Food and travel writer Ann Vanderhoof and her husband Steve left their upscale life behind to sail from their home in Canada to the Caribbean. Her husband was a seasoned sailor but to Ann, who didn’t even like sailing until into her 40s, this was a scary yet exciting undertaking for her. This book, referred to as Under the Tuscan Sun meets the wide open seas doesn’t begin to cover it. For two years they sailed from island to island discovering local culture, battling the elements, cooking the native foods, and collecting recipes. Living on a boat creates it s own problems, and she writes in detail about each one.  It is a fascinating experience for the reader who gets caught up in every exciting and life-threatening moment. Curious about the title?  All is explained in the first chapter.

mangoes

And one other thing — the recipes using local foods, herbs and spices sound delicious. It may be difficult to find some of the ingredients.  the author does give some hints about  ingredient substitutions and cookling methods.  At least we don’t have to use a tiny 2-burner stove top. I pepared Pasta from Mr. Butter’s Garden – a simple recipe but quite tasty.