The Jungle Party - it all started and ended with my ample consumption of betelnuts, courtesy of Eunice, our friend from PNG whom got it off mates from Cairns. There are a few ok photo from the small dinner before hand, and a memorable one of The Commodore and Gal dressed as Gollywogs. ur hm.
How To Chew Betel Nuts
1) Cut betelnuts into halves or quarters, especially if you have a small mouth
2) Cut mustard roots into shorter chunks, especially if you are sharing with friends
3) Pop beteluts into your mouth and chew hard
4) Coat mustard roots in lime powder (burnt shells mixture) by wetting it with your saliva first
5) Eat that, and combine well in mouth
6) Wait for some magic to happen
7 -9 March: Vietnamese Noodle Soup
With my week off before starting my new job, I went up to Sydney to visit my aunt Mei Shiang & uncle Lin. They were pretty cool, they are devout Buddhists and used to run the Sydney chapter of the Tzu-Chi Foundation for a couple of years. I love their Japanese inspired deco in their little apartment. They took me to the best Vietnamese noodle house in Sydney (The Tan Than in Flemington) freeeeek'n lick'n good.Vietnamese Noodle Soup
1) Work up a nice stock. For the lazy, cubes from your local VN shop will do. For the not so lazy, you will need to cook up a pot of beef bones, fat, chinese five spice, celery, onions, etc. Keep this boiling the whole time.
2) Prepare ingredience. For vegos, pretty straight forward things like fried oily tofu, bok choy, bamboo shoots. For meat eaters, prepare thinly sliced raw beef, cooked ox tails and/or tendons, some cooked roast beef, and meat balls. Obviously substitute whatever you feel like, for sea food options its best to have firmer fish none of the canned variety please.
3) Prepare staples of the Vietnamese, all raw: Bean sprouts, Vietnamese Mint, sliced chillis, lime wedges
4) In a seperate pot cook rice sticks - preferrably fresh. If fresh it only just needs a quick warm up with boiling water. If dried remember not to over cook by leaving it hot.
5) Place rice sticks in serving bowl. Top with key ingredience then pour stock over top - raw beef should cook nicely in a few secs. Then put staples on, with a dash of fish sauce.
6) Wait for magic
10 March: Vege Soup
I stayed with my mate Thomasen who has moved back to Sydney from a few years stint in Canberra. She's finished uni pretty much and looking for a job. Her parents house in Mosman is a fantastic little heaven with retro deco and a wonderful Australian art collection. Thomasen, her 18yo sister Tilley 
and I had a sesh eating vege soup at the table after a morning of cooking interesting potato cakes for Thom's party - which was a nightmare we just managed to save with a bit of ingenuity. Shopping in Mosman was a blast! I could not believe the quality of the clothes here. I am actually very very sick of the Sydney CBD shopping - its either extremely expensive and unaffordable stuff in the QVB/Pitt St area, or the tackiest sweatshop stock from China Town and Broadway. Mosman is just the right mix and affordable prices and I honestly have not had such a good time shopping for a long time.Vege Soup
1) Boil up a cup of kidney beans or a mixture of beans, barley and lentils, but not thoroughly cooked
2) throw in some onions, celery, carrots, and can of tomato
3) boil up. Use a hand held blender to roughly blend the pulses - but still leaving them slightly visible. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!!
4) Add salt, peper and a dash of italian parsley
5) serve with crsty bread spread with dejong mustard
11-12 March: Gormet Baked Beans On Toast
Templeton and I went sailing in Pittwater after Thom's party. On Saturday, after a wonderful breakfast of baked beans on toast cooked on The Kalitsah's trusty cabin stove, we took the girls out for a nice calm sail and a good swim near Coasters Retreat Bay.
Gormet Baked Beans on Toast
1) Open a can of baked beans and cook on medium-low heat
2) Slice thickly full grain bread, toast both sides with butter if desired
3) Pour baked beans on toast, top with a few slices of camenbert cheese
4) Sprinkle with some cracked pepper
5) Wait for magic
No comments:
Post a Comment