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Diesel Rogers Dining with Diesel www.sunlive.co.nz |
Two startling stories of canine survival have come to my attention this week, both in my own backyard.
First there was Millie's amazing adventure on the mudflats.
Normally mudflats are not much of a survival challenge for dogs. But when you're as fluffy as Millie, any adventure involving water and mud can appear to be a fight for life. She's a Shitzu-Maltese which I originally thought was some sort of laxative biscuit, but it turns out that she's one of those intriguing cosmopolitan crosses of exotic origins. A bit like Carmen the transvestite, but smaller, hairier and less of a bitch.
In fact don't tell Ady, but I was quite smitten with the exotic beauty. She wasn't as hell-bent on discipline, bondage and punishment as the 'German Mad Dog.”
I was quite concerned when Millie was rampaging around the mudflats. As her long, sumptuous coat picked up water and sand, and she picked up speed, it looked like a floor mop had been caught in a lawn mower. There was hair and mud flying in all directions. My concerns were allayed however when she frolicked back to the beach, none the worse for her adventure.
I'm pleased to report a happy ending to Millie's wild roamings on the quicksand.
A quick shower under the garden hose soon had most of the mud washed away.
She looked quite sultry and alluring, with her long eyelashes fluttering through those straggly locks. Grrrr, I love the wet look! I asked the boss in my gravely tones to give her a T shirt, to no avail.
The second story was more serious. It involved Buddy's near-death experience, when he was trapped in a drainpipe. Just like the Aussie miners, Buddy cheated the odds and was rescued, thanks to the tireless efforts of his two-leggers in searching when all hope seemed lost.
Maybe we should send the details to the Chilean miners who are still underground, to lift their morale.
The full story of Buddy's death-defying plunge into the dark depths of the drainage world is still filtering through to me here at Chocolate Crusader Headquarters. We will keep you posted.
It seems the canines of Te Puna have had more than their fair share of dramatic trappings, especially when we recall the pooch that was trapped under a granny's La-Z-Boy chair for a couple of days.
Okey dokey then, lets get onto waxing lyrical about my mate Johnny the Aussie butcher in Gate Pa. You should all know by now that his shop is one of my all-time favourite places to visit (it's even ahead of the neighbour's compost heap), and you know that I would not recommend his meat to anyone unless I had eaten the odd sample of a few delicacies and given them my seal of approval.
Make sure you pay him a visit to stock up on your meaty treats for this week. Make sure you give him a little lip as well, and tell him it's from 'Big D”.
I must get up there and thank him in my own special way, for keeping me in bones during my recovery period. I am just about ready to face the Strand again so beware all you 'boguns” out and about after midnight down there -the 'Chocolate Crusader” and 'Mad Dog Ady”, will be once again be teaming up to prowl the area.
Oriental roasted chicken
Ingredients
Fresh No.20 chicken, skin on
2 cups ready-sliced dried Chinese
mushrooms
½ cup red wine
2 tsp light soya sauce
3 Tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
20 shallots, peeled and left whole
20 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
2 bunches baby bok choy, boiled
Method
Preheat oven to 220C. Soak mushrooms in water to soften, keep soaking liquid aside. Mix together red wine, soya sauce, honey and salt for marinade. Loosen skin of chicken and rub the marinade under and over the skin and in the cavity. Keep a small amount of marinade aside for the gravy. Tuck the sliced mushrooms under the skin of the chicken. Roast chicken in large roasting tin, loosely covered with aluminium foil for 20 minutes. Turn heat down to 180C, add shallots and garlic and roast uncovered for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until juices run clear when pierced.
Make the gravy – pour excess oil from the roasting tin into a pan and add a cup of the water used to soak the mushrooms and leftover marinade. Heat on stove top and adjust seasonings to taste. Serve chicken with gravy and garnish with baby bok choy.