THE VAN: 1990 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia, bright green
From a review of the VW Westfalia by William Clavey on Jalopnik.com entitled “Why the Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia Lives Up to the Hype”: “The Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia is slow, not particularly fun to drive, handles like an intoxicated dullard and isn’t even all that reliable. Yet, it’s one of the most popular vehicular fashion statements on this Earth. Why? You might say the original Westfalia helped inspire an entire generation of kids to drive off to wherever, smoke weed, and take part in crazy unprotected sex. Or at least, it paired nicely with a summer of ’69 kind of soundtrack. This is the official car of “let’s get the fuck out.” Any car, no matter how bad it is, that instantly makes you happy and stress-free behind the wheel; a car that makes you realize that all the tiny, insignificant worries of your stressful life are nothing more than cosmic dust is worth every penny in my book.”
It’s a fun read, and you can find it here: https://www.jalopnik.com/why-the-volkswagen-vanagon-westfalia-lives-up-to-the-hy-1797322823
THE FIRE: Christian and Julie built a fire out of oak logs at 11:30am so as to be able to cook on it at 12:30pm. Christian’s biggest tip for cooking over an open flame– don’t cook on a raging fire. The outside of whatever you’re cooking will burn, and the inside won’t be cooked enough. It requires patience! Their fire was super hot, but the flames were minimal because it had been burning for so long.
WHAT THEY COOKED: long kale leaves and rapini florets with olive oil and South Pond salt mixture; Oyster and Shiitake mushrooms on the grill, then finished in butter over a butane burner; striploin and rapini and Parmesan sausages from Cumbrae’s in Toronto; mixed green salad (lettuce and radicchio) with this dressing: 1/2 shallot, finely chopped, 3 tbsp red wine vinegar, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp maple syrup, salt and pepper to taste.
WHAT THEY DIDN’T COOK, BUT I WANTED TO TRY: S’mores! This is so smart. Chocolate-covered digestive cookies and marshmallows. Heat the cookies on the warm stones around the fire as you roast your marshmallow, and then create the best sandwich ever. Yum.
WHERE TO FIND THEM: http://www.folksblogen.com/wordpress1/
SOUTH POND FARMS: http://www.southpondfarms.ca/kevin-mckenna/
