It was a small-craft-advisory sort of day here in DELMARVA. The morning exuberance had been tempered by clouds, despite Deirdre’s invitation to a campanito drink mixed and served in the customary brown ceramic cups.

The gray skies produced enough wind and turmoil to disrupt the web connection on the roof, and it was not until late in the afternoon that we were reminded it was National Rum Day.

This is one of those observances that sounds a little more festive than a holiday devoted to one of the brown spirits—though, of course, rum can go there, too.

That is part of what is special about rum in my cooking. The marketing holiday purports to celebrate the art of sugarcane distillation developed in the 17th-century Caribbean, where all the Boomers later supported the Haitian mess and watched the various waves of rafts come north.

Rum was central to the British Royal Navy’s daily ration until 1970. I hear it is still central to the mixology of our older private sailors who are listening to the woes of the forward deployed with the satisfaction that their time with that is done.

If you are traveling, rum is also a useful universal commodity, since it is produced in more than 80 countries.

If your web connection is still up, you can check the details yourself.

The citrus stuff from this morning will go into a juice-based afternoon relaxer—or perhaps something bubbly and cola-sweet. First, though, we needed to grab an intern, the company SUV and Miles’ wallet.

You can see the murderer’s row of fun stuff up with the recipes, but the key is to relax and enjoy making up the beef patties from the Wyoming Pure bulk order.

I told the boys to start making the patties—not full burger size, but wide enough to carry the gravy and onions.

That is center plate.

The sides are old-home traditional, from my grandma in Michigan. Her Saginaw Salts came from an old lumberjack recipe so simple even the backwoods people could do it. With a couple tubs of our slaw and cold shredded carrot salad, it makes an approachable meal that reminds everyone of home.

Wherever that happens to be!

Hamburger Steak with Onions and Gravy

The original recipe yields about eight servings. I double everything to cover the Creative Crew.

The amounts are proportional, and the two-pound version is enough to feed a watch turnover with Saginaw Salt Potatoes on the side. It can all be assembled and out of the Galley in less than an hour.

I prefer to cook a little over the number of faces at the table so there are leftovers that can be combined into something interesting later.

For sides, we have the usual two or three tubs of cold slaw and salads—and a nice hot dish from back in my family history.

My grandma claimed she got the recipe from her brother, who had worked in Michigan’s lumber industry.

That industry was driven by vast white-pine forests and innovations like ice roads, “big wheels” and narrow-gauge railroads. White pine was prized for its size and its ability to float, enabling efficient transport to mills and markets.

In order to cut it down, the industry needed men.

And the men needed to be fed.

Which brings us back to the easiest recipe ever: Saginaw Salt Potatoes.

This whole combination is perfect for a gray, rainy day and intended to feed the Sunday staff, plus incoming and outgoing contributors. Of course, you can triple the ingredients if the crowd looks hungry.

Meanwhile, it is still early enough in the afternoon, and I intend to go look and see what we might mix up in the Galley blender.

Copyright 2026 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com