Kitchen Rock

If you're one of the few brave souls who've been following this blog for while you'll know that some Gut Feelings contributors spend quite a lot of time around musicians. Meanwhile others amongst us just really enjoy having the noodle-blues.

Even Gut Feelings muse Robert Sietsema started out his career making a food zine which he distributed to musicians and chefs, and he played in a band called, I think, Mofongu (a misspelled version of the Dominican dish).

Today I found a fun post by Hugh Powell on the Smithsonian Food & Think blog. Inspired by two somewhat similar books about indie bands and their favourite dishes, he posted a list of song-inspired dishes that he'd like to sample.
As you might be aware, no music lover can resist a themed top ten.. so below are six more.

The books Powell refers to include offerings from a few decent bands like Black Dice, They Might Be Giants and Animal Collective. And, as I would have totally guessed, many of the offerings are of the 'vegetarian while on tour' ilk. Being on the road seems to preclude fancy preparations. So what you end up with is much ado about a little bit of french fries, peanut butter, and if you're lucky, vege hotdogs.

Although vegetarian hotdogs and other fake meats are the international language of indie rock, most touring American hip hop artists will eat nothing but chicken (preferably with rice) or lamb, and if you go to an Italian restaurant they will take pizza or try to order Pasta Alfredo, though in some rare cases they may be brave enough to try the penne alla salsiccia.

English musicians can be quite adventurous. Almost as a rule, though, when it's very late at night they are very happy if confronted with a plate of chips, a curry (korma or vindaloo) or a döner kebab. And of course endless cups of tea.

Italian electronic musicians are not impressed with Asian-style noodles, in fact they will become restless and perturbed if served soba. They are quite willing to try new things, and in a few cases even enjoy sushi, but after two days they will secretly be craving spaghetti carbonara or Sicilian pesto with almonds. If you serve soft ricciarelli marzipan cookies, they will intone 'bene' (good) a few times as they chew.

In other words, in my experience, musicians conform to national stereotypes just like everyone else.

So anyway, here are my additions to Hugh Powell's top ten: things we'd like bands to cook for us.

11. die Goldenen Zitronen's soup, even though they won't eat it ("Meine Suppe Ess Ich Nicht")
12: Cat Steven's doughnut (as long as it's not made of dog)
13. Fela Kuti's Palm Wine
14. Milton Nasicmento's spicy christmas cookies (with "cloves and cinnamon")
15. Any baked goods by the Stranglers (if they turn out "Golden Brown")
16. Bernard Wright's "Bread Sandwiches" (especially if he spreads the love on them)

Massive Tea: Tips From English DJs

zinc tea

At a music event in Barcelona in October, I picked up a couple of tea tips from the English music makers who were also working there.

Above you can see a picture of tea guru & drum 'n' bass icon DJ Zinc, as photographed by UK MC/producer GoldieLocks.

Now, I'm not a fan of bucket-sized coffees: but unlike the typical milky Starbucks, tea stays hot (though it's best gulped down quick), it doesn't put your teeth on edge or fill you up in a sickening manner, and it is very refreshing. Zinc and BBC 1xtra presenter and globetrotting DJ Benji B pioneered this tea trend late at night in the Barcelona studios.
Since then, I admit I've taken to drinking massive teas in the afternoon, instead of coffee.

The second tip comes from Amsterdam-based British music writer and producer Moxo Tengu. This is a tip that everyone should find useful, which applies to tea bags that come in single serve paper pockets. Simply do not rip out the small paper square from the Twinings pocket that holds each tea-bag. Instead, let the whole paper pocket hang over the side of the cup. By using this simple method you will be far less likely to lose the tea string in the cup, due to the extra paper as an added counterweight.

Moxo recommends drinking Earl Grey tea black with a little bit of honey.

Final English music & tea anecdote: dubstep pioneer Mala (DMZ) is known to have a marvelous selection of teas at home, which he buys from a Belgian supplier.
The Belgian's real name is Badman.

Hamster and Popcorn

For Maytel.

Hedgehog and Carrot

I'm in a bit of a soppy mood right now and am finding the healing power of youtube animal videos helpful right now

Santa's Salami

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"Please accept this fun salami-holder, including salami, as a token of my appreciation."

In case you were worried your winter salami might dry out in the refrigerator, you can make use of one of these creepy santa tubes.

(Spotted yesterday at Kaiser's Supermarket on Zulpicherplatz, Cologne)

Der Wienerschnitzel Puppet



Via So Much Pileup. Why would children need to animate their own wienerschnitzel?

Food Festishism in Rural Australia in Inner City Auckland

So I'm at another anthropology talk fest. Auckland University this time. There's not a lot in the conference program that interests me. It's mainly a lot of academics bleating on about cultural heritage and "identity". Issues that never cease to bore me senseless. I'm presenting tomorrow in a "development" politics panel, but am aiming to try and get to the panel entitled "Appropriating Rurals" and although I should probably be sitting in a lecture theatre on gender or LAND.

IF I'm feeling flippant I might try and get to the talk by Adrian Peace from the University of Adelaide called: "Barossa Dreaming: food, fetsivals and fetishism in rural Australia"

Abstract
It is difficult to imagine a rural region of Australia more thoroughly integrated into the world economy than the Barossa Valley in South Australia. Dominated by a handful of transnational corporations, the wine industry is as thoroughly incorporated into the hegemonic system of global commodity flows as any other part of the country. It is therefore somewhat paradoxical to find that images and representations of heritage, tradition and the authentic community figure pervasively in the intense commodification of the Barossa. In this paper, I detail the representational and discursive processes by which food and festivals are fetishized to constitute the Barossa Valley as a site of nostalgic dreaming. I argue that the advent of the Slow Food movement is the latest addition to these processes. But it is equally important to recognize what is strategically omitted from view.


If I get to go I might ask him some annoying questions on why the words "global" and "hegemonic" are so often conjured in food systems "discourses" and other annoyingly nitpicky academic questions of no particular consequence.

I'm pretty keen on the whole recent anthropolgists schtick of unpicking rural food tourism in general though

I'd also like to see what this presenter has to say...perhaps I'll treat myself

Gifting the Self: the metro-rural idyll and ideal reflexive individuality

Abstract

'I think I'll treat myself.' 'Go ahead, treat yourself.' 'This holiday is a treat to myself.'

These are familiar refrains that may be overheard in the cafés, craft shops, and vineyards of Martinborough - a popular weekend tourism destination for the new middle-classes of nearby Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. These narratives emphasis - personally and socially - notions of gifting the self (Howland 2008) and thus give insight into the calculated reflexive individuality of Martinborough's tourists. Specifically they highlight a reflexive awareness of the self as an object that may be subjected to self-assembly and development regimes. They also underscore an attentiveness to multiple, context-specific selves as evidenced by notions of reward or compensation of the 'working self' to the 'leisured self'. In addition, tourists routinely cast Martinborough as metro-rural idyll - an enchanted, performative setting of leisured consumption that draws upon pervasive notions of the vernacular rural idyll to provide a moral foundation for their urbane consumption activities, social distinction negotiations, and pursuit of ideal reflexive individuality.

Anthropological analysis of kinship-orientated societies often situates reciprocal gifting as the principal mode of economic exchange and vital to social integration and cohesion (Mauss 1972). By contrast, analysis of post-industrial societies often casts commodity, market-based exchange as primary and socially alienating (Carrier 1994). However, gifting the self clearly articulates the hegemonic ideologies and practices of ideal reflexive individuality and as such contributes to the reproduction of the dominant social structure of the 'second modern' (Beck 2002) - namely the institutionalisation of individualism

Peter Howland (Victoria University, Wellington)

Link Dump

Save men, eat organic

Extreme Beer...fuck yeah

Goverments discover food is good for you

Memorable meals

Better Butter Brezn in the GBV

butter-brezel, munich's best?

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Glockenbachviertel in Munich (the GBV) might just be able to boast the city's best butter brezel. Up north, you cannot buy them pre-buttered, so it's a ritual upon coming south to eat at least one butter brezel per day.

This small, unassuming bakery slathers the butter on by hand - and the brezeln, which are lye/caustic soda-dipped and salt-sprinkled before baking, have the characteristic smooth brown surface, with a bit of crustiness. A good brezel shouldn't be too soft. And above all things, the butter shouldn't be pre-cut into brezel-shape and frozen for quick assemblage.

My colleagues in Munich all swear by this particular brezel spot.

Backshop Steger
Sonnenweg 71
85579 Neubiberg

Mon-Fri 6-20 pm
Sa 7-20 pm
Sunday 8-13 pm

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Other good stuff in the GBV:

Christmas tree foliage outside Café Aroma for smokers to hide in

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munich cookies

glockenbachviertel cookies

The Germans really go crazy for cookies at Christmas time, whether it's buttery & spicy Spekulatius with ground almonds, Zimtsternen (frosted cinnamon stars), or various cute gingerbread shapes. I'm starting to feel a certain empathy with our old blue friend, seen here in a Glockenbachviertel shop window.

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Egg-in-Glass, Kaffee & Limonade

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After you've lived in Northern Europe for a while, finding good coffee is like hitting the jackpot. And Munich is a veritable gold-mine.

Yesterday morning I was introduced to a new-ish spot, Café Loretta, which is just around the corner from Aroma. They use Danesi beans and offer the soy milk option... which is only civilised in my opinion.

I asked my boss Many and his friends why Muncheners are so well caffeinatedly catered for, and they explained that with all the Italian immigrants, Munich is "the northern-most Italian city"
....but I've heard this claim about Cologne before too. Supposedly something to do with the Roman paving stones and the fact that people like to hang out drinking on the street: 'Sweet doing nothing' ('dolce farra nulla').

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Continuing on the egg-theme begun in the post below, another stand out feature of Loretta is the breakfast option of 'Ei-im-Glass' (Egg in glass). You get two hot soft-boiled, peeled eggs in a glass with a sprig of basil. The idea is to mash them up with your fork and eat away. Many tells me it is very good with white truffle or 'schnittlauch' (chopped chives).

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Other menu options include a range of toasted sandwiches, cake and paninis, and all the usual German café breakfast treats like home made quark with herbs and bread, sliced cured meats, cheeses, or yoghurt with walnuts and honey.

A Munich journalist and editor, having a pain-au-chocolat:

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Some Bavarian dude:

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Café Loretta

Müllerstr. 50
80469
München

Öffnungszeiten

Mo-Fr 7-22h, Sa-So 10-22h
Tel.: 089/23077370

100 things in the shape of a miniature turkey



Over the last three Thanksgivings, Danielle Spencer has been making random turkey-shaped foods, which has subsequently turned into a competition of sorts. I'm partial to the above egg turkey.
Thomas Fuller writes...

The Four Seasons hotel has taken French oysters and artichokes off the menu. Frustrated orchid growers cannot export their flowers, so they are selling them on the local market for one-third the price. And FedEx is no longer the world on time, not when the package is stuck in crisis-struck Thailand.

More from the IHT this sums up my situation pretty nicely.

More noodlefights!

Noodles are serious business...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVKUHfwhi3U

This snippit is from Ly Bun Yim's classic 1972 film អន​អើយ​ស្រី​អន ("An Ey Srey An"), and has been cited by Loakruu Frank Smith in comments to posts here and here as being possible inspiration for the noodlefight video by Preap Sovath.

Deathpower already pointed this out and posted the two videos side-by-side, but I thought it worth posting again here just because the clip is so awesome.
Bacon Scarf

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Link

Bacon Wallet

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Link

More Food Shortages

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When Barack Obama reaches the White House this January, he may find a whole other crisis on his hands, squirrel famine

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