Superior, Wi to Quebec City, Quebec

It's cinnamon bun Sunday, June 8, day 43 on the CSL Laurentien (Louis R). We are just approaching the pilot station by Trois-Rivières (Three Rivers), where we will change pilots. We are enroute to Quebec City to unload. Trois Riviere is the halfway point between Montreal and Quebec. This timing would put us at the dock around noon. However, I heard yesterday that we will anchor for a few hours to wait for the ship that is currently unloading to finish. I had a nice surprise this morning. It's laundry day for me today onboard, and even though I can hear my mother's voice, in honesty, I don't remember if it was my mother's saying. Still, the idea to do work on a Sunday was discouraged, and any work done on a Sunday would have to be redone on a Monday" I like to treat Sunday special but, I have no other work clothes left in my closet so there is no question that I will have to do my laundry this morning. I usually put my laundry in the machine before 06h00. Nobody else is usually doing their laundry at that time. The machines are usually busy before and after the watch changes. I had gathered my laundry last night so that it was ready, and a visual reminder to do it first thing. I decided to make my coffee first and give my ankle a chance to stretch out on the walk to and from the galley before climbing the stairs and walking down the hallway with my heavy laundry bag. On my way to the galley and coffee, I set my laundry bag outside my door which is at the foot of the stairs. I returned from the galley with my morning coffee and paused when I realized my laundry bag was gone. The 4-8 watchman had seen my laundry bag and carried it up to the laundry room for me. I thought it was such a nice thing to do and a nice way to start my day.

If you look closely you can see the bridge and the location of the Trois Rivieres (Three Rivers) pilot station.

The crew are very nice here. This is a great job and I received many comments on my posts that I sound happy and yes, I am very happy. I spent over five years on this ship in the late 80s and early 90s, so it offers a familiarity and comfort that other ships don't. I especially like my room and think of the younger me spending years here. I looked through my photos of the past week selecting the ones to share with you, the ones that I think you may like to see.

The bread/buns are still going really well. I keep making bread if the crew keep eating it. I use the same recipe for bread, buns and rolls. I think the rolls are my favorite to make.

I made shrimp creole as a second choice for supper. The first choice was smoked meat and most of the crew asked for the combo plate. My mom used to make fish creole and I use a version of her recipe.

I made a Reuben pocket with the leftover smoked meat. If I make a grilled Reuben I add the homemade Russian dressing to the sandwich before grilling but when I make a Reuben pocket I like to serve the Russian dressing on the side as a dipping sauce.

I made a pasta dish with chicken and Alfredo sauce. When I was making the sauce I had the Alfredo sauce on the stove to reduce the 35% (heavy) cream. I got distracted and thankfully caught the bubbling cream sauce just as it was about to spill over the sides of the pots and on to the stove top. I was grateful to avoid a huge mess. Thankfully the boiled sauce did not break and it was a tasty dish.

I made pan fried home fries with the beautiful yellow fleshed potatoes that we got during our last grocery order. I find myself selecting the potatoes carefully not wanted to “waste” them. They are so delicious and the dwindling 50lb bags is nearing its end. I am hopeful that they will send another bag in our grocery order today. Fingers crossed.

I made curried lamb my first week here and since I am starting my 7th week here I thought it was time to make it again. I was so pleased this time that the lamb was lean and beautiful. It made a nice plate and I served it with my GPS (Ginger Pepper Sauce)

I use honey and olive oil with water for my homemade pizza dough. I thought it was interesting how the water, honey and water separated.

Pizza day. I didn’t realize that the night before they ordered pizza from the mailboat. A couple crew said no pizza for me I had some last night. I thought how much fun it would be to get a pizza delivered by boat.

I made a Flan Kuchen with the pizza dough. We had Swiss cheese and together with the bechamel, sliced onion and bacon it came out really nice.

BBQ Pork souvlaki with homemade tzatziki, lemon potatoes roasted cauliflower and rice. I showed the second cook how I put together a greek salad for a large group.

The following day that I made a Greek wrap with the leftover pork souvlaki, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, roasted peppers and onions, homemade greek dressing and tzatziki.

The second choice with the Greek wrap was a crab salad wrap or crab salad salad plate with curry dressing.

With the leftover crab salad I made crab cakes and served them on lettuce with spicy mayo. They were really good.

The weather was good to BBQ the steaks. I served the usual mushrooms, onions, baked potatoes and since I didn’t have asparagus, I made Brussel sprouts with bacon.

I have a few dessert photos to share with you this week. The relief second cook asked me to share some dessert and salad tips and tricks to add to his recipe rotation. I shared my oatmeal chocolate chip recipe, peanut butter cookie recipe, Mom's cherry pie filling cake (I shared the photo in my last post) and today I will show him my cinnamon bun recipe. I have shared some of my salad recipes and some of my salad dressings. We made the boiled coleslaw recipe and at the end of fish and chip night the coleslaw with the boiled dressing was gone. We get bottle dressings in gal jugs but I like to make my own dressings. Yesterday I showed him how to take the ready made Caesar dressing and Dr it up to make it better and make it a signature Caesar dressing. He loved the results and took a picture of the ingredients I added to the store-bought version. I enjoy sharing my recipes with him and yesterday the tables were turned when I saw his leche flan. I thought my flan was nice when I served it, but his leche flan was picture perfect and tasted delicious. It was so perfect that one of the crew asked, pointing at the dessert if it was store-bought and defrosted from the freezer. I laughed and said "No, he made it". Another crew member who has a background in commercial cooking asked us to put a plate aside for him. I knew that he doesn't usually take dessert but I put a slice of the Leche Flan with his plate and left a note that it was worth eating. He came to me later and said that the texture and flavor of the perfectly made flan brought him back to his years working in fine dining restaurants. I asked the second cook if he would share his technique with me next time. I also asked if he would show me how to make an authentic Filipino Adobo Chicken. I learned many tips and tricks from the regular second cook and my opportunity to learn has continued with the relief second cook. I am a lucky girl to learn so much on this ship.

The second cooks perfect Leche Flan.

The Leche Flan was steamed. The lid had been dropped and was bent so he laid a towel across the pan and put a pot on top to try and get a good seal.

I showed this dessert to the relief second cook. I have made it a few times and each time I make it I adjust it a bit. I am happy with the results now. It came out perfect. The crust is made with leftover cinnamon buns.

You can find puff pastry sheets in the freezer on most ships. I showed the relief second cook that you could make this dessert very quickly and easily.

The relief second cook made the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and the peanut butter cookies from my first cookbook.

I spend a good part of my day looking for the oven mitts. I leave them in the oddest places.

The trips that are scheduled that will take us to the first week in July are still on the trip list. I cannot share them with you but I am still looking forward to them. I really enjoy the Superior, WI to Quebec City, Quebec trip, but look forward to the four different ports on the list. The Superior to Quebec trip is approximately 6 days so a round trip is almost two weeks. I think this is part of what makes the time go so fast.

It was supper time, but I stepped out on deck at the Soo Lock to smell the beautiful scent of the Lilac trees. I love Lilacs.

We were lowering in the Soo Lock as the Saginaw made her way into the lock beside us.

I went out to wave at the people on the observation deck.

Early morning in the Welland Canal making our way into Lock three.

Leaving Iroquois Lock very early in the morning.

Looking up at the observation deck at Eisenhower Lock. It was shortly after 09h00

Writing about time going so fast I jumped up out of my chair after the previous sentence when I realized I was so lost in thought talking to you that I forgot to go upstairs and put my wet laundry into the dryer. Thankfully, I have 58 minutes before I have to go to the galley, so my clothes will have time to dry. Usually, I don't have to start my day at a particular time, but it is Cinnamon Bun Sunday, and I have to make the dough and let it rise. I will load the photos of the past week and hopefully get this to you so that you can enjoy it with your Sunday morning coffee. I am going to go and get my second cup now. Have a great day. Talk to you next week.

Lorraine will be happy to mail out your book order to you. Click on the following link to order online

Shop Online — Ship To Shore | Chef Catherine Schmuck | Author, Entrepreneur & Cook | Canada

To see a list of stores that carry the book click on the following link.

Shop In Store — Ship To Shore | Chef Catherine Schmuck | Author, Entrepreneur & Cook | Canada