When we cruised to SE Alaska last summer, I knew we needed to make many long passages in order to get to arrive in Ketchikan in less than three weeks.
I also knew that I'd be pretty darned tired and hungry at the end of those passages.
   Since, on L'Esprit, I'm the cook, I had to figure out a way to have our meals cooking while we were up on the fly bridge making our passage.
   For some galley slaves this problem is solved with a crock pot. Others use a  pressure cooker.
   I decided I wanted to experiment with my version of the Wonderbag. 

    The Wonderbag is a "non-electric portable slow cooker. It continues to cook food which has been brought to the boil by conventional methods for up to 12 hours without the use of additional electricity or fuel." (Source: wonderbagworld.com).
   I didn't want to buy a Wonderbag because it seemed like it would take up too much space. But I liked the idea of the Wonderbag and believed I could achieve the same outcome with layers of fleece.
   Here's what I did.
   First I read the Wonderbag directions. Basically, they tell you to bring whatever you're slow-cooking to a boil for five minutes in a cast-iron type of pot. They also say to use a pot that's not too large. In my case, I used a 2-quart Le Crueset for just the two of us.
   The WonderBagWorld website has tons of recipes, bless their hearts. So I used a few and experienced success.
Except that I entirely wrapped the pot in four layers of fleece.
   It worked great. I couldn't believe how hot everything stayed, even after an eight-hour passage. And the food never burnt to the surface of the pot. That's right. I made rice using this method and the pot was a cinch to clean.
   Do I do this at home? Nope. Will I continue doing this on L'Esprit? You bet.
   So get out some fleece. Visit the WonderBagWorld website. Let me know how it worked for you!