Stomachs on legs are proud to present

Apparently, today is National Lamington Day in Australia



Although New Zealanders eat them too, unlike the Pavolva they are not subject to the same nationalistic claims of origin

"Lamington cakes are 2" cubes of sponge cake with a chocolate and coconut coating. They originated around 1898 in what later became the state of Queensland. They were named after Lord Lamington, a popular governor of that colony. The chocolate icing keeps the cake moist. It protects it from drying out in the hot climate. Lamingtons are the most popular fund-raising item for school groups, scouts and girl guides. Bake the cake 24 hours before icing it. A slightly stale cake is easier to cut and frost, and the icing moistens it up again."

recipe

I'm not the biggest fan of lamingtons....I prefer a pav...but that's niether here nor there...I'd eat one for a good cause which apparently is the point of the day...to fundarise for kiddies

Discovered by my sister Rachel at a local kiosk: 297 kcal of sweet ass... er, ice.

Last Thursday I had some very dear kiwi-accented people visiting me here in Cologne, friends & family, so off to the brauhaus we went.

Brauhaus Putz is our local place to veg out and meat with friends. It's different to the big establishments in town like Fruh (and cheaper). It is all cosy, gemutlich wood floors and benches and smoky corners and odd but nicely mismatched collection of artwork on the exposed brick walls.

Above you see Tui with a giant Bockwurst (boiled sausage) and delicious fried German potatoes (Bratkartoffeln).

Below is the nice Mühlen Kölsch beer which they pour into slim glasses straight from one of the barrels stacked up the back. The theory behind the slim 0.2l glasses (1/3 of a pint) glasses is that each glass is very cool and fresh because you drink it up quicker. Take that as a warning. As at other brauhauser here, they carry glasses around on metal trays and will slap a new one on your coaster as fast as you can say "hangover." The trick is to put that coaster on top of your glass when you wish to have a break from top ups.

Inside Germany, beer is brewed to a beer purity law called Reinheitsgebot. There are only allowed to be four (or five?) ingredients - so no nasty chemicals. Just barley, water, hope, yeast and love. Did I write hope? I meant hops.

Kölsch beer means Cologne beer (Kölsch is also the word for the local dialect). The best way to describe a Kölsch beer is like a light lager. As one website commented, most global lagers are light and bland. But Kölsch, always very fresh, has usually a distinctive flavour - very light but with a yeasty taste that cuts into the palate, sometimes very raw and unprocessed tasting, served in most cases straight from the barrel without any pressure.



Nothing like Brauhaus fare to line the stomach and comfort the soul. In the below picture clockwise from bottom left:
-Argentinian steak with bratkartoffeln (fried potatoes) and bratwurst (small tasty pan fried sausages which are not too oily), and sauerkraut which is very tasty and not very sour.
- 'Himmel und Ärd' ('Heaven and Earth'). My favourite. Blood pudding with mashed potatoes, caramelised onions and apple sauce....truly divine! And very down to earth.
- um... more steak, then Tui's Bockwurst, then more steak, and more bratwurst.

I prefer the boiled Bockwurst sausages to bratwurst, they are nice and 'knackig' (make a satisfying snap when you bite them) and taste great served simply with potato salad.



Brauhaus Putz,

Engelbertstr 67, Cologne 50674

Rudolfplatz U station

As some of you know, my supermarket has a problem with suffocating mushrooms in styrofoam and clingwrap.... Now it seems that not only are they content to mistreat mushrooms they are also anti-semitic

Today I found this clearly racist mushroom labelling...."jew's ear" ???? WTF



It's a black cloud mushroom in my books.....

As the similarly named Jew fish has been plagued in controversy in the States ( wiki reports that in 2001 the American Fisheries Society renamed the jewfish (Epinephelus itajara) the goliath grouper out of concern for the potential offensiveness of the name). I feel that something should be done about this mushroom too....if I was Jewish I would definitely say something, I would go up to the manager dangle the mushroom by my ear and angrily demand to know if the mushroom in any way resembled my ear....

One cool tat

Care of the folks (very professional folks) at

Serious Eatz and NYC Eatz

A good thing about being a chef is that you get invited to free dinners

Dan Moran and his little bro at the Met, cooked a wicked meal showcasing a new lamb product from Tasmania.

Billed as the "wagyu of lamb" the carpaccio was pretty impressive...it has to be a special little lamby to eat raw....it's not fed beer and massaged daily, but it is kept in a stress free environment including the freedom to roam indoors and out.

The lambs have their own playpens and no motorbikes, loud noises or children are allowed near the farm. No shit, no kiddies.

It seems more and more Cambodians are turning to this ubiquitous condiment in times of need for self defense.

In March, Gut Feelings reported this story on a fish sauce attack used to defend the honour of a Cambodian actress

Today it has been reported in Massachusetts that a Cambodian owned store has successfully defended ittself against a hold up with a bottle of fish sauce.

story

Forget mace, carry a squirty bottle of the fishy good stuff

A couple weeks back, Many & Anne were wedded on the terrace of a beautiful wooden building with low hanging eaves, overlooking Wolfgangsee - one of those beautiful mountain lakes that were once the scene of infamous politician's debauchery, across the border from Germany. (This wedding was the reason for our 24 hour stopover in Munich, en route).

After the Protestant ceremony, there was a short break for 'sekt' (German bubbles):



And then the Iranian ceremony began. It was one of the best wedding ceremonies I've seen, rich with symbolism and interspersed with a witty translation into English by the uncle from New York. And full of sweet stuff, quite literally.

The ceremony takes place with a beautiful and elaborately decorated spread on the floor called "Sofreh-ye Aghd". Traditionally Sofreh-ye Aghd is set on the floor facing east, the direction of sunrise (light). Consequently when bride and bridegroom are seated at the head of Sofreh-ye Aghd they will be facing "The Light".



On Sofreh-ye Aghd, the following items are placed:

Mirror (of fate) "Aayeneh-ye Bakht" and two Candelabras (representing the bride and groom and brightness in their future) one on either side of the mirror. The mirror and two candelabras are symbols of light and fire, two very important elements in the Zoroastrian culture. When the bride enters the room she has her veil covering her face. Once the bride sits beside the bridegroom she removes her veil and the first thing that the bridegroom sees in the mirror should be the reflection of his wife-to-be.

A tray of seven multi-colored herbs and spices "Sini-ye Aatel-O-Baatel" to guard the couple and their lives together against the evil eye, witchcraft and to drive away evil spirits. This tray consists of seven elements in seven colors:

Poppy Seeds "Khash-Khaash" (to break spells and witchcraft)
Wild Rice "Berenj"
Angelica "Sabzi Khoshk"
Salt "Namak" (to blind the evil eye)
Nigella Seeds "Raziyaneh"
Black Tea "Chaay"
Frankincense "Kondor" (to burn the evil spirits)

A specially baked and decorated flatbread "Noon-e Sangak" with blessing "Mobaarak-Baad" written in calligraphy on it. The writing is usually with either saffron "Zaffaron", cinnamon, Nigella seeds, or glitters. This symbolizes prosperity for the feasts and for the couple's life thereafter. A separate platter of this flat bread, feta cheese and fresh herbs are also present to be shared with the guests after the ceremony, to bring the new couple happiness and prosperity.

A basket of decorated eggs and a basket of decorated almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts in the shell to symbolize fertility.

A basket of pomegranates and/or apples for a joyous future. Pomegranates are considered heavenly fruits and apples symbolize the divine creation of mankind.

A cup of rose water extracted from special Persian roses "Gol-e Mohammadi" to perfume the air.

A bowl made out of crystallized sugar "Kaas-e Nabaat/Shaakh-e Nabaat" to sweeten life for the newly wed.

A scarf or shawl made out of silk or any other fine fabric is held over the bride and bridegroom's head throughout the ceremony by various happily married female relatives (mostly bride's close family members). It looks so pretty.

Two sugar cones "Kalleh Ghand" made out of hardened sugar are used during the ceremony. These sugar cones are ground together above the bride and bridegroom's head (over the scarf held above their heads) throughout the ceremony to shower them in sugar (symbolizing sweetness and happiness). Many's aunt did the grinding, she is a jewellery expert and dynamite on the dancefloor.



A cup of honey is used symbolically to sweeten life. Immediately after the couple is married they each should dip one pinky finger in the cup of honey and feed it to the other one. This part was very cute. Below you see them exchanging rings, just before pinky-dipping:



A needle and seven strands of colored thread to figuratively sew up the mother-in-law's lips from speaking unpleasant words to the bride! The shawl that is held above the couple's head throughout the ceremony is sewed in one corner by the needle and threads.
After the preliminary blessings and a few words about the importance of the institution of marriage, the master of ceremony confirms with both the parents or guardians that they indeed wish to proceed with the ceremony and there are no objections. Then the master of ceremony asks the mutual consent of the couple. First the bridegroom is asked if he wishes to enter into the marriage contract, then the bride is asked the same question. Once the bride is asked if she agrees to the marriage, she pauses. The question is repeated three times and it is only at the third time that she will say yes. To make the bridegroom wait for the bride's answer is to signify that it is the husband who seeks the wife and is eager to have her and not the other way around!

Traditionally after the ceremony while the bride and groom are still seated the bride is showered with gifts, usually expensive jewelry, and all she receives is hers. The bridegroom does not receive many gifts. He only receives one gift from the bride's parents/guardians. When all the gifts are presented to the bride the wedding ceremony is officially concluded.


A copy of Koran "Ghoraan-e Majid" (the Moslem's holy book) opened in the middle and placed on the spread. This symbolizes God's blessing for the couple. Traditionally "Avesta" the ancient Zoroastrian holy book was present during the ceremony and readings were made from it. Eventually Koran replaced Avesta after Iran became a Moslem nation.


There were an assortment of sweets and pastries shared with guests after the ceremony. The assortment usually includes: Sugar coated almond strips "Noghl", Baklava (a sweet flaky Persian pastry "Baaghlavaa"), Mulberry-almond paste made in the shape of mulberries "Tout", Rice-flour cookies "Noon-Berenji", Chickpea-flour cookies "Noon-Nokhodchi", Almond-flour cookies "Noon-Baadoomi", and Honey roasted almonds "Sohaan A'sali".

Delicious powdery perfumed cookies:


Mother of the groom, lips intact:


Caramel, pistachio & almond clusters:






Baaghlavaa:


Mini lederhosen:



Before they enter their home, the bride kicks over a bowl of water placed in the doorway. The water spilled on the threshold represents enlightenment, happiness, and purification for their new house. A friendly competition starts with the bride and groom as the bride tries to enter her house while stepping on her husband's feet. This act makes the bride the boss in the household.

1. Coldcut
2. Ice Cube
3. DJ Food
4. Salt n Pepa
5. Vanilla Ice
6. Ice T
7. Jello Biafra
8. G Love and Special Sauce
9. Invisibl Skratch Piklz
10. Mint Royale

Further to our general discussion on vegetarianism and mushroom dumplings. Some if you want to become more attractive to some funny looking and irrational people read on.

Carnivore sex off the menu

By REBECCA TODD - The Press | Tuesday, 31 July 2007

"No sex, please, you're a carnivore. A new phenomenon in New Zealand is taking the idea of you are what you eat to the extreme. Vegansexuals are people who do not eat any meat or animal products, and who choose not to be sexually intimate with non-vegan partners whose bodies, they say, are made up of dead animals. The co-director of the New Zealand Centre for Human and Animal Studies at Canterbury University, Annie Potts, said she coined the term after doing research on the lives of "cruelty-free consumers".

Cruelty-Free Consumption in New Zealand: A National Report on the Perspectives and Experiences of Vegetarians and other Ethical Consumers asked 157 people nationwide about everything from battery chickens to sexual preferences. Many female respondents described being attracted to people who ate meat, but said they did not want to have sex with meat-eaters because their bodies were made up of animal carcasses. "It's a whole new thing – I have not come across it before," said Potts. One vegan respondent from Christchurch said: "I believe we are what we consume, so I really struggle with bodily fluids, especially sexually." Another Christchurch vegan said she found non-vegans attractive, but would not want to be physically close to them. "I would not want to be intimate with someone whose body is literally made up from the bodies of others who have died for their sustenance," she said. Christchurch vegan Nichola Kriek has been married to her vegan husband, Hans, for nine years. She would not describe herself as vegansexual, but said it would definitely be a preference.
She could understand people not wanting to get too close to non-vegan or non-vegetarians. "When you are vegan or vegetarian, you are very aware that when people eat a meaty diet, they are kind of a graveyard for animals," she said."

If you click on the title link you can see a picture of the afforementioned vegansexuals....if you ask me they better be having sex among themselves cause they're kinda funny looking anyway...yup I said it, we don't want to fuck you either

For more comments and opinions concerning this topic click here

August brings a new month of food days and festivities

The list is extensive but here is a few of interest

August, 2007 Sardine Festival
Kalloni, Lesvos, Greece
During the first week of August, the residents of Kalloni are to be found celebrating their most famous product: Kalloni sardines. On these days you can enjoy delicious sardines, accompanied by lots of ouzo and the sounds of local musicians. Traditional dancing and high summer spirits add to the festivities.

August 2-6, 2007
Lusaka, Zambia
The 81st Zambia Agricultural and Commercial Show
The show is the climax of district and provincial agricultural shows, which are held in the proceeding eight weeks, and so only the best of the agriculture products grown by small-scale farmers are finally exhibited at the show.

August 4-5, 2007 4th National Conference on Pulses & Related Industries
New Delhi, Delhi, India
Hotel Ashok

August 5-9, 2007 ACFSA International Conference (More Prison Food)
Ontario, California
Association of Correctional Food Service Affiliates (ACFSA)

August 7-11, 2007 Great British Beer Festival
Earls Court, London, England

August 10-12, 2007 2007 Humungous Fungus Fest
Crystal Falls, Michigan
Crystal Falls is "Home of the Humungous Fungus", perhaps the world's largest and oldest living organism. It covers 38 acres beneath an Iron County forest near the Wisconsin border. It is believed to be 1,500 to 10,000 years old and weigh about 100 tons - about the same as an adult blue whale. It is the species called Armillaria Bulbosa and the mushrooms it produces are commonly called "honey mushroom."

August 10-12, 2007 1st Annual Delmarva Crab Festival
Milton, Delaware
The Delmarva Crab Festival is all about food, fun, education and the future.

August 11-12, 2007 Chilli Fiesta
West Sussex, England UK
250 plus chilli varieties, 80 plus exhibitors, fiery foods and tastings, growning demonstrations, chilli plants on sale.

August 15-19, 2007 Delcambre Shrimp Festival
Delcambre, Louisiana
Always the 3rd full weekend in August. Home to one of the area's most productive shrimp fleets.

August 16-19, 2007 The International Food Brands Exhibition
Amman, Jordan

August 17-18, 2007 Franklin County Watermelon Festival
Russellville, Alabama
Miss Watermelon and her Court reign over the festivities, concert, antique car & truck show. Always the 3rd weekend in August (Fri-Sat)

August 23, 2007 The Joy of Sake
Honolulu, Hawaii
This is the largest sake tasting outside Japan with more than 200 sakes and tastings from over a dozen restaurants. Also San Francisco and in New York.

August 23-25, 2007 ExpoNut International Trade Fair
Istanbul, Turkey
International trade fair for hazelnut and products, nuts, dried fruits and technologies.

August 25, 2007 Dutch Oven Cook-off
Kanab, Utah
Part of the Annual Western Legends Celebration. Winner can qualify for World Championship, $5,000 cash prize money. Contest not judged on garnishing, but on flavor.

August 28-30, 2007 SIAL MERCOSUR '2007
Buenos Aires, Argentina
International and Professional Food Exhibition (every 2 years)

Aug 29 - Sept 2, 2007 IPF 2007
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
International Exhibition & Conference on Processed Food

(photo: soy coffee and mango-mint smoothie garnished with a mint leaf & tiny pinch of powdered sugar)

When in Munich, a nice place to hang out on a hot summer day is Aroma Kaffeebar, a short walk from Sendlinger Tor. It's airy, with big open windows and wooden tables and people hanging out there forever. They have antique wooden school chairs and cushions in the window sill and a range of gourmet small goods like home made schnapps (the label was in Bavarian dialect so I couldn't read it, but it seemed to have been made from pears and something golden) and giant-sized Nutella jars.

The coffee is good and they have soy. ..Still haven't figured out the politest way to order a 'melange' (in Europe, the drink that NZers so romantically call a 'flat white' is a Vienna-only specialty). The best thing would probably be to order a double strength latte macchiato with only a little bit of foam ('wenig schaum') to somewhat approximate this. Except that I'm usually too embarressed to ask for wenig schaum. Achtung, diva!

The food is more imaginative than usual cafe fare - no relying on feta quiches and lentil salad here. Everything, as seems always to be the case in Munich, is beautifully presented. Maybe a little on the Annabel Langbein side but hey. A beetroot and quinoa salad that looks pretty. What in the world could be wrong with that?

A good place to recover after partying at Rotte Sonne
the night before.

Aroma Café
Pestalozzi 24

Graubrot (German sourdough) bread with pecorino, borage, sprouts and seasoning:


Miniature milk-rice jars:




Reading the Süddeutsche Newspaper:

Sometimes, the cream sinks to the bottom.

Munich is sort of fancy. It's very clean. It's just a little bit Marie Claire, and a lot BMW. It wasn't bombed beyond recognition in the war. It has the strongest economy of any city in Germany.

Still, from strolling in the Englischer Garten
, to touring the delicatessans, it's not somewhere you need a bulging wallet to have a memorable time. Especially when it's summer and the sun is blazing. Cheap AND nicely-presented: that's my kind of food.



The Viktualienmarkt
is the spot for wooden vats of fat pickled gherkins, jars of Kürbis-zimt (pumpkin-cinnamon) jam, and a sharp fresh smell in the air from the juicing stalls, where you can get a ginger-beet-celery-apple-carrot juice for a couple euro. The Viktualienmarkt is the perfect cure for a hangover.

The Münchner Suppenküche
is a highlight of the market, Many & Anne introduced me to these soups on my first 24 hr trip to Munich. Check them out. The carrot-coconut-ginger soup is delicious, light, not too creamy, drizzled with a little pesto and chopped garlic and bright blue borage petals. It was about 3 euro 30 cents.



The leberknoedel (liver dumpling) soup was sooo good: it's a speciality of Munich. A substantial bread dumpling seasoned with pork liver (the effect is of a nicely-textured savoury meat, there is none of the usual glutinous dumpling vibe) in a really tasty broth with fresh parsley, only 2 euro 80 cents.





If you're feeling really game(y) at the market, you could try a horsemeat sausage, like this fellow. (A sign on the window said "Fresh foal meat in today!"). And what a mighty table cloth.



Next stop on an eating tour of München: fancy delicatessan Alois Dallmayr
. Here you'll find American and Japanese tourists buying the famous grind of drip coffee; and a fountain filled with scuttling freshwater crustaceans. Stuffed stags' heads mounted on the walls cast their glass eyes down over a glittering array of gelatinized amusements, like half tomatoes filled with piped schinkenmousse (ham mousse) then glazed. But what a beautiful array of cheeses and Black Forest hams. See the picture: we got 100 g of that black-crusted Niederbayerische smoked ham for - I thought 5 euros but looking at the photo, I'm not sure! Could have been 2.40? The server peeled back the black crust and sliced very thin, succulent slices of the ham.

I'm a big fan of the black forest ham from our local supermarket, but obviously the fresh stuff is totally different. More complex flavours, and more juicy.


(photo: on the left, Aragon jamón, along with Bavaria's most devilish pig product)

We also got a bottle of really good 2003 Spanish cab-sav at Alois Dallmayr for about 5 euros.

Below you see the resulting dinner: the mozzarella and antipasti from Viktualienmarkt were the lowlight - they didn't seem too fresh despite the stall doing a roaring trade. I would stay away from those. The ham, bread and pumpkin-cinnamon jam and wine were tops.



Speaking of the bread! Wow! That is the best sourdough I've ever had. No dry 'graubrot' (greybread) variation this. Moist open crumb (probably 60% hydration), tangy and crusty on the outside. And to think that we bought it at trendy homeware store Manufactum
. Now that I know their store in Duesseldorf also sells the bread, it's yet another reason on top of short grain rice and disco dancing to catch that train across the Rhein. Half a loaf costs 2 euros.

We ate the whole half loaf and half a jar of the Kürbiszimt jam.



Last delicatessan stop on this tour of Munich was the even more famous Käfer
, a well-stocked but very reasonably-priced deli. I think this place is the grandmomma of all those modern, functional delis in the new world, from Alimentari to the Dixon St Deli.



Big rounds of ciabatta with peperoni for only 1.80:



Japanese tourists checking out the risotto rice with porcini.

If you're wondering where the old Gut Feelings look went, I had a fool about with it this afternoon in a rampant abuse of the editorial powers. If anybody thinks it now sucks, I'll change it back. I also managed to lose the Gut person picture, so if anybody has the link, it would be mighty handy.