Patience, Politics & Loquat Liqueur

Bermuda Loquat Liqueur in progress

Here we are at the end of May with another of our precious public holidays come and gone.  Oops - and a Premier too.

Next up is the Queen's Birthday or whatever we are calling the June public holiday now.  I think it is National Heroes' Day.  Given that there is usually a political agenda at hand when naming them, this year I'm sticking with the Queen.  She gets the 'duty to country' bit. 

The makers of home-made Loquat Liqueur [LL] have a longer outlook.  When we got the recipe from a very classy auntie, she first stressed that we had to wait until after Cup Match (aka Emancipation Day & Somers Day)  before even thinking about bottling the liqueur. As you can see from the picture, the fruit hasn't yet dropped to the bottom of the fermenting jars, which is precondition #2.

We use the traditional recipe -  Loquats (stems removed), vodka, and rock candy.  Put it all in a couple of big jars during loquat season, and let them sit per the above instructions. 

Other than having the patience to wait until August, the other trick to a nice loquat liqueur is in the preparation for bottling.  This is where that juicing tool on your big old stand mixer comes in handy.

You see, straining off the liquid from the fruit is not enough.  To extract the full aromatic flavour with that hint of almond, compress the fruit through the juicer.  You will be left with a dryish pulp and a deep colour syrup.  Combine this syrup with the first strained liquid.  Then run through a cheesecloth, then a couple of coffee filters until the liqueur is clear and transparent.  Pour into a pretty re-purposed bottle, seal, stash and enjoy in the run-up to Christmas.  If you can wait that long. 

If you have LL left from your 2013 stash, or some Bermuda Gold sitting around that you were wondering how to use, here's a refreshing cocktail to enjoy now or whenever the political silly season flares up again.

Loquat botanical (not mine)

Loquat Sour

1 oz. gold tequila
1 oz. loquat liqueur
1/2 oz. lime juice
Seltzer
Ice cubes

Shake together and serve in a chilled glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry. 

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Art from the Gallbladder

I've been attending Paul Doughty's Abstract Drawing course at the Bermuda Society of Arts.  I like it.  A lot.  The comfort levels of the members of the group vary - I suspect largely due to our respective experiences with graphical experimentation in a group setting.

Whether you are an individual who has always identified yourself as an artist, or one who felt that itch to create later in life, the identified benefits of taking an adult education course range from gaining new skills, engaging with others, and reducing stress levels to even expanding one's brain.

There are any number of courses that promise to deliver technical knowledge and this is no exception.  A lot of us have forgotten or never mastered the creative utility of simple media like charcoal, newsprint and pencil.

But abstract drawing breeds consideration of expression through non-representational marks upon a two dimensional plane.   Personally, I find it much more challenging than the 'pears on a plate' style

Trio of Pears, 2001

that gave me some early encouragement.  Apparently, this road of discovery is all good - keep on learning and evolving if you are going to consider yourself an artist.  Create art from your heart.

Now, my friends know that I am not always a patient or sympathetic person - some would use a word sort of like byatch.  Pinning a heart on my sleeve is not my style.  In truth, I went along to this course with the secondary objective of unblocking my painting muse.  That's the ticket, I thought - you must genuinely express what you feel.  Regrettably, optimism and warmth were not the feelings I conjured.

First, I thought about the challenges of facilitating courses for adults.  Small children will happily experiment with paint, markers, crayons and playdough with no real objectives other than the activity itself and soliciting some encouraging noises from their teachers and parents.  They haven't learned that borrowing ideas is bad or that you should colour within the lines.  Many will soon learn that decorating interior walls and furniture probably isn't a good idea.  And eventually they will become socialized and most will be cognizant of the opinions and relative talents of their peers.

Which is the challenge in teaching adults.  Much of my corollary experience is in implementing new procedures and systems in businesses.  Aside from teaching mature dogs new tricks, you must be vigilant that people don't revert to their old comfortable ways, and also try to overcome some very real fears of displacement or redundancy.

Then, I thought about the challenges of redeploying the large mature slice of the un/under-employed workforce in Bermuda.  That proved to be a bit painful since it elicits empathy.  Martha Myron has described the situation succinctly in her recent columns so I won't.  But I am sceptical about the relevance of Minister Fahy's retread of training plans to the middle-aged, middle-class, stressed people who thought their degrees and certifications and investments were enough to pay the mortgage, insurance and taxes and educate their children, with a little something left for their older years.  Frankly, we are scared sh*tless whether over-worked, unemployed or running marginal businesses on intermittent trickles of cash-flow.

28 years of living in a country where the only river is 'De Nial' has taught me to divert my attention when worry threatens to send me to my prescribing physician seeking relief.  Hah!  Turn to overseas news and you really have an avalanche of macro woes.  The undeclared war in Ukraine could be Poland in 1939 or Serbia and Belgium in 1914.  What about the latest savage killings and kidnappings across Africa - in the twisted connection of fundamentalist teachings that are sweeping around the world?  Or the Syrian government bombing and gassing their own people! 

If war just makes you angry too, then you can turn to environmental concerns ranging from the global list to the 'greaseballs' on Grape Bay.  And what about the Malaysians who are systematically killing off the alpha predators - sharks - to make shark fin soup.  Did this cultural mentality or that of their neighbours allow them to shoot down a plane full of civilians accidentally on purpose and then obfuscate and point to the depths of the Roaring Forties?

Ricochet back to the Western world and you may wonder whether discontinuing the use of pesticides on your roses or buying an electric car can really make a dent against the vast clouds of pollution belching from the Asian tiger economies that supply us with cheap solutions to indulge our conspicuous consumption.  And then read the statistic in the Bermuda Sun where the World Bank says Bermuda leads the world on this one.  Do you feel sad, impotent, discouraged?  Not so long ago, we were proud of our expensive and self-indulgent standard of living.

Why It Matters - in Bermuda you can soon be wheeled over bricks engraved with your name through an air-conditioned glass atrium into a new 'state of the art' acute care hospital facility if your body succumbs before your bank account.  I don't think there are similar construction plans for MAWI.  If you go nuts, you probably won't notice the tatty linoleum or lack of privacy.

Spectre, 2014

Since I can offer no practical solutions or plans to change the path of what, on a bad day, looks like a man-made tsunami of horrors, I'm applying the balm of artistic expression.

Even if no one thinks it is art.  And it comes from my gallbladder or spleen rather than the heart.

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The Simple Things

This week's post is a celebration of the simple things...family, our nature reserves, and all things we take for granted but are dear to our hearts and too quickly replaced with the stuff of everyday life...

 Here's the video...wait for the audio, it's perfect and I love Grace Potter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-Pf_LhY2TM&feature=youtu.be

Cheers, Janet

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A Superior Fishcake

He said it must be Friday, the day he could not sell anything except servings of a fish known in Castile as pollock or in Andalusia as salt cod. 

-- Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, 1605-1616

Fishcakes are a seasonal treat in Bermuda, and ubiquitous on Good Friday.  Oh sure, the Food Festival highlighted them this year, and a few restaurants offer a fishcake on their menus.  But they are a nutritional and satisfying treat to make yourself in the cooler months - well, unless you are on one of the trendy diets.   

I have a long history with fishcakes.  They were a Saturday lunch staple in our family home - a byproduct of the 'Fish on Friday' supper.  This 'familiarity breeds contempt' experience once led me to shun them but I gradually returned to the fold and now consider myself a bit of a fishcake purist.

My rules:

1. They must contain salt cod - this means Canadian cod.  There are a lot of salted fish imitators out there - haddock from New England, the Malaysian 'Made for Bermuda' brand, and god knows what in the Chinese stuff.  I get my package emblazoned with the Maple Leaf at Lindo's.
2. Red-skinned potatoes in approximately equal proportion to the codfish.  Avoid baking potatoes as you need a sticky texture that only red potatoes will yield. If you must substitute a drier potato, you will need to add an egg yolk for binding.
3. Diced onion must be present. 
4. A crispy golden crust on both sides.  See instructions below.
5. Simple seasoning like thyme and parsley - no curry, turmeric, hot peppers or other spices used to mimic a Caribbean dish.

In Bermuda, fishcakes are traditionally presented on sweet 'hot cross' rolls and doused liberally with tartar sauce or mayonnaise.  Annually, I sniff that this is a device designed to mask the presence of inferior fishcakes.  And if you are watching your carbs, you can probably do without the bun or condiments. 

Here are a few tips to produce a superior fishcake like my own ;-)


Prep:

• Soak the salt fish in fresh water for at least 12 - 24 hours, changing the water at least twice and depending on how much saltiness you prefer.  (For all you Food Network fans:  A milk soak tends to soften the fish too much for fishcakes.)  Use enough of our pure Bermuda water to float the dry fish.
• Boil peeled potatoes until just fork tender and drain them well.  Then simmer your fish until it is no longer translucent and drain also.  Mash or mix together by hand just until you have identifiable lumps - don't whip to a puree in your processor.
• Sweat your diced onion.  Fresh Bermuda onions are a Spring treat and can be included raw, but common yellow onions are my norm.  Red onion might be too peppery or assertive but use it if you really like onion.  Vegetable oil and/or butter in the pan - you may want to pump up the flavour by sauteing in bacon fat if you are throwing all dietary caution out the window. 
• Add the diced onion to the fish and potato mixture.  Add seasonings of your choice like chopped fresh parsley, thyme, black pepper and (if you are an eastern Canadian who receives care packages) dried savoury.  Mix together, pat down and chill covered for at least a couple of hours and up to 2 days.

Cooking:

• Preheat a cast iron or Teflon skillet to medium.  Or use a griddle if you have one.
• Hand form patties with the chilled mixture.  Measure with a cookie/ice cream scoop or spoon for consistency.  I like mine on the small side and not too thick in order to pump up the ratio of crispy crust and moist interior.
• Dunk your cakes in seasoned flour to which you have added a little cornstarch.
• Add a mixture of butter and vegetable oil to the pan - enough to cover it well but not so much that you are now deep frying.  If you have a jar of duck fat that you've been wondering how to use - now is the time.  Add a spoonful to the pan.
• Saute the fishcakes in batches - patiently - until a golden crust forms.  Turnover the cakes and repeat. If your heat is too high, you will get nasty burnt flour on your crust.  You may need to add more oil/butter/fat for the second side or subsequent batches.  Overcrowding your pan will cause inconsistent cooking.
• Serve with a wedge of lemon. Sample and gloat.

Here's a link to the motherland of fishcakes courtesy of Newfoundland Rock Recipes.

For a deep dive into the star of the dish, I highly recommend that you download or order a copy of Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky.  This historical tale is  eloquently written and beautifully illustrated. It's where I lifted the Don Quixote quote above.

More locally, here's an elegant presentation of fishcakes from Island Thyme, a cookbook published by The Bermuda Junior Service League in 2005.  Fit for the Governor...

Credit: Island Thyme: Tastes and Traditions of Bermuda.  The Bermuda Junior Service League, 2005

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Kites & Bubbles

Throwback or Normcore?

Boastiness is building as Good Friday approaches.  The extended wait for Bermuda's first public holiday weekend of 2014 is ratcheting up the longing for kite flying, fish cakes and hot cross buns, and myriad refreshments.  And this is amongst the adults.  The kids are getting their school breaks now.

Building a Kite.  Web-trawling again, I learned that most of the instructional material on kites has a target audience of teachers and others tasked to provide non-techy entertainment for younger children.  No way is this skill level is going to pull off a Bermuda kite in my experience.  Even if one refines the search to 'Bermuda Kite Building', there are imitators who think a triangle kite would pass muster.  No vay!!


The best Bermuda Kite Building video, judging by its 78,000+ views, is Bermuda Kite Making - BermudaYP  featuring Mr. Eugene O'Connor.  His instructions are clear, the kite is the basic model that everyone needs to first master, and the editing is just right.  But it's clear that he's not sharing everything he knows.

My next fave is Bermuda Kite Making as seen on LookBermuda.TV .  Mr. Vincent 'Kite King' Tuzo is providing a lovely nostalgic story more than instruction here, and the video has the smooth presentation associated with LookBermuda.  Pause and look at the background to see if you can gain a few pointers about kite flying and design.  I'll bet that guillotine comes in handy.

If you plan to make your own Bermuda kite, start now unless you are an old hand at kite building and material sourcing.  My newly purchased kite sticks and cane presented challenges right out of the gate - the cane didn't fit the drilled holes.  Then it was back to the hardware store for sandpaper to angle my head-stick so that it would fit snugly.  And I dug out a protractor and level for good measure.  If you read my last post, Knot Me! Kite Loops & Snarls, you'll appreciate that my knot-challenged status slowed me down on the stringing.

Then there is the vexed tissue paper...measuring, cutting, dark over light, too much glue, cats who want to play with the string...well, you get my drift.   I tried another one with gift wrap - not bad but hold it up to the light to make sure anything printed on the back, like cutting grids, won't show through before you spend hours on it.  Right now, I'm working on a design with coffee filters.  I could be a masochist.

Credit: www.vacationboomer.com

I'd like to know how to string those kites that look like kaleidoscopes  - maybe someone will post a video about cool stringing techniques.  Not just showing them off at the
Horseshoe Bay Kite Festival.


Boastiness.  As you will see in next week's post, A Superior Fishcake, the whole preparation for Good Friday fishcakes eats up much precious time in a busy life.  Same with building kites.  I don't believe anyone actually admits how much time and rework goes into them - unless asked by someone with a camera.  Then, it becomes Boastiness 101.

Kite King Tuzo expands on this concept (a.k.a. Level 201 - Flying a Bermuda Kite).  Altitude, launch speed, size, pulling strength, and beauty are the common measures.  My boasty hubby took it a step further two decades ago when he twigged to the 'spinnaker cloth' kite - which is 'weather-resistant' and can 'go overboard' on top of the criteria above.  Now, I don't think it was his original idea - many sailors know about it and kites usually were made from cloth back in the day.  But it definitely ups the boasty when the weather turns iffy.  Extra points if you use a fishing rod to reel your kite in and out.

Boastiness 301 involves retrieving an errant kite.  Sometimes the line does snap and you will have to visit another parish, or two, to get it back.    Do everyone a favour and reel in your kite line promptly when this happens - if only to head off the attribution of sinister kite-line motives on the Bernews comments.  But do talk about your search and rescue mission.

I've also seen kite-fishing video on YouTube.  Looks like graduate level fun but who needs to tell a fisherman how to boast?

Bubbles.  By 18 April, it is possible that all of this March wind will subside and Good Friday will dawn clear and calm.  Other conditions for kite disasters include gusty or shifty wind, trees that just weren't so tall last year, reluctance to give up bedsheets for kite tail, and miniscule attention spans.  You need a backup plan to keep people outside while those fishcakes are cooking.

Blowing bubbles will definitely distract the smaller kids who can't quite master the kite flying.  I picked up cheap bottles of Miracle Bubbles and a couple of Fun Bubbles wands that kind of look like low-tech light sabers.  If they run out of bubble solution before losing interest, here is a link to home-made bubble solutions - using glycerin produces those really strong bubbles, by the way. 

For the adults, Dark & Stormies or Swizzle may be traditional diversions but could pack a punch if you are sleep deprived from finishing that darned kite.  We're planning on starting with mimosas.  Lindo's is my go-to for bubbles of all kinds and has a fine selection of sparkling wines in all price ranges. With a little doctoring, you can even pass it off as 'fruit punch & ginger beer' in front of your in-laws.

For those 'dry' events, I suggest quietly bringing along a pocket flask of your favourite tipple.  If you are old enough to remember kites made from Piggly Wiggly bags, then you will also recall how some relatives mysteriously became more voluble as Good Friday progressed.  Yep - spiked punch.  I suspect also that fishcakes are paired with hot cross buns in Bermuda in hope of soaking up the 'refreshments'. 

So, what if you have a gluten-free, low-carb, tee-totaling 'situation' on your hands?  Enlist them to retrieve errant kites and act as designated drivers.  After all, who needs rain on a boasty day?

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