i hope the food tastes better in heaven

i hope the food tastes better in heaven
i know there's lots of rad queer boys up there
i hope everytime they talk to you
they know they're lucky to be your friend

It took me a while to hear that Sasha Soldatow had died. And reading some of his papers at the archives on Sunday I realised how little I know about him. Only really what I'd gleaned from Jump Cuts.

He was a radical queer whose blunt loving honesty jumps from the page to remind you of truths you had hoped were not forgotten. And they say he was a good cook, friend and gardener. What more could you want to be?

There are obits at:

The Australian, 15 Sep 06, by Bruce Sims and George Papaellinas
and
Sydney Morning Herald, 9 Sep 06 by David Marr

And a beautiful personal one by Pam Brown with great photos. This one really makes me want to live more. And eat more fungi.

You can also check out Sasha's pamphlet from the 80s: What is this Gay Community Shit? The Sydney Gay Mardi Gras and the Left. Worth a read for sure. There's some good analysis of where things went terribly wrong, some stuff about homo-misogyny and also he calls folks "honkytonks".

It's also strange that now my favourite pickle has a new cousin, 1 day old and also called Sasha. Maybe this bodes well for the new little one.

i shot a mousse one day

I think when people have pot luck style dinners it's always a good idea to bring the dessert. People love you when you bring dessert. I know I know, if I love myself I won't worry what others may think. But really, who doesn't want love and adoration?

For Sammy's birthday I really didn't feel like baking though. And I knew I had to work on the day of the party so it would have to be something I could make the day before. I'd never made mousse before and to be honest I only guessed it could be something good, remembering vaguely the awful instant mousses at pizza restaurants when I was a kid. I had hope though..

It's just lucky that Lish had arranged for me to get the Malouf's Arabesque for my present when I left my last job. This is their recipe and it was everything I might have wanted - rich as all hell, smooth, airy and the bringer of much adoration. Lauren said it changed her life. Now hopefully she'll change mine by hooking me up with Catherine Keener.

Cinnamon-chocolate mousse
This needs to be made the day before and allowed to set.
It's simple but there is folding of egg whites required which often flummoxes me.

300ml pure runny cream
4 eggs
100g mild honey (my mallee honey had too much flavour, use a very plain one)
100g castor sugar
400g good dark chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 extra egg whites
1 tbsp extra sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

to dust: 1 tsp cinnamon, 1.5 tsp icing sugar

Beat the cream to soft peaks and reserve in the fridge.

Place the whole eggs, honey and sugar in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Now take off the heat and beat with an electric beater on high for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate over a pan of hot water and allow to cool slightly.
Fold the chocolate and vanilla into the egg mixture.

In another bowl whisk the egg whites until they form very loose soft peaks. With beaters running, slowly sprinkle in the extra sugar and the cinnamon. Continue beating until they form shiny soft peaks.

To complete the mousse fold the whipped cream into the chocolate and then gently fold into the egg whites. Place in a serving bowl or little cups or whatever and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to serve mix together the dusting stuff and sift lightly over the mousse. Serve to admiring crowd.
Hey: I reckon my mousse was a little on the sweet side but I did skimp on the chocolate and use only 40%. With 70% sweetness would not be a problem. On the otherhand some said it was not too sweet at all... Guess it's like friends, you don't always want the sweeter ones.

legends

Maybe you can't tell from this blurry picture, but the new pants are even better.

Also, we made pupusas on the weekend. Everyone enjoyed saying "papoose papoose" but no, it was not a new carrying thingy for the baby pickle but a delicious Salvadorean snack. I had seen some Central American women making these at a Permablitz and thoroughly enjoyed eating one. Ours were less perfect looking but still highly digestible with a filling of refried black beans and cheese tucked snug inside a thick UFO disc of white corn goodness. Mmm, pupusas will be making a return appearance me thinks.

Right now though with my usual childlike enjoyment of sounds and phrases I am just excited by Wikipedia's talk of pupuserias..

then tworms will come and eat thee up..

You know back in June last year how I swore off decorating cakes? Well it was the first birthday party down at my new workplace (Flemington Community Gardens) yesterday and when I heard there was no cake planned I just couldn't resist. I wanted it to look like the gardens but then decided miniature chinese broccoli and chilli plants was a bit beyond me. Grass and worms would have to suffice.

I baked 4 cakes to make it big enough for 100 hungry gardeners and their offspring. Tal did most of the tricky bits on this, like the worms and the icing and all that jazz. I felt really smug that I remembered to buy latex gloves for dying the coconut - no green hands for me.

Need I say, the cake was a big success. The kids picked off the worms and half the fence before we cut it. Darn kids. Then about 2 minutes after I started cutting it there was nothing but a few shreds of coconut to be seen. I guess that's a success.

ps.. we made carrot halva to take to an obscure desserts party last night. damn that shit is good.

pants

You know normally buying work clothes is just really annoying. Not with my new job out working in the gardens. Nope I love my new work wardrobe.

I pulled out my old steel cap work boots and I bought myself a big belt from the hardware store. You gotta be crack protected in my line of work.

Today I went to get some work pants. They didn't have Hard Yakka or King Gee, just that new brand by the man Bisley. The nice guy at the workwear shop in Brunswick told us that sadly the pants did not come with the ladies depicted on the posters. They were blonde, in tiny work shorts and unbuttoned shirts and wrapped around Mr Bisley.

The pants come in two types: "regular" or "stout". He said that stout wasn't just for fat men but I was sceptical. Also he told me the crotch would be too long because they were for men. But I don't mind. I just like that on the label it says "Test driven by men, not machines."

So now I'm off to drive my new pants.