Wild West Land Blog

If there’s one thing I miss downunder it’s decent TV shows - sure NZ has the usual crop of American imports including House, Lost and numerous others - but you don’t get so much of Channel 4’s output including the Essex boy chef himself, Jamie Oliver.

So what do I find I’m missing on TV this week? Part two of the foodie’s fabulous American road trip in the Kerouac style but probably featuring far more restaurants.

The Times features a selection of southwestern influenced recipes to make up for it: Flavoursome food from Arizona. Looks like I’ll have to investigate more options for tricking the 4oD system into letting me watch or else wait for the DVD.

My post last year about how to make a cowboy birthday cake (with handy video guide lasting less than 90 seconds!) remains one of the most popular for visitors to this blog.

So with that in mind I’m sharing this photo taken by Clarissa Lopez who runs ClariCakes out of Houston, Texas.

I have to say that’s a lot of cake for a one year old but if I lived in Texas I’d definitely ask her to make my next wild west birthday cake:

After a 3 month hiatus here at Wild West Land it’s time to climb into the saddle again and start blogging about all things western.

Why the silence at the start of 2009? Well the truth is I’ve been busy. Not busy in the household chores sense of the word and not busy as in locked up in the stockade either. I’ve been busy moving to the other side of the world, New Zealand to be precise, the land of Big Ben.

Big Ben you ask? Who he? Do you mean that big clocktower in London that appears on the HP sauce bottle? Did the Kiwis build Big Ben?

The short answer is no - ‘Big Ben’ downunder is synonymous with pies. In fact, Big Ben as a brand is New Zealand’s most popular pie. And Kiwis love their pies…

Western-themed marketing for the humble pie company appears everywhere in New Zealand, even on the side of V8 Supercars. In fact the company’s advertising campaigns have pulled in some odd comments for the way they embrace the masculinity of the cowboy tradition.

Ben’s pies are “great value for money for students” and, for me, a reassuring sign that the cowboy is a global icon recognised wherever you are. It makes me believe that running the Cowboy Country store from the bottom of the world is going to be possible AND fun in the Auckland sun.

Now that the container has been unpacked I’ll be posting regular updates with new scans from some classic cowboy cartoons and annuals. Plus did I mention the 2 week road trip from Phoenix to LA?

Pictures and video to follow but for now help Big Ben put together a classic Kiwi pie.

I keep driving past new, green McDonald’s outlets on my scooter travels around London. I don’t mean green in the ethical consumer sense but in the coloured frontage style many of the restaurants are now taking on.

I have to admit I don’t eat in Maccy-D’s all that often any more after reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. This isn’t due to a paranoid fear of the food but because I’m supposed to be looking after my health being over the age of 35 and with a worryingly high incidence of heart disease in the family genes. Plus if I ate too many cheeseburgers I’d need to invest in some haggar® Heritage Expandomatic® Trousers.

When I was a child McDonald’s were all bright reds and yellows with upbeat piped music all alledgely designed to ensure a rapid turnover of clientele who were subconsciously primed to eat more at a faster pace. Green on the other hand, I assume, will bring a noughties-style feeling of natural, organic healthiness to the brand.

Given the company’s legal resources I’ll move rapidly along to the real reason for this post - cow care top tips!

This new fangled internet has been around a fair few years now revolutionising the way all kinds of things happen and it’s only fair that farmers - traditionally thought of as being behind the times - should also make use of the joys of Web 2.0.

After stumbling across The Beef Blog I have discovered a whole world of online resources for cattle farmers including podcasts on iTunes, Chicago Board of Trade agricultural prices via text message and dedicated YouTube channels.

Jenni Glenn writes in the Fort Wayne, Indiana, Journal Gazette newspaper:

Think of it as moo media… Cattle farmers anywhere in the world can pull up YouTube’s Web site and watch Purdue University’s videos on grazing and breeding techniques… Online video channels and podcasts are building on a long tradition of agricultural radio shows, TV programs and magazines.

Purdue - the alma mater of the first and last men to walk on the moon - is obviously the place to go for beef betterment (Cattle Farming and Ranching 101) as well as rocket science.

If you really want to look after your cows though take a tip from this Oklahoma Cattle Hauler on Deb Goodrich’s great blog ‘Mason-Dixon Wild West’. After all, you want to ensure your cattle ride to market in style so what better way to recycle a battered Oldsmobile than to chop off the top and make room for one of your herd? I don’t think it’s a Photoshop job…

I’ve been adding more links to the Wild West Land links directory, concentrating on the Food and Recipe listings today.

Why food? Well, after starting work at 6am, I am feeling the need for sugar and so looking at pictures instead of gorging on chocolate makes sense from a waistband perspective.

In my travels I came across this fantastic video guide to making a cowboy cake in just 90 seconds (well that’s how long the video lasts) so if you’re looking to indulge this afternoon, enjoy.

If you want it quicker than 90 seconds and in the style of Gordon Ramsey: “cake, cut to tipi shape, ice, decorate, add cowboys…. DONE!”