Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Tough legs...

I cooked a Cape Barren goose leg and thigh that we got from the shooters in goose season(I don't see the sense in shooting anything you don't eat, but others do)

The flavour is remiscent (slightly) of Ostrich. But it has a taste of its own. But it's like sorbo rubber... I slow cooked it for two hours in the oven in a thick case of veg in a cast-iron pot. And it was STILL tough. I flaked it into the veg (lots of rosemary, and potato, onion, parsnips. Really good... lots of chewy bits though! Must figure a way to cook it tender.

I cut up two roo (wallaby) for the dogs this morning packing it into their daily rations (they get 100 grams of meat in that a day - which isn't a lot, but it's real meat. They get rice and dog-cubes too, according to their weight. We have to keep Puggle on a diet to keep weight off the crucuiate - and it's hard. Puggle... well any labby or labby cross thinks diet is die with a T on the end.) It's when you really appreciate that self-sufficiency is easier as a group or at leat 2 - I spent forever doing chores like this this moring, things we normally do in 1/3 of the time together. Anyway 25 days of dog-tucker packed.

I'm starting to get the various people from Continuum 8 e-mailing in about all the organisation - the panels I'm on, the screeches... speech I have to give, dinner I have to go to (well I really don't mind. We writers have to eat, contrary to the belief widespread in publishing. And foraging in cities is risky and dirty. And dumpster diving is considered bad form from your GoH.) I have to judge costumes... Holy maloney. The soul of sartorial elegance, Dave Freer. Yes, your natural judge! You win if you wear a thin layer of oil, and come as grease...(well... maybe. Maybe not. SF cons are a wonderful excercise in meeting other people who have no idea of what clothing they can wear well. And I don't mean plaid shirts and jeans and wellies (ie -my choice). B also wants to fit in some shopping... and I have a feeling it won't be for dive gear, or bulk rations. Well, some WILL be.

4 comments:

  1. Rule to remember as a costume judge: No costume is--no costume (so your thin layer of oil doesn't qualify). :D

    Lisa S. in Seattle (who is a Master costumer, btw)

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  2. Oh I know - nudity is not a costume. But seriously letting GoH judge is foolish. I am an expert on fish, and mildly knowledgable about those and have some experience writing. I'm NOT a costume expert,and many people put great craft and much effort into these. They should be judged by someone who is knowledgable about it, not necessarily the writer guest - which is why I was ridiculing using me as judge.

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  3. It does depend on the judge, and what they're judging. A lot of masquerades separate workmanship and presentation judging. For workmanship, you need someone who knows enough to judge the work that was done--beading or sewing or making a dalek out of duct tape, cardboard and bicycle parts. For presentation, you don't necessarily need someone who knows all that stuff--you need someone who can recognize what works on stage and what doesn't. I suspect you're more qualified for the latter than you think. And you should have co-judges to discuss the decisions with. Trust me, Dave, you'll do fine. :D

    Lisa S. in Seattle

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  4. Actually, Lisa, I think that's one of the rules of the convention ;)

    We are looking forward to seeing you there, Dave

    Even if I weren't on the committee, I'd still be saying it's definitely shaping up to be a convention I'd want to go to :)

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