Wassail

It’s always a popular winter warmer, and everyone spends the post-prandial hours sipping large mugs of wassail on the deck.

1 cup water
2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
6 cloves
1/2 teaspoon mace
6 allspice berries
Cinnamon stick
2 pounds sugar
4 × 750 ml bottles sherry
12 eggs, separated
375 ml brandy
6 apples, cored and baked

In a covered 12-quart stockpot, bring water to a boil. Add nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cloves, mace and cinnamon. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add sugar and sherry and heat until the sugar dissolves completely.

Beat the egg yolks and whites separately; fold together. Put egg mixture in a large bowl, and slowly add the heated mixture to the eggs, 1/4 cup at a time at first, stirring each addition to slowly heat the eggs. Once the brew has been thoroughly mixed, add the brandy and the baked apples.

I keep my Wassail in a large crock pot on low heat to prevent the eggs from curdling. If you don’t have a crock pot, keep it on the stove on low, but be very careful: even on low heat this mixture will get hot – quickly. Enjoy and have a great new years.

Still Alive

Sorry for slacking on the blog. Its been hard to find internet in the northern towns. Soooo we were able to start on the 5th of Dec. to a heavy fog and slight drizzle. We stormed down the beach in 2 1/2 days covering 100km. Next up was the forest tack. It was a nightmare. All trails are straight up and then straight down through thick mud and dense bush. The trails are not marked very well  with mile long gaps of nothing to go on but a coin toss. Right now we are around the 350km in and trying to reach Auckland by Xmas. Hope to post more pics on here later. I lost my camera on 90 mi beach and looking to replace it soon. Hope every one has a great Xmas.

Tis the Season

Had some friend over this weekend for the iron bowl, and made a batch of eggnog from scratch. We all thought it turned out pretty damn good. So by request, here it is.It can be done entirely in a blender, so there are no whisks or beaters or rubber spatulas or stove tops needed. It yields two healthy servings, so you can easily multiply it to serve more. It doesn't use a ton of heavy cream, so it’s fairly light. In other words, it’s practically perfect.

2 large eggs
3 oz (by volume) granulated sugar
½ tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
2 oz brandy
2 oz spiced rum
6 oz whole milk
4 oz heavy cream

Beat eggs in blender for one minute on medium speed. Slowly add sugar and blend for one additional minute. With blender still running, add nutmeg, brandy, rum, milk and cream until combined. Chill thoroughly to allow flavors to combine and serve in a chilled wine glass.Enjoy and happy holidays.

The final Countdown

What started with a few beers and led to a long intoxicated conversation with a friend, gave me a six month long idea on how to once again escape the states. Now, with a work visa, 25 lbs of gear, a $1,500 40 hr. plane ticket, and a drunken thought, I'm going to tramp my way across New Zealand.

With the help of many volunteers, the Te Araroa Trust and the NZ Department of Conservation (DoC) the grand opening of the Te Araroa trail is set for Dec. 3, 2011. The Te Araroa (The Long Pathway) is a continuous 3,000 km walking track from Cape Reinga to Bluff. . Enroute it explores New Zealand’s tombolos, volcanoes, mountain ranges, rivers, lakes and valleys.

So now the count down is ticking away. Three weeks till I'm staring into the vast Tasman Sea at the Capes light house with only one direction to go, south.