Drinks

Tepache (Updated 22/1)

Tepache is a fermented drink made with pineapple.

The idea is the pineapple contains natural yeasts and nutrients, you add water, some sugar as yeast food, maybe spices, and leave it for a few days. The result should be a tart-sour lightly carbonated and very slightly alcoholic beverage.

Recipe I used (made up):
1x Pineapple
3litres of water (actually a bit less due to displacement from the pineapple)
500g of raw sugar
a nob of ginger, half a cinnamon stick and a small bit of habanero chili

I sliced the pineapple, cutting away a lot of the flesh and adding the core and skin to my container. I disolved the sugar in 500ml of water and when cooled added it to the container, threw in the spices and toped it up with the water. I put a cloth over the top secured with an elastic band as I do for my kombucha. To create more fizz/carbonation I intend to secondary ferment some in a sealed container)

Will update if anythings happens…

UPDATE: I decided to bottle this on 21/1, 5 days of fermenting, and I kept some to taste. It was very sweet, very fruity and pineappley, with a hint of gingery spicyness. Not as tart as I would have liked.

I took some of the bottled stuff to work the next day, and after bottling it was a little less sweet with a very nice mild but compact fizz.

I think next time I will find a fresher pineapple, use less sugar, and possibly add more ginger.

Tepache before start of fermentation.
  • Top of the fermenting tepache.
  • finished tepache before bottling.

Tepache @ Wikipedia

Video of Tepache being made @ Bon Apetit


Food

Sardines 2!

So for Xmas (in a hamper of food items)  I got 2 cans of sardines and a can of smoked herrings, all 3 were very good, the two sardines both different but nice in their own ways. All were brands I have never seen before.

Marco Polo , sardines with hot peppers – (images 1 and 2) These were good, and yes they were very hot (for a change). Nice oil, good fish with a moist soft quality.

Delicius, sardines in olive oil – (images 3 to 6) These were big boys, a bit dryer, oil was still nice and no bad bones for their size.

Rugen Fisch, smoked herring fillets – (images 7 to 9) Big solid actual fillets, very firm, a little dry, Nice smokeyness in the fish and the oil.

Food

McRib!

EDIT – I have had another Mc Rib and the review from 10/12/2020 is HERE

Yeah, the McRib, its back and I finally had one (2 actually). I’m sure at some point in its existence it was slightly more than what it is today, though probably not too much more. Like most burgers, the exception being HJ’s The Whopper, fast food burgers have become smaller and more barren in content.

The McRib is essentially a standard McDonalds or Hungry Jacks Cheeseburger, minus the mustard, with a meat patty that is 2 or so times more dense or compressed than normal, and pressed into a weird “rib” shape, and smothered in a thick and slightly spicy BBQ sauce. The bun is also longer.

It was moderate at best. The sauce was pretty nice.



Food

Burgers

‘burg

Had a few burgers recently after hearing about one new burger place, then another, and another…

Hoodburger

Old Shanghai Food Court, James Street, Northbridge. (FB page)

This was the first one I heard about. I got their Double Cheeseburger. Its was very damn good but also it was too much meat.

Hoodburger Double Cheeseburger
Hoodburger Double Cheeseburger

I went their again a few days later and tried their normal Cheeseburger with added garlic and pickles and chilli peppers.. This was far superior due to it being far less dense with meat, and the addition of pickles, and the chilli peppers were rather hot.

Hoodburger Cheeseburger with Garlic & pickles and chillis (plus chillis on the side)

Short Order Burger

800 Hay Street, Perth (menu)

Found out about these guys today and visited after work. Got their Fried Chicken Burger and Fiery Short Order Burger. Chicken burger was great and the Fiery Short Order burger was very good but not as good as Hoodburgers Cheeseburger.

Fiery Short Order Burger
Fiery Short Order Burger

Fried Chicken Burger
Fried Chicken Burger

 

Food

Sardines!

them: ur eating like a poor person

me: but living like a king

Trying out some sardines. I have always loved sardines, but became excited to try a bunch more after reading a long running Something Awful thread.

Types:

King Oscar: Extra Virgin Oil, Oil, Tomato Sauce

Brunswick: Olive Oil, Tomato Sauce, Skinless & Boneless in Olive Oil, Skinless & Boneless in Chilli Peppers.

Reviews:

King Oscar Sardines in Oil – These are a rather standard sardine. A lot smaller than Brunswick, moist, no dryness even when crushed onto dry toast, kind of buttery, good fishiness and no real notice of bones. The oil is nothing to write home about but doesnt detract in anyway.

King Oscar Sardines in Oil
King Oscar Sardines in Oil

 

Brunswick Skinless & Boneless Sardines in Olive Oil – A slight fishyness, rather dry, I put on some Cholula hot sauce to spice them up. For fans of canned tuna who want a bit more fishiness. Oil doesnt have much character.

Brunswick Skinless & Boneless Sardines in Olive Oil
Brunswick Skinless & Boneless Sardines in Olive Oil

King Oscar Sardines in Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Refer to the plain oil KO’s but with a slight olive oil taste that adds a nice bit of depth.

King Oscar Sardines in Extra Virgin Olive Oil
King Oscar Sardines in Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Brunswick Sardines in Olive Oil – Large and firm moist fish, less olive oil tasting than the KO’s.

Brunswick Sardines in Olive Oil
Brunswick Sardines in Olive Oil

Brunswick Skinless & Boneless Sardines in Chilli Oil – Wow, actually HOT. Nice heat, same as the Skinless & Boneless Sardines in Olive Oil sardines in all other aspects.

Brunswick Skinless & Boneless Sardines in Chilli Oil
Brunswick Skinless & Boneless Sardines in Chilli Oil

Brunswick Sardines in Tomato Sauce – Sauce isnt very tomato tasting or rich. Sardines are not as moist as usual.

Brunswick Sardines in Tomato Sauce
Brunswick Sardines in Tomato Sauce

King Oscar Sardines in Tomato Sauce – Sauce is thick, tomato-y, kind of sweet. Sardines are not as good as in oil, kind of dry.

King Oscar Sardines in Tomato Sauce
King Oscar Sardines in Tomato Sauce

BONUS:

Brunswick Original Kippers Boneless Herring Fillets – Smokey, firm, nice.

Brunswick Original Kippers Boneless Herring Fillets
Brunswick Original Kippers Boneless Herring Fillets

Recipe: A good way to eat sardines:

Fisherman’s Eggs (serves 2 or 1 hungry dad)

1 can sardines
4 large eggs
2 tsps fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
1/4 small, white onion
2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 375, place an ovenproof dish inside while you assemble the ingredients.
Flake the sardines together with the parsley, garlic and onion. Season generously with black pepper and tip into the heated ovenproof dish. Put in oven for five minutes.
Gently crack the eggs into a bowl. Remove the sardines from the oven and carefully pour the eggs on top. Season generously and return to oven for 15 minutes until the eggs are cooked but jiggly. Let sit for a few minutes before serving so they congeal further.

Books

All That the Rain Promises, and More…

“probably edible.”

“In leafing through these pages, you may wonder what all the ‘fanciful,’ ‘foolish,’ or (shudder) ‘extraneous’ material is doing in a factual guide. After all, it is the practical, hands-on, how-to-identify information that makes this book useful and gives it substance. But I ask: is it any stranger or less desirable to sprinkle the facts with flakes of fancy than it is to liven up solemn, substantial fare like potatoes with something fancier and more flavorful, like wild mushrooms?”

– Preface by David Arora, 1991.

What a great book. Extremely unpretentious and even a bit nerdy. These people love their mushrooms! All That the Rain Promises, and More… is a wild mushroom identification and field guide by American mycologist David Arora and published in 1991, but its endearing lack of pretension and honest love for the subject make it more that just that.

Info @ Wikipedia