Long before I owned and cooked on my own boat, I was a hired galley cook. The captain on one boat where I worked was far more interested in sailing than in my attempts to get dinner on the table for our guests. To make matters worse, the galley had few windows, so we cooks knew little about approaching weather until it smacked us.

In the best of circumstances, a galley space is a tiny place from which to cook and entertain. But if that weren’t enough of a challenge, it’s also essentially located outside. Yes, there’s a roof, but if you’ve ever attempted to make anything – even a cup of tea – in a galley while being bounced around in a lumpy sea, you know that the roof won’t protect you much. In a galley kitchen, you are at the whim of the weather.

One hot summer day long ago on that boat where I worked, I was putting the final touches on a spiced-butter turkey. It had been roasting since just after lunch and was now resting and waiting to be carved. Out of nowhere, it seemed, a squall line hit the boat, and she heeled (tilted) suddenly and hard. My galley crew and I scrambled to stay upright while at the same time guarding the countertops. To no avail. The turkey launched off the stove top sailing right onto the sole (the boat floor). Goodbye turkey. Dinner – a rather late dinner – was hastily put-together herbed poached chicken breasts instead. When the weather turns on a dime, the cook sometimes must, too.

Now I own and cook on the Schooner J. & E. Riggin, co-captaining with my husband. All summer long, we entertain our changing roster of some 24 guests in an open air environment. These days, my galley stairs exit right at the ship’s wheel, which means that I can stand at the bottom of the steps and look up the companionway at my husband – a handy thing when my pot of oil for lobster rangoons is just one degree of heel from flying off the top of the stove.

A look, an angle of my head, hands on my hips, from the bottom of the companionway, and my good man knows exactly what I’m saying even if no words are exchanged, essentially, “OK, my dear, we are now approaching dinner time and easing the sheets would be a good plan.”

Entertaining from a shore-side kitchen does not, thankfully, involve motion. Still, even on land, if you plan to entertain al fresco, you need to consider the weather. Back-up plans are key both to a successful cruise and to a successful picnic.

On our boat, we find ourselves looking at the sky and assessing our options many times a day. If we can avoid a squall, we do. But sometimes, the weather has its way with us and we simply must make the best of it. Weather is weather, whether (pun intended) it’s a misty, gray fog that cloaks the view of spruce-dotted islands our guests have dreamed of seeing or a blindingly bright day without even a hint of a breeze. In either case, and in all of the scenarios in between, including glorious days of 15-knot Southwest breezes with clear blue skies and calm seas, we can’t control the weather. No point complaining about it, then.

Our usual solution is the galley, which offers respite from the elements. The varnished pine tables banked by burgundy and taupe curtains and cushioned settees welcome our guests to circle around and warm themselves with a bowl of garden tomato and cilantro soup or a lobster and spinach mac and cheese. Guests face each other around the tables; in a boat’s tight quarters, we’re a bit more shoulder to shoulder than at home.

When the meal is done, we don our foul-weather gear and head back out on deck. Often we can see the entire glorious arch of a rainbow (I’m still waiting to see that pot of gold). After a storm, the calm that settles over the bay is ethereal and evocative; the green and gray hues that line the coast are so crisp and so varied these colors seem to make up the entire color wheel.

Without the vagaries and variations of weather, we’d miss these experiences. Without the rain, we’d miss the rainbow. Even when storms upend my best-laid kitchen plans, I wouldn’t trade them.

The recipes with this week’s column can be served either warm or at room temperature – that flexibility is helpful if you aren’t sure what the weather has in store. As for the upside-down cake, well, things don’t always land right side up on a boat, which makes it especially nice when that happens on purpose.

BLUEBERRY CREAM CHEESE SCONES

This recipe is adapted from Kate Shaffer’s cookbook, “Desserted: Recipes and Tales from an Island Chocolatier,” who, in turn, adapted her recipe from Kyra Alex at Lily’s Café.

Makes 8

SCONES:

2 large egg yolks

1 scant cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled

4 ounces cream cheese, chilled

1 cup frozen Maine blueberries

FROSTING:

1 ounce cream cheese, room temperature

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk, plus more if needed

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Whisk together the yolks and enough heavy cream to measure 1 cup. Sir in the vanilla extract. Set aside.

To make the scones, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large mixing bowl.

Grate the butter directly into the dry ingredients and mix with your hands, rubbing gently.

Cut or tear the cream cheese into small chunks and toss into the dry ingredients. Add the blueberries and gently mix all together.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the combined liquid ingredients. Add more cream if needed, mixing quickly. You should have a crumbly mixture that barely qualifies as dough at this point.

Turn the dough onto a cutting board and quickly knead together until you’ve formed the chunky mixture into a dough that barely holds together. Flatten the dough into a disc and cut with a biscuit cutter into 8 rounds. Place the rounds into a muffin tin lined with small pieces of parchment paper.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the muffin tin once halfway through baking. The scones are done when they are lightly browned and just firm to the touch. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

To make the frosting, mash the cream cheese in a small bowl. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mash together. Add the vanilla and then the milk, adding more milk if needed to create a spreadable but not drippy frosting. Frost the cooled scones and serve.

BLUEBERRY-STRAWBERRY UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

It’s not a mistake; I really do use 1/4 cup of vanilla extract here. I make my own vanilla; if you prefer, use brandy. I don’t have an electric mixer on board – in fact, I don’t have electricity at all in my galley kitchen – so I mix this cake, and all cakes, by hand. I’ve also adjusted the time and temperature for a home kitchen. On the boat, I bake in a wood-burning oven.

Serves 8

1/4 cup unsalted butter, plus 1/3 cup butter at room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup vanilla extract or brandy

1 cup blueberries

1 cup strawberries, hulled and quartered

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

12/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter. Remove from heat and sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter whisking until the sugar is melted and has become a syrup. Add the vanilla (or brandy) to the pan.

Butter a soufflé dish and arrange the berries in the bottom. Pour the butter-sugar syrup over the berries. Set aside.

Cream the remaining 1/3 cup butter and granulated sugar together with an electric mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl, alternating with the milk. Mix until just incorporated.

Spoon the batter over the berries and syrup and bake for 35 to 40 or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the batter emerges clean.

Let the cake cool on the counter for 5 minutes, then invert onto a plate. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream.

Anne Mahle of Rockland is co-captain of the Schooner J. & E. Riggin and the author of “Sugar and Salt: A Year at Home and at Sea.” She blogs at athomeatsea.com and can be reached at:

chefannie@ mainewindjammer.com