Sunday, September 18, 2005

Hibache

Okay, I've figured out that a fair amount of people have no idea what a Hibache is. BBQing in Australia is rather different than in the US and it's taken me a bit of time to figure that out. The barby here in Oz refers to a gas bbq and they rarely use charcoal or hot beads as they call them here. Anyway, I was able to find a Hibache and BBQ World, or something like that.

A Hibache is a small metal tray in which you put charcoal briquettes. You need to have lighter fluid or some sort of fire starter. You light this and pile the charcoal up so they all get nice and hot. When it's time to cook you spread the charcoal out and then put the grilles over them. No one I travelled with from Sydney to Byron Bay had seen one before which surprised me. Even most Aussies said they never used them. I guess it's the American Way or something then. Anyway, they're easy to use, perfect for tailgating and the Hibache's been great in Vacilando, though it's taken a bit of a beating.

The Mothership Music Collection

Music is not a necessity for me when I travel, however, it does make a serious difference when driving. Vacilando has one speaker a half decent radio and a tape deck. I bought a converter for cd players and bought a $25 cd player. It broke. I've decided to concentrate on the tape collection instead The van had some tapes in it when I bought it and I've been slowly adding to the collection. Some are music I've been buying from bargain bins and others are tapes that I've made from the cd's of others. Anyway, here's what I've got to listen to.

Music Already in the Van
Robbie Williams
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Phil Collins
Elvis Presley
Dark Side of the Moon
REM
Destiny's Child
Janet Jackson
Kool and the Gang
Nelly Furtado

Music that I've Added
Parliament
Chemical Bros.
Led Zeppelin
Underworld
Deep Forest
Deep Dish
Al Jolson (actually Red gave me that one)
Sex Pistols
George Gershwin
Classical Music (compilation of all the biggies)
Burt Bacharach
Jamiroquai: A Space Odyssey
The Best of Arlo Guthrie
The Indigo Girls
Footloose Soundtrack
Guns and Roses: Lies