husband thought the tone of blue was too light:

Could be that when we get samples, we'll hate them both, lol... will see soon.

Visiting Museums on the Cheap

This morning, I got to wondering whether there were nation or worldwide reciprocity programs for museums. Reciprocity is great: you become a member at one museum, and get free admission at a number of others. I'm a member of a couple of local museums that offer recips with other local museums, and we have gotten our money out of the programs many times over.

After a bit of searching, I found two different reciprocity programs for museums. The ASTC Passport program establishes reciprocal benefits between 300 science museums worldwide. For those interested in visiting other museums throughout North America (mostly art museums, from the look of it) you can join a museum that is a member of NARM, North American Reciprocal Museums.