Food TV

Although originally aired in July 02, this is the very first time I have seen this entertaining hour long episode of Good Eats. All I can say is, WOOHOO!!! I loved every second of it. From the comical reference to Gilligans Island, and the way the crew was trying NOT to wake him up, to the fun “disposal” of his coconut friend Coco, (in a man made oven… insert evil laugh here…).

The episode starts with AB writing in a journal by candle light, how he became trapped on this deserted island, and what foods he made to survive the ordeal. Writing out the recipes so that they might one day be included in survival packs. How very noble of him… The scene shifts to the accident that left him stranded in the first place, as well as him landing on the beach. In desperate search of something to drink he wanders inland. Without his glasses, finding something to drink may be difficult, but then he crashes face first into a coconut palm. After a long and difficulttime of trying to get the hard outer shell off the coconut, he stumbles onto a box left by the army. Amongst other various and sundry supplies he finds a hand grenade. With a gleam in his eye he looks back at the errant coconut… Several seconds and one loud boom later, we see the singed outer husk of the coconut, and the interior falling to the ground. And then we get the instructions to drill into 2 of the three “eyeholes” and drink. And a little bit of interesting history. Coconut milk is so pure that is was used as an intravenous nourishment solution in WWII soldiers. Weird…

What follows next is (mostly) typical Good Eats, but in a “hovel” rather than a kitchen. Recipe after recipe for coconut dishes, followed by papayas, mangoes, and eventually pineapples. He even made his own chocolate from cacao pods that were growing there too. Strangely, mangoes and cacao do not naturally grow in the same areas, and AB takes note of this fact, but is grateful to have found the mangoes nonetheless. And I, for one, have to say that I am really pleased at the section that teaches how to peel and cut a mango, as I once spent a good half hour, and got my hands very sticky, and very nearly lost a finger, trying to make a mango smoothie from scratch. In the banana grove, AB runs into a wild pig, and gets chased up a tree, (that is in fact how he discovered the papayas). Finally, craving a protien rather than seafood, he uses a final hand grenade to dispatch of said pig and makes a lovely sweet and sour pork. I shuddered a bit when he started the sweet & sour sauce with ketchup, but in the end it looked awesome!!!!!

After what is protrayed to be months and months on the island, AB steps out of the hovel to find a man with a surfboard. He is thrilled and throws himself at the man with enthusiasm, grateful beyond words to be rescued. The man looks at him with confusion and eventually tells him that they are on the island of Oahu, just outside of Waikiki… Silly Alton!

All in all, I really enjoyed Down & Out in Paradise, and wish that there would be more hour long episodes of the wonderful show that is… GOOD EATS.

Good day all, and until next time, why don’t you go see if anything’s up at the Hogwarts Herald…