I’ve had a couple of readers ask for recommendations for some good cookbooks for Barnes & Noble’s Nook. Six of my favorites are available . . . and The Boat Galley Cookbook will be available for the Nook when it is published in October, 2012 (you can pre-order print copies but not electronic editions).
Many of my favorites aren’t yet on the Nook, so I’m hoping that readers will add favorites in the comments at the end of this article to build a more comprehensive list . . . no, I haven’t reviewed every cookbook out there!
How to Grill
We found that we grilled far more aboard than we had when living ashore. In hot weather, it kept heat out of the boat and we just loved sitting in the cockpit, fixing dinner and watching the scenery and wildlife.
But since we hadn’t grilled all that much ashore, we frequently didn’t know what we were doing and had to learn by trial and error.
I wish I’d had this book then. It redefines “basic grilling book” by teaching you how to grill everything imaginable and with a variety of techniques. With 150 recipes and nearly 1,000 photos this book will make you an expert!
Kneadlessly Simple: Fabulous, Fuss-Free, No-Knead Breads
I love baking bread, but trying to knead it on a boat can be messy. The whole trend of no-knead breads started several years ago with a recipe in The New York Times. All I can say is WOW!
Great taste, great texture, simple and no mess. Anyone who likes homemade bread should try this method. And this cookbook makes it even simpler, with easy-to-follow directions and lots of variations.
And if you’re like me, you just might be able to trade a half loaf of homemade bread for a couple of lobster!
Simply Salads
I love salads, and Simply Salads is a great salad cookbook. There are over 100 salad recipes, all with homemade dressings — perfect for a boat where it can be hard to store a selection of dressings. Not only do I not want to give up much of my limited refrigerator space, but often there are none available in remote locations.
The reality is, though, that I also really like to make my own dressings. And the collection here will provide lots of alternatives. While Chandler likes to base her salads on pre-packaged bags of various types of greens, this isn’t always practical on a boat. Still, it’s easy to substitute the fresh greens you do have access to for the ones suggested in the recipes. She also has several cabbage-based salads for those times when you just don’t have — or can’t store — fresh greens.
While the “full salad” recipes have great ideas of things to put together, the dressings alone are well worth the price of the book.
Whether you’re cruising in Mexican waters or just love Mexican food, Mod Mex will help you create great Mexican dishes, well beyond the “standard” tacos, burritos and enchiladas to the true Mexican food that you get once you’re away from the tourist spots.
Admittedly, he sometimes assumes you have cooking tools that aren’t likely to make their way on board a cruising boat, but it’s pretty easy to figure out alternate methods for achieving the same results. For example, his salsa recipe calls for using a blender, but it’s not hard to figure out that you can finely chop the ingredients.
The flavors and ingredients are all authentic and delicious. But a word of warning — they’re spicy! You may want to start with half the quantity of chiles called for in any given recipe, then add more to taste.
Anybody know of a good “general reference” cookbook for the Nook? Or a good basic fish or seafood one?

Carolyn Shearlock has lived aboard full-time for 17 years, splitting her time between a Tayana 37 monohull and a Gemini 105 catamaran. She’s cruised over 14,000 miles, from Pacific Mexico and Central America to Florida and the Bahamas, gaining firsthand experience with the joys and challenges of life on the water.
Through The Boat Galley, Carolyn has helped thousands of people explore, prepare for, and enjoy life afloat. She shares her expertise as an instructor at Cruisers University, in leading boating publications, and through her bestselling book, The Boat Galley Cookbook. She is passionate about helping others embark on their liveaboard journey—making life on the water simpler, safer, and more enjoyable.
Julie Sandler Lambert on Facebook says
One of my favorite “cookbooks” is The Flavor Bible. It isn’t a traditional cookbook, but a guide to almost any food, herb, wine, cheese etc. that you can think of and what flavors & foods they pair with. It you enjoy making up your own recipes, or find ingredients that you are unfamiliar with, this is a great book to have aboard. And it’s available for the Nook and Kindle.
Mary E Dixon on Facebook says
I like this one. It’s only $.99, but you can get a free sample of the cookbook. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/new-quinoa-cookbook-robert-wilson/1104808170?ean=2940011452079
Sue Klumb says
Oh I love it that your new cookbook will come out as a nook book also! BN has a variety of good cookbooks, some even for free (e.g. “A cookbook by Ted”, “Famous Coffee House Recipes”). For old traditional recipes I usually go to Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.net) on the internet, where you will find thousands of free e-books that are no longer copyright protected…I downloaded the “Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking” cookbook, a real treat for the lovers of basic food recipes (we live on a sailboat and like simple recipes that require little use of electrical gadgets)…that’s why I am looking forward to your and Jan’s Boat Galley Cookbook 🙂
Vivienne says
Hi Carolyn
What do you recommend for boat BBQ equipment; what do you use?
Regards
Vivienne
Carolyn Shearlock says
Dave and I are not big grillers, but my cookbook co-author and her husband are. They use their Magma Newport 4 or 5 nights a week and are very happy with it (we have an older Magma round — original size — and it is fine for the 2 times a month we grill). A while back, I asked for reader recommendations and put together this article, which includes a couple of other good choices: https://theboatgalley.com/grill-recommendations/