So our pig circus draws to a close with this, the finale blog, which is in video form. Please check it out.
Click on the pic to see the video blog
What a challenging and educational experience it has been,
to follow a project like this though. Just about every angle we chose offered a
new experience. In fact, I remember the day before the feast, when seasoned
Chef Stef and I had been cooking non stop for a good while, when Stef said
something to the effect of, ‘Just about everything that I have made in the last
two days, I have done for the first time’. Basically we put ourselves way out
of our comfort zones. We could never have pulled this event off, without expert
help form Martin Raubenheimer from Cured, who sausage was as good as it gets,
his smoked bones, which we made our pea soup were ridiculously delicious (we
gouged ourselves in the kitchen on these flavor bombs) and his gammon was the
finest I have tasted. Then there was Andre Cole and Debora, who gave up a day
and night in their busy schedules to help us, Andrew you are a brilliant and
loving chef, your gammon poached in coke was sublime. Then there were the usual
suspects, Harry and Stef. Harry, I’m bummed your Concita soap is now finished;
you just can’t buy soap like that anymore. Stef, was the foundation of all that
was food for this event. Stef, without a doubt your tripe was the best I have
eaten and your Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls, I could live on alone, pity our
black pudding failed. Stef, you are THE MAN. A special thanks to our paying
guest Pieter Joubert, who took control of the Pigs Eyes (a blue berry set in
limoncello jelly) and in doing so, upped the anti. He also made the candles,
and took over the Mince Pie Department when I lost my sense of humor – shot
Pete
The Setting Mans
On the video side, a massive thanks needs to go to Robin,
Salama, but mostly Lucy, who bust a gut to get this vlog out. Also, thanks to Mans
for the fine stills photos and to Moose for the loan of his fancy camera gear.
Those alone I could live on Mans
A Smoked Bone and Pea Soup, with kitsch presentation Mans
Curried Tripe and Trotters - yum I want more Mans
Sublime Gammon Mans
Thanks to The Thabang Cultural Dancers, who were guests of Andre's for the weekend. They performed heart and a delightful energy for only a only pork sausage rolls. Thank you. Once again thanks to Celeste for her performance, she is the ultimate pro.
A beautiful Thabang Cultural Dancer Man
Last but not least, thank you Andre’ for making your venue
available (clearing it out and painting it took weeks of work), for you amazing
art and décor, your guidance and finally for Concita, who I know had a
wonderful life while she was with us. She was without a doubt the star of the
show.
Looking back towards Cape Town from Waaihoek. You can make out Table Mountain. Ian Ian
The Witels is a 5-day self-support kloofing/canyoning trip.
It’s a place where magic seems to happen.
The team - Chris, Alec, Skip, Dave, Jay, Laura, me. Ian Ian
This was only my 4th trip
down this river and in that time I have noticed that the place can have
profound influences on peoples lives. For my friends and mentors Alec (The Vegetarian
Hunter) and Poly Moly (The Roti World Champion) both mentioned in previous
blogs, this is a reference point for them, their measure of time. Both blokes
are sixty and have over 50 Witels trips between them. Surely the annual promise
of the place helps keep them bouncing about like spring chickens. It simply has
to. Then there is my perhaps dearest friend Moose, (who is instrumental in The
Urban Hunter Gatherer video blogs) who decided it was time to have offspring,
while on the Witels. His delightful boy Mathew, is now my Godson
Too much fun to be had to care about cooking Ian Ian
Oh yes! The food part of the blog. On trips like this people
either cater for themselves or maybe team up with another member of the party,
so it’s a kinda ‘each man for themselves’ thingy. Laura and I paired up on the
chow front. We threw a list together and split the buying load. True to form we
didn’t really think things through too well and ended up with a MOUNTAIN of
food that we had to carry up the MOUNTAIN. On the first night our enthusiasm
for good food was bubbling over. We made pasta with dried porcini mushrooms
(left over from autumn foraging missions), delicious dehydrated olives Alek’s
wife Gill had processed and given to me, chorizo and sun dried tomatoes, all
finished off with a little parmigiano. Ian Ian and Laura snapped away with
their cameras knowing I was going to do a blog. Well, that was pretty much the
last time any major interest in food took place on the trip, apart from jamming
our faces full of whatever was easiest to get to in our bags, so as to reduce
the weight of our packs. All those dream images of frying freshly caught brown
trout, never remotely came to be; I mean how could they, when you don’t even
unsleave your fly fishing rod that you bought? You see, this trip was not about
food, but about the greatest amount of fun that a person could ever have.
Laura, Ian Ian and I for various reasons, aptly became known as the delinquent
bunch. We were the last to leave camp and very definitely the last to arrive at
the next.
Plenty of boulder hopping. Ian Ian
I have these endearing images of looking back and seeing the
hugest smiles plastered on the faces of Laura and Ian Ian. I mean, was it
possible to have even more fun than we were having? I think not… I can’t
remember when last my happiness levels were last peaking as much as on this
trip
The Delinquents Ian Ian
A final word on food, but only coz itz a food blog. Our last
meal, lunch on the final day, was chunks of torn cheese on chunks of torn bread
(we were too lazy to even get the pen knife out of our packs.) This Neanderthal
meal tasted every bit as good as our big effort first night meal. It just goes
to show, that sometimes it’s not about food.
May the magic of the Witels carry into our everyday lives.
Awesome Awesome Awesome Ian Ian
It gets pretty chilly Ian Ian
Make a chow, get it in and go have even more fun. Ian Ian
Just another waterfall Ian Ian
The Hunter Gatherer resisted temptation Ian Ian
The Lovely Laura squealing her way down a rapid. Ian Ian
Thank you Alecs, for allowing the delinquents on your trip. You
are a very fine leader.
Baklava and Yoghurt, them Greeks know a thing or two about a chow Mans
Every now and then all roads do seem to lead to Rome. In
this case, they all lead to Baklava.
Vortex (Voytek) Mans
For years I have been getting my honey from me mate’ Vortex
(Voytek). Short of character, Vortex is not. He has a long and impressive list
of daring and gnarly achievements, which include climbing a number of the
longest vertical rock walls on the planet and a whole bunch of other radical stuff
too. He also supplies me with the
best honey around. Mans and I asked Vortex if we could take some pics of him
and his hives. On the set day, Vortex arrived, not only with his usual massive
package of character, but he also brought a large pot of homemade yogurt with
him (perhaps one day his method of making yoghurt will appear on this blog. Who
knows?) Anyhoo, it seemed only natural that I should make something with both
honey and yoghurt. For a start, you can’t possibly go wrong with that combo and
throw a few nuts into the mix and you are laughing mate. For a while I have
wanted to learn to use phyllo pastry, and so it came to be, that all roads seemed
to point in the direction of Baklava. It turned out so well that my friend Lisa
and I made enough for 130 people for our mutual friends wedding.
Vortex a man who likes to get his heart rate going Mans
Wot you need
500g chopped mixed nuts
1 ½ tsp
ground cinnamon
1cup butter
melted
1 x box
(500g) phyllo pastry
1 x cup
white sugar
1 x cup
water
½ cup honey
1 ½ tsp
vanilla extract
Zest of 1
lemon
Wot to do
Creative lighting by mans Mans
The result of the lighting Mans
Preheat
oven to 175degrees c. Butter whatever baking dish you have that’s close to half
the size of a phyllo pastry sheet, if you don’t have one that size, just mosh
whatever plan you can, even if you have to trim, or overlap the pastry, and
what about the lost custom of borrowing from your friendly neighbour? Mix
the cinnamon into the nuts.
Roll out the phyllo and cut to fit the baking dish (it should be in half, if
you have got the right size dish). Keep the sheets of phyllo that you are not working with covered
with a damp cloth to stop em drying out.
Vortex's delish yoghurt Mans
With a basting
brush (a good old fashioned paint brush, in my case) paint a couple of leaves
of phyllo with the melted butter and lay it on the bottom of the dish, now
scatter a modest handful (2 to 3 tablespoons) of nuts on the phyllo. Keep
repeating the process. Hopefully you’ll be lucky enough to have about 6 layers
of phyllo, by the time your nuts are finished. It’s not a train smash if you
have to adjust your nut amount to allow for this. Now using a sharp serrated
knife cut the baklava into equal rows lengthways, then cut diagonals to form sexy
diamonds. Pop into the oven for about 45mins until crispy and golden. While the
baklava is doing it’s thing in the oven, throw the sugar and water into a small
pot and bring to a boil over a medium heat. Add the honey, lemon zest and the
vanilla. Turn down the heat and simmer for 20mins. When the baklava is looking
very yummy, take it out of the oven and evenly spoon/pour the syrup over it,
giving the flaky pastry a splendid shininess and thereby making it even more
yummy. Try your hardest to let it
cool before you stuff a piece into your pie hole. It’s excellent with Double Greek
yogurt.
