Though this game works well at picnics, it could easily be played at any social gathering where finger food is eaten.
Simple lace a small random selection of food with very strong chili ensuring that the chili doesn’t look out of place.
Then after informing all present of the game, tuck in.
“Is that a slice of pepper or habanero?”
– B)
Sweet little bird in the corner of my eye,
Why do you hop, instead of fly?
Oh, it’s cos your a rat.
– B)
Dessicated frog,
Discomfort in my boot,
Summers’ sun a radiant heat inescapable.
When taking a journey by plane, it’s not unheard of for passengers to pack a little light entertainment in their hand luggage in case the in-flight magazine isn’t up to much.
Unfortunately for one lady though, her chosen form of stimulation left her probably wishing she’d packed a book instead. In flight security were called to an SAS flight today to investigate a buzzing noise coming from the overhead locker.
To add insult to injury, she was then asked to remove the batteries in front of staff and other passengers. Lets hope for her sake it wasn’t a long flight.
On reflection I’m struck by the wonder, what exactly the security people in the x-ray scanner thought. The SAS spokesman said this is not a common occurrence, which leads me to believe that given that security didn’t flag it earlier, then it must be a regular item seen in the scanner, but that most ladies remember to remove the batteries.
Maybe a dildo is a better choice for in flight luggage, though I’d be careful about size and length as it might be deemed a dangerous weapon.
NB: For future reference, always pack sex toys in your cargo luggage and always remove the batteries before packing.
In order to help the train get off on time, please even distribute yourself along the platform.
DSB still confused as to why their trains don’t run on time, but holding fast to the idea that it’s obviously the passengers fault.
The net says that 75% of the world eats goat. It’s like a lean lamb and I can totally understand why they do. It’s flavour is subtle and delicate while without the greasy fat. It’s a fantastic meat, which I enthusiastically recommend you try.
To roast some goat, I recommend you let it rest in a marinade. This will stop it drying out while cooking. I infused some herbs in a solution of 15 parts water to 1 part cider vinegar. I let the meat soak a couple of hours before cooking.
Goat is a slow cook meat, so you need to plan the roast in advance. Cook it at 160-170 degrees Celsius until it’s around 71 degrees in the centre.
I recommend you seal the meat first and if you can use a cast iron pan then all the better as it can go directly in the oven after sealing.
Goat in many ways is like lamb when it comes to herbs and spices, but be aware that the flavour is delicate and can be easy list by other powerful flavours.
– B)
If you want a life that’s a bed of roses,
Then you should expect the odd thorn in the arse.
When I first came to Denmark, the variety of beer was in a very sorry state. The taste of the generic pilsner was fine, but the variety of tastes available was very limited. After 1 year of being here, I actually stopped drinking for three months to show my friend that firstly it could be done, but also because there really wasn’t that much to miss.
Luckily, Denmark like America and many other countries that have suffered from the standardising of beer production and taste, has also had a revival. Grass roots have evolved into microbreweries and even mainstream well established breweries to challenge the major players. Copenhagen now also boasts a good selection of brew pubs to boot, which are very much worth a visit.
This challenge has become such a threat to the generic mainstream breweries, that they have had to take their master brewers out of the closet, dust them off and set them to work, making ‘special’ beers to compete against the new competitors.
10 years ago, I went to my first Copenhagen Beer Festival, then a considerably smaller event than today. Back then, small brewers were battling to deal with the bottle pant system that exists in Denmark. All bottles and cans must be recycled(Back then cans could not be sold in Denmark because of the pant system). To drive that, all bottles and cans must have a 1 Kr (10 pence) charge on them. Recycle the bottle and you get your money back. However setting this system up for the small brewer was crippling. The system had been forged with the government and the major brewers who all had huge bottling plants and the resources to collect, clean and store on mass. Independent brewers at the time were looking for some other way to work. Clean bottles wasn’t such a huge problem, but getting them back and recycled was, and the cost punitive.
Fast forward to today and Danish beer is in a glorious state. We have Microbreweries everywhere, all of which are in a great state since the scene exploded and now has calmed down. We have brewpubs serving great food and great beer and the main breweries that still dominate the business are kept on their toes by a clientele that now knows better.
This years festival is once again at Tap1 which is the original home of the Carlsberg brewery. It’s a big location and it needs to be. Over 90% of the stands are brewers, some mainstream names we all know and then smaller stands for the microbreweries. I have to admit, I tend to avoid the main names I know because I already know what they taste like and so weave between stalls to see whats new.
The theme without a doubt for beer in Denmark, seems to be for Dark and stronger. In someways it’s almost as if they are heading towards the traditional old London porter style which fueled commerce for many years. All manor of sweet and spicy (Chilli beer?) flavours could be found and you can really see that Denmark is starting to tie it’s food in with it’s beer styles. Why have ice-cream, when you can have a dessert beer? Holbæk brewery I saw has two such offerings for dessert beers, each weighing in at 14%.
This year for me was also very much about research. I’m a little bit of a home brewer and I have desires after a pale ale and Indian pale ale to call my own. So I’d decided to focus on such ales and really get a feel for the hops out there. I was also really happy to discover that some of the major malt and hops suppliers had also set up stalls which is a sure sign that the Danish microbrewery industry is worth turning up for. A big thanks to all those who helped me with my hops issues and to the brewers who shared their favorite hop choices.
All in all, the beer festival is really worth the effort to visit. The beer was great, the food available very appropriate and the atmosphere was bubbling. My visit on Saturday had passed the 10,000 entrant mark by mid afternoon, yet still the venue had room for more, but did not feel empty.
One final note. My first visit was organised by my wife. It’s a lovely gift to give your man and he will remember you for it forever and be the envy of his mates.
For those that pre-order tickets, you can enter an hour earlier than the pay at the door visitors, which is great way to get a head start on the tasting.
Pop corn is a wonderful tasting snack, made all the better by the ease and fun of making it. It could be though, that you hanker for something more in flavour and it is here that the banged grains become a great mode of transit to that flavour destination.
As soon as the corns come out of the pan piping hot, treat them to a seasoning either sweet or savoury. Cinnamon, nutmeg, chilli, any spice that is activated by heat will respond well and transform you pop corn.
If you planning to experiment, then I would recommend splitting the batch, but be quick or you’ll loose the essential heat and remember to add salt of its savoury.