It was only 2 months ago. Just a fortnight before the country went into level 4 lockdown, but it feels like it was a year ago. I took a weeks leave to make the most of a string of gigs I had tickets for starting with the Obey the Riff Festival, the next day at…
Food: Boulettes Agneau Chèvre à la Sauce Bière
A little over a year ago I ended my northern hemisphere trip with 2 nights in Brussels. I had been hoping to return north next year but the current situation puts a pretty big question mark over that. On my first night in Brussels I visted the wonderful if challenging to pronounce restaurant Nuetnigenough where…
Food : Cheese Potato and Onion Pie
Back in my cheesemonger days I used deal with expat Englishman Joe Whalley who with his partner Jill runs Mount Eliza Cheese. Since then they have led the campaign to allow NZ cheesemakers to make unpasteurized cheese. Back when I sold their cheese selling English style cheese beyond cheddar was a hard road. I hope…
Food: Baked Chicken Parma
This owes more to the pubs of Melbourne than to anything in Italy. Chicken Parma is an Aussie pub classic, chicken schnitzel breaded, fried and served with ham , tomato sauce and cheese. This baked version avoids having to egg and bread . Every recipe you find says to use breast. However Im with Chinese…
Music : Today is the Day Willpower
Through the 90’s the Amphetamine Reptile label helped to launch a diverse quirky assult on the world’s eardrums. The bands, who all had origins in the punk and metal world, came to be known as noise core. My favorite of these acts is Today is the Day. Everything was outside the norm with TITD. They…
Food : Fermented Chilli Sauce
When my chilli plants start to yield fruit I tend to start making fermented sauces based on tobasco or sriracha. I make both green and red versions. The use of capsicum means you can control the heat. The ferment slowly transforms the raw heat of the chili and garlic and produces lactic acid. They are…
Food : Curry Goat
Woody’s Farm has been fighting the good fight for ethical meat up the road longer than we have been brewing in Waikanae. They have transitioned from farm to butchery and charcuterie and are producing delicious things from truly free range pigs, cows, alpacas and goats. I do the odd web order and fill the freezer….
Music : It’s Me God
The world is full of music that is criminally underrated. Genius seethes and simmers in the shadows as the world convulses to the latest pan flashing identikit pop sensation. Breach is high on the list of gems people don’t seem to know about. Hailing from Luleå Sweden Breach formed part of the Burning Heart Swedish…
Music : Dark Buddha Rising
Sometimes it can seem like the music I listen to all stems from the 90’s and before. However I do at times jolt myself out of middle age nostalgia . One of the bands to have really grabbed my attention recently has been Finnish stoner / doom / drone / post Black metal outfit Dark…
Beer : From the Past
I love vintage strong beers. Last Feb I was given the amazing opportunity to drink a bottle of 1977 Bass Jubilee Ale with Stu. In November Tosh gave me a bottle of Ushers Celebration Ale , which was brewed in 1981 to celebrate the wedding of Charles and Diana. Ushers were a family brewer based…
Raise the Dawn 