CJ’s Special Rice
By CJ | October 25, 2009
This rice dish is so easy to cook and I really love it with a rare steak, but it can accompany anything from meat to fish, it’s great on its own or with some pita bread and it can be eaten hot or cold. A truly versatile dish that even a muppet could cook. Enjoy… CJ
CJ’s Special Rice – serves 4/6
Ingredients
- 250g Long Grain Rice
- 250g Brown Mushrooms (Any mushroom will do but none of the magic variety)
- 250g Pomodorino Tomatoes
- ½ cup of petit pois
- 1 Medium red onion
- 1 small tin sweetcorn
- 3 Cloves garlic
- 2 Vegetable stock cube
- 1 Level tablespoon Schwartz Classic Barbecue Mixed Spice
- Garlic Salt (optional) to taste
- 1 small knob butter
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- A good pinch of sea salt and cracked black pepper
- Sunglasses optional!
Cooking instructions
- Finely chop the onion, garlic and mushrooms
- Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan and heat gently. Add the garlic and onion and fry for a couple of minutes – stir occasionally and make sure it doesn’t burn.
- Add a small knob of butter, mushrooms, salt & pepper and add a pinch of garlic salt (optional but really tasty – be careful as G salt is very potent and not for the faint of heart). Also add a dash of soy sauce and cook all ingredients until soft and brown and remember to stir occasionally. Put the mixture aside for later.
- Before cooking the rice it’s important to wash it to get all of the starch out. Put the rice in a sieve and into a bowl of water and wash until the water is clear – you need to do this approximately three times.
- At this point prepare your water for cooking the rice. There are many ways to cook rice and I use the boil and drain method, to be honest it’s the best method for this dish. I prefer to use Basmati rice, hey I am Indian. Before adding the rice to the water you must add the veg stock cubes and salt and pepper. Once the stock has dissolved taste the water – you want your rice to absorb the flavour of the stock so if the water tastes good then your rice will have a nice flavour to it. Add the rice to the aromatic water, bring back to the boil and simmer for approximately 8-10 minutes. When cooking the rice you need to keep tasting it in the final minutes as it’s so easy to overcook. This rice dish only work if the rice isn’t overcooked and soggy. When the rice is ready, drain and put aside until you need it again – there’s no need to rinse the cooked rice and you have already done this before cooking. If you want more details about how to cook the perfect rice, follow this link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl1PfTy3C0E
- Add the cooked onions, mushrooms and garlic and rice to a large bowl. Dice the tomatoes and add them with the sweet corn, petit pois and the Schwartz Classic BBQ spice and mix well.
- You want your dish to have a nice flavour so feel free to add more spice (Salt, pepper, BBQ spice etc) if needed… and that’s it. You can serve it immediately at room temperature. I sometimes heat up the leftovers the next day, which is also delicious as by heating it again you release all those flavours again.
UK And European Shows In December
By Ean | October 22, 2009
The Wildhearts have announced a number of European dates during December, they are:
2/12/09 Stockholm, Sweden – Göta Källare
3/12/09 Gothenburg, Sweden – Sticky Fingers
4/12/09 Jevnaker, Norway – The Untouchables Hard Rock Club
5/12/09 Copenhagen, Denmark – The Rock
9/12/09 Tampere, Finland – Klubi
10/12/09 Helsinki, Finland – Nosturi
12/12/09 Joensuu, Finland – Kellari
Special guests in Stockholm will be Conny Bloom and Dregen, and support for the Finnish dates comes from The Souls.
There will also be an exhibition of Wildhearts collectables and memorabilia at Helsinki City Library from the 8th December.
Following Ginger’s birthday show on the 17th December (Have you got your tickets yet?) the band will play some Christmas shows in the UK:
19/12/09 Leeds, UK – Rio’s
21/12/09 Wolverhampton, UK – Wulfrun Hall
22/12/09 London, UK – O2 Academy Islington
See the Tour page for full details and ticket links.
Ginger’s Birthday Show – SOLD OUT!
By Ginger | October 18, 2009
As the final tickets have found loving new homes, I just want to share my excitement with you regarding this show.
Oh man.
The set will feature many rarely played tracks by The Wildhearts, SilverGinger 5, Clam Abuse, SuperShit 666 and the solo albums, some of which have never been played live before, and never will be again.
Then there is the band.
Oh man!
Consisting of a million special guests, friends and colleagues (okay, maybe not as many as a million but more than, say, twenty) each performing different songs all evening.
The vast array of familiar faces as well as the guaranteed bonhomie that will undoubtedly take place make this event one that is absolutely not to be missed.
Yeah, I know it’s my birthday but on this evening it will be everyone’s birthday, as well as an early Christmas.
I’ve never tackled anything so ridiculously involved in my life of playing live shows, but with the aid of Rich Jones and Chris McCormack (both kindly helping in the logistics and arrangement of such a ludicrous challenge) I presume that this night will be one that we’ll all be talking about for the rest of our lives.
I absolutely cannot wait to share this evening with you.
See you there, you lovely, lovely people.
Gx
Zeen Requiem – FREE NEW SONG
By Ean | October 16, 2009
Well here it is, Zeen Requiem, the free track from the Chutzpah! sessions that we hinted at earlier in the week!
Congratulations to those of you who figured the clues out and managed to find the track already, but for everybody else, it’s now available for free download (Right Click>Save As).
It’s also available on our Music page.
Thanks to Classic Rock for awarding the track Bonus Track Of The Day.
Please download and enjoy it!
Sorry & The Sinatras Out On Tour
By Ean | October 12, 2009
Scott, who clearly can’t get enough of Tour buses and Service Station food, is out on tour again with his band Sorry & The Sinatras starting in Birmingham on Wednesday.
They’re playing the following UK dates:
14 Oct MADHOUSE BAR BIRMINGHAM
15 Oct THE UNDERWORLD LONDON
16/10/09 CLUB REVOLUTION PETERBOROUGH
17 Oct THE PARISH HUDDERSFIELD
18 Oct VICE SWANSEA
19 Oct THE MAZE NOTTINGHAM
20 Oct TRILLIANS NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
21 Oct RETRO BAR MANCHESTER
22 Oct JOSEPHS WELL LEEDS
23 Oct GENNA’S BAR DUNDEE
24 Oct STEREO GLASGOW
So make sure to check them out!
Full details and ticket links are available on the Tour page.
The band’s debut album Highball Roller is also available, and if you haven’t heard it yet you really should as it’s pretty bloody great!
Ginger’s Birthday Show
By Ginger | October 7, 2009
To celebrate my birthday on Thursday 17th December, we are putting on a special show at the Relentless Garage in London.
Tickets for the show can be bought from TicketWeb
It is being billed as ‘Ginger and Friends’ so expect plenty of guests and surprises.
Wildhearts Interview On Rock Radio
By Kris | October 7, 2009
The Wildhearts were interviewed on Rock Radio during the UK tour.
Ginger, CJ and Scott discuss the pronunciation of Chutzpah! their festival appearances this year, the recording of the album and much more. Have a listen to the interview at Rock Radio
Happily Lost In Translation (Japan Day 1)
By Ginger | October 7, 2009
The breaks between visits to Japan always seem longer than in reality. Actually, this kind of warp in time makes sense when faced with the futuristic setting that Tokyo continues to impress upon returning gai-jin (foreigners). Apart from New York City there isn’t a place in the world I miss more than Japan.
Take the food, for example. The mysterious, multi textured, multi-shaped, multi-coloured smörgåsbord that is a Bento Box can repel and delight in equal measure, depending on who is savouring its hidden treasures. A table/box full of assorted tastes and visual treats is my idea of heaven. The thought of putting something unknown into my mouth on the recommendation of Japanese hosts fills me with a joy that Xmas used to, about 30 years ago. And it is always, without exception, a culinary masterpiece jam packed with exotic flavour.
And the drinks? Last night I was drinking sho-chu (a strong wine made of wheat) mixed with vinegar and plum, and was made to feel like I’d just discovered alcohol again. Scott has got himself an addiction to sho-chu and oolong tea. And who could blame him? Without the bloated feeling of beer or the potentially hair trigger drunk that liquor can spring this stuff takes a while to get you there and is thoroughly delicious every step of the way. And all without the tiredness that drinking red wine can sometimes have on an evening out with friends.
Then there are the streets. A smoker’s dream. Nowhere else in the world are there so many people puffing on cigarettes. Indoors, outdoors. Young and old. Everyone is smoking tabs. And not to look hard.
People are also dressed in amazing clothing. Some merely stylish to the max and others kitted out in the kind of get up that American movies tell us people will wear 100 years in the future. And why the Hell not? Every store in Tokyo, no matter what they’re selling, from shoes to garden equipment, sells it with cute cartoons the likes of which are only seen by Western eyes on kids telly.
Society is structured on traditional values steeped in Buddhism therefore everyone takes pride in making the whole work effectively by governing themselves in a proper and respectful manner. Crime, while existing, is an organised and honourable vocation that the criminally minded can aspire to. There’s never been an ASBO written for a young thug here, the perks are just too great.
And then, of course, there are the fans. Loyal, respectful and diligent, they follow with patient tenacity, biding their time, determined to get a photo or autograph or presenting gifts laced with imagination and origami packaging.
And when collected in a venue, the cleanliness of which is completely alien to someone whose apprenticeship was served treading the beer and puke sodden boards of shit pits that make up most of the UK touring circuit, the noise they make is an ode to joy itself. Shrill and completely testosterone free the Japanese crowd makes a whistling squeal that sounds like a thousand kettles collectively and positively thrilled to make tea. Orgasmic and life affirming. This sound is one of the many reasons why The Wildhearts have stayed together for so long.
After a kick ass show at the Tokyo Liquid Rooms I’m startled to hear music business types charting out a three year plan of how the style of music will follow the current recession, based on previous recessions and the resulting shifts in style. The Japanese, it’s fair to say, aren’t a race of moaners.
Our hosts, the lovely Kaoru and the wonderful Coach, of Vinyl Junkie, follow us everywhere to make sure that we are looked after and the shows go off without a single hitch. Not many managing directors of record labels have this much of a relationship with the musicians they work with, maybe that’s part of the reason why the music industry over here is in such great shape?
In summary, I love this place. Fucking love it.
And it would appear, after 15 years of being invited back, that the feeling is entirely mutual.
Argita Gozai Mas, Banzai, Yopporai, let’s get high.
Gx
Gingerbread People?
By Ritch | October 5, 2009
So the UK tour is over and I’m back home doing a bit of shopping with the family. We pop into Thomas the Bakers’ for a spot of light refreshment when my 4 year old daughter says “Daddy, can I have a gingerbread person?”
Ah! How cute I think to myself as I correct her telling her it’s gingerbread man. “No Daddy, it’s gingerbread person”
I scan the counter of all things yummy and there, wedged between the cheese straws and yum yums are a few familiar looking fellows advertised as ‘gingerbread persons’
Now I’ve been giving this some thought, and the only reason I can think of why anyone could possibly be offended by a gingerbread man being called a gingerbread man is that it may seem presumptuous of someone to name a gingerbread man a man when it could have actually been created as a woman.
But then surely the baker who’s selling the gingerbread men is well aware of the sex of his ginger biscuits. His train of thought must go something like – “right then, now I’ve finished the muffins, I better get on with making the gingerbread men.”
So there’s absolutely no question about it, they’re definitely male. So why call them persons?
Anyway, the fact that it was eaten before I’d even paid for it leads me to believe that, all names aside, they’re still as tasty as ever.
Speaking of which, did anyone notice how tasty our London show was? I thought we were rather excellent.
Tokyo, bring it on!
Pictures From The Twelfth Day
By Ginger | September 30, 2009
At Rock Radio, Manchester for an acoustic rendition of The Only One.