Showing posts with label mrs sbw. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mrs sbw. Show all posts

Thursday, 21 May 2009

Years End



Happy blog day to me!

First of all sorry to anyone who expected to see an acutal Elk being hunted, the only person more disapointed than you is me.
Second: a MASSIVE thanks to all of you who bothered to comment over the last two years, it's been great, please keep 'em coming.
Third: slowly I'm starting to see the fruits of my trip to trade school - I promise to spend whatever it takes to get back on track
Fourth: since separating from the hot-as-you-like/negative-as-can-be Mrs SBW I will perhaps have a bit more time to pursue dinner.
Fifth: All is not lost! Several trips are in the offing - Finding cool things to do is easy, its just the time and the money now! Anyone know any rich, extravagant people who want a money-no-object bathroom fitted? 

More news as it happens
Your pal
The Bushwacker


Picture credit

Sunday, 25 January 2009

Only The Good Bit

Hanks comment about being 'Scots-Irish' set me thinking aloud (in the relevant accents) about our own heritage to Bushwacker Jnr.  We're Northern European Heinz 57, and more comically, a mix of Welsh hookers and Russian aristocrats, but that's a story for another day.

Bushwacker Jnr. 'Am I a bit Welsh too dad?'  
SBW (in silly Welsh accent) "Only the good bit, boyo, Only the good bit"

After years of only eating under duress Bushwacker jnr has finally started to show an interest in the sport of his forefathers, face stuffing. I'm an eater, BoBs an eater, our Dad's an eater. 
On the other other side of the river [ex] Mrs SBW's brothers are all eaters, and even the legendarily skinny Mrs SBW can put away huge amounts of grub.

Bushwacker jnr: "What do they eat in wales?"
SBW (still in a comedy welsh accent) "Leeks, Lamb, and that most perfect of foods The Welsh Cake. Bud."

Welsh cakes are very very easy to make, even easier than Bannock and Biscuit. You can make them in a skillet over your campfire, or in an un-greased frying pan at home, but my guess is that they were originally cooked on top of a  range, where they could cook on the residual heat left from other cooking or heating water.

The recipe has only five ingredients
2 parts flour
1 part fat
1 part sugar
some dried fruit (or as I explained it to bushwacker jnr 'anything other than Currants')
1 egg

Blend the dry parts together in a bowl with your fingers as though you were making a crumble, then stir in the egg with a spoon.

Form the whole lot into a sausage shape and slice it into discs. The little people liked shaping the cakes by hand , but you being as sophisticated as you are dear reader, could cut them out using the rim of a Champagne glass.

Cook low and slow in an un-greased pan until pale brown on both sides.
If they seem a little soft in the middle, just turn off the heat and come back in a while.

Great fun to do, and anything that sells the kids on the idea that they could cook for themselves is bound to be labour saving in the long run.

Enjoy
SBW





Tuesday, 16 December 2008

Testing His Metal


Finally made it the post office while it was open. So Alistair and the injured Pablo now have jam on the way to them. Sorry about the wait chaps; life, separation and work all got in the way.

On a not-so-happy note I also had cause to post a package to Sweden. Todd's recent post about chipping one of his creations reminded me, I've chipped my Fallkniven F1 !! [and that's got to be worth two exclamation marks] They aren't supposed to break. Ever.

The F1 (Fell-elk-knee-ven (Raven without Ra) "FellKneeven") has been my 'big knife' for over eighteen months now and for many jobs I'm a fan.

Here in the UK the F1 design has long held it's place as 'the Bushcraft knife'. An enthusiasm I'm not really sure I understand as the design brief was for a survival knife. While it's fantastic for the rough jobs, battening and splitting, at 4.5 mm (0.18") the blade lacks a little in the finesse department. For example you can butcher with it but its not ideal.

The cause for concern maybe that I chipped the tip while splitting leylandii (which i think of as pretty crappy wood) for a fire in Mrs SBW's backyard. Now its time to test Fallkniven's metal - in the customer service arena.

Next year I'll be trying the H1, Fallkniven's take on the traditional Nordic hunting knife. Will that become 'one knife to rule them all'? Or will the nagging concern that I may be, in some small way, 'under knifed' once again consume me?

Your pal
SBW