FASHION

Good, honest fun, along
with lethal cocktails, guitars
and crayfish have Brigitte
Monchouguy in high spirits
Alas many were under size and some were breeders so we did
the responsible thing and released them back into the ocean. We
gathered the remaining three lobsters and put on our snorkelling
gear to dive for Roe’s abalone, prying them off the surrounding
rocks and straight into our mesh bags.
Word around town was
that our friend, Crispin,
was holding a bona
fide Aussie bush party
to celebrate his 40th birthday. My
boyfriend, J and I decided to head
down south to check it out. We made
the three-hour journey from Perth
straight after work, stopping only for a petrol refill and chiko roll to snack on. Let it be said
that rural West Australian service stations are far from a culinary mecca.
renée martin designs
We arrived in Margaret River in total darkness and had to pitch our tent in the dead of
night, thankfully aided by head torches and my partner’s impressive camping skills. We
woke up the next morning under the blazing sun and drove straight to Redgate Beach
for a reviving dip, then took advantage of the low tide to bait our licensed crayfish pots
before cooking a breakfast of bacon and eggs on the barbie.
While the crayfish pots worked their magic we decided to visit Gunyulgup Galleries,
discovering some beautiful locally made glass sculptures and landscape paintings.
Then we headed to Crispin’s own little piece of heaven along the river, where he and
his wife have just completed building their three bedroom log cabin, set in untouched
bushland. A suckling pig was already roasting on a spit and we set about making Crispin’s
grandmother’s famous tea punch, a recipe which has been passed down from generation
to generation and is surprisingly lethal once laced with the requisite gin, rum or brandy!
Guitars and drums were brought out and we had a group sing-a-long underneath the
stars late into the night. It was good, honest fun.
The next day J and I went for our morning swim and checked on the crayfish pots. We
were elated to discover a total of 22 crayfish (Western Rock Lobsters) in our two pots.
Back at J’s brother’s house we prepared a feast of lobster and
abalone cooked two ways – one in a parsley, butter and white
wine sauce and the other with garlic and chili. Serving it with
a fresh grapefruit and almond salad, crusty Yallingup Bakery
woodfired sourdough bread and homemade lemonade, we
enjoyed a veritable feast from sea to table in less than two hours.
Delicious! Until next time, if you can’t be good, be good at it.
Mrs Underwood’s Tea Punch
A. Brew 2 tbsp black tea in 3 cups of boiling water. Let stand for 5
minutes then strain.
B. Dissolve ½ cup sugar in 2 cups of boiling water. Add a handful
of fresh mint and infuse for 5 minutes. Strain and while still
hot, stir in ¼ cup of red currant jelly. Combine A and B. Let
stand until cool.
C. Mix 2 cups of orange juice, 2 cups of pineapple juice and the
juice of 6 lemons. Combine C with A and B. Store in jugs or
bottles in the fridge until needed.
When ready to serve the punch combine 1/3 of the ABC
mixture with 2/3 cold ginger beer, lemonade or soda.
Spike with gin, rum or brandy and serve over ice in tea cups
with a fresh mint leaf as garnish.
Brigitte Monchouguy is a Seychellois legal
practitioner with a passion for social journalism. She
is happiest when travelling, with interests in music,
art, theatre and architecture. She also dabbles in
mixology and will be sharing cocktail recipes along
with her monthly escapades.
23 MARCH 2015 | POTPOURRI