Music As Eating: Mixtape XIII, Belly Kids, by Mike Coley
In order to fit in with this week’s theme, we decided to GO AGAINST TYPE (gerrit) and relaunch our infamous guest mixtape selection via a contribution from one Mike Coley, a chap who’s decided to write a book about his favourite bands’ favourite recipes. Here, then, for one week only, a MYSPACE MIXTAPE (just follow the band-links, basically) exploring the concept, Music As Eating. Do with it what you will, but I guess a good start would be to follow one of the recipes in time to the accompanying track, something like that. Anyway, over to Mike:
“There are so many reasons why I started writing this book, although it’s scary to think that when asked the simple question – why a cookery book where the recipes are given by artists? – I find it hard to settle on any one definite answer. It may be because I’m almost ashamed to admit that a major factor has to be my Heat-culture attitude to celebrity: I just have to know what these guys eat, how they dress, who they love and what they are thinking. It almost certainly isn’t, though, as many of the musicians featured are really relatively small and not found in the mainstream of popular music. Although yes, this does make me look treacherously cool and hip, it also genuinely reflects my taste. From a young age music and food have been something predominant in my life, and the same can be said about their status in the lives on most of modern society. We all go mad for them.
“I suppose it all might be seen as a reflection on the relationship between our two most consumed art-forms. But after completing the book, I’m still not really sure of the answer.”
(Find out more about Mike’s project here. We’ll be sure to inform you all both when his book comes out and how to get hold of it.)
Young Mustard – Gum Takes Tooth
‘The Excited Pig’
A whole salami, skinned, is served upright on a dish containing some very hot black coffee mixed with a good deal of Eau de Cologne.
Akira – Roseanne Barrr
‘Chocolate Chip Cookies’
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon flax seeds or linseed
1/2 cup soymilk
2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
Handfuls of your favourite nuts.
- Preheat oven to around 180 degrees centigrade.
- Grind the flax seeds on high in a blender until they become a powder. Add soymilk and blend for another 30 seconds or so. Set aside.
- In a large bowl sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate large bowl mix together oil and sugar. Add the flax seed/soy milk mixture and your vanilla and mix.
- Start to put in your dry ingredients and when it starts to get too stiff to mix with a spatula, use your hands until you have good dough. Add the chocolate chips and nuts and mix with your hands again.
- Roll dough into 1 inch balls and flatten into a disc but not too close together. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes, then set them on a wire rack to cool completely.
In a Strangeland – Talk Normal
‘Creamy Buckwheat Cereal w/ Apples and Coconut Oil’
1/2 cup buckwheat groats
1 1/2 cups of water
Pinch of sea salt
1/2 an apple, cut into bite size pieces
Mochi*, 1" squares cut into bite size pieces (optional)
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
Garnish w/ either 1/8 cup of soaked almonds (skin comes off easy if soaked and cut into bite size pieces) or scallions for more zest.
Rinse buckwheat. Bring buckwheat, sea salt and water to a boil (uncovered), then cover and reduce heat to low. After about 20 minutes (or a good amount of the water is gone), add the mochi. A few minutes later add apples. Add coconut oil shortly before you take the pot off the stove or just put it in the bowl and pour buckwheat and company over the coconut oil. Mix with coconut oil. Garnish with almonds or scallions.
*Mochi is a pounded sweet rice served in small squares or cakes. It is much more glutinous and gooey than regular rice, and is excellent plain (and toasted), mixed with other grains or even in beverages.
I Know – BEAK>
‘Mackerel in Pitta’
1 x tin of mackerel (in Tomato Sauce – Seabed-friendly)
1 x half an onion1 x sherry vinegar (or cider vinegar)
1 x pitta-bread
1 x black pepper
Toast the pitta in a toaster. While that’s getting hot, open your tin of mackerel and mash it up with a fork in a ceramic bowl (very important). Leave that to stand. Chop up your onion and throw that in the bowl (not all of it, that would be stupid), mix it in with the fishy, tomato carcass. Splash some vinegar on it (how much is down to personal taste) & crack some black pepper in it.
- MIX IT ALL UP.
- PUT IT IN YOUR STEAMING HOT PITTA BREAD.
- EAT IT.
Sofia – A Grave With No Name
‘Sweet Potato and Spinach Coconut Curry’
1 big onion
1 big knob ginger
3 cloves garlic
Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
Lemon juice
1 sweet potato
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 coconut block
Lots of spinach
Handful fresh coriander
(Extra vegetables to taste - carrots, peas, peppers, mushrooms)
Salt and black pepper.
Chop the onions very finely (important) and fry over a low heat with some olive oil. When the onions are tender add the cumin seeds, diced ginger, chopped garlic, curry powder and a 5 second drizzle of lemon juice - they'll then spend the next 3/4 minutes soaking up all the flavours. If you're going overboard with the vegetables now's time to mash in your mushrooms, pop in the peas, combine the carrot and pepper it with... peppers. If not, proceed to pour the chopped tomatoes and coconut water (having first mixed it with 1-2 boiling water) and bring to the boil slowly. Now add the cubed sweet potato and leave it to simmer, stirring every few minutes, for 15 minutes. Give the spinach and coriander a good rinse (to prevent any beastly surprises when serving), shred them finely with the biggest knife in the house and stir in. Serve with brown rice and a sprinkle of coconut flakes.
Magnolia’s Tomb – Shearing Pinx
‘Shearing Pinx Bombastic Blueberry/Blackberry Apple Pie’
THE CRUST
Mix together:
5 tablespoons of vegetable shortening
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
Add:
2 cups of flour
Mix. Add:
8 tablespoons of cold water
Mix it all together, add more water if needed to reach the desired consistency, place in the fridge for minimum of 5 minutes.
THE FILLING
Use organic hand-picked fruits if available /// Luckily all these items grow in abundance in western Canada where we are from so yea!!!!! wild pie !!!! ///
Slice, cube, cut up 3 apples (McIntosh recommended)
Pick, wash:
One cup blueberries
One cup blackberries.
So /// Flour a countertop and roll out half of the prepared dough /// Save the other half for the top(s) /// Place the flattened dough into a pie plate (thickness is your call) /// Now here is a personal trick: add a fine layer of brown sugar and cinnamon onto the bottom layer of dough, then roll out a small circle of dough from the remainder to cover the bottom of the pie plate (not the sides) and place it one top of the bottom layer of dough so that you have a sandwich of brown sugar and cinnamon between two layers of dough /// This will caramelize when you bake your pie /// Mmmmmm gooood /// Now add the apples as the bottom layer and top them off w/ the berries all mixed together (more the berrier) /// Roll out the remainder of the pie dough and use it as a pie top /// Be creative here: braid, make faces, cut our shapes of fish, whatever floats your boat /// Place in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit /// Bake for a minimum of 45 minutes or until the crust is slightly browned and crisp, the fruits will be bubbling w/ juicy flavour /// Let cool for 20 minutes or more and viola.
Funny Names – Pheromoans
‘Sausage, Chips and Beans’
My favourite meal is sausage, chips and beans. I have this once a week; on a Monday or Tuesday, never at the weekend, when I usually have something more exotic or that which requires more forward planning. However I sometimes use french fries instead of ‘chip’ chips. I always have Coleman’s mustard: while I’m sure there are probably better mustards on the market, I tend not to experiment with new items. You can’t have a glass of wine with this meal, it has to be a more suitable drink like tea. Afterwards I can feel a bit guilty as it’s quite a high cholesterol dinner, but I find washing up or going for a walk works fine for redressing the balance. I think this meal always cheers me up after a bad or boring day. It is best eaten with the news or EastEnders on the TV, not music or the radio. I don’t know why. If I’m having one of the more exotic meals at the weekend, I would probably put on a record, and pour a glass of wine or open a beer but for some reason this meal requires the TV to be on.
