A sailboat trip to the South Pacific allowed Ryan Masson to discover what may well be the perfect beer bread recipe. The sacrifice involved is obvious.

Kayaking with cannibals

From the Winter 2010 issue of Coast&Kayak Magazine. Read the entire magazine online.

By Hilary Masson

For this issue, I have two different recipes that are excellent on their own, and go especially well together.

Ryan, my older brother, spent over two months crewing on a 46’ sailboat last spring. He sailed from La Paz Mexico, near our winter kayak operations, across the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia in the South Pacific. While on the boat one of the other crew members made this really easy beer bread. It uses the yeast in the beer to raise the dough; it requires no kneading and is fast to make. This summer we perfected the beer bread and discovered that whether anchored in the turquoise waters of Moorea or Tahiti, or kayaking the west coast of Vancouver Island or Baja, it’s a fun, quick, and easy bread.

The second recipe is one that I make a lot, and can be adapted to whatever ingredients are available locally. The recipe is based on my Dad’s famous seafood chowder. Every year my parents host a New Year’s seafood party and this is one of the many local dishes served. My brother and I have adapted the recipe for when we’re paddling in Baja by incorporating local seafood and veggies there.

Beer bread made easy

Mix:
1 ½ cups all purpose white flour
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 can of beer

Additions:
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
Sprinkle of dill and basil

Mix the flour and baking powder directly in your Outback / Dutch Oven pan (no need to dirty a mixing bowl), then stir in a can of beer. Sometimes to get the right consistency you may need an additional 50 ml of liquid. You can use water, or it’s a good excuse to open another can of beer.
For this recipe, I added grated cheddar cheese and herbs to go with the seafood chowder. If you’re adding cheese or herbs, you can add them to the mix before putting in the beer. This easy beer bread requires no kneading or rising time; just mix and bake.
In my Outback Oven it takes 35 to 45 minutes on “bake”, or about 40 minutes at 400 degrees in a conventional oven.

Coastal seafood chowder

1 onion
3 stalks of celery
3 carrots
2 parsnips
2 yams
3 potatoes
1 pound (or more) fresh local seafood. We use clams, oysters, cod
2 cloves garlic
Dill, basil, salt or Miso to taste.
1 cup cream, milk, or sour cream

Use a large soup pot. Chop and brown the onion in oil or butter. Add the veggies, chopped into small cubes. Add seasoning: In this recipe I used dill, basil and a tablespoon of Miso soup paste (instead of salt). Cover with water, bring to a boil and cook until almost soft. Now you add your seafood.

I have used local oysters and clams that I picked from my favorite spot here on Gabriola Island. I also added 350 grams of local cod that I cut into bite-sized cubes. At the very end add your cream, milk or sour cream. All work well. Usually I go with whatever needs to be used first on my kayak trip.

You can really play around with this recipe. While working in Baja I use veggies with a more Mexican flair: onions, carrots, red and green peppers and finely diced jalapeno peppers. You can also add cans of diced tomatoes or corn, and even cream corn is a nice addition to this chowder.

I have made it with a Thai theme using seasonings like cumin, thyme, turmeric and shrimp or prawns; and I always suggest going with whatever seafood is fresh and local.

It doesn’t matter where in the world you are; making simple beer bread and seafood chowder is the perfect addition to any sailing or kayaking adventure.

Hilary Masson is a guide and part owner of Baja Kayak Adventures.