You Can't Have Naan Open Face Sammich

Currently, the Sea Shanti is sans galley. The original kitchen was devoured by termites. She was serving up hearty meals ’til the end, bless her heart.

When we first moved aboard, our galley consisted of a dorm-sized marine refrigerator – the only survivor of the Shanti’s last supper. From August through September, it was sammiches every meal.

Once we had the boat in the water, we brought our old Primo water cooler aboard for instant hot and cold water. Hello, Golden Age of Ramen!

Fain moved aboard in October after an extended visit with family, and the air got a nip in it. I wanted to be able to make real food, hot food, food you could smell from the parking lot, so we broke down and invested in a folding card table and an Instant Pot.

After four months of denial about how long it’s gonna take to get the Shanti’s insides renovated, we finally broke down and put together a makeshift galley. A folding card table and an Instant Pot, to be exact. I may have gone a little crazy after months without a kitchen. We had turkey chili for dinner last night and potato soup for breakfast. I’ve got all the fixings for turkey tinga tacos for lunch and red red for dinner. I cannot express how much I’ve missed home cooked meals from actual ingredients, even if it means washing dishes in a plastic tub on a dock. #realfoodatlast #sohappytoday

A post shared by Autumn Ware (@autumn.at.the.sea.shanti) on Nov 29, 2017 at 8:03am PST

Since then, I’ve cooked as often as possible, and it’s a lot of fun. Honestly, everything really is more enjoyable on a boat, even if it’s a dilapidated Shanti of a boat.

This recipe is one of my favorites. I could actually make this in the earliest days aboard the Shanti, when we were still twelve feet off the ground. It’s savory and simple and not-too-shabby health-wise either.

Please be advised, being of an anarchist nature, I don’t bother with strict rules. Recipes shackle you to a particular way of doing things, which is limiting. Consider this an invitation to play in the kitchen rather than instructions for a perfect meal.

You Can’t Have Naan Open Face Sammich

Combine halved cherry tomatoes with diced banana peppers, sweet onion, and garlic. Green onions are welcome, too, as are olives, I suppose, if you’re that kind of person. Q: How many tomatoes? A: How much do you like tomatoes?
Toss in whatever food-grade oil you have on hand. I’m currently using the generic vegetable oil from the dollar aisle at Rouse’s, but olive oil would be nice, too. Do you.
Splash on some vinegar. I’ve made it with white and red wine vinegar as well as balsamic in the past. Whatever you have on hand is fine.
Season with salt and pepper.
Throw in some herbs and spices if you wanna feel fancy.
Smother a slice of naan with hummus – whatever kind you like best.
Top with the tomato mixture.
Boom. Done and done.