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Friday, December 21, 2012

PIGS CAN FLY- AN URBAN CHRISTMAS FEAST PART 3



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.


Mince Pies made with Concita lard                            Mans

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

THE WITELS


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.



Tuesday, December 04, 2012

HONEY, BEEZ, YOGHURT AND BAKLAVA



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.


                                                                                                                                                                                             Mans