Softening the Crash... July09 p1/ Aug09 p3/ June10 p8 !PICS!

[geekymonkey]

Hi Cisco,

Thanks for the welcome back. My friend is hanging in there, thanks for asking. How are things going with your models? Do you have any competitions coming up?

[starcatcher]

geekymonkey, you give great travelogue, thanks for that. very enjoyable. more please.

having said all that, to admit that you don't know how to skin up is a massive blow to your credibilty from where i'm sitting. sort it out, eh?

[Cisco]

Hi Cisco,

Thanks for the welcome back. My friend is hanging in there, thanks for asking. How are things going with your models? Do you have any competitions coming up?

Hey no probs i have missed your wicked writing and camera skillz Yeah its all good with my geekness i have had a few articles printed in a world wide distributed leading model magazine , and also writing reviews of new products for them as well i won my very first Euro Militaire medal in Sept last year (so i can officially say that i am one of the best modelers in Europe) however i dont First shows of the year are in April and its in Scotland so no traveling too far

Peace out Cisco

[geekymonkey]

i have had a few articles printed in a world wide distributed leading model magazine , and also writing reviews of new products for them as well i won my very first Euro Militaire medal in Sept last year (so i can officially say that i am one of the best modelers in Europe) however i dont First shows of the year are in April and its in Scotland so no traveling too far

Peace out Cisco

Awesome! Congrats on the big win and the publication credits. Good luck for the new competition season. It must be fun to have a competitive hobby.

[geekymonkey]

It was noon-ish by the time we made it out the door and we were all flying from the S-5 haze so it seemed to take mere moments before we were rounding the bend to Basjoe's. The shop was empty and James was in the midst of his morning set-up when we walked in. James greeted me with another warm smile and came around the counter to give me a hug. I introduced him to all of the boys and he greeted them each with a fist-bump.



Since the shop was empty we all grabbed a seat on the stools as James passed a couple of menus over. I looked down at the menu, hoping to see the Terminator, and I was a little bummed not to see it on the list. "Are you out of Terminator?" I asked James.

"Jaaa," he said sadly.

"Bummer. It's a legendary hash." I told the boys. I was about to ask James what he'd recommend by way of hash when James got a big grin on his face and started rustling around in a drawer. He looked up a moment later with a smile on his face and a small piece of something wrapped in brown wax paper. "But for you, I have a little bit."

"Yay! You're the best!" If possible his smile got even bigger as he shared in my delight. JD got a gram of the Pollem hash and a gram of the Jack Herer, and I got another 3 grams of the Buddha Cheese, because some little mouse must have gotten into the first three grams and cleaned it out. We got coffees all around and moved to a table inside as it was still a bit cool outside despite the magnificent sunshine.


Basjoe's Terminator

JD rolled up a fat joint of with all of the Jack Herer with a good bit of the Pollem hash. It was ready just as James finished making the coffees, which was perfect timing. The joint had a full, spicy flavor that went great with the coffee. I am a novice has smoker, but I detected notes of sandalwood and bergamot in the aromatic smoke. After our haze filled breakfast smoke-out I felt a relaxed wave wash over me. Not exactly a heavy stone, but definitely a relaxed leveling buzz.


Basjoe's Pollem Hash

Basjoe's Jack Herer scraps

We were having a fun conversation about D's terrible taste in women, as JD had just met his brother's latest fling in Madrid, who he labeled a "mean woman."

"I hope she's at least really good in bed." I said, causing D to blush furiously.

"Uh, I wouldn't know... yet." I scolded him seriously for dating a mean woman who didn't put out, which had JD laughing uproariously. D tried to derail the conversation by bringing up how cool I was for managing to procure an off-menu hash, but while flattery will totally get you everywhere with this monkey, it really didn't work here. Poor boy.

We decided on another round of coffee, and JD rolled a big joint out of half the Buddha Cheese, which we generously laced with the Terminator. The Cheese was still delightfully happy with a nicely bracing herbal flavor that balanced out the oily cheese taste and a balanced incredibly happy effect. The terminator turned up the volume, adding a pleasant surging sensation to the high. My head felt like it was becoming a balloon and my limbs felt a bit heavy as the high set in. Everyone grew a bit quieter. (Much to D's relief, as the ribbing finally abated.) Our smiles were all a mile wide as we finished up our coffees.


Basjoe's Buddha Cheese


Basjoe's Terminator

I stopped by the counter to say a quick farewell to James and thank him for the terminator. I told him again that he always has my favorite gear, because it was all flavorful and well-cured. He glowed with the praise. I gave him a big hug and let him know that I would see him again before I left town.

[geekymonkey]

geekymonkey, you give great travelogue, thanks for that. very enjoyable. more please.

having said all that, to admit that you don't know how to skin up is a massive blow to your credibilty from where i'm sitting. sort it out, eh?

Stay tuned- I now roll a mean joint.

I'm not much worried about my credibility in that I've always fancied myself an enthusiast rather than an expert.

Also, it was always more common in my circles (East Coast of the US) to smoke out of bongs and glass pieces. Joints were never common there as they are in Europe.

[TwoCanucks]

Geeks.... awesome couple of installments, and well worth the extended wait!

Great reads as always and you have a great eye with the camera.

James can be a really fun dude when he gets to know you... glad he was only pulling you leg on the Terminator.

Looking forward to meeting in the future and sharing a big fat cone of Term!

Peace

[geekymonkey]

We were back at the apartment before I could blink. It was the middle of the afternoon, and if we were going to feast I had some serious cooking to do. D and JD decided to grab another sandwich from downstairs and then head over to Dolphins to use the wifi for a few hours. Dr. J opted to stay and hang out with me while I cooked. It was a beautiful afternoon and the sun streamed through the floor to ceiling windows in the living room along with a cool breeze.

My thoughts began to turn to food, and I realized that I was seriously hungry so we put on some good music and snacked on some apples, cheese, and kettle chips along with (very frequent) little one-hit bowls of Buddha Cheese with Terminator.



My high was as sparkly as the sunshine. I had happy tingles all over my body and everything was super bright as I started formulating a plan of attack for dinner. First I started a ginger and lime simple syrup to use for fresh ginger soda and to macerate the fruit for dessert. The fresh spicy aroma quickly filled the small apartment and mingled with the pot smoke in the most delightful way. "Mmmm" said my Mr. "This is aromatherapy." I had to agree.

I then set to work marinating the steaks in a mixture of garlic, coriander (cilantro to the Americans in the house), ginger, hot chilies and lime zest. This was when I realized that some more careful planning was in order- because there didn't seem to be enough bowls or other vessels to contain everything that I had on the menu, so I pulled every coffee cup, plate, and pot out of the cabinets and ...smoked another bowl. (The Amsterdam solution to every problem in my mind.)


Basjoe's Buddha Cheese

My mental state buoyed by more cheese I realized I could make this work! As long I didn't make soup that was, but really, there would be plenty of food and that just meant less work for me. Menu revised I took a moment to appreciate the fact that I had brought a guerilla cooking kit with me (Some important utensils including a good knife, a large skillet, a large pot, and a salad spinner) as every single container-like object in the apartment was about to be drafted into service-- including the large vase that I drank water out of that first afternoon. Momentum restored with yet another bowl I got back to work making the do chua (literally "pickled stuff" in Vietnamese). Here are the sweet and sour pickles in aforementioned vase:



I also picked carrots and cabbage for the inside of the banh mi sandwiches. Then I made:


Peanut Sauce and


prepped Nam Sod Ingredients

Right before the boys were due back I decided that we really couldn't have banh mi sandwiches without some chili mayonnaise, and so I decided to make some from scratch. (Which officially makes me a crazy monkey because making mayonnaise by hand when the closest thing you have to a mixing bowl is the base of a salad spinner and the closest thing you have to a whisk is a fork is basically certifiable. Almost as crazy as making meringue that way, something I also know from experience.)

I was just starting to whisk frantically when the boys walked in- carrying a freshly-rolled one gram joint of dolphin haze. We joined the man across the way in another smoke break.



The dolphin haze was nice enough, but not special- no chemicals and a slight hazy flavor. While I kept at the mayonnaise, JD rolled the joints for that evening's festivities. Suddenly, horrible munchies struck all of us so I re-arranged the dinner plans and we started off snacking on the sweet ginger melon and the Thai pickles. Keeping with my plan to pair the fruit with the Utopia Haze, we fired that up alongside.

Amuse Bouche:

Amnesia's Utopia Haze

The grapefruit and cherry perfume of the haze perfectly complimented the sweet and tangy watermelon infused with ginger and lime. We devoured the large bowl of fruit as the heady tingly high set in. I again marveled at the combination of warm body stone and float-y expansive head high that I got from smoking this strain. While it wasn't as pretty as the Utopia haze had been last year, it was still a winner for me in terms of effects and it served as a great appetizer for the meal to come.


Utopia Haze from Late August 2009

After the high began to abate a little I quickly stir-fried the Nam Sod and seared the steaks for the sandwiches and we were ready to go. Here are the pairings I settled on for my Mr's 30th Birthday Dinner:

Appetizer:

Mellow Yellow's S-5 Haze

S-5 Haze with Nam Sod, a thai salad with ground pork, coriander, basil, lime, chilies and ginger. The limey taste of the S-5 haze was a really great compliment to spicy tangy flavors in the salad. The super elevating high also really cut through a long day of smoking and served as an almost caffeinated pick me up that had us all chatting and laughing our faces off.

Main Course: Make your own steak banh mi from a choice of Pate, Marinated Steak, Pickles cucumbers, carrots, and cabbage, Peanut Sauce, Chili Mayonnaise, Fresh Coriander and Basil served with:


Basjoe's Buddha Cheese with

Basjoe's Terminator

And

Bushdoctor's Purple Kush with

Basjoe's Pollem Hash

I have to say that the Purple Kush joint with the Hash was lushly delicious with a full funky spicy flavor. It also totally knocked me on my butt, rendering me way too stoned to eat or even stay upright in my chair. Fortunately the couch was literally right next to the table in my small apartment and so I got to enjoy kicking back and watching the boys stuff themselves on all of the delicious food. Watching people enjoying my cooking is pure bliss for me, and if the moans of pleasure coming from the table were any indication, this meal was really doing it for the boys.

We finished the meal off with an assortment of Swiss Chocolate along with some bowls of


Mellow Yellow's Chocolope

Which was quite nice, I think...

We never made it to the Red Cherry Berry and Vanilla Kush that night. Alas.