Hobbies

I met somebody who is called Fang. But she didn’t know her name meant something in English. So here it is : A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a canine tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a venom-injecting tooth (see snake venom). Spiders also have fangs, which are part of the chelicerae. Some fantasy creatures such as dragons and vampires have fangs as well.

Make a note of May 23rd, 2010, because then Eric Claptoon & Steve Winwood will fill the Sportpaleis (Lotto Arena) in Antwerp. They used to be together in the short-lived supergroup “Blind Faith", and their friendship kept going strong after all those years (1969). For the first time in 30 years, they are back together on stage with music from their Blind Faith days and solo material.

More info can be found on www.sportpaleis.be</a>

Ever heard of Faux Gras? It is the vegan alternative to Foie Gras, created by the animal rights group Gaia for the Christmas period. It was a big success, as they sold out their entire stock of 30,000 pots in no time. The product uses only vegan ingredients like champagne and truffles, and helped raise money for Gaia.

Not sure how yummy it tasted, but at least no animals were hurt in the process of making it.

In the Gallo-Roman museum of Tongeren, you can watch a wonderful exhibition about Ambiorix (the “Belgian” hero who defeated Caesar’s Army) and the Celtic culture. Highlight of the exibition is a copy of “Reports on the War in Gaul", written by Caesar to document his Gallic campaigns. There are only 4 copies in existence and describe the Belgae. He wrote “Of all these people, the Belgae are the most brave".

The exhibition runs till June 13th in the Gallo-Roman museum, Kielenstraat 15, Tongeren.

When moving I discovered a bottle of Patxaran which one of my friends got me as a present. My cellar is filled with lovely exotic and not-so-well-known drinks from all over the world (being a member of BeWelcome.org has its advantages) and today was an excellent day to try my hand at creating a great recipe for Patxaran.

Patxaran (Basque from baso aran (wild plum); called Pacharán in Spanish) is a sloe-flavoured liqueur commonly drunk in Navarre, the Pyrenees and the rest of Spain.

The liqueur is made by soaking sloe berries, collected from the blackthorn, in an anise-flavoured spirit (anisette) with a small number of coffee beans and a vanilla pod for several months. It results in a light reddish-brown sweet liquid, around 25-30% alcohol by volume. It is served cold or on ice as a digestif.

The drink was essentially a home-made liqueur of rural Navarre, but became popular in the late 19th century. It was commercialised in the 1950s and became very popular outside Navarre. One theory holds that young Navarrans took bottles with them on National Service, popularising patxaran in the rest of Spain. There are now moves to ensure that the drink’s name is protected to ensure its quality, tradition and Navarrese identity. The regulator of Patxaran of Navarre insists that no colourings or flavourings are added, that the maceration is between one and eight months and on the amount of sloes used.

The oldest commercial brand is Zoco, first sold in 1956, founded by the family of Ambrosio Velasco, who had been producing patxaran in the Viana area since 1816 and now owned by Pernod Ricard. Other brands include Etxeko, Kantxa, Barañano Atxa and Baines. Seven million litres a year are commercially produced.

It is said in the valleys of Navarre that to eat the sloe berries after maceration can cause madness or lifelong aversion to patxaran.

Here is a great recipe for Pacharan:

1/6 Patxaran

1/6 Crème de Bananes

1/6 Lime juice

3/6 Pineapple juice

Just put everything in your cocktail shaker, shake for 20 seconds, pour it in a martini glass and add a cherry.

Source : Wikipedia.org