Brisbane pop-punk act Call The Shots have spent plenty of time on the road.
So they know a thing or two about preparing meals while on tour. Band members BBQ King and Yolo Chef aka Moke and Dionshare share five dishes they’ve perfected. “As [struggling] touring musicians we find ourselves on the road quite often. One of the dilemmas we face is eating healthily while trying to saving money. It’s easy to spend a lot of money eating takeaway, but everyone knows that food is gross anyway.”
Spaghetti alla carbonara
If you make this with cream then you’re doing it wrong! A traditional carbonara only consists of five ingredients: spaghetti pasta, guanciale (fancy Italian word for cured pork cheeks, but is far too expensive for us so we substitute bacon instead), cheese (pecorino and parmesan, but again pecorino is also too expensive for us so we just use parmesan), eggs, salt and lots of pepper. The creamy sauce is made by whisking together four eggs with one cup of finely grated cheese and then stirring it through the cooked bacon and drained pasta. Do this off the heat otherwise you may end up with scrambled eggs, bacon and pasta.
Lentil soup
Cheap, healthy and filling! Make a huge pot and it can be reheated for days! [Warning: causes flatulence. Cook at your own risk before long van drives!] Boil lentils in a big pot until soft. In a separate pot, fry up onions, garlic and chilli flakes (optional) until translucent. Add roughly chopped cabbage and chunks of pumpkin or any other veggies you find in the fridge where you are staying. Pour the cooked lentils in the veggie pot and add a couple of stock cubes, salt, pepper and various herbs to taste. A small amount of pasta can be added toward the end to thicken it up. There are no rules with this recipe, which is why I haven’t included quantities! Serve with parmesan cheese and a dash of extra virgin olive oil. Yolo Chef out.
Chilli con carne
This classic Mexican dish is great by itself, in nachos or as a burrito filler! The trick with this is to use lots of cumin. Fry up some onion and garlic until golden and then add one tablespoon of cumin to the mix. Some chilli powder never goes astray or you can add diced chillis (depending on how hot you like it). Let the flavours infuse then add the mince and cook through. Add some kidney beans (I like to mash them once they are heated a bit), a can of diced tomatoes, salt and let simmer for a good while. Serve with sour cream, guacamole and salsa. I love to get a good squirt of lime over the mince before I eat it too!
Van sandwich stack
Perfect for long overnight drives where there is no time to stop and no money for service station food. Butter an entire loaf of wholemeal bread (white bread gums up the works). Make a variation of Vegemite, peanut butter and jam, and Nutella sandwiches (no honey as it gets a bit messy later on when you’re fumbling for food in a dark van). Make three sandwiches with ham and cheese for consumption within no more than four hours as they could go bad in the summer (eat these first). Pile them into a stack and slip the original bread bag over the top and tie a knot. DONE. No stops till Newcastle.
BBQ Sausage Sizzle
Here’s an easy one. Our bass player (no name needed) has a portable butane burner stove that we take on the road with us. It’s come in handy countless times to cook up a simple sausage sizzle. All you need is bread, sausages and sauce. Can also be used to cook mean breakfasts with bacon and eggs.
Call The Shots will headline the free, all ages Homegrown 2014 festival at Kings Beach Amphitheatre, Caloundra, Saturday July 19, 10am-5pm.
Call The Shots Tour Dates
Sat Jul 19 - The Brightside (Brisbane)Sun Jul 20 - Tall Poppy Studios (Brisbane)
Sat Jul 26 - Wasted Years (Sydney)
Sun Jul 27 - The Red Rattler Theater (Sydney)
