The Adventures of The Privateer Sea Serpent Cookbook and Galley Journal begins with the finding of an ancient sea trunk:
I was cleaning out the attic in my grandparents house when I stumbled across an old sea chest. It was stained and buried under a pile of canvas. As I rummaged through it, I came across many oil cloth wrapped packages, they turned out to be journals of an ancestor who had sailed on a Privateer in the 1700's.
Stories I had been raised with turn out to be true - we did have a "scoundrel" in our family tree and grandmother is horrified. For that reason, we are unable to reveal his identity other than to say he was the cook on the Sea Serpent.
This first book takes us through the first three journals - he had never traveled outside of England and we share his growing awareness of the world - his adventures and discoveries and most importantly, his ever growing recipe base.
We'll meet the ship's powder monkeys - Davy, Jonathan and Evan, the Captain and crew all brought back to life in these pages.
He travels to Bermuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica, skirts around Cuba and sails up the coast of the Colonies, stopping in St. Augustine and Charles Town.
His shipmates regale him with stories of the sea and the denizens that dwell in it. He gathers the legends and recipes of countries like Ireland, Scotland, Italy and Poland from them as well.
Read an excerpt from the book:
“... the Captain and his Officers are in a foul mood today, the tide turns and although many have searched, three of our shipmates are no where to be found. I have a passing acquaintance with each of these men and although I am not surprised that two of them would simply leave the ship, I wonder about the third lad. He seemed to enjoy his time aboard ship and held the Captain in high esteem. I am hoping that he is merely happily drunk and spending his money on the “ladies” of this town...”
"...we head South and West deeper ino the Caribbean Sea, there is a large island off our starboard side and am told it is the island of Cuba which is controlled by the Spanish crown. Through the glass I can see an imposing fortress and am told it is “El Morro”, a most formidable fortress with not only a moat and drawbridge but am told the walls are thick and the cannons many...”
“...the Spanish Treasure Fleet has its base here and the island is heavily fortified... we shall stay well away... the Spanish have long memories and the attacks by Henry Morgan have yet to be forgotten.....to be English in El Morro is to guarantee your death...”
“.... Jonathan, Davy and the third Powder Monkey, Evan have fallen ill, however I think perhaps some of the men have been giving them rations of rum and ale...they are pale and spend much of their time with their heads hanging over the side of the ship, perhaps a light custard will settle their stomachs...”
Baked Custard
(recipe can be found in Book I)
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