Adventures with anrkst.

I assumed you were all just eating chips by the camp fire

On a serious note.. OK fair enough! sorry @anrkst6973 I tried!! LoL

 

I will agree with you guys on principle. I remember the BK&T kitchen knives, they were nice, but just about as elusive as the fabled Esee machete. I never could find them when I had the coin and only one set has ever came up used that I know of. I’m as much of an Esee fanatic as anyone here but I get it.
I got curious and nosed around over on Expat’s homeboy Joe Flowers domain and there’s a nice chefs and santoku to be had. Marketing a cooks knife to outdoor people in a saturated environment would make no sense or profit.

It was good effort anyway! I’ll just spend the money they could have had on more food to cook!

 

This mind bending creation came thru my social media…it seemed like just the thing to go “Shazam!” on.
Let’s do Potato Egg & Ham. ( sounds boring as heck don’t it?)



Well, first we need potatoes. Thankfully I have family that are retired and returned to their roots to become hermit hippie farmers…our produce pantry runneth over.



Those I will pre-shred and soak/rinse several times in a mild solution of white vinegar and water. This will keep your potatoes from being “gummy” when cooked.



They also started raising chickens. I end up with so many eggs….it’s unreal.
I drain the potatoes and spread them on trays lined with brown paper, then a 2nd tray on top with weight to fully draw out excess moisture.
I went and got some good thick cut deli ham. The original video she used simple chopped and formed sandwich ham. That would be fine too..



….and the help…has arrived.

 

I’m making mein beloved stay out of the kitchen…she’s getting noisy (nosey) in there.



We are serious about some garlic. This about typical in a dish for 3.
Think this would do ya eh @Bushman5 ?



It comes out at between 1/3 and 1/2 cup chopped. It will get browned in a little oil n butter then added back in. Delicious..



This finish brush came from my favorite Aussie cook Marion Grasby. I saw her using it on Asian Vegetable Pancakes.
It will just perfect the taste drizzled on in the last 5 minutes.

 

I’m with my Southern brothers…triple digit 105’s and 113 indexes are NOT good outside fun weather!
My big blade shop fan motor burnt out and like most appliances today is non serviceable.


So, you mix potatoes, diced ham,onions, peppers, a bit of shredded cheese, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup of flour, and 1/4 of corn starch, liberally seasoned with what you like on your eggs, and plop big spoonfuls in your hot pan. I ended up with 2 complete pans full.
I will say that mine was sort of crumbly, more so than what was shown in the video. (No surprise there) but I also rinsed the potatoes and I’m using gluten free flour for her. Ymmv..



I had an aluminum tray on the side to lay mine on, now I’m going to layer them back in along with spinach, arugula, mozzarella cheese, and the rest of the eggs (beaten with seasoning, chopped green onions, the garlic, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder (Not baking soda!), and about a tablespoon of water)
This gets sent to a 375f oven for 30 minutes…



At 5 left I poured the finish sauce over, the sizzle smell got me instant response from the other room with pleas to be released immediately.

 

Ok, I relented and let her out, but I waited till the oven was closed before I said it!



Look at that. Leftovers! I might actually get another round of this later! (Finally got the cookware size up high enough by Crom!)



Because I enjoy lighting up the feedback threads of my favorite brands I get a kick out of the ever present factory surface and finish complainers. You’d think a few drops of soap and a 2 minutes with a ringer was gonna just destroy some twig wristed soy latte drinking man bunner….suck it haters.

 

Initial perceptions and tune up.
Twoody88 and I got into a trade agreement a few days back, he provided me with a new grass slasher to try out.
Imacasa model 31 “Rojo”. A slightly more robust version in their Latin style 18” machetes.
Just some basic stuff to get it tuned into working order…


This one arrived straight and well finished. The handle is almost perfectly round and magnetic testing says it has their customary 3/4 tang. This one also almost has a choil of sorts due to shape.


The obverse side is deeply stamped with both brand, country of origin,and model. The factory grind is decently uniform on both sides.


Just as any hardware tool you might purchase, it has a grind, but I laughingly call this a non-edge.

 

More….


One of the first things I noticed was it’s weight. It perceptively heavier than my model 11. I grabbed a few others from around the man cave for comparison. In styling it’s closer to the orange Condor, but it’s only ever so slightly lighter than the Cold Steel. ( and yes, I could chop brush from daylight till dark for the next 100 years and never wear out all the sharps I have in one room. )


In actual thickness it’s still closest to the Condor. You can really tell the difference in swinging the 11 vs the 31.


This one took a bit of work. More so than I expected. Using the WorkSharp and progressing thru the belts I spent about 45 actual minutes getting from non-edge to decent cutting..


Not absolutely up to where I want, but workable at this point. I tend to take my time and proceed very methodical like on such things. It’s easier to do it slowly rather than to do it over or risk burning the edge you’re trying to make.

 

A minor test.


(I’m gonna get in trouble aren’t I? )
I cleaned up the spine, flattened the sides of the handle, flap wheeled all the corners, and made up a lanyard.
Just like everywhere else in the South you can’t start a bbq without the Fire Department showing up. Maybe she won’t notice the smell in the kitchen huh?


2 good strokes and whoosh! This one’s ready for Bushcrafting I think.

 

Hmmmm. Couldn’t stand it.


The red color. I couldn’t get used to it. It’s too….”unnatural”. Everything I own is some dull earthy color…time for stripping. (Zip it you perverse sods! )


It actually took a couple of treatments to get all that off! I don’t know what type of primer red they use but it’s good stuff.
Neutralized with dish soap and water and scrubbed with a nylon pad, it almost has an acid wash tumble finish like you see on Esee’s..


I’m pleased with how this turned out. I’m not sure this needs anything more in the way of patina. I expect it will take markings from both work and food handling.


I took it back thru the fine belt, ceramic hone, and strop to continue refining the edge.
I like this one. It’ll be fun learning it’s nuances. My opinion is these kinds of things should function like an extension of your hands. The only way to do that is cut cut cut, and not worry too much about how far out it might seem to the uninitiated. (Of course pulling it out at the city park to slather mayo might allow you to get on a first name basis with the local Leo’s. That might be good…or bad…depending on how you present yourself . )

 

Not enough garlic

 

Well well..It’s Thursday. Can any of you use your “power of the sight” and tell me what’s about to happen?



I’ll give you a clue. It’s going to require stock. Chicken to be precise. Homemade, rich..and savory.



About 2 quarts of it. That should do the trick.

 

Nice!

 

For those not on FB or other social media the other day was Patrick Rollins birthday. I feel lucky to have been a part of the virtual adventures with him and the Esee gang for all these years. The S American jungle trips were awesome to see and inspired me to think more, learn more, and push more. Happy Birthday Pat. This south of the border creation would fit right in even squatted in the mud and cooked over a smoky wood fire. ( I could do it too. )
Chiliatole Rojo, and with a chance to play with a real jungle tool.



I’ve continued to refine up the edge on the Imacasa. I saw this as a good time to get some fine and precise cutting results.



This one is unconcerned with bushcraftyness…as long as he gets nibbles.



Soup for 2? Yeah that’s gonna need a full bulb of garlic.

 

Machetes are the common man’s tool all over the world. There’s some version almost everywhere and even after years of looking and reading about them I still find new techniques and uses that I hadn’t thought of.



South America, Africa, Asia. People prepare animals and fish for cooking. They build houses, and boats, and fences and a gazillion other things with these. If they can get and maintain a useable edge with nothing more advanced than simple rocks then there’s no excuse for dullness.


I think we get too insulated sometimes. There’s a goodness to be had in just taking off your shoes and feeling the world with your feet.



This should restore your inner fire. 100% machete cut and from memory, no recipe card. I think it’s something worth knowing..



Pretty sure there’ll be leftovers…for an hour or so. Or drop by someday. I can teach you this one in just a couple hours. It’ll be fun.

 

It rained for a day and night. Then the sun came back out. Humid like hot soup.


Sid sez “Let’s stay here on the cool floor.”


Don’t worry buddy, I can find something easy to do.


I just need 22” of carbon steel to push it around on..


Takes longer to prep it than it does to cook it.
Bet it won’t take long to eat it either!

 

My favorite Aussie Marion Grasby stuck this in my social media. My bestest Beloved always wants that peanuty sauce you get with Asian rolls…I knew this one was hers as soon as I saw it.
Filipino Kare Kare. The absolutely not authentic version.


the base of Kare Kare is toasted rice. It’s easy. You put rice in a pre-heated super hot pan and “wok wrist” action it till it’s starts to smoke, smells nutty, and looks toasty brown.


for a braising liquid you use a blend of these. Make enough to equal your normal water to rice ratio.


it looks odd as heck but he’s just happily sleeping away down there.


Marions secret ingredient. I used a 1/4 cup dissolved into the hot broth. (There’s also a 1/4 cup of brown sugar but Ima dope and didn’t put it in the dang picture! )

 

Eggplant and lightly sautéed long green beans are traditional. I had neither. Off into improvisation land.


I totally didn’t even come close to following her recipe..the process to get here was only in my head.


Seriously good. She loved this one…good thing I’ve got it memorized huh?