Never trust a skinny cook!

Sorry state of Customer Service in Australia or Thanks Technika Melbourne... for stuffing me around!

2012-01-23T17:37:00.000-08:00

So about five years ago I bought a Technika upright, freestanding stove/oven from a local Retravision store, because we'd just had a complete refurbishment of the kitchen (actually a totally new build and I finally, after 30 odd years, got my dream kitchen!!). Has 4 gas burners and an electric oven and has served us well over the last five years I am happy to say.
On the 14 January I was cooking a moussaka (baking the eggplant in the oven) & when the timer went off to tell me to turn them over, I opened the door and it shattered - like a windscreen, BIG BADDA BANG! - into a gazillion pieces. Have no idea why it did that, and interestingly no one from Technika made any comment about it or even enquired as to whether the stove was new old or otherwise. For all intent and purposes, it could still have been covered under warranty, but no one asked.
So apart from losing all my preparations - eggplant, lamb mince, bechamel, prepped veg, it looked as though we were going to have to buy a new stove.
Got online & sent off an email in the 'contact us' area at Technika... but by 7.30am Monday 16 January 2012 had not received a reply so rang the 1800 number, because while it was 7.30am in Queensland, it was 8.30am in Melbourne!
Spoke to a chap in spare parts section by the name of Chetham, explained the situation to him and he advised that yes, the 600mm inner door was available and in stock, so I gave over credit card details & was assured the inner tempered glass door would be despatched promptly - I would receive it within 3 to 5 days.
Any chance it could be sent earlier? He said he'd put a 'rush' on it and perhaps it would arrive sooner but there was no guarantee. In any case, he assured me the replacement door would be in the pipeline tomorrow (Tuesday).
Because nothing had arrived by the end of the week, I rang on Friday 19 Jan asking about the order. Was told by same chap, it left on Tuesday. Which seemed odd because there had been no deductions to my credit card, & I don't know of any retailer or supplier who will ship goods BEFORE getting their cash! When I mentioned this, he went away, came back & blamed the accounts department & then admitted that the order had not been sent on Tuesday, it had only been sent the day before... so I wouldn't receive it until Monday.
Monday dawns & the hours slip by and still no deliveries.
By 3.30pm Monday I ring again because of the 'no-show'.
Ask to speak to the Spare Parts Manager, Justin, get left on hold for nearly 10 minutes and finally Chetham answers my call and he gives me a consignment number. He then gives me a Melbourne direct number of Direct Freight Express (ie a 03 number not a 1800 or 1300 number...) for me to check with the freight company on the status of my order. No offer to check it out himself and get back to me.
Got the distinct impression his attitude was 'not my problem lady, & it's nearly knocking off time'.
Not one but two silly bints on reception at Direct Freight hang up on me while directing my call to 'sales' despite my asking for operations dept. Not wasting any more time with Melbourne, so do a directory search for Bris & speak to a lovely lady called Cheryl who assures me there is no consignment for me or for that number so it must only have been sent today... arrrgggg!
Back onto Technika Melb - finally getting through to Manager Justin, who advises, "...sorry... yes um.... it left today". BY ROAD TRANSPORT. Won't be in Brisbane until at least Wednesday!
So no matter how decent the products are, 10 days for a turn around on products is just ridiculous. There was I thinking that going via a courier rather than Aust Post was a good thing! Hah!
So having paid $115 or thereabouts, it takes 10 days to get an item from Melbourne to Brisbane. No wonder people are buying via the internet! If I'd ordered the door from the USA it would have been here quicker (based on the arrival of other parcels purchased from overseas).
So, my word of advice to anyone considering a new stove/oven: do NOT - repeat do NOT - by Tecknika. why? because when it fails & you require service or spare parts guess what? there is NONE and the spare parts people lie through their back teeth telling you stuff has been dispatched when it hasn't. That it's on it's way, when it isn't.
They've lost me for sure. I will never even consider buying another Technika product & will spread the word wide & far.
Oh, and I still haven't received ANY reply to the online customer request for feedback I sent on 14 January. Am I surprised? NO!
The most galling part of the entire procedure was the bare-faced lies by staff to a customer.

OK, so I am in Queensland and pose no imminent threat to their operation, and they probably hate having to deal with the general public,but why on earth lie when it was so easy to catch them out?
All I can say is I am very glad I don't have high-blood pressure, gave up smoking a year ago or I think I may have just blown a gasket and suffered major heart problems! Shame I am so far away from Melbourne because the way I was feeling I could have cut their hearts, livers, kidneys and spleens out... with chopsticks! I was so disgusted with their attitude, lack of service and appalling customer service.

Day 6 - 2 December 2010 - Straddie!

2010-12-02T00:53:00.000-08:00

The downside of going to bed at an ungodly/unholy hour is that you also wake up at an equally ungodly/unholy hour... in this case 1.45am! Five hours sleep does NOT a full nights sleep make!
But after five hours, lets face it, you've slaked your tiredness and it's 'all systems go' - except YOU are the only one awake!
Glass of milk didn't help. Few games on pogo also didn't help. Ended up back in bed around 4am, read for a bit then crashed again... to sleep perchance to dream?
Then my bloody mobile goes off at 5.26am -clearly someone who does not value his/her life! AJ had to share that he'd JUST shaved off beard & moustache for naval entry interview on Friday 3rd @ 2pm. FFS! Why wasn't it done a week ago? Or last weekend? Or at least at some REASONABLE hour? Also can't find dress shoes (which he needs for Friday's interview).... hmmm... the last time you wore them... was.... when? "can't remember". "I'll give Nana a call, see if they are at her place."
No! You won't. It's bloody well 5.30am! They're NOT going to be there anyway. They are at YOUR home. Somewhere. Buried underneath something. Or tucked behind something. Or someone else may have 'borrowed' them...
What a way to start the day. But beyond all belief, it got worse.
There we were, sitting around having a quiet start to a Thursday, minding our own business, slothing out really. While we have been awake (thanks to AJ) since 5.30am, we've had coffee, put the mugs in soak in the sink, checked respective emails, made the bed, tidied up the kitchen, cleaned our teeth & abluted (no details, promise!) just contemplating whether to head for the beach for a walk -still too overcast & doubtful - or head for the Point and then shops - for daily consumables - then comes a knock at the door. At 9.30am! Or maybe it was 10am, was in shock! Housekeeping! Here to change the linen and clean up a bit. Bloody wonderful. Could have saved myself the trouble of making the sodding bed!
Day just gets better and better.
Fine. OK. Just give us a moment. Then the mobile trills. It's AJ. AGAIN. Moaning on about a tiff with Nana. Did I say "blah blah blah". She said you did. How could you! Housekeeper all ears. Bloody hell.
Can we have this domestic disturbance out of earshot of housekeeping?
Not a chance. On he rabbits... on and on... and on... and on... and on ... and finally we're at the car and still he's bemoaning his lot in life and his tiff with Nana & the fact Mitch's car isn't at 'home' and where the bloody hell is he? Doh! remember that thing called W O R K... well that's where he is.. and will be until at least 3.30pm. get over it.
And while we're at it, where the bloody hell are you?
"Near Avanti, just about to pull in there"
So you're DRIVING and TALKING ON THE MOBILE in your Dad's CAR? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?
"It's OK, I've got you on speaker phone and anyway, how many times have I crashed a car?"
A truly comforting thought. NOT.
Ten minutes later - it's only still about 10.15am and our day is rapidly declining!!! - AJW is STILL labouring the problems he's had so far this morning - stuffed if I know what the hell WE can do about it though!
Inevitably I hang up. Just can't get a word in edgewise and he's not interested in listening to anything I might have to say, just ranting on about how unjust and unfair his life is.
We ended up at the Point and just as we arrived the mobile goes off, yet again. No prizes for who's on the other end... No way am I answering it. Poor GJ does and HE cops an earfull. The call goes on for another 10 minutes, and eventually, after the same ground has been covered, yet again, the call is ended.
I know he's anxious about his interview with the navy tomorrow. A lot is riding on it. But he'd had over 4 weeks to prepare for it and it is out of our field of influence. It's up to HIM. Tomorrow is a much needed grab at the ring. We know he can do it. If he is prepared and has planned his presentation/approach. That's the big thing. IF. I'm sure he has prepared. I'm sure he has revised all the info the Naval recruitment agency sent him. I pray he has.

After a double shot cappuccino (we seem to need those a bit of late!) all is right in the world. The drama has abated, the phone is silent and we can once again resume the lazy, peaceful, untroubled pace to our daily routine.
Sky is still overcast but the sun is trying valiantly to peek through. On occasion it does, but not for long!
Finally finished A Tiny Bit Marvellous and have copied out the recipes at the back of the book. Will definitely be trying Dawn French's version of Nana Pamela's Banoffee Pie AND the Beetroot cake! Read a review of the book in an Angus & Robertson gift catalogue. Totally disagree with whoever it was did the review! It was a great read from start to finish - though has more relevance if you've actually HAD teenage daughters and/or sons and are/have navigated through menopause and/are/will be shortly 50!
Completed the clueless crossword, one sudoko puzzle and two other crosswords in the Aust. Women's Weekly December issue - so at least I can console myself to the fact I am not completely brain dead.
Not sure what we're having for dinner.... Gj was stuffed to the gunnels at lunch with leg ham & banana chutney samo & two slices of vegemite bread & butter.
Here are the recipes - if anyone remotely gives a damn - from the book. I reckon they are well worth trying and intend on doing so very soon! Maybe I'll get Jess to bring over some fresh beetroot as well when they visit on 10 December!!

Me? I've had one too many chardonnays. No surprises there. Could be left over bog or I might excel myself and whip up steak & all the trimmings. Time will tell.

Oscar's Banoffee Pie
Base:

200g digestive biscuits
100g pecan nuts
100g butter, melted

Caramel:

100g butter
150g dark muscovado sugar
250ml double cream

Topping:

3 large bananas
300ml double cream
1 Tblsp icing sugar
1tsp vanilla

Dark chocolate, grated/curled

Method:

Put the biscuits & nuts in a plastic bag and bash using a rolling pin.
Mix in melted butter.
Push mixture into the base of a pie tin and flatten until the surface is even.
Place into refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Melt the butter & brown sugar, once melted add the cream and let bubble away for 5 minutes until thickened.
Leave to cool.
Spread the caramel over the biscuit base.
Peel & slice bananas and lay over the caramel.
Whip cream, icing sugar and vanilla until soft peaks are formed, then spread over bananas.
Decorate with chocolate shavings place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Mo's Beetroot Cake

180g caster sugar
3 medium eggs
180g plain flour
180g almond meal
50g cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
200ml sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
200g raw peeled & finely grated beetroot

Icing:

170g icing sugar, sifted
2 Tblsp water
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 medium egg white
1/2 tsp vanilla
optional - drop pink food colouring
handful of chopped hazlenuts to decorate

Preheat oven to 180DegC.
Grease a 20cm tin and line base with baking parchment.
Whisk eggs and sugar for 5 minutes until pale & fluffy.
Add sifted flour, almonds, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
Beat well to combine.
Beat in sour cream and vanilla.
Squeeze out any excess liquid from grated beetroot and fold into the mixture.
Pour into prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes.
Remove and cool on a wire rack.
Make icing - Place all ingredients into a bowl and place on top of a saucepan of simmering water until sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally.
Remove pan from heat (with bowl in place) and place on heatproof surface and whisk on high speed until mixture forms stiff peaks.
Cover top of cake with icing and scatter over the chopped hazelnuts.

Dora's Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Topping:

1/2 pineapple
55g soft brown sugar
6 glace cherries

Cake:

170g self raising flour
100g caster sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
200ml milk
1/2 tsp bicarb soda

Preheat oven to 220DegC.
Grease a 23cm cake tin & line with baking paper.
Peel pineapple & slice into 6 rounds, each approx 1/2 cm thick.
Cut out the core from each then place into a large non-stick frypan along with the sugar.
Cook over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and then turn heat up and let bubble away for 10 minutes, turning occasionally.
Arrange pineapple slices in the cake tin in a neat pattern around the edge and one slice in the middle.
Fill the core area of each slice with a glace cherry.
Combine flour, sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl and create a well in the centre.
Add the eggs and milk and stir, pulling dry ingredients gradually.
Whisk in bicarb soda and then pour over pineapple slices.
Bake for 15 minutes until set & golden.
Leave to cool in tin for 5 minutes then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.

Denys' Whisky Cake

150g currants
150g sultanas
200g mixed peel
2 Tbls whisky
1 Tbls orange juice, plus zest of 1/2 orange
100ml water
180g caster sugar
180g butter
3 medium eggs
180g self raising flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp mixed spice
pinch salt
100g walnuts, chopped

Icing:

60g butter, softened
210g icing sugar
1 Tblsp orange juice
1 Tblsp whisky

Soak dried fruit in whisky, orange juice, zest and water & leave for at least 30 minutes (I'll probably leave it overnight for maximum absorption!) .
Preheat oven to 180DecC.
Grease two 20cm cake tins and line with baking paper.
Cream butter & sugar until pale & thick.
Beat in eggs one at a time.
Beat in sifted flour, salt, spice, bicarb.
Fold in walnuts, soaked fruit and liquid.
Divide mixture evenly between 2 tins.
Cook for 30 minutes, or until skewer comes out clean.
Leave to cool for 5 minutes then turn onto wire rack to cool completely.
Make icing:
Place butter in large bowl and sift in one third of the icing sugar.
Beat until combined then add remaining sugar the same way.
Beat in orange juice and whisky.
Spread a thin layer of icing on one cake, top with second cake and cover top with remainder of icing.

Not sure why, but I get the distinct impression that whisky should be spelt whiskey! Maybe it's an Aussie thing. Hope some of you try these recipes - especially Jess, you have to give this Banoffee a go! I will be!

Day 5 - 1 December 2010

2010-12-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

What a dreary old day it turned out to be! Absolutely bucketed down with rain over night, then deep cloud cover and intermittent rain all day long.
All I can say is thank GOD for laptops, wireless broadband connections and a host of great authors because we certainly needed them this 'fine' day!
Forgot to bring the beach towels & washing in yesterday so the whole lot is soaked... ah well, quick tumble in the drier and they were ready for use, not that the beach towels saw ANY duty!
Not only is it wet & miserable, it's pretty cool too so decided early on in the day that we'd have something comforting & warming for dins, ie: Spaghetti blognaise!
By 9am the red capsicum were roasting away in the oven, along side two heads of garlic. Love that aroma!!!
Quick browning of the topside mince, sauteing of carrots & onions and by 10am the unit was a fug of simmering bog!
So glad I bought my faux- le crueset saucepan, even though the bloody thing weighs a tonne.
GJ spent couple of hours in the morning WoWing while I alternated betwixt kitchen, book & laptop (facebook & email & blogging).
Ended up being so cold I had to drag out the long sleeve T & leggins, GJ meanwhile was swanning around in singlet top & shorts - made me feel cold just to look at him!
Lunch was a hot sausage w/onion on roll & a cupcake or two - I opted for a 'liquid' lunch, and it went down a treat!
After lunch the sky seemed to brighten & GJ suggested a walk down to home, to clear our heads & get some fresh air... moments later the sky darkened and down came another deluge.... ah well.... such is life.
In between downpours he did manage to take out the burgeoning rubbish bin & empty it & take a trek to the end of the track then bid a hasty retreat back to the warmth & creature comforts at the unit!
I, sensibly, stayed high and dry and didn't even venture past the front door... although I did spend short spurts on the (very, very breezy) verandah.
Had dinner about 6pm and it was truly one of my better bogs... perhaps the dreary day enhanced it. Who knows but there wasn't even so much as a teaspoon left on either of our plates. Nice thing about stewy/saucey dinners is that they're even better on day 2 or 3 and little effort required to re-heat! BONUS!
Might end up converting half of the leftovers to a lasagne, although the baking pan in the unit is very suspect. Might have to see if I can buy some aluminium bbq trays at least I'll KNOW where they've been.
Had to re-wash everything in the unit - God some people are grotty! If there weren't a dishwasher they could (possibly) be forgiven, but how hard is it to put the stuff in the dw and turn the thing on?
Some people are just selfish animals and do not deserve to be able to stay in a place like this!

Stayed up long enough to see QI on ABC then headed for bed- for some inexplicable reason I was utterly knackered, yet had done almost no physical exertion. Must be the weather.
We're both hoping tomorrow fines up so we can at least get out for an hour or two & catch some sea air.
No doubt I'll be up at sparrow-fart again tomorrow morning what with the early night, here's hoping it's a fine day!

Spaghetti Bolognaise

2 red capsicum (bell peppers)
1kg pork mince (I substituted topside mince/ground beef because I don't have my mincer here!)
3 brown onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely diced
1-2 heads of garlic
200-250ml tomato passata
200ml beef consomme
200ml cab sav or shiraz
oregano, sweet basil, parsley - finely chopped
olive oil

Preheat oven to 200DegC. Oil capsicums & place on baking tray. Wrap garlic in baking paper & add to the baking tray.
Roast capsicums until skin blackens & are tender - approx 30-40mins. Turn off oven & allow garlic to continue to roast in cooling oven until tender.
In a heavy based pan, gently heat a little olive oil. Brown the mince in batches then remove.
Add 2 Tblsp olive oil & saute carrots & onions over gentle heat until softened but not coloured.
Add passata to onions/carrots (I would also have used 2-3 stalks of diced celery but didn't have any at the time) and bring to a simmer.
Add consomme & red wine and bring to a simmer.
Add meat and simmer for around 3 hours - or longer! Keep checking that sauce hasn't evaporated completely! Add more wine or just plain water if required.
An hour before serving add fresh herbs. (NB If using dried herbs, they can be added at the end of Step 4, before adding the liquids)
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Remove cooked pasta to a large bowl (along with about 2-3Tblsp water from the pot) and toss through the bolognaise sauce. Spoon additional sauce over pasta once plated up.
Serve with warmed crusty bread or rolls, generous sprinkling of parmesan (FRESHLY GRATED) and a decent glass of red of your choice.

Bon Apetito!

Day 4 - Tuesday 30 November

2010-11-30T19:12:00.000-08:00

Home Beach 10.55am - we are totally alone! - looking towards Flinders

After another early start to the day, 5am!, and after our habitual coffee on milk I was again in the kitchen this time whipping up a batch of almond shortbreads (in between reading the last of Cross Fire & starting Dawn French's latest tome "A Tiny Bit Marvellous") We then decided not to waste such a beatiful day and headed down to Home for some more sun & a swim.
Got down to the beach just after 9.30am and spent a restful couple of hours enjoying the sun, surf and sand. Thought GJ was going to burst a blood vessel when a couple who had been walking up from Cylinder decided to dump all their trappings within 50 feet of us & went for a swim. Oddly it's usually me who has a rant about this, but not this time. I suggested they probably were just going in for a dip to cool off & would be on their way once that was accomplished. GJ was not convinced and was getting quite steamed up. Then lo and behold, the packed up their trappings and continued on their journey! Sometimes it does pay to think the better of people... but only sometimes.

Home Beach - looking toward Cylinder... no one there either! BONUS!

By 11.30am we were both feeling marginally parched and just a little cooked so decided to head back to unit for much needed refreshment and a cleansing, salt/sand removing shower. Bloody hot water system appears to be on the blink, so another call to the office. Seems the HWS was replaced just 3 weeks ago... so shouldn't be turning up it's toes!
Went for another trip up to the point, called in at the baker & got a vienna & some rolls (perhaps we'll have hamburgers tonight) and a sausage roll for GJ to nosh on for lunch.
Back at the unit we both got our noses stuck into our respective books... then GJ ventured onto WoW again while I headed for the kitchen to start dinner preparations.
Decided against hamburgers tonight and opted instead for Hoisin Lamb backstraps w/ rice & stir fry bok choy, capsicum, carrot, onion, garlic & one of my smaller home grown habernero chillies. Turned out a treat!
Did a load of washing while the lamb marinated & I prepped the veg for the stir fry.
Have discovered too that soaking the rice in cold water - draining and refilling in 15 minute intervals- yields a much better microwave cooked rice! Cooking time is drastically reduced and the (Basmati) grains hold up better.
I've been chortling all day to A Tiny Bit Marvellous - for some reason it really rings a bell - am positive Jess at age 16/17 thought I was as much of a pain as Dora does Mo in this delightfully funny tale about a dysfunctional family of four! Thank GOD those teenage angst years are behind us once and for all!!!
Took time out during the afternoon to catch up on Series 3 of Packed to the Rafters, episodes 1 & 2 (thanks hugely Jess xox) to which I have become as addicted as Brothers & Sisters.
Got a call from Angus saying he'd finally shaved off beard & moustache in preparation for Fridays interview with the navy... and suggesting/asking whether he could pay us a visit sometime.... hasn't been using the Giant Jaffa (GJs Corsair) much and is looking after it.
On checking my email this morning have received an email from Mum's brother-in-laws daughter Sue, to which she (actually her daughter Rosie) had attached a photo of Dad's sister Pat. It was eerie just how alike Pat and Dad were - they could have been identical twins (but for being of different sexes!). Sad to think that neither Pat nor Dad are here anymore and that they hadn't really had much to do with one another over the 50 odd years since Mum & Dad moved to Australia. Sad too that I don't have any recent photos of Dad, but perhaps they'll surface sometime.
GJ took one look at the photo & agreed with me - they were SO incredibly alike - however he did note one, startling difference... Pat smiled! Dad seldom did.
Nuff of that... we all make our choices and we lead the life we want to lead or are comfortable with. We can't second guess what anyone else chooses to do or be.
Dinner was fab - not a skerrick left, except for steamed rice which will be turned into fried rice either tomorrow or the day after.
Am feeling bereft of the Food Channel! I even tuned into Lifestyle and stayed watching because Nigella was on and it was a cooking show! How sad! I used to love Nigella, now I find her very contrived and her continual sexualising of food & food preparation makes me gag. But beggars can't be choosers and I'll take any cooking show I can at the stage! hehehe (Except for Aussie made Ready Steady Cook, Iron Chef America/Australia (which I don't think has started yet anyway) or, choke, vomit, retch, Huey's Cooking.
Being up since 4am - so as not to waste a minute of each day - is taking it's toll. By 7.30pm I was almost asleep on the lounge (GJ, shock horror, was deeply involved in WoW... surprise, surprise, surprise!) so headed to bed for another early night.
According to the weather forecast, tomorrow is likely to be tipping with rain, so we'll probably be spending the day indoors - not such a bad thing as we are both looking somewhat lobster-ish!

Day 3 - Monday 29 November

2010-11-30T18:35:00.000-08:00

East Coast Road/Mintee Street Pt Lookout - view to the south-east

It's a beautiful day today! Sun is shining, sky is blue, sea is even bluer and, thankfully, the northerlies have abated so there are NO bloody bluebottles at Home Beach!
However... because we'd spent a couple of hours at Home yesterday, we were both sporting a bit of sunburn so decided to stay out of the sun and away from the beach today.
After a rather delicious early lunch at The Look - we both opted for the Turf Panini w/ double shot cappuccinos - headed for Bob's Grocery to buy milk - sadly our Barambah organic milk was in short supply - some glace cherries for cupcake making later in the day, and some AAA batteries, which I'd forgotten to buy (drats, had to be something I suppose).
While we were at The Look an F1-11 from Amberley was going through it's paces in preparation for Friday night's lighting of the Christmas Tree in King George Square and did two circuits - 20 odd minutes apart - right over our heads. Caused quite a stir on peacefully quiet Pt Lookout, I can tell you!
Note to self: The Look is generally closed on Tuesdays!
GJ is really getting good use from the laptop & wireless broadband dongle - combining WoW (World of Warcraft - thanks Jess!) and the test!
Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, I whipped up some buttercake cupcakes with GJs favourite addition, quartered glace cherries.
Have to say, while I appreciate the convenience of my little Breville hand held mixer/blender, I DO miss my KitchenAid!!!!!!!!! Nevertheless, the hand held variety did it's job well.
Because we'd had a largish lunch, neither of us was particularly hungry. GJ opted for some good old vegemite on fresh bread & butter, followed by dessert of a cupcake or two.
Have not been imbibing wine for the last two days - somehow just didn't need the alcohol to help me relax... wonder why? hehehe Perhaps we SHOULD move to Straddie, am sure my liver would appreciate it (and certain interfering relatives!)
So today involved some baking, lots of reading, some tasty morsels and a couple of nana naps!
God I love holidays!

Straddie - Day 2 - 28 November

2010-11-30T18:13:00.000-08:00

Sunday 28 dawns (around 4.30am) and a lovely day looks to be in store.
After our obligatory coffee on milk, check in on fb, email, Wow etc, we head for the Point to check out Main Beach, pick up some bread & then, possibly, head down to Home for a swim and/or read on the beach.

Main Beach

South Gorge 7.35am - not a body in sight, nor even a footprint! Idyllic!

Called into the office @ Anchorage to advise that the kitchen light was dead-as-a-dodo. Please could we have a new bulb?
Decided on an early lunch of sundried tomato & basil sausages with fried onion/chilli on rolls for lunch while GJ caught up with the state-of-the-play in the Test at the Gabba.
It's always a marker of holidays - Test Match, afternoon naps & walks on the beach! PERFECT DAY!
Despite having an enormous stock of meats, vegetables etc to choose from, neither of us was particularly ravenous that night so we opted for a carbonara, which put the half leg ham I bought with us, to very good use!
We made a brief trip down to Home Beach before lunch, spent a lovely hour or two reading our books & enjoying being back here again, but didn't go for a swim. Perhaps tomorrow!
Not much of note on the idiot-box so we both retired to bed to read, am almost finished James Patterson's Cross Fire on my kobo. Not sure what I'll read next...

Let the Holidays Begin! 11am 28 November

2010-11-30T17:58:00.000-08:00

So it's technically Saturday morning (2.30am!!) and I am awake and rearing to get going! Am I mad? Who on earth, at 54 years of age, gets this excited over a holiday? I DO!
Furfle around for about 2 hours gathering must-haves for the next three weeks then finally return to bed to get some much needed sleep, finally waking around 5.30am.
The Big Red Cat is booked for 11am so we have time to take things leisurely - removing all cold, frozen, chiller foodstuffs & packing them into our makeshift eskies along with 2 bags of ice.
GJ has the van all packed by 9am & we plan leaving around 9.30-9.45am to give us time for any contingencies like traffic jams/delays/roadworks...
Just as well, as it turns out, we'd forgotten the test between England & Australia was on at the 'Gabba! traffic reduced to a snail's pace. Just as we pulled off the south east freeway into Vulture Street, my mobile starts trilling... it's Jess, advising about the traffic jam on Vulture Street! Weirdly coincidental is the fact that they are just four cars ahead of us in the jam!! (Weird because we hadn't synchronised our leaving time, it just happened that way!)
Once past the Gabba the traffic eases & we have a relatively unimpeded trip to Cleveland, arriving by 10.40am, with 20 minutes to spare! Big difference to last year when we missed the barge but they, very very kindly, came back for us! Wasn't going to let THAT happen again!
Once on the Cat/barge we headed for the passenger lounge, where Jess & Alex were already ensconced at a table for four at the far end, right near the big screen tv so the boys could watch the cricket during our crossing.
Got to Anchorage around 12.15pm and started the unpacking. Thank GOD for Jess & Alex!!!! With their efforts the whole shebang was upstairs in record time - a mere 45 minutes or thereabouts - and GJ was NOT dropping from exhaustion (as per previous trips) nor had the need for a good lie down (also as per previous trips!)
Instead we headed off to The Look for lunch - iced coffees & beer battered chips for GJ & I, lemon,lime & bitters for Alex & Jess, wedges for Jess & lightly battered calamari, salad & b.b.chips for Alex.
We headed back to the unit, for a good lie down & catch up on the cricket for GJ, finish unpacking clothes etc for me, while Alex & Jess had a furfle around Pt Lookout & grabbed an ice cream ($4 per scoop!!) from the Gelataria.
The boys then both had Nana Naps while Jess & I took a stroll down Home Beach towards Flinders. Really took me back, she & I out beachcombing on Home, it's been years since the kids came with us for holidays & I sometimes miss that!
They were heading out to a birthday bash at Kedron Wavell that night, so booked their barge for 6pm giving them time to get home, grab a bite to eat, get dolled up & head off for a night out. Felt for Alex, given the amount of mileage he had chocked up that day already and still more driving to do.
We ended up having a light dinner of leg ham & banana chutney rolls. Alex & Jess 'do' breakfast on Friday & Saturdays and the cafe/restaurant they frequent also sells their own home-made chutney/pesto etc. so Alex bought GJ a jar of their banana chutney, which was outstanding and a big hit!
Given we'd both been up since the crack of dawn and had put in a pretty huge day it was not surprising we headed for bed early... as the saying goes... early to bed, early to rise ... (is supposed to make a man healthy, wealthy & wise... evidence of which is not apparent.... yet!)

Dawn 4.38am Sunday 28 November 2010

Woke up twice during the night, heard the surf crashing on Home beach & couldn't help but smile sleepily.... WE'RE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love going to sleep/waking up to the sound of surf!

Lead up to Annual Hols on Straddie...

2010-11-30T17:32:00.000-08:00

Well it's been an enormous year for the Wightmans, one way or another.
Thankfully, GJ (aka Pherret) and I are currently enjoying a well deserved holiday... yes... on Straddie.
We ARE creatures of habit and Straddie holds many fond and dear memories for both of us.
I always vowed that once the kids left home and we were 'free agents' we'd make many a weekend trek to Straddie to recharge our batteries.
Sadly that has not been the case this year. Perhaps 2011 will afford us a little more time and luxury to indulge ourselves.
Hold the phone! Did I say indulge? Hardly seems an apt phrase!
So here we are again, enjoying the laid back lifestyle and lack of fuss which Straddie offers. It's one of those idyllic places - sadly too few of them left in the 'real' world! - where time seems to have stood still, just for a while.
If you love the Gold Coast & Sunshine Coast, you're probably not that interested in the Straddie lifestyle!
We can't get enough of it! No high rise, no 'tourists' to speak of (most of the population - transient or otherwise - are LOCALS one way or another.
We may only come here for three weeks a year but on our return each year we are greeted with a 'welcome back!' "has it really been 12 months? how time flies!"
Almost like The Gap by the sea... perfect. Totally perfect! For us at least.
The week leading up to our departure is always impossibly hectic. Workwise GJ has to accomplish everything that has to be done and then some, this year made even more tenuous because his entire office was relocated from Herston (opposite the old Museum) to Breakfast Creek/Newstead. One week before his holidays - well, actually four short days because the Friday was his RDO - he had to up tools and start packing his area for relocation by movers/packers over the weekend, then spent the Monday putting everything back together again in a completely new locale!
On my side of the work fence I had two short weeks between Echos and, miracle of miracles, actually managed to get both the November and December/January editions out and completely finished with two days to spare!
So on Monday 22nd I received what I believed to be my last visit from Ray Charles, with whom I have been Echoing for the last 16 years. Ray has been the mainstay in the production line of the Echo, printwise. Firstly at Warwick Newspapers, then at Sunshine Coast Newspapers and finally at Beaudesert Times.
After 17 odd years I count Ray as a friend, not a business associate, so our 'final' meeting was bound to be somewhat emotional! Every month for at least the last eight to 10 years Ray has been calling on me to collect the artwork and colour proof pages, winging them back to the printing press and watching over my 'baby' to make sure everything goes as (I) planned.
Because I managed to get the Dec/Jan issue finished by Saturday evening I was then able to devote time on Sunday 21 November to baking some goodies for Ray to take away with him when he called at 10am on Monday.
I thought it only fitting as he had, over the years, sampled a good many baking treats and this would be the very last time I could FEED him! End of an era really. And very sad, because I will miss his visits and chats!
On Tuesday I spent the entire day watching series two of Packed to the Rafters! Such an indulgence! Such great fun!
Wednesday saw me heading for the supermarket/s for provisions for our three weeks away. Straddie is a wonderous place to visit, but a God awful hole for shopping, especially if you're into cooking! So EVERY possible contingency has to be covered!
First up was Woolies where I parted with around $500 but still didn't manage to get all our staples for our 3 week stay. Then on to Coles for the remainder - then home to pack the lot into manageable boxes for our trip over the bay on Saturday.
That accomplished I felt inordinately pleased with myself. For once I was actually ahead of schedule!
Then the call to say the Echo had arrived back! Woo hoo! The Gods of Printing were conspiring against me though as there was one last glitch for the 2010 year. While I had booked & provided artwork for 32 pages of full colour (out of a total of 48 pages) the print room had only printed 24 pages in full colour. FFS! I must have done something dreadfully wrong in a previous existence! So there were disgruntled advertisers to call and break the news to - it would have been such a colourful and great issue had all gone to 'plan'... but the best laid plans often go astray.
While many were not happy they did understand and were willing to forgive (if not forget) and the promise of free colour in the first edition of the new year certainly helped ease their angst.
Thursday 25 I spent the morning compiling invoices, and checking on remittances paid and overdue.
Angus and Mackie had conspired together to make life a little easier by doing the commercial deliveries, some 700 copies, which took a huge pressure off my shoulders! So on Thursday afternoon I trucked the 800 copies around to Mackie in preparation for the start of commercial deliveries on Friday morning.
Friday dawned and with it the realisation that in less than 24 hours we would again be on Straddie! Such a wonderful feeling!
By midday I was at FreshAz butchery waiting while Chris and Adrian patiently packed, weighed and cryovacced my order - plus extras for our housesitter Mitch, so he didn't starve over the 3 weeks he'd be housesitting!Last year Chris, bless his little cotton socks, loaned us his enormous esky to transport the meat! He even offered again this year but the bloody thing took 3 people to lift! so I politely declined his generous offer and made 'do' with two broccoli boxes (polystyrene) with lids. We didn't even use our own eskys as they ALSO are BLOODY HEAVY once filled to the gunnels!
By the time I got home Angus & Mum had returned from commercial deliveries & were enjoying a quite beer while GJ was out mowing.
The rest of the afternoon was spent gathering all the bits & pieces together that I'd need for a modicum of living comfortably/cooking as per usual, for the next three weeks.
Also cleaned out any undesirable 'dead' or 'dying' things from the fridge & relegated them to the wheelie bin!
Ended up back at FreshAz to collect newly rolled fillets - couldn't last 3 weeks without our steak of choice!! No bloody way!
Friday seemed to fly by and before we knew it it was already dinner time! So it was a quickie, as neither of us was particularly hungry - GJ because of his physical labours of the day (cleaning/chlorinating the pool & mowing front & back so we wouldn't come home to a forest of Sir Walter!) and me because I'd already had 2 or three wines and wasn't feeling hungry at all.
Filled with excitement yes, because tomorrow we'd be - finally - on Straddie again!

Am seriously, I mean SERIOUSLY, in love with my new KitchenAid!

2010-11-12T00:18:00.000-08:00

So I finally bit the bullet. Retired the old Breville bought a mere 3 years ago, and purchased a Kitchen Aid Artisan mixer (hereafter to be known as simply KA). I'd had a decent couple of days and hadn't really bought anything of note so far this year... (that's a bare faced lie!) ... and in a moment of pure impulse - thanks to facebook ads I might add - headed to Everten online to checkout their appliances.
Unfortunately I HAD had a wine or too and consequently didn't see the Deluxe version (with pneumatic lift!!! ooo aaaah) but it was a moot point because they weren't available at that time anyway. (Phew!)
Part of my renewed desire to own one of these babies was seeing it in action on a Anna Olsen cooking show where she plugged in the pasta attachment and within moments was churning out awesome fettuccine!
So the die was cast and I had a burning need to buy one! Was miffed I was so impulsive/inebriated and 'missed' the Deluxe version but the Artisan lives up to all my wildest expectations.

In any case it worked out well because not only did I buy the Artisan but also the three set pasta attachment, for about the same price as I would have paid had I only bought the Deluxe. BONUS!
So the order was placed, EFT transmitted, confirmation of order approved and in 5 short days I had my hot little hands on the shiny red beauty!
As the only member of our family who actually bothers to RTFM (ie: read the -expletive - manual) as soon as I had it unpacked I was nose first in the sizable manual (which was disappointing because it really was only about 15 pages, but was translated into every imaginable language on earth!) then sitting comfortably viewing the instructive DVD which was thoughtfully provided.
The timing couldn't have been better as it was GJs birthday that week so I vowed that the first tasty morsel to be lovingly prepared in my KA would be GJs birthday cake - a feather light sponge which Maggie Beer replicated from Stephanie Alexander, filled with lashings of whipped cream and new season Glasshouse Mountains strawberries!

I should note at this time that I have made this particular sponge twice before (using the Breville... ho hum) and have not had such spectacular results as I did with the KA!
The KA has pride of place and easy access at all times and has so far produced: two loaves of crusty vienna, one loaf of multigrain (for Mum for her birthday), 2 dozen cherry buttercakes, 2 batches of home made pasta using the dough hook and 2 large batches of spaghetti using the spaghetti cutter and, because it was Mum's birthday this week, made her the Celebration Fruit cake which I also made her last year (yes, using the Breville) and, once again, the cake was far superior to those made in bygone years.

My old hand cranked pasta machine is awaiting relocation to its new home - with Jess and Alex as custodial parents - and I am utterly in awe of how easy pasta making now is thanks to the KA! Gone are the hours of laborious kneading - no WONDER Italian mamas have biceps like longshoremen - and the annoying task of trying to find a 'bench' thin enough to accommodate the ridiculously narrow clamping tool!

I took Mum to the Good Food & Wine Show in Brisbane for her birthday and discovered that the KA now has a glass bowl attachment... definitely on my wish list! Either that, or another s/s handled bowl, although it doesn't take that much effort to wash it for reuse. So maybe I'll make it the COPPER BOWL!!!!!!!!!! A mere $400 odd .... yeh right, it will be still on my wish list when they scatter my ashes on Straddie!
So, for anyone out there contemplating whether they should take the plunge (and mortgage the house...) and buy themselves a KA, I would emphatically say YES YOU SHOULD!
While the Breville was a look-a-like version, it failed to live up to expectations. I was constantly stopping the machine to scrape down the sides, the head was far too large and didn't allow easy addition to the bowl (most times I'd have to stop the mixer, lift the head, add the ingredients, then drop the head, start the machine. A nuisance, granted, but an ongoing cause of ire), was incredibly noisy and the wire beater seemed to develop a 'tarnish' around the locking head after a while, which left black aluminium on your hands. yuck!
With a seemingly endless supply of attachments for the KA, the kids and Graeme will NEVER be stuck for gift ideas again, so really I was being totally unselfish in my purchase, wasn't I? Removing all that angst about 'what CAN we buy her?' for quite a few presents in the future...
hehehe
Yes, I am almost as besotted with my KA Artisan as I am with my treasure of a husband, GJ who didn't even blink an eye when I said I'd spent the best part of $1,000 on a KA.
The old Breville has found a new and loving home at Mum's - much to Jess' chagrin. But then we did buy her a Sunbeam mixmaster last Christmas, so at least she has one, which Mum did not.

Recipes:
Buttercake

160g softened (room temperature) butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean extract
225g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp carraway seeds

Preheat the oven to 160DegC.
Grease and line (with greaseproof paper or Glad Bake) a round 20cm cake tin.
Sift flour and baking powder twice.
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and thick.
Add eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. (Adding them too quickly will result in a 'curdled' mix)
Add sifted flour/baking powder and milk alternately on medium speed, until thick and well blended.
Gently fold through the carraway seeds.
Spoon into prepared baking tin and cook for between 40 and 50 minutes, until lightly browned and a skewer comes out clean.
It really doesn't need any more embellishments - has a wonderful, but subtle, spice flavour.
Store in an airtight container.
Fabulous with a cup of tea!
This used to be a huge favourite of my Dad who hailed from London's East end. Strangely my Aussie husband, who's grandparents were Scots, introduced him to "seed cake" as it's called in the UK and is one of his favourite cakes as well. There are a great many things we have to thank our forbears for... Seed Cake is one! Another twist is to add 150g glacé cherries, lightly dusted with plain flour to prevent them sinking during cooking, instead of the carraway seeds, for a Dundee variation. Decorate top of cake with blanched whole almonds. You can also make Carraway Seed Cupcakes.

Celebration Fruit Cake

100g sultanas
100g raisins
200g glacé cherries
100g glacé apricots
100g glacé pears
100g glacé peaches
100g glacé pineapple
100g glacé ginger
125g blanched almonds
250g butter at room temperature
220g caster sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
150g plain flour
150g self raising flour
60ml Cointreau or curacao or brandy
¼ cup apricot jam

Preheat oven to 100DegC.
Pick through the sultanas & raisins and remove any stalks. If raisins are large & plump, cut in half, place into a large bowl.
Quarter cherries, roughly cut up the remaining glacé fruit add to the dried fruit.
Add the orange liqueur, cover with plastic wrap & allow to steep overnight - or at least an hour or two.
Place almonds onto a lined baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes or until slightly browned and aromatic.
Remove from oven, allow to cool then place into an airtight container.
Line a 30cm round or square cake tin with baking paper - be sure to use at least 6 layers on the base of the pan and extend the sides by at least 4-5cm (the cake bakes for between 1½ and 2 hours so the height of the sides and thickness of the base will prevent scorching/burning)
Beat butter and sugar until pale and thick.
Add beaten eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Put jam into a small bowl & 'loosen' the jam by adding a splash of Cointreau & mix well.
Fold in the fruits, nuts and jam/liqueur into the butter/sugar mixture.
Gradually add sifted flours. (the mixture is quite dense and stiff)
Spoon the mixture into prepared baking tin and level the top with a spatula.
Bake for 1½ hours & check with a skewer. If required return to the oven and cook in 10 minute increments. Keep a watchful eye to prevent overcooking/burning.
Remove from oven & cover tightly with aluminium foil and allow to cool completely.
Once cooled, remove from pan and wrap in clean greaseproof paper then wrap in aluminium foil to maintain freshness.
For a more boozey cake ;-) pierce top of warm cake with a skewer and spoon over added orange liqueur or brandy. I cut all the glace fruit to roughly the same size, which took an age, but was well worth the effort.

Crusty Vienna

1 x 600g pouch Blue Lighthouse Crusty vienna flour
3 tsp dried yeast
60ml olive oil
350ml tepid water
2 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp salt

Mix yeast, sugar and water in a small bowl & allow yeast to activate in a warm place.
Place flour & salt in mixer bowl, add paddle attachment & mix well.
Once yeast/water/sugar has foamed, gradually add to flour along with olive oil, with mixer on speed 4.
When mixture is amalgamated, remove paddle and insert dough hook.
Knead for 3-4 minutes on speed 2.
Stop mixer and remove dough from hook, scrap sides if necessary and knead for further 3-4 minutes.
Lightly grease a large stainless steel or glass bowl and place dough in. Cover with plastic wrap and leave for around 30-45 minutes until dough has tripled in size.
Knock back the dough, and lightly hand knead on a floured board.
Lightly flour a loaf tin and place dough into tin, pushing down & out to fill tin.
Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rest & rise in a warm place for a further 30-45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200DegC.
Cook loaf for 25-35 minutes.
Test that loaf is cooked by knocking on the top crust - will sound hollow if cooked through.
If you lose these instructions, the Blue Lighthouse people have thoughtfully included a recipe on the back of the box!

Memories.....

2010-10-02T00:51:00.000-07:00

Just recently discovered Frills in the Hills blog and oh my, has it taken me back in time about 25 odd years!
Liss is a mother of three, six year old Eloise and five year old twin girls Laura and Olivia.
Having twins is no easy road - I know, I've been there done that! - I can only imagine how it would have been for Liss having a 19 month old as well.
Every outing we had I encountered numerous ladies who would descend upon us and proclaim how much they wanted twins or triplets! Were they mad? Absolutely!
Unlike Liss, Angus & Jessica were my first so I had absolutely no foreknowledge of child rearing. Graeme and I are both 'only children' so we had no wealth of experience to draw on from other siblings. After the babes arrived, for those first 6 months I was an automaton. I functioned (barely) on minimal sleep, minimal interaction with anyone other than my gorgeous Graeme & Mum & Dad, and my day was stricly regimented to accomplish all the necessary domestic & baby related chores which just had to be done. I wouldn't change a thing - but it was unbelievably frightening to find yourself solely responsible (between 8am & 6pm, anyway) for two tiny babes, which we nicknamed the munchkins.
Compounding this, the Queensland government had become embroiled in a massive dispute with the electricity provider, SEQEB, which Graeme worked (and still works) for. Strikes were called and Graeme took holidays, so as not to align himself with the hard nosed union band. By the time the children were born (3 days over due date! and at more than full term!) he had no holidays left so I was bringing the babes home alone... daunting! Terrifying in fact!
I am a firm believer that everything which you encounter in life is put there to test you and you never (or seldom) are tested beyond your limits. This was ONE HUGE TEST THOUGH! I felt utterly out of my league and beyond my depth. Somehow we all survived... miracle of miracles! The one thing I regret to this day is the need, well, my perceived need, to keep to a schedule. It worked for me/us. I don't honestly think the munchkins or I could have survived (as well as we did) had I not been manically disciplined in routines. Routines which never shifted, until the munchkins were well into their second (or perhaps third) year.
There were no 'baby capsules' back then, so even a car trip posed a logistical nightmare! While still pregnant - by the 12th week the ultra sound had given us the 'good' news... OMG!!!!!!!!! .... - I commissioned a double bassinet which we used in our car until the munchkins were old enough to go into Safe'n'Sound car seats. Lugging that bassinet with two babes was enough to break your back!
Luckily things have changed for multiple birth mums! Even though having an instant family is no easy task, going back 25 plus years, things were so much different.
Take shopping. These days there are mutli-seat trolleys and the entrances to supermarkets are wider, accommodating not only wider trolleys, but wheelchairs as well. Back in 1985-95 the entrances were single turnstiles... which made it really interesting.
90 percent of the time I used to have to shop (until Angus & Jess were old enough to accompany me) when Graeme was home to babysit. There weren't even baby capsule trolleys, so on the odd occasion I just HAD to shop when Graeme wasn't home, I'd have Jess in a possum-pouch (strapped to my front) and Angus in a backpack (strapped to my back). Angus would be put in the backpack at the back of our Liteace van first, because it had a stand alone function. Then I'd put Jess into the possum pouch and slip it onto my front. Then I'd have to turn around & slip the harnesses of the backpack over both arms, while crouching, then strap the backpack around my waist & we were off! By this stage I was physically knackered and we hadn't even got out of the carpark!
By the time they were too big (around 12 months) for this manoeuvre solo shopping trips required two trolleys. One for the kids & one for the shopping. I was like a push-you-pull-me from Dr Doolittle! The kids were always in the front trolley (so I could see them) & I would pull the burgeoning shopping trolley behind me. It was a comic sight! But it worked. Sort of. I have such pangs of reminiscences when I encounter mums of twins or triplets shopping. They were the best of times, but they were also the worst of times! And not for reasons you may imagine!
Jess & Angus were not allowed to touch things during our shopping trips. That came about when on one shopping trip with them, with both in one trolley and our shopping in another, one of them - can't remember who - leaned over and reached for something on a shelf. The next thing I knew the trolley was tilted at 45 degrees and both went (head first) into the metal shelving! The shopping trolley got left behind in the aisle & we bade a hasty retreat to home to patch up scratched & bruised faces & arms & hands. Two year olds plunging face first into metal shelving was frightening.. gave me nightmares for days.
I think it's wonderful that mums can now shop with multiple kids of same or differing ages in relative comfort.

Thursday 10 December 09

2009-12-10T02:29:00.000-08:00

It probably appears as though I spend all my time these holidays either blogging or on facebook! Well I have to tell you, it's just not so! A goodly portion of these holidays is devoted to catching up reading! Proof follows....

13 of the books right to left are mine...currently got my nose in The Scarpetta Factor

the other 13 books to left are GJs... he always goes for LARGISH tomes (which he reckons take him longer to read)

Thursday 10 December - these days are just whizzing by. Do wish they'd slow down a bit - am really enjoying being 'on hols' and have no desire whatsoever to return and enter the Christmas fray!
Spent a lovely morning down on Home, light breeze, sun was incredibly hot though - lucky we had the Shelta sun shelter! Had lunch (leg ham, salad & potato salad rolls) then both of us succumbed to heat, surf & sun and had a Nana Nap....
Still quite warm so opted for a 'light' dinner - GJs choice - of buttermilk pancakes & berry compote. I figured after the last offering from The Look, I could probably whip these up in next to no time and at least the berries would be generously dolloped!(I wasn't wrong!)

Dinner tonight - pancakes & berry/stonefruit compote... YUM!

Exceedingly delicious buttermilk pancakes - in the pan!

Buttermilk Pancakes
2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarb soda
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tblsp caster sugar
oil/butter to cook pancakes

Sift flour, baking powder, bicarb and sugar into large mixing bowl.
Beat the eggs, add vanilla and buttermilk.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the egg/milk combo.
Whisk until combined.
Grease a nonstick pan on medium heat.
Add 1 cup of batter and cook, on med heat, until bubbles form and 'pop'.
Flip and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.

Delicious berry compote, with fresh peaches & vanilla

Berry Compote
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 Tblsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups berries - fresh or frozen - I also added a sliced fresh peach, so stonefruit works alongside the berries well

Place sugar and water in saucepan & bring to a simmer. Cook for around 5 minutes.
Add fresh (or defrosted) berries (and stonefuit).
Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool a little.

'Tis now 9pm, and Nana Nap notwithstanding, I am heading for bed... it's hard work being on holidays! (hehehehe)

Tuesday 8 December '09 - Day 10

2009-12-07T22:34:00.000-08:00

It's been a quite few days - we kept a low profile over the weekend as the place was teeming with weekend tourists, most of whom departed late Sunday. Although, sadly, there are a few extra bodies staying on.
Sunday we spent most of the day at the Unit - apart from a dash to the shops for milk, cream, bread and the Sunday paper, with a detour to the Markets (run by Noreen for a squillion years) which showcase crafts locally made. Bought a new cypress chopping block, toilet roll (6) holder and a replacement "time for a drink" clock (all points on the dial are '5')!
Made a trip back to Dunwich to the fruit & veg barn where I picked up some more oranges, peaches, a bunch of asparagus, a jar of Beerenburg pickled onions, a cauli (to go with tonight's chicken surprise) and a rough pine.
GJ stayed put at the unit and then went for a quick swim down on Home while I put the shopping away and got the Chicken Surprise started...
I've discovered that the Abbotsleigh Farm organic chickens are absolutely fantastic, so bought one with us for a roast dinner whilst we're here. Tonight's the night!

Chicken Surprise!
-------------------------
Wash & dry the chicken, removing any excess fatty desposits.
Loosen the skin from the breasts by easing fingertips between flesh and skin.
Insert about 2 Tblsp butter into each pocket, between skin and breasts.
Cut 1 lemon in half and 1 head garlic in half - across the cloves (horizontally) and insert into the chickens rib cavity. (I find putting lemons in first with cut side facing up then balance garlic heads (cut side facing upwards yields good, flavoursome results).
Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt & freshly ground black pepper and bake for around 90 minutes, basting regularly.
We also had cauli cheese, roast potato, roast sweet potato, asparagus spears, peas & of course, gravy.
Luckily there was plenty of leftover meat for sandwiches the following day.

It seems the insinkerator is jammed - not disconnected, as we'd been told. GJ discovered a rather mangled teaspoon sticking up and managed to extricate it, so now the thing is working and we saved (the owners) the expense of having a plumber called in!
Discovered that we're having another clean tomorrow, so we have to bail the unit between 8.30-9.30am... wonder where on earth we'll go? The Look? For breakfast perhaps? (Bloody good likelihood!!!)
Home Beach was once again deserted and happily it was low tide by about 10am so we headed down for a swim & sit on the beach & read our books. While the gale force winds have eased, there was still a good breeze blowing constantly - a trap for the non-initiated - making it very pleasant to spend (more time that you realise) basking in the sun (and subsequently getting fried!). Had a quietish afternoon - GJ watching the cricket (with sound off, thankfully) & reading & I reading Patricia Cornwells "Scarpetta" on the verandah. I could seriously get used to this lifestyle!
Lunch was leftover roast chicken sandwiches w/ lettuce and iced coffees. So neither of us were feeling particularly hungry so we opted for the (leftover from Saturday night) carbonara which went down a treat.

Spaghetti Carbonara
-------------------------------
200g spaghetti, fettucine or linguine
1-2 cups of julienned leg ham (or bacon)
1/2 spanish (red) onion, finely diced
2 spring onions - whites finely chopped, greens more chunky
200ml fresh cream
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup parmesan (finely grated-microplaned)
1 cup grated tasty cheddar cheese
salt & pepper
Cook pasta until just under al dente.
Fry onions, ham (or bacon) until just cooked - onions should be transparent and soft.
Beat eggs and cream and salt & pepper.
When pasta is cooked, drain and return to pan then toss through the onion/ham(or bacon) & mix well.
Return to stove on low heat.
Add the egg/cream mixture and gently fold through the pasta, once the sauce starts to cook out (slightly thicken) finally add grated tasty cheese and parmesan and chopped spring onions. Gently toss to incorporate & serve immediately.
Both of us were feeling the effects of a goodly amount of sun, surf, food, wine and headed for bed at the unheard of hour of 8pm! (Better than my efforts on Sunday though - was in bed fast asleep by 7.30pm!!)

Tuesday dawns slightly overcast, although I have a feeling the cloud cover will dissipate pretty quickly once the wind picks up - which it does.
We've cleared the decks for the cleaners by 8.15am and are heading for The Look for a leisurely breakfast and some rather excellent coffee.
First a trip to the Point to check out the surf situation - quite a few bodies on Main and 'out the back' then a busload of school kids turns up and we make a hasty retreat.
Collect hamburger rolls & high top from the bakery & make our way to The Look...

Breakfast at The Look - Tuesday 8 December

We are nothing if not predictable - GJ had the pancakes (again) although they must have had a run on them because there were exactly 4 (that's FOUR) berries - 1 raspberry and 3 blueberries adorning his pancakes today (usually there's about 3 tablespoons of them!) and I opted (again) for the soft poached eggs, bacon and toast, along with two double shot cappuccinos. Awesome way to start the day, imho.
After gorging ourselves at breakfast (which we seldom do in truth) we headed for the Point off Cylinder Beach, which we've not yet visited. Looks as though an incredible amount of sand has been stripped from Cylinder, but all it will take is one decent storm and the sand will be returned.

Cylinder Point looking towards Home Beach and Adder Rock

Cylinder Beach - Home Beach

Cylinder Point towards Adder Rock and (in far distance) Amity Point

We spent a fabulous hour at Cylinder Point enjoying a gusty breeze, watching a family of manta rays, a very agile and quick swimming smallish shark and the odd walker along the track between Cylinder, Deadman's and Frenchman's beaches.
Unit had been visited by the cleaning faeries - although again, they hadn't vacuumed the floors and sand is a bitch to sweep up effectively! Ah well...
Washed our beach towels -they were getting salt encrusted and thought about what to prepare for dinner tonight. Opted for eye fillet with salads -so popped some potatoes and eggs on to boil for the potato salad. While I was at it (chopping onions & garlic) decided to make up a batch of hamburgers for 'ron....(late' r on) and now have 10 rather largish hamburgers on-tap for a day or night when we don't feel like something HUGE for lunch or dinner! (That's a joke...btw)
Potato Salad
--------------
6 potatoes, quartered
4 cloves garlic, squashed & peeled
1 Spanish onion, finely chopped
5 hard boiled eggs
4 Tbls whole-egg mayonnaise
1-2 Tblsp flat leaf parsely
2 spring onions, chopped

Place the potato chunks and garlic into a saucepan & cover with cold water.
Bring to a simmer and add a pinch of salt.
Meanwhile place eggs into a saucepan of cold water and bring to a simmer.
Cook for 6 minutes on gentle simmer.
Cook potatoes until al dente (they will continue to 'cook' once removed) and drain.
Meanwhile, mix the onions (red and spring) in a basin with the mayonnaise and parsley.
Allow potatoes to drain for a few minutes then add (still hot) to the mayo/onion mix and gently toss to coat the potatoes.
Once eggs are cooked, drain and allow to stand in cold water until cool enough to peel.
Cut each egg into quarters (or use one of those egg-slicing thingys) and toss through the potatoes.
Chill for at least 2 hours.
For a healthier option you can substitute sour cream for the mayonnaise, or use a combination of both.

I've already posted the recipe (early in 2009) for my hamburgers so I won't waste space repeating myself.
'Tis now 5.31pm and time for my first vino of the day! And yank the eye fillet out of the fridge to acclimatise prior to griddling.... should be a quick and easy dins tonight - and almost certainly another early night....v KNEW I should have had a nana-nap today... ah well... there's always tomorrow!

2009-12-05T12:20:00.000-08:00

Thursday lunchtime saw us (yet again) at The Look, where we stuffed ourselves to the limits on their delicious Cajun Chicken and beer battered chips (GJ) and marinated calamari, salad & beer battered chips (me) washed down with two gorgeous iced coffees!
We wandered across the road to take in the view and enjoy the breeze and spotted, unbelievable for this time of day, a rather skinny male kangaroo noshing on the buffalo grass just across the road from The Look & the General Store!
We've seen them hop across in early morning at the baker precinct, and too waiting to cross the road at the Islander - but always early morning. Never in the middle of the day!

View from the 'bridge' opposite The Look, looking out from Frenchman's Beach

Friday was a perfect day. The howling wind which has been bombarding the island for the last few days has lessened and in it's stead left a soft breeze which is most enjoyable! (Especially when you're on the beach! The last few days has felt like being in a sand blaster - no wonder it does such a good job stripping wood, cast iron etc!!!)

So by 9am we're heading for Home Beach with the intention of being sensible & not getting too much sun (burn).
We trudge along Home for about 200m (avoiding the rather vile bronwn, swampy overflow which has seeped from the ajoining foreshore forestation which runs almost a third of Home Beach this year!) and set up our possie.
Three swims, several chapters of our books and two hours later we decide to head back, grab a shower and head for the Point.

Home Beach looking towards Adder Rock

There was only one other guy on the beach the whole time we were there - a few groups of walkers, some with pooches, but no one swimming or spending any time there. Won't be the same scenario tomorrow - Saturday - when a new influx of holiday makers and weekend trippers arrive!

Friday night we had the most AMAZING Blood Moon - photo clearly doesn't do justice. It was beautiful!

So, Satuday dawns and it's another perfect day. Sun is shining, wind factor is cooling but not blustery, but we're both still a tad 'pink' (read: RED) from yesterdays 2 hours on Home Beach between 9am & 11am. Decide to have a quiet day out of the sun.
Started James Patterson's "I, Alex Cross" late Friday and, as with all his books, can not put it down. Around 11am we head off for a reconoiter - heading first to the Point (which is packed and getting even more packed!) then to the newsagency, then to The Look for an iced coffee & catch the breeze..
We head back to the Point and the crowd has started to thin out a bit - wonder of wonders we actually managed to get a park! In the shade no less! Woot Woot Woot!
Spend a very pleasant half hour watching the surfers out off Main.
On our way back to the unit make a side trip to the Straddie pub - my Hardy's chardonnay is getting a little 'light on'... call in for more.
Gads! Only wine available is Yalumba (standard!) @ $21 (sells for around $13 on the mainland - what a rip off!) and some other suspect brand I've never seen or heard of before...
The assistant was very nice, apologetic that their stock was so diminished and said they'd be getting more stock in early in the week.
Now we've been coming to Straddie for nigh on 30 years and everyone - all shop keepers, locals, even most tourists, are really lovely & friendly. One of the things which is so endearing about the place! For a number of years, we would pop in to the Bowls Club and buy Social Membership (which we'd only really get benefit from for the 2 or 3 weeks we were on holidays) which allowed you to not only use the facilities, have a decent meal at a decent price (important when you've got young kids and little cash), a possible flutter on the pokies, participate in their Trivia night and also buy booze to take home.
So I made a detour into the Bowls Club thinking, it's been a while since we've been, small Clubs always need patrons and (if memory serves) their prices on over the counter alcohol sales were always much more realistic in comparison to the pub.
(I suppose that having upgraded and rebuilt the pub a couple of years back the owners are hell-bent on recouping some of their outlay - even with units selling for a cool $1.5 - $2 million, every little bonus buck helps I guess!)
We'd always had a warm & friendly reception at the Bowls Club in the past and had no reason to think differently now.
Hah! There were a few diners enjoying what looked like really lovely fish & chips & salad on the verandah, along with a large table of guys just chilling out, having the odd beer & chin-wag.
Inside the place was like a morgue - no one in sight, apart from the cook/helpers in the kitchen area.
Stood at the sign-in desk for a good 10 minutes hoping someone would spot us and offer advice on how to sign up. No such luck.
Another guy came in and stood at the bar for a few minutes until the bar maid/manageress deigned to notice him. He left shortly after, without being served anything. Odd.
I wander over to the bar, smile and enquire about social membership.
"Have to have shirts with sleeves" she says. Looking towards GJ who is wearing a Straddie singlet. (I'm in a sarong mind you). No smile, not an ounce of friendliness exuding from her what so ever.
"We're wanting social membership" says I."I've been waiting over at the desk to register but no one seems to be manning it.
"I was busy serving at the bar," she says - apart from the guy sent packing, there was no one at the bar!
"All new members have to be approved by the board. It's not instant anymore." says she.
Tell her that the pub is out of stock and we were hoping to join and be able to buy booze from them. Not going to happen - that's clear as day.
In all the years we've been coming here I have never, ever encountered anyone so less likely to be in a customer service industry. She clearly had better things to do with her day than deal with tourists, judging from her attitude.
Fine. We depart. Not happy Jan!
The guy who stormed out without being served is charging into the carpark where his friends are waiting for him. He shouts something about 'no, they didn't have any, can you believe it?' and they too leave empty handed. I gather he was after water - but didn't get any. He, like me, was not a happy chappy.
We may have been good clientele for the Club, God knows most small Clubs are in dire need of support these days just to make ends meet. We've been spending on average around $90 a day - $50 of that at The Look alone. Seems our bucks are not sought after at the Pt Lookout Bowls Club. Their loss. Will be a cold day in hell before I set foot in the place again, that's for bloody sure.
When we finally get back to the unit I look on the net for the Club, intending to send an email of complaint over their "unfriendly, unwelcoming staff" despite a bloody enormous sign out the front stating "Everyone Welcome". Everyone but us that is. Wonder how many others are turned away by this sour, churlish woman? And more importantly, do the committee know how blatantly unfriendly and unhelpful she is?
I find a site and it has a contact address, so I send off an email and receive a reply (from her) within the hour. She denied being inhospitable and unhelpful, gee, that's a surprise. I wonder however if the board or the Committee will ever see the email I wrote?

I suppose I may have taken it too much to heart, but I honestly have never encountered anyone so at odds with the ethos of what Straddie stands for.

Happily, there are a huge number of friendly, helpful locals here who are welcoming to holiday makers and tourists. Theirs are the businesses which flourish!
And long may they continue to do so!!!

2009-12-03T00:44:00.000-08:00

So, Tuesday 1 December dawns and we've made plans to return to Brisbane, ostensibly to collect winnings from Golden Casket! (yay!) but also to collect bits & bobs I forgot to pack... most notably, my cook's knives.
We're on the 8am barge from Dunwich to Cleveland which should put us back in Brisbane by around 9.45am.
After boarding the barge we share a serve (2 slices) of raisin toast & enjoy a double shot cappuccino. Nice way to start the day.
Get to Golden Casket, cash in our winning ticket, collect the cash, put a $40 odd system entry in for Tuesday night's Oz Lotto (which netted zilch I might add) and head for home.
Grasshopper answers our knock (it seemed rude to use our key!) & I start about collecting the knives and other bits & bobs I am missing over on Straddie.
GJ gets a Warhawk fix, Mitch & I go through the intricacies of my new(ish) stove/oven which I didn't have a chance to do before we left. By 12 we're on the road again heading for Cleveland. There are so many bloody slow coaches on the road it's incredible. Under normal circumstances the trip from The Gap to Cleveland takes around 40-45 minutes, so we'd have 15 minutes up our sleeve. Not today! Why, if it's an 80 or 100 kmh zone would you sit alongside another slow poke & do 70? My internal thermostat is just about exploding! (It's the weird-mobile, as GJ calls it, so I am driving.) Cleveland finally comes into view but we're cutting it fine - I am not convinced we'll make it by 1pm. There will almost certainly be some speeding fines ready for collection on our return ... something I am not proud of, but a two hour delay, cooling our heels at Cleveland, when we COULD be on the beach, is not something I'm prepared to endure. I screech into the parking lot, not even bothering to stop at the Big Cat office drive through and see the barge about 15 metres from shore... shit. We missed it by a bees kneecap! Thumping the steering wheel didn't help either. Bugger, bum, shit, poo, faeces. I'm not a happy chappy. Then we notice the barge is coming in... oh my God. It's ARRIVING, not departing! The mood improves alarmingly! As it pulls closer and drops the driveon platform we notice all the cars are pointing out toward Straddie... the captain, bless his little cotton socks, saw us scream into the parking lot & took pity & RETURNED for us! What an absolute sweetheat!!
Stow the car, exit for the cafe & order a couple of cappuccinos & two toasted ham, cheese & black pepper samos. Also ask the cafe staff what the Captain usually orders for lunch or afternoon tea, so I could buy him something he'd like. They confer and then tell me they have no idea. Ask one of the other guys & he has no idea either. Don't these people speak to each other on a day to day basis? End up with one of the girls phoning through & asking him what he'd like - simply a coffee he says. Another guy arrives in the cafe & he suggests a Vanilla Slice... so be it. Coffee & Slice are delivered toot-sweet & Captain is well pleased, he had actually fancied a cake! More than happy to have sent him a thankyou, albeit a small token. I'd have bought him a banquet dinner had he requested it!
One hour later we're departing the barge at Dunwich!
Make a stop off at the servo to fill the tank and at the organic market to buy some eggs, nectarines, mangoes, bananas, a couple of cos lettuce and a jar of Beerenburg green tomato chutney, then we're heading, post haste, for Pt Lookout. WE ARE BACK!!!
We've been back about an hour and Damian arrives with new aerial cable and proudly announces that Foxtel have sorted the reception problem (we don't yet have cable, but it's coming next week) but we do have free to air channels with pretty good reception for the first time! News, cricket and ABC are high on the agenda of viewing!
Cooked up a couple of yearling eye fillets, made a batch of onion chutney and some rather delish cheesey potato for dinner that night.

Wednesday morning we head for the beach but it's blowing a small gale and the clouds are starting to look rather ominous. We hang in for about 40 minutes, but the weather is turning vile, wind is picking up and the clouds are getting blacker and ever so much closer. Bail on the morning on the beach idea & head, instead, for The Look. Last year GJ really enjoyed their buttermilk pancakes with seasonal berries... and it's still on the menu! I opt for two soft poached eggs & bacon... our order arrives in just minutes, but there is a notable lack of bacon on my plate. Oops. Sorry about that. Will get some on the go for you! Our brunch was lovely -moreso because we were sitting atop the cliff looking down on a very blustery Frenchman's Beach, all safe, dry and weren't being blown asunder!
The cloud cover has gotten thicker during our brunch so we head back for a day at the unit and some reading time. Gj turns on the box and comments on the abysmal selection of daytime tv viewing available free to air. The box gets turned off. We read instead.
After our hefty breakfast/brunch neither of us are particularly hungry, so around 4 I start cutting up some fruit for a fruit, nut (almonds & cashews) platter for nibbling.
That was the plan anyway. So lovely to have my (sharp) knives here! Cut an orange into segments, quarter 2 nectarines, start cutting up a mango but the bloody thing isn't quite ripe yet, despite outward appearances to the contrary (new season stone fruit can be so iffy!) then start peeling a fresh pineapple. Disaster strikes and as I'm trying to core the end of one half the knife slips and it stops when embedded in my thumb. Major pain. I am not good with open wounds & blood, particularly if it's my own. GJ comes to the rescue & within 10 minutes I am sorted with a bandaid (after our trip to Bris on Tuesday, neither of us was keen on a return) So will hope the gash isn't too deep, heals of it's own accord and prevent the need to return to the mainland for stitches. Bloody hurst though and oh, my, God, it's throbbing!
Luckily the pineapple didn't suffer any damage - I whizzed my hand away and under the tap in quick time! - so GJ & I eventually supped on some rather lovely fresh fruit ...

Thursday morning we had to vacate the unit so it could be 'serviced' at 8.30am. That simply means replace the sheets and towels, judging from what was not done (no sweeping, dusting, cleaning... hmmm quite annoying really).
Headed for the beach at 8.15 and stayed until around 9.30am during which time we nearly lost the Shelta Beach Hut twice - the wind was so strong. Still gusting southerlies and every now and again a huge gust would send the sand at sand-blasting speed along the beach... and into faces, bodies, etc. Amazing how painful sand at speed can be. No wonder it strips steel!
After spending some time extricating sand from places sand has NO BLOODY PLACE BEING.... we spent an hour or so reading then headed for the point to check out the surf on Main. Main and South Gorge were closed -red flagged - because it was so rough. Energex are still installing new power poles and generators along the coast road, bet they're enjoying the views and their smoko breaks!
Back to the unit after a side trip to collect milk, bread and some cream, and before long we're both having a 'nana nap'... he on the lounge, me on the sun lounge on the verandah.
Wake around 4pm and contemplate dinner...
Check out facebook updates and discover JackieCam from Food site is on fb and has made contact! Spend the next hour chatting, which is lovely because although we've responded to each others posts on the Lifestyle Food site, we've never chatted real time! AND she's a Cafe world fan too! Woot Woot Woot! Got to love the way Facebook puts us in touch - it's brilliant!
So... dinner plans are now something lightish... perhaps some rather tasty smoked ham, salad, beetroot, hot tomato chutney on baguette.... (that's my choice - GJ is leaning towards a bowl of cornflakes!) Jury is still out....

Thursday 3 December - Main Beach - 11am - CLOSED! Funny that!

Thursday 3 December - park overlooking Frenchman's Beach - 11.30am - Local wildlife enjoying not only the stunning view, but also some rather tasty buffalo grass...

Thursday 3 December - The Look - my lunch -GIANT calamari w/salad & beer battered chips

Thursday 3 December - The Look - GJs lunch -Cajun Chicken on Turkish bread w/ salad & mango chutney & beer battered chips

Annual hols on Straddie 09

2009-11-29T23:16:00.000-08:00

Seems hard to believe that 49 weeks ago we were here - the year has certainly whizzed by, but perhaps it's just that I am getting old (er)... who knows.
The week preceeding our arrival at Stradbroke on 28 November was hectic to say the least. Having succeeded in getting the December 09/January 10 edition of the Echo to print, I was on a week long mission to secure all provisions for our three week sojourn on Straddie. While the island itself is the closest thing to perfection, sadly the produce and supplies available, are not.
First stop was the supermarket to buy all those annoying essentials like toilet paper, junk food, shampoos, toothpaste, new supplies for the first aid kit, washing up tablets etc. That little exercise set me back around $400.
Booked my van in for a service - you seriously do NOT want any unscheduled vehicle maintenance on Straddie. One year my battery died and it cost nearly $300 for that exercise!
Placed our meat order with the butcher and arranged for it all to be cryovaced, thus eliminating the need to freeze. Meat which has been frozen has a distinctly unpleasant flavour for some reason. Besides, having it all 'on hand and readily available' means being able to make split second decisions as to what to have for dinner! (Not having to plan ahead 12 hours so that the meat is thawed in time)
Arranged to collect said meat order after lunch on Friday 27th.
After that the shopping was purely for pleasure - books, dvds, cds, sunscreen, magazines - stuff to keep our minds active while away. The book boxes were pretty impressive. Between us we have a collection of around 30 books for the 3 weeks. I'm already half way through McCarthy's Bar by Pete McCarthy, which I thoroughly recommend. It's a very funny read, at times I've had to stifle my laughter. GJ is already one book down - Terry Pratchett's latest Unseen Achademicals. He's now got his nose in a Rumpole tome.
I've been hoarding new books because I know that come November, there will be no new books by my favourite authors... James Patterson, Patricia Cornwall, Nicci French to name just a few. In between the shopping & planning I also decided our venetian blinds were in dire need of cleaning and arranged for them to be spirited away by Amazing Clean (based out at Brendale) whereupon I then set to cleaning windows like a demon. Being a 'spur of the moment' sort of gal, discovered they not only do blinds of every shape & description, but curtains too! Needless to say all the loungeroom curtains (1o of the suckers) were whipped off their tracks before they knew what hit them and were spirited away alongside the blinds to be returned later that very same day. Talk about service! Sadly they did not dry in time, so their arrival was delayed a day - which meant GJ & I felt as though we were living in a fishbowl that night, consequently electing NOT to spend any time whatsoever in the loungeroom. The blinds did make it back though so at least we had a modicum of privacy in our bedroom thank God.
Also on the agenda was sorting out the ongoing problem with the bloody pool. Since the pipework has been slowly and surely eliminated courtesy of the sodding bamboo Alison next door planted in her garden "because it's soooo pretty" (and subsequently has escaped into at least 9 gardens we are aware of!) as well as the roots from the giant gum in our yard, GJ has had to put his inventive hat on to come up with stop-gap solutions to our skimming and filtering needs. This has worked remarkably well for around 5 years, however the Davey pump we've been using as an 'alternative skimmer box' has a crack & leaks meaning you have to prime it with water BEFORE turning the filter on. OK for us, we knew about it. Not so good for Mitch last year though. Pool pump ran dry for three weeks necessitating a new one... so I thought we'd find a more long term solution and one which was user friendly to those 'not in the know' of the vagaries of our pool filtration system. With John from Valley Gardening & Pool Maintenance on the job, I am hoping against all odds that we will return home to a pristine pool in which we can swim!
Friday dawned and the pile of food, groceries, essentials etc was growing alarmingly. Thank goodness we have a fair sized (8 seater) van to lug this lot over the bay! Around 4pm trundled off to the Gap Markets to collect our meat, veg & fruit and (cough, splutter, haemmorrhage) $600 later, we were set for 3 weeks worth of feasting!
Grabbed some reds & whites from the off-license to see us through the first few days without having to make a trip to the Stradbroke Hotel....
Was so excited about our impending holiday, barely slept a wink on Friday night. Mind would not shut off - kept remembering things to take, pack & things to remind Mum & Mitch about before we depart. Once a planner, always a planner I guess. Don't like leaving too many things to chance, like to cover all bases and make sure that at least major catastrophes can be averted.
Saturday dawned and we were stuffing the car to the gunnels! Amazingly, everything went in without a hitch. In fact, it appeared that this year I had managed to cut back a bit, (not taking our electric frypan, scanpan griddle, ice cream maker, 2 cases of wine probably helped!) But there's always that hankering doubt you've forgotten something vital.
While our barge didn't depart Cleveland until 11am, we decided to hit the road around 9.30am which was just as well. The cricket - West Indies vs Australia - was on at the 'Gabba and traffic was horrendous! Took nearly 20 minutes just to clear the freeway exit & get past the iconic venue! GJ suggested a more direct route - eliminating the trip via Stones Corner etc. Bad move. The 'direct' route was undergoing massive roadworks. There were five detours before we finally managed to make it back onto Old Cleveland Road. Hah! Another 20 minutes on the trip. As it turned out we arrived at Sea Stradbroke terminal with just 10 minutes to spare. Not bad for a trip which would, under normal circumstances, only take 45 minutes from start to finish!
We'd just made it through Ashgrove when I remembered what it was I had forgotten. My bloody cook's knives! Shit. Double shit. Triple shit. Damn & blast. The unit where we stay is well appointed but clearly the owners are not foodies, there are just the very basic utensils. The knives are abysmal. Not a sharp edge on ONE. Bugger. Too late to turn back. Just have to muddle through. Kept an eagle eye out for a Robin's on the way to Cleveland, would have stopped too had there been one! Three weeks preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner with blunt, crapo knives is not my idea of fun. Was making plans to call Mitch and get him to post my knives over as soon as we arrived....
The barge was jam-packed - which was odd really. Then I realised that the Seafood Festival was on at The Little Ship Club at Dunwich, which was the destination for a good many of our co-travellers.
Arrived at Anchorage around midday and within the hour everything was unpacked and stowed in the unit. The holiday could begin!
Saturday night we opted for fish and chips - yes, I know, sacriledge - given there was nearly $1000 worth of fresh food ready and waiting to be prepared by my loving hands. Sadly I was knackered and did NOT bloody well feel like cooking! Lazy cow that I am... lol
Nodding off to sleep that night to the sound of the surf pounding on Home Beach was restful and we felt totally 'at home'. In truth we were both so bloody tired from our exertions of the day (and the last week) that we would both have slept pinned to a clothes line!
The unit has had a repaint since our last visit and new managers Leanne and Damian have taken over from Peter and Dale. They are most hospitable hosts and are making improvements, which are not before time. GJ was devastated to learn that tv reception was non-existant. The aerial in our block met with it's demise during a recent storm and has not been repaired. The upside is that Leanne and Damian have convinced the body corporate that pay tv would be a huge drawcard... and so... it is occurring! They're also increasing the 'hot spots' for wireless internet connection. It just gets better and better!
Sunday dawns and I am awake at sparrow-fart (pre dawn - around 4am) eager to make the most of each and every day we have in this glorious locale. Gj surfaces about 6am & we have our caffe au lait on the verandah (it sounds much grander than coffee on milk...) We both decide we're still a bit to stiff & sore from countless trips up & down 5 flights of stairs to seriously consider the beach today. Besides, it's a stinking hot day even though we have a fantastic sea breeze billowing through the unit, and if we DID go down, we'd both end up like lobsters and have to spend the next 4 days hiding from the sun. Who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks? hehehe
After our coffee we head for the Point to collect bread & milk & a few perishable items like ice cream (given I won't be making ice cream this year!) for iced coffees, and of course the Sunday paper and my annual edition of the Women's Weekly.
Stop at Main Beach and it is absolutely packed -not a parking spot to be seen and the Nippers aren't even on site yet!
Driving back to the unit we pass the Markets -a weekly Sunday morning event from late November - where local cooks, craftspersons and the like sell their wares to unsuspecting weekend tourists. I toss up whether to stop but elect to postpone this pleasure until the following weekend. Or maybe the one after that. There are only really two decent stalls - one a woodturner who makes lazy susans, gigantic 'paper towel' type holders for toilet rolls which holds around 8! wonderful bowls and chopping blocks. The other is the soap lady who makes hand made soaps -I have a standing order from Mum to buy 6 blocks of dog wash soap because while it's medicated it doesn't affect Pip's delicate skin balance... OMG. She also does some rather lovely aromatherapy oils & massage oils which are divine.
So... back at the unit... brew a pot of tea (yes, I brought our teapot and coffee plunger too) carve the bread (it's impossible to slice bread with these bloody knives!) smear on the butter and dollop on the homemade strawberry jam I made, which serves as breakfast, while we read the Sunday papers.
In anticpation I check off my lotto numbers but realise, yet again, the Gods have not looked favourably on me, and sadly haven't even made 3 & a supplementary. Bugger. No chance of putting a deposit on a place over here this week.
I've finished with the paper & head out to the verandah to peruse the Women's Weekly. $7 for this mag now -but I did get a spiffy tote bag (shame it's got Women's Weekly emblazoned across both sides!). I like the Weekly but only ever buy it on Straddie. Once a year fix - bought mainly for the puzzle section. After sitting outside for 15 minutes I am utterly disgusted. In the first 70 pages of the mag there are, wait for it, only 6 - yes folks SIX - pages of editorial. The rest are bloody ads! How on earth is that good value? What are women thinking buying this crap every month? Half the ads are for companies who bombard our letterboxes with glossy 20 page brochures in any case! Talk about daft!
The puzzle pages are good though. I do love a good crossword. I then realise I've been sitting outside, sun pelting down on my back, for the best part of an hour... and am consequently burnt and oh, it hurts. Bugger.
GJ wakes from his mid-morning slumber on the lounge and takes a peek through the paper. Also checks off his lotto. I asked him how he went and his reply "hmm. didn't get a supplementary. damn. Only got 5 numbers." WHAT?????????????????
Immediately log on to Golden Casket & discover his ticket has netted him $1,400! BONUS! The ironic thing though is that his sixth number was only 1 digit off the last sixth number! Damn. So close to a deposit on real estate over here, yet so far. Ah well.. a win is a win is a win in my books and we're $1400 BETTER OFF TODAY than we were yesterday!
The half mill would have been nice though I have to agree.
So bloody hot neither of us felt like eating at lunchtime but I did make a Linzer torte for afternoon teas in the next few days. Dinner GJ opted for veal schnitzel (made with panko), cheesey potatoes, sweet potato and brussells sprouts. I was so tired I actually fell asleep at the table! Bed by 8.30pm for me!
We've decided to make a trip back to Brisbane to collect our winnings from Golden Casket office AND to pick up stuff we need from home - knives, PSP games for GJ, & a few other kitchen essentials. Hopefully GJ will also be able to collect his new specs which should be back tomorrow. Monday dawns and it's not raining as was predicted. We decide to put off our trip until Tuesday when it is expected to be inclement weather.
The Foxtel guys are around today installing the wiring for pay tv and will be in and out of our unit for most of the day.
After our usual coffee on milk we head for the beach & leave the foxtel guy and his hammer drill to their own devices. Around 11am we head back, grab a shower & head off for lunch at The Look overlooking Frenchman's Beach.
We cash in our $7 crossword scratch-it & buy 4 more to do while we wait for lunch. GJ scored two $12 wins so we bought another 4 crossword scratch-its for back at the unit. It's a Straddie thing - we do it every year. (In the vain hope of winning big & being able to put a decent deposit on our OWN PLACE over here... to date it hasn't happened... I live in hope!)
We ordered 2 iced coffees and 2 cajun chicken on turkish bread with beer battered chips... and they were seriously, seriously good!
Stuffed to the collective eyeballs we staggered back to the car & stopped off at the Surf Shop - provendor of wonderful sarongs, thongs and iconic Straddie t shirts and singlets. $140 later we were heading back to the unit for an afternoon snooze..... or Nana Naps as I like to call them. I now have 6 lovely new sarongs, a new pair of thongs and GJ has 3 new straddie singlet tops & 1 electric blue straddie T shirt.
A good day. A very, very good day. And lots more to come!

LINZER TORTE

150g butter
200g icing sugar
1 whole egg
3 egg yolks
zest of one lemon
140g flour
110g almond meal
pinch of cinnamon
1 Tblsp icing sugar
raspberry, strawberry, blackcurrant or redcurrant jam - about 180g or so
Preheat oven to 180 DegC
Cream butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy
Add egg and yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition
Fold in the zest, sifted flour & cinnamon and almond meal
Spoon mixture into a large piping bag and cover base and sides with batter
Put jam into a piping bag and pipe over the base.
Create a lattice effect by piping strips of batter over the jam
Bake for approximately 40 minutes.

Allow to cool in the flan tin then dust with icing sugar

Brisbane Good Food & Wine Show 6 November 2009

2009-11-06T15:37:00.000-08:00

Months ago I bought tickets for Mum & I to attend the Brisbane Good Food & Wine Show at the Convention Centre, Southbank, as a treat for her for her birthday in November.
Well Friday 6th finally dawned and I was so excited it was beyond belief!
The show didn't start until 10am but I was wide awake & rearing to go by 6am! Pathetic. Really really pathetic. As Graeme would say "Whatever floats your boat!"
Thursday I had spent the day making Mum a birthday cake - a light, golden glacé fruit cake. By 8.15am I couldn't hold back - I headed for Mum's (cake in hand) and by 8.30am we were on the road. On arrival at the Convention Centre Mum was amazed at the lack of parking available... something which I had, in fact, anticipated. The Show took up all 4 exhibition halls and with that many exhibitors they had to park somewhere! We were inordinately lucky to get a park just metres from the lifts & entrance, so I was best pleased.
Headed upstairs to the main lobby to be greeted by a column of bodies which ran the entire length of the complex! Clearly we weren't the only ones eager for the day to begin!
Decided to grab a coffee & who should I spy but Sam Mangano - Zone Fresh Gourmet Markets - setting up his stall near where we bought our coffees. Small world really.
Met some lovely people in the queue - Jane and Ian most notably - & the four of us made our plans of attack when the doors were finally opened to us.
As we had tickets (seated, thank heavens, so there was no bun-fight or fisticuffs!!) for the first Celebrity Chef Theatre session - featuring Gary Mehigan & George Calombaris - we were directed to queue independantly of the massed hoardes to enable us to get in before the show began. Mum and Jane headed for the Box Office near the theatre to secure/buy seats for the other Celebrity Theatre sessions - Tobie Puttock & Matt Moran later in the day, while Ian & I headed for the Information Booth to secure our "Freebie Bag" val. $75 and buy glasses which we'd use for wine tasting around the show. Sadly by the time we got there all the freebie bags were already gone - no one said anything about there only being 150 bags to give away! I'd noticed a number of people with these cute trolleys emblazoned with Good Food Wine Show and figured it would be a good idea to buy one so Mum & I weren't carting heavy bags around for the whole day.... there was a choice of baby-shit green or psychedelic pink... opted for the pink one.

In anticipation of a good bounty, decided to buy a trolley to cart all my purchases! My naff pink trolley!

Ian & I made it to the queuing area for the Celebrity Theatre and Mackie and Jane were only 6 people ahead of us.
Once inside ushers directed us to our seats and a short time later the show began - Gary & George took to the stage, which was a nice start to our day. (Especially having stood in the queue to get in for nearly 40 minutes, was nice to have an opportunity to have a sit down for 45 minutes) We had good seats only 7 rows from the stage. Mum was well pleased.
George made some egg, chicken & lemon soup (his mum's recipe) & lamb souvlaki, while Gary cooked sea trout with potato, watercress & horseradish salad followed by English doughnuts. Was a real hoot because the dough for the doughnuts had expanded to about 4 times its size and oozed all over the floor! They looked absolutely amazing though and wish the plate had come over our way - I LOVE jam doughnuts!
After the show finished it was like a cattle crush - everyone desperate to get out & peruse the aisles & stalls. Took a good 10 minutes to empty the theatre and some were very, very pushy in their efforts to escape quicker than anyone else. Hmmm.
Once outside we headed for the furthest aisle - intending to have some method to our meanderings and make sure we covered every inch of the show.
Ian and Jane had urged us to be on the lookout for the stockist of Persian Fetta and lo and behold the first stall we stumbled upon was indeed the stockist. It was a good omen! Bought a tin for Mum which quickly made its way into the cavernous trolley.
Then I spotted some women parading around with these wine glasses slung around their necks - allowing them hands free operation, which I thought was a great idea. Quaintly called Plonk Holders it wasn't long before I found the source. Bought a bright pink one for me (seemed to be the colour of the day!) and a fetching purple one for Mum. Came in handy at the myriad of wine stalls who were touting their produce.
We also found the ticket sales point for the Wild Oats restaurant - I had planned to treat Mum to a two or three course lunch there between our sessions at the Celebrity Theatre & was pleased that the entrees and mains and desserts also included a glass of wine specially selected to match each dish. Trick was to secure a table & seating THEN go and collect your meal/s. A number of people made the mistake of queuing for food without thought of WHERE they were going to eat it! I have to say that Queenslanders must be known for being a bunch of piss-pots - the wine stalls outnumbered the food-oriented stalls by at least 3 to 1. Which was a bit of a disappointment really - as well as the vast number of non-food related stallholders. What the devil does a rubber broom (which according to the demonstrator, used its static charge to collect dirt,hair,general sweepings) have to do with food?
Couldn't resist buying some oil & vinegars from A Taste of the Bush - got a large bottle of cold pressed macadamia oil and caramelised redcurrent vinegar with lemon myrtle and a small bottle of caramelised white balsamic vinegar with native basil. They tasted SOOOOOOO good and with summer just around the corner, will make a nice addition to our summer menus. (pictured below)

Delicious Cold Pressed Macadamia Oil, Caramelised White Balsamic Vinegar with native Basil & Caramelised Redcurrant Vinegar with lemon myrtle

Our next session at the Celebrity Theatre was Tobie Puttock - he prepared a roast beef in a salt dough (which stuck to the pan and he couldn't get it out - nice to know prof. chefs have disasters too!) and a rotolo of beetroot leaves with ricotta, which I'd never even heard of before. Was a very clever roulade type concoction which was steamed in a WHITE cloth in a fish steamer, then sliced & served. It looked amazing!
After that we headed for the Wild Oats restaurant. Mum opted for Matt Moran's Prawn Tempura with Remoulade sauce served with Wild Oats Semillion Sauvignon Blanc ($16) while I had Alistair Mcleod's Antipasto - Marinated gympie farm goats cheese, picked baby beets, field mushroom bruschetta, seared haloumi, salsa rossa, served with Wild Oats Rosé ($16). Once that had been summarily demolished, we both opted for Gary Mehigan's Braised Beef Cheek, Red Onion Marmalade, Horseradish Mash served with Wild Oats Shiraz Viognier. It was SERIOUSLY DELISH!
On our way to the Theatre for our last session (with Matt Moran) we passed the Bailey's Irish Cream stall... they proffered us a sample of their latest product - Bailey's with Coffee served over ice... it was fantastic. Sadly they weren't permitted to sell at the Show but advised that all 'good' stockists would have it. BWS clearly aren't 'good' stockists as they did NOT have it. Ah well, over to First Choice on the way home to secure a couple of bottles!!YUM!

Bailey's had released that very day, their latest product - Coffee flavoured Baileys! YUM!!

So it's our last celebrity theatre for the day and we take our seats. It's packed to the rafters (unlike the session for Toby, which was a very poor showing in my opinion - barely half the seats were taken). Matt comes on stage and starts whipping the audience into a participatory frenzy. Asks if anyone present has been to his new Aria restaurant in Eagle Street. The glamourous 30 something woman two rows up shoots her hand into the air and he spots her. Asks her to come up on stage but she refuses. He gives her another chance, but she's not budging. Fair enough says Matt and looks for another likely participant. Youngish guy accepts his offer to join him on stage at which point Matt tells the woman she's going to regret her decision. She scoffs. When the guy makes it to the stage Matt brings out an envelope and congratulates him on being given an LG widescreen, plasma 120cm television! She shot out of her chair & said she'd go on stage - TOO BLOODY LATE says Matt. She sulked for the rest of the session and whenever Matt called for someone from the audience, she was first to stick her hand up. Ha! Imagine losing out on the opportunity of a $4,000 prize! I nearly pissed myself laughing. Matt blatantly ignored her for the rest of the show. Serves the silly cow right! Then he asked if there were any vegetarians in the audience. Sweet young (painfully thin & anorexic looking) thing stood up & he beckoned her to the stage, offering her a bottle of wine, to which she replied "I don't drink". Ungrateful baggage. She left with the wine in any case but as she departed Matt shook his head - doesn't eat meat, doesn't drink - what the hell has she got to live for? Fair call! He cooked tempura prawns with remoulade sauce, raspberry tart with a champagne sabyon and then a nice summery warm salad of braised witlof with orange & green peppercorns. Before we knew it the session was over! :-(
There were a few stalls which we hadn't yet made it to - bought Graeme some stunningly beautiful hand made chocolates @ $1.50 each. Happily they are available at the Rosalie Gourmet market so if GJ likes them I'll not have trouble sourcing them.
Spotted the Women's Weekly's Lyndy Milan spruiking around some stallholders too.
Saw first hand Ben O'Donohue's favourite BBQ tool - the Big Green Egg - but at nearly $4,000 I personally think it's a tad over-priced. Now wondering whether Ben is getting a percentage on sales given how often he plugs them!
Was really disappointed Lifestyle Food didn't have a presence at the show - odd really, would have thought they'd have been there somehow.
So the stalls had all be seen, we had injested more food than we probably should have (both in tastings and for lunch), quaffed a goodly sampling of good, great and stellar wines, my trolley was nicely burdened with purchases, Mum was very happy as was I, and we called it a day - around 4.30pm. A very good day was had by all!

Here's my other naff purchase - my bright pink Plonk Holder!

Birthday Surprises for a Chocaholic friend...

2009-10-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

Shock horror! Has it really been that long since my last blog? Shame on me!
Despite asking Charlene, my friend, what meal she'd like me to cook for her birthday several times, she just simply refused. Earlier this year she and Kevin took me to lunch in Park Road Milton for my birthday - and Charlene was beside herself!! She didn't really want to have an entree or a main, her thoughts were clearly on dessert... and who could blame her? If she'd have had a chance I reckon she would have just had 3 desserts... lol.

Anyway, I knew she'd had a stressful time lately - work, kids, family issues, several funerals, the normal detritus of modern living - so I decided to spend yesterday cooking up a whole range of chocolate desserts to brighten her day.

Started off by going through cookbooks, then looking online on the Lifestyle Food site. Decided upon the following:- Luscious Chocolate cake - a recipe shared by my oldest and dearest friend Lynne Fergs. Toblerone Cheesecake - an oldy but a goodie and always well received Choc Mint Fudge - for after dinner (late night) nibbling No Bake Chocolate log - one of those clever and ingenious throw together recipes that, surprisingly, tastes really, really good. Choc Chip biscotti Dark Chocolate Paté (into which biscotti could be dunked!)

Started cooking around 10am - beginning with the luscious choc cake. It needed an hour and a quarter in the oven, then cooling time, before being iced. (recipe at the end of the blog) It's a great cake - sift all dry ingredients, add wet ingredients, beat the blazes out of it for 2-3 minutes then cook. Simple, light, amazingly chocolatey and not heavy.

Next up was the Toblerone Cheesecake - because it too had to have chilling time. Found the recipe decades ago in a Women's Weekly and then Philadelphia Cream Cheese thoughtfully included it as one of their wrapping recipe additions.

Then out came the simmering water, and a large stainless steel bowl in which to melt the 70% dark chocolate, condensed milk, butter and peppermint essence for the Choc Mint fudge - which also needed cooling time and then be decorated with piped milk chocolate.

I then made the Dark Chocolate Paté - a recipe by Canadian Michael Smith (who also kindly provided the recipe for the Choc Chip Biscotti).

So, by 3pm my kitchen looked as though some crazed chocolate fettishist had been doing unspeakable things! Shame I'd spent the previous day cleaning to within an inch of my life - but it was soon back in ship-shape condition again, all traces of sugar, flour, icing sugar, chocolate et al eradicated and order once again restored.

I knew Charlene wouldn't be home around lunchtime because she was chauffeuring her youngest daughter to Qld Conservatorium of Music for her entrance audition. Charlene was heading off for an appointment around 3pm so time was crucial - I didn't want to deliver the bounty late in the day but I couldn't deliver earlier than about 2.45. It was cutting it fine but I made it!

Luckily she was getting ready for her 3pm appointment when I arrived so I got Kevin to help bring all the platters in and had them on their dining table when she came down. She was blown away - so many things to try! So much chocolate! So little time!! hehehe

As it turns out she bailed on her appointment and kept a more important appointment with several chocolatey desserts! Sensible lady! Glad she enjoyed the treats!

Major cleanup of the kitchen on my arrival home - ughh. After that - around 4.30pm - I sat back, opened a bottle of wine and reflected on the day ... and I was best pleased!

Dark Chocolate Paté and Choc Chip biscotti

Chocolate Chip Biscotti

1 cup white or brown sugar
¼ cup Butter softened
2 Eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups Plain Flour
2 large spoonfuls cocoa powder
1 teaspoon Baking powder
Salt
1 cup dark or milk chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Cream the sugar and butter together in a stand-up mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time and continue to beat for a few more minutes. Add the vanilla.
Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt and add to the mixer. Combine well then stir in the chocolate chips.
Shape the dough with lightly floured hands into a log, approximately 12 inches long and 3 inches wide. You may find it easier to divide the dough in half and form two shorter logs. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet flatten slightly and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool until you can handle it. Slice diagonally, into 1/2-inch slices and return to the baking sheet. Bake again until the cookies lightly brown, about ten minutes. Flip them over and brown another few minutes. Cool and enjoy with a cup of espresso!

Dark Chocolate Paté

8 oz (250g) of the very best 70% dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup 35% whipping cream
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1 Tablespoon of Grand Marnier

Gently heat the cream and vanilla seeds and vanilla pod in a small saucepan.
When the mixture simmers, turn off the heat and add the chopped chocolate.
Stir with a wooden spoon until the chocolate has completely melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Should the mixture begin to separate, to appear curdled, simply stir in a spoonful or two of cold cream and continue gently stirring until the mixture smoothes out again.
Pour into a small festive serving bowl and refrigerate until set.
Serve with graham crackers, biscotti or fruit.

Choc Mint Fudge

500g dark 70% chocolate
400g tin sweetened condensed milk
60g butter
approx 1tsp peppermint essence
100g milk or white chocolate for decorating

Place aluminium foil or baking parchment into a 19cm x 29cm spring roll pan
Combine the chopped chocolate, condensed milk, butter in a bowl.
Place the bowl over a saucepan containing about 3cm simmering water, and melt/heat until combined. Stirring occasionally. (Use a double boiler if you have one!)
Add essence and beat with a wooden spoon until glossy and thick.
Spread mixture into prepared pan and refrigerate until set.
Once set, place onto a cutting board and with a very sharp, warmed knife, cut into 3 strips approx 6-7cm wide, then working with one 'ribbon/strip' cut into rectangles about 1.5cm wide, then cut each rectangle in half creating two right angle triangles.
Melt the milk or white chocolate and allow to cool slightly. Pipe onto each triangle of fudge - usually I make a fleur de lis type pattern - a long spheroid petal down the length of the triangle, then a medium oval, then a smaller oval near the narrow base. Unfortunately my piping nozzles were missing-in-action (think they may have made it into the mini-skip when we renovated the kitchen) so ended up having to make a piping bag/nozzle which didn't quite work out - was a much thicker 'nozzle' than I would have liked, so I just ended up doing zig zags & 'blobs'... hehehe

Luscious Chocolate Cake - recipe is in a previous blog

Toblerone Cheesecake

2 cups chocolate (flavoured) biscuit crumbs
2 Tblsp ground almonds
100g butter, melted
2 x 250g packets Cream Cheese - at room temperature
2 tsp gelatine dissolved in 1/3 cup bioling water
½ cup caster sugar
200g Toblerone - dark or milk
½ cup pure cream

Mix breadcrumbs, almonds, melted butter and press into the base of a 20cm springform pan.
Place in refrigerator to chill
Beat the cream cheese until soft.
Chop the Toblerone into smallish pieces then melt in a double boiler or bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.
Add gelatine mixture, sugar, cream and melted Toblerone.
Blend until smooth.
Pour over the crumb base and chill for 2-3 hours.
Decorate with chocolate curls, grated chocolate, icing sugar and/or strawberries or blueberries.

No Cook Chocolate Log

1-2 packets of chocolate flavoured biscuits
600ml pure cream
1 dessertspoon icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup strong black coffee
dash (about 2 Tbls) of either grand marnier, masala or kahlua
decorations: chocolate flakes, curls, Smarties/choc buttons, cocoa, sliced fruits such as kiwi or strawberries.

Cut a long length of aluminium foil & place on the bench.
Whip the cream until soft peaks form then add the vanilla and icing sugar.
Add the booze to the coffee.
Quickly dunk each biscuit into the coffee then smear on about 1 dessertspoon of the whipped cream. Place cream facing up onto the foil.
Continue with the next 4-5 biscuits, repeating the process and stacking them on top of the first biscuit. When you have a stack of around 5, flip the stack onto its side, starting the 'log'
Continue dunking and smearing and add to the length of the log ending with a dunked biscuit without smearing with cream. (Both ends are biscuit, not cream)
Tightly wrap the foil around the log and twist the ends to seal.
Refrigerate for around 3-4 hours.
Unwrap log from alfoil carefully and unroll onto a serving platter (I find those old garlic bread serving dishes are ideal for this dessert)
Use remaining whipped cream and smear over the entire log.
Decorate - I usually sprinkle chocolate shavings then fan some strawberries (stem/leaves on) or sliced kiwi fruit (you can get lovely, even slices if you use an egg slicer!)

This is a great stand-by 'cake' for last minute events - kids love it decorated with chocolate sweets such as Smarties (chocolate/candy buttons). I'd omit the booze if your target diner is under 18 though!

A sweet baking day....

2009-08-17T02:20:00.001-07:00

Spring is just moments away - or so it seems, from the wonderfully warm days we're having of late! Winter has all but disappeared and thought that today I'd spend some time whipping up some sweet temptations...
One of the kids primary school teachers, Douglas Hemming makes the most awesome almond shortbreads and decided to make a batch:

250g butter, softened in the nuker
½ cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups plain flour
100g flaked almonds

Preheat oven to 150DegC (fan forced)
Beat butter & sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy - around 3-5 minutes Stir in sifted flour then add the almonds
Roll rounded teaspoons of the mixture into balls (today was really warm so I just scooped teaspoonfuls and used another teaspoon to roughly shape them - result was almost 'macaroonish')
Place 2cm apart on greased oven trays then gently depress a fork onto each 'ball'.
Bake for around 20 minutes or until a pale straw colour.
Allow to stand, on the baking sheet, for 10 minutes, to cool.
When completely cold, dust with icing sugar.

Douglas' wonderful Almond Shortbreads, dusted with icing sugar

Douglas' wonderful Almond Shortbreads, fresh from the oven

Then had a chocolate urge - saw a post on Twitter from Jamie O & decided to try his brownie recipe - although there were quite a few "optional" extras.
GJ is not a huge fan of undercooked cakes, nor of mud cakes, so I allowed a little extra cooking time, shutting off the fan force, so they probably were not as moist as JO's recipe calls for.

Cooked, cooled & cut into squares...

Cut into squares, cooled & dusted with icing sugar

As per Jamie's site www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chocolare-recipes/bloomin' brilliant brownies:

250g unsalted butter
200g dark fairtrade chocolate (70% cocoa solids) broken up
80g cocoa powder, sifted
65g plain flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder, sifted
360g caster sugar, sifted
4 free range /organic eggs
OPTIONAL EXTRAS: 50g chopped nuts, 75g dried sour cherries (chopped)

According to Jamie, this recipe serves 20... ha! and is from his Little Book of Big Treats.
Preheat oven to 180DegC/350DegF
Line a 25cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper.
In a large bowl, over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate & mix until smooth.
Add the cherries and nuts (if using) and stir together.
In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, sugar then add this to the molten chocolate mixture.
Beat the eggs and mix into the chocolate/flour mixture until you have a silky consistency. Pour the brownie mix into the baking tray and place in the oven for around 25 minutes. (I allowed an extra 10 minutes as the top of the cake was very sproingy!!!)
The brownies should be slightly springy on the outside but still gooey in the middle.
Allow to cool in the pan then carefully transfer to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares.
These make a fantastic dessert served with a dollop of créme fraiche mixed with some orange zest.
Footnote: I actually added the zest of one whole orange to the chocolate/nut mix, then added the flour/dry ingredients. The orange zest really cut through the richness of the chocolate in a very, very pleasant way.

Then (as I had 5 egg whites going begging for some good cause) decided to make some Orange & Poppyseed friands - so simple yet so delicious and light!

6 egg whites
185g butter, melted
1 cup/125g almond meal
1½ cups /240g icing sugar
½ cup/ 75g plain flour
1 Tblsp poppy seeds
the rind of one orange, microplaned

Preheat oven to 200DegC/180DegC fan forced.
Grease a 12 hole friand/muffin pan.
Beat egg white with a fork in a medium sized bowl then stir in butter, almond meal. sifted flour & icing sugar.
Add seeds and orange rind.
Spoon into friand/muffin pan.
Bake for approx. 20 minutes, allow to rest in the pan for 5-10 minutes.
Remove onto wire rack to cool and dust with icing sugar.

MasterFoods - MasterBlunder... and other rants

2009-08-13T00:44:00.000-07:00

Rant #1
Okay, I was sitting in front of the idiot box watching one of the (limitless number of) foodie shows on our local pay tv Lifestyle Food network and on comes this ad by MasterFoods promoting their Tuscan meatballs sauce base.
With all the hubub over Masterchef Australia, and the myriad other food shows now gracing our screens, you'd think that the producers, actors and Masterfoods themselves would pay attention to detail.
You would, wouldn't you?
In the video clip I posted today, all goes well until the pasta is ready to be served... it's around the 13 second mark if you want to check.
WHY would you have a proper pasta pot, with STRAINER insert NOT used during the cooking process? You can see the hapless 'cook' empty the contents of the pasta pot INTO THE STRAINER over the sink.. using it as a colander... doh!!!
And for those who are about to say, ah well, it was probably being rinsed... you should NEVER rinse your pasta!
The whole point of this piece of equipment is that you - COOK THE PASTA in the strainer inside the pot!
Sheesh.
This advertisement highlights many things

Producers of the ad have NO BLOODY idea about cooking
Actors of the ad also have NO BLOODY idea about cooking
Masterfoods clearly have little or no interest in the message their advertising is sending out to the general public.

Or is it just me being pedantic?

Rant #2
Manufacturer's today obviously have a 'couldn't give a rat's arse' about quality control, consumer reaction, consumer satisfaction!
On the very day # 1 son moved out of home (again) with our assistance, we arrived home, knackered, thirsty and in need of a coffee on milk... then the microwave decided it was the perfect time for the magnatron to EXPLODE ceremoniously.. which sent me heading for the saucepan & stovetop, JUST for a couple of mugs of coffee.
So the next day, July 12 to be precise, we took a trip to an electrical appliance outlet (Good Guys at Lutwyche) to find a new nuker.
Decided upon a Samsung with an enamelled interior (similar to that of a conventional oven) which seemed far more sensible than the usual 'pristine white interior' of most other manufacturers. It wasn't a top of the line, nor was it a cheapie. Mid range, mid price - couldn't justify spending nearly A$1,000 on one of the top of the line models, given it's major use is the heating of milk for coffee in the morning, softening butter and such like.
So we've had the miracle of modern technology for 1 day over one month and what happens? The interior light shat itself last night and no longer works.
Today I rang Samsung's customer care (for those not in the know, THAT phrase IS an oxymoron) line who advised me that my nearest Samsung approved technician was a two hour round trip away at Boondall. Or I could go to the Gold Coast. Or Victoria Point. Not ONE service agent in the Brisbane central area!
Rang the appointed agent at Boondall and was told by the (offhand) woman on the switch that Samsung's warranty doesn't include the light.
So you will be charged.
Hmm.
Can the light be installed while I wait, so I don't have to make a return trip?
No. Gets better and better.
She then suggested "perhaps your husband can change the light bulb?"
We thought of that last night, however it would appear the unit is sealed tighter than a fish's arse at forty fathoms.
Could I speak to a tech & ask how we might go about changing the bulb?
"No, we don't have any product manuals here and the tech's wouldn't be able to tell you how to do it."
WONDERFUL.
By this stage I am seething. Get online and check the Samsung website. After filling in the model number of the microwave I hit pay dirt. Lo and behold there is a FAQ.. and one of the questions relates to the changing of lightbulbs!! Woo hoo!
Bad news though - "Samsung does not recommend changing the lightbulb. Please take your appliance to one of our authorised service technicians."
Am I wrong or did THEIR bloody service technician suggest changing it ourselves?
Back on the phone to Samsung - this time to speak to a Customer relations manager at Head Office.
Hah! Fat chance. Sat on hold for 15 minutes, ended up diverted back to the switch, who put me through again - "Your call is important to us. All our operators are busy attending other calls. Your call will be answered as soon as an operator becomes available."
I was getting murderous thoughts by this stage. And I was enjoying them!
After 20 minutes of listening to the recorded message I hung up.
Rang Head Office back and asked for the name of the Customer relations manager. Operator wanted to know which state I was calling from - would appear that they have one for each state. How lucky are we?
Despite my clear and concise request, she didn't give me the name - just put me through AGAIN! Another 10 minutes and back to the switchboard operator twice and eventually it rang! Imagine my dispair when an answering machine picked up advising "Letitia is unable to take your call. Please leave your name and call back details and I will return your call."
After 1 hour I decided to ring the Good Guys. Explained the situation to a rather lovely young guy by the name of Daniel who said he'd get on the phone to the Samsung rep. asap and call me back. Much to my delight, the reseller is dealing with my problem. Tomorrow I am taking back the (clearly faulty) microwave & they are exchanging it for a new one.
I have serious doubts as to whether I will ever consider another Samsung appliance ever again.
end rant!
I feel better now.
Footnote 1: It's been 3 hours and still no call back from anyone at Samsung.
Footnote 2: I then got back onto their website, which (conveniently) doesn't have any email contact details just the numbers manned by utterly inept morons. Found the FAQ page again, keyed in my model number and again got the same response, however there was also space for 'user comments on how helpful this answer was" at the bottom... did they get a piece of my mind!!!
Footnote 3: Stardate Saturday 16 August... Yesterday was supposed to be such a good day. Sadly it fell way short of my expectations.
Arrived at Good Guys to take delivery of my "new" microwave! Was wonderful - this time even the oven mit was included (which the former microwave did not include, despite the packaging claims of a FREE OVEN MIT INCLUDED!!), Daniel was a treasure, unpacked the new m/w, then proceeded to process the new invoice. All was well, I had a brand new microwave with a working light... woot woot woot.
After spending the next 2 hours searching for suitable foods for my convalescing mother (she's had a rather vile gastric bug for the last 3 days and asked me to find some Baxter's soups in my travels - which also was a fruitless exercise in retrospect) and depositing at her abode a 500ml tub of Barambah Organic yoghurt (good for stomach bacteria production), large tin of John West Red Salmon, 2 foot long bread stick, 2 red grapefuit, 500g punnet of strawberries, a pack each of her favourite nibbly nuts (filberts aka hazelnuts & brazil nuts) I arrived home, unpacked my not inconsiderable amount of groceries and intended to leave the m/w in the car until GJ got home. Note I say, intended. In a mad impetuous moment I siezed the day, and the microwave, with the intention of at least getting it into the dining room. That was my first mistake.
Second mistake: whilst gripping the (unpackaged) microwave, then thought it was a brilliant, time-saving idea, to pull closed the sliding door of the van. Really, really, really BAD mistake. As I looked on in horror, the pristine microwave (complete with turntable & glass plate) went slipping from my grasp crashing unceremoniously on its topmost back corner onto our concrete driveway....
The words uttered cannot be repeated although they DO appear in the Chamber's Dictionary! I was gutted. Disgusted with myself and thoroughly pissed off.
Finally got the battered and abused appliance upstairs and fully expected the magnatron and the bloody light to be non-functioning, and because of my unintentional abuse, rendering the warranty null and void - expecting to be out shopping for another f*****g microwave on Friday!
Despite some really nasty dents, scratches, dings and a chipped glass plate, both the magnatron and the LIGHT (praise be to him on high!) worked.
Still feel like a complete bloody idiot though and I am not 100% sure the appliance will see out 6 months...
Reminds me of that very apt phrase I hear so often these days - Shit happens....

The Great Pasta Cook-Off

2009-08-08T16:47:00.001-07:00

Got a call from Charlene at the beginning of last week, inviting Graeme & I to attend a Pasta Cook-Off arranged & cooked by her son Timothy and 3 of his nearest & dearest friends! So Saturday dawns and we're all wondering what taste temptations the foursome will serve up...
First off the mark was Charlotte, who cooked her Mum's chicken with sage, tomato, garlic served on a bed of fettuccine. It tasted really wonderful, and Charlotte got her portions right, serving up nine dishes. Trouble was, being chicken legs, the sneaky devils hadn't cooked right through - perhaps another 20 minutes slow cooking in the oven would have netted better results. Nevertheless a great effort - and one or two minutes judicious nuking in the microwave made sure to keep the prospect of food poisoning at bay.

Made a welcome change to see the guys take over the kitchen!

Charlotte made her mother's recipe, chicken with sage, tomato & garlic on fettuccine!

Next up was Matt, who had decided against "Italian" and opted for a Beef Stroganoff. Two problems, beef was as tough as old boots, was cubed (not in the traditional strips) and he only plated up 5 plates... some of which had meat, some didn't, which (really) was a blessing!

Matt was hoping his Beef Stroganoff would win the day

Paul was quietly confident his creamy pesto spaghetti and shaved parmesan would win out

Then came Paul - who had spent most of the early evening making snide remarks about Charlotte - which went down like a lead balloon. "How to Win Friends and Influence People". Paul's cooking involved opening two containers of shop-bought pesto, added some cream, cooked some spaghetti, threw it all together then topped with shavings of parmesan. Oddly enough it tasted quite good. Apparently he's made this for Charlene, Kevin & the gang before, but only used one pack of pesto. Guess he figured MORE is better... almost pulled it off, but not quite.

But Timothy's cannelloni won out - it tasted wonderful!

Then it was Timothy's turn. The kitchen looked as though a bomb had gone off - none of the previous cooks had cleared as they went, so it was a miracle he got anything cooked! Every pot, pan, plate, utensil was buried among the trappings of three cooks preparation/serving! Timothy had been thinking of making ravioli, which he'd never tried making before, but opted (wisely, in my opinion) for cannelloni stuffed with spinach & ricotta and baked in a really wonderful rich tomato basil & garlic sauce. By this stage we were all full to the gunnels but his was the stand-out dish of the night! Timothy, Charlotte, Matt & Paul (and Kevin) hoed into dessert*, making short work of the mini-tartlets, a third of the tiramisu and all but 3 of the pastry fingers. Kevin brewed some coffee, which went down a treat with a couple of Haigh's Dark chocolate peppermint pastilles.... * Dessert ramblings now follow....

Saturday 8 August - 12.30pm

Got an SMS on Friday from Charlene... PLEASE bring a Tiramisu!!

So, as I suspected there would be a number attending (nine as it turned out) decided to up the ante and take along a few extras... a puff pastry tart with creme patissiere & strawberries, then made nine or so smaller ones (just in case) and sliced up some more puff pastry & made some fingers to go with coffee & chocolates...

Strawberry tart with creme pattissiere & sugar glaze

Puff pastry fingers with vanilla castor sugar & sugar glaze

Mini-strawberry tartlets with creme pattissiere & sugar glaze

Strawberry tartlets with creme patissiere & sugar glaze

Decadent Saturday breakfast

2009-08-04T02:42:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we just had to visit the annual Red Hill Fair - especially given we lived in Red Hill for nearly 10 years and it was something the kidlets (when small) really looked forward to. Sadly the stalls weren't as wonderful as days of yore - far too much manufactured rubbish, far too little home made, crafty stuff, which was the benchmark of the RHF all those years ago. I was hoping that the Eureka stall would still be there, but alas no! You could buy wonderful Blinky Bill type t-shirts (for young and old alike) waving the Eureka flag, posters, real Eureka flags... heaven only knows whether they are even still in production. Sure hope so. Anyway, after two circuits of the sizeable park, dodging the donkey rides, jumping castle queues, merry go round watchers (mostly parents) et al, we departed. Without having bought even so much as a cup of coffee - the queues stretched to infinity! The morning was still relatively young and rather than head straight home I suggested a diversion to one of our favourite cafés at Rosalie - Salt @ Nash Street Rosalie. They do the most wonderful bowls of coffee - okay, they're really just noodle bowls, but the coffee is excellent and it lasts and lasts. Decided to have breakfast/brunch & we ordered eggs, bacon, ciabatta, tomato & were not disappointed. They sliced the ciabatta into fingers, grilled them, then stacked them somewhat like Jenga blocks - there were four generous wedges. drizzled with a rich balsamic reduction. GJ opted for scrambled eggs, while I opted for soft poached, which came out in two small sauce bowls - like the sort you'll get soy or chilli in at an Asian restaurant. The bacon was well cooked, not charred to a cinder and was wonderfully smoked. We could have had an omelette, pancakes or any number of other lovely temptations, but the good old fashioned brekkie suited our needs just fine. Service - as always - was prompt, attentive, without being over solicitous. It made a wonderful start to the weekend - especially as the day was sunny and warm and our tummies were full!

Bev's 70th Birthday

2009-08-02T23:58:00.000-07:00

Mackie, Bev and Ken Monday 3 August 2009

Long time friend and an awesome lady, Bev, turned 70 last Friday. After dropping off her bag of pressies & card on Thursday evening - she had family commitments Friday, Saturday and Sunday - I swore husband Ken to secrecy and made him promise that he and she would arrive at our place, for a surprise Birthday lunch, on Monday 3 August. Now Bev has had a rebout of breast cancer this year and has been undergoing chemotherapy, which can play havoc with the taste buds and appetite in general. I really wanted to do something special for this special lady, so put on my thinking cap & eventually, after three days mulling over menus, finally came up with a plan. Bev is keen on all Asian foods, but she had a Yum Cha lunch on Friday, so I decided to include home made spring rolls for an entree. Mains caused me the most problem. Not knowing their collective tastes too well, eventually decided on Morrocan Chicken with roasted vegetables and spicy couscous. Dessert I wanted simple, pretty and not too rich, so made up a batch of shortbread yesterday afternoon and left the dough in the fridge overnight. First thing this morning I patted/rolled ever so lightly the dough & cut ten large discs which then went in for slow baking until just golden - around 14 minutes. Dusted them with castor sugar while still hot & left them to cool on a rack. Got busy prepping the veg - parsnips, butternut pumpkin, potatoes, baby carrots, red capsicum, asparagus spears. Lightly tossed them in a little olive oil, placed into a large baking dish, scattered pinenuts, few generous dashes of balsamic vinegar, an even more generous sprinkling of rich dark brown sugar then into the oven to bake. Cut palm sized scallops of chicken from the chicken breasts then derdged them into the still warm marinade/sauce: In a smallish saucepan melt 200g butter and add 3/4 cup Beechworth honey. Add 1 Tblsp Clive of India Curry Powder (not knowing whether Bev was up for an authentic curry, I erred on the side of caution by including a shop-bought curry powder) and the juice of 1 lemon. Add about 4 largish of cloves of crushed garlic and approx 200ml of Masterfoods (mild) American Mustard. Place chicken and any extra sauce in a lightly greased baking pan and cook at around 180-190 Deg C for about 45 minutes. Once cooked, garnish with chopped parsley & coriander. Serve with spicy couscous : 1½ cups couscous, 1½ cups chicken consomme, ½ tblsp harrisa paste, 3 tblsp oil, 2 tblsp butter. Heat consomme and add harissa and oil. Add couscous, remove from heat, stir well. Replace lid and allow to sit 10 minutes. Stir in the cubed butter before serving. By this time we finished entree & mains, Ken had quaffed 2 beers and we ladies (Mum, Bev & I) had downed nearly 2½ bottles of chardonnay! While the dishwasher coped with the load, I got busy putting dessert together. Placed one round of shortbread onto each plate, then topped each with a row of hulled new season Glasshouse Mountains strawberries around the circumference. Whipped up some pure cream with 2 tsp icing sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract which then was spooned into the centre of each circle of strawbs. Topped off with remaining disc of shortbread, fanned a whole strawberry, then dusted with icing sugar. Generous spooonful of home made vanilla ice cream was the finishing touch. Bev loved her lunch, and for the first time in eons, Ken actually ate dessert - shock, horror! Only thing left was a pot of tea and a good lie down! Am well pleased with my efforts today - bonus is, Graeme's dinner is all prepared & I certainly will not be having anything further pass my lips this day!!!

Scottish Shortbread

8oz/225g plain flour (I guestimated with 1 level Tblsp flour = ½ oz)
2-3oz/60-85g caster sugar (ditto above with 1 Tblsp sugar = 1 oz)
4-6oz/113-170g
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350DecF/180DegC. Sieve flour & salt and sugar. Rub in butter and knead to a soft dough. Shape into a round or square using a light touch. If using a rolling pin, be gentle. Refrigerate until chilled. Shape, score or cut to desired shape. If required, scallop edges. Place onto a floured baking sheet and prick with a fork. Cook slowly for 20-30 minutes if cooking as one shortbread.

because I made 10 discs, cooking time was reduced to between 15-20 minutes
NO MILK OR WATER OR LIQUID MUST BE ADDED TO THE DOUGH

Footnote: The Mr. Insensitivity Award for 2009 goes to a certain John Leak of The Gap who, last Tuesday at a meeting of The Gap Garden Club, attended by Bev, in front of an entire room full of guests, attendees & members, made a snide, below the belt remark about Bev's short hair, asking who the new "chap" was. This was the first time Bev had ventured out into 'society' without the annoying, uncomfortable and demeaning wig which she purchased when her hair fell out following chemotherapy. What a complete, unmitigated arsehole! He accepted a phone call from me last Friday, wherein I gave him a piece of my mind - in no uncertain terms. Bev is yet to receive an apology from the cretinous twerp.

Hamburgers....

2009-06-27T17:47:00.000-07:00

Beef patties gently cooking w/ extra matured cheddar

Mega Burger! - cheese, beetroot, vine ripened tomatoes & iceberg lettuce

1 medium sized brown onion, very finely diced
4 cloves garlic, ditto
about 1 Tblsp or so of minced ginger
1 whole egg
2 Tblsp tomato ketchup (Heinz organic is lovely & not too salty)
1 to 2 Tblsp of kecap manis - thick, sweet, soy sauce
2 generous tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp each of shredded fresh oregano, thyme, basil mix well until thoroughly blended.

Wash your hands thoroughly & mix in the beef mince (about 1kg) with your hands - squooshing the mince & incorporating the sloppy mixture through the meat. Depending on 1) size of egg 2) generosity of dollops/splooshes and quality of the mince will depend on whether or not you need a larger or smaller quantity of fresh breadcrumbs, which helpl the mixture to bind & cook, keeping their shape. Form into patties & freeze in either single or double packs, those not required for immediate consumption. Heat a frypan on medium then add a little olive oil & place the meat patties in making sure the underside of each burger has a light coating of oil - jiggle it around a bit just to make sure it doesn't stick to the pan.... then leave to cook. Do not touch them! Let them sit over the medium heat for a good 4 - 5 minutes. Flip over and cook for a further 2 - 3 minutes. Place a generously thick slice (5mm) of fully matured cheddar on top of each burger pattie, cover frypan with a loosely fitting lid & turn heat to low. Cook for about 2 or 3 more minutes (until cheese has partially melted/become soft).

About an hour later, and with a 'sweet' hole in our tums, tossed up whether to make steamed ginger puds, or a self saucing pudding... Bill Granger's recipe for Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding won out!!

and for dessert... Bill Granger's self saucing chocolate pudding!

Bill Granger's Self Saucing Chocolate Pudding

125 g Plain Flour
1 Pinch of Salt
120 g caster sugar
3 teaspoons Baking powder
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
250 ml Milk
85 g unsalted Butter melted
2 Eggs lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Double cream or crème fraiche to serve

For the 'Topping'/Sauce

185 g soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
250ml boiling water

method

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4).
Sift the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and cocoa powder into a bowl.
Add the milk, butter, egg and vanilla extract and mix with beaters until combined.
Pour into four 250 ml (1 cup) greased pudding moulds.

Topping/Sauce

Stir the brown sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl to combine, then sprinkle it over the pudding batter.
Pour boiling water carefully over the puddings, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Serve with thick cream. (I elected to serve with home made vanilla ice cream)

An AWESOME dinner, many thanks to Bill for a stunning dessert!

Loving my new mincer!!

2009-06-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

Ready to rock'n roll - Bolognaise, topped with a generous quantity of parmesan (Parmigiano-Reggiano of course!)

Bolognaise, featuring minced leg of pork, simmering away for 3-4 hours....

I recently saw a program featuring Lydia Matticchio Bastianich on pay tv foodnetwork channel, where she was preparing a traditional bolognaise... using pork, not beef. Bought an end cut of roast leg of pork around 2½ kg in size & got to work filleting the sucker, removing the skin, sinewy & gristly bits, but leaving just a little fat. Mincing with the old hand crank mincer was tedious, time consuming and a generally unpleasant task. My new electric mincer makes the job a joy! Gently sauteed off 4 finely diced large brown onions, 8 cloves garlic, fried this off with a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste then threw in some fresh oregano & some dried sweet basil, added about 1.5Litres passata and a generous slug of shiraz... Have skinned & deveined the 6 capsicums I roasted on Monday & squished the roasted garlic out. Will add the garlic soon, but will leave the capsicums until just ready to serve. Not sure whether I'll add mushrooms this time around, want to check the overall flavour for this first batch. It's been simmering away for around 4 hours and smells & tastes wonderful - can't wait for dinner tonight...

freshly minced beef skirt - around 1kg

While I had the mincer out & set up, decided to make some mince for hamburgers - why is it getting so bloody difficult to get beef skirt these days? Really infuriating having to prowl butchers finding someone who sells it. Anyway, as is clearly evident, beef skirt produces a wonderful, meaty, mince... GJ is pleased there is a new batch on the way as we ate the remainder of my last batch on Saturday.

Monday 22 June...

2009-06-22T00:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I should have been working solidly on journalistic tendancies - ie: the Echo... but it was a miserable day, heavens teeming down, cold as a nun's habit... so decided to cook instead. Oven roasted capsicums awaiting removal of skins & deveining (seeds, white pithy bits)... fresh from the oven, red hot & shoved unceremoniously into freezer bags for cooling & the 'gutting process. Fresh capsicums washed & dried, throughly massaged with olive oil, sprinkled with salt & roasted in a really hot oven, 200DegC, for around 30-40 minutes, alongside a head of garlic treated in the same manner. Dinner tonight - beef enchiladas :- beef stips roasted with garlic & onion, added some chilli, tomato passata, capsicum & let it simmer away in the oven for a while. To be later wrapped in enchilada/tortilla wraps, covered with the sauce & mozarella & baked until the cheese melts & served with steamed rice & (for me) sour cream. Decided egg & lettuce, ham & salad, chicken & salad, vegemite, cheese & tomato sandwiches needed a partner.. so plunged an eye of silverside (corned beef for those from south of the equator) into a poaching steamer... alongside a cinnamon quill, a quatered lemon, cloves, garlic, ginger, peppercorns, cardamon pods and a generous dash of kecap manis... let it simmer for around 2 hours. Remove from poaching liquid, cover and allow to cool. Sliced it's superb on sandwiches! (and so very much better than the store bought rubbish at supermarkets!) Then was the luscious chocolate cake for GJ's lunch for the week... a scrumptious recipe, simple, proven and never fail. It didn't. This is yet another wonderful recipe received from Lynne Fergs for which she has my (and GJs) immense gratitude! Recipe follows:

2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp salt
1 ¾ cups sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
I cup strong wet black coffee (not a cup of straight Nescafe!)
2 eggs
1 cup sour milk (OR half sour milk and half cointreau/rum/grog of choice)*
½ cup oil (I prefer macadamia)

* to sour milk, add juice of one small lemon (about 1-2Tbls) to pasteurised milk - it will curdle & thicken.

SIFT dry ingredients, then add all others. Beat for two minutes until smooth & runny. Bake in square or round springform pan, 20cm greased & lined tin at 180 degrees C for 1 ¼ hours. (75 minutes) Leave in tin for 15 mins before turning out. Ice and keep in fridge. Icing:

2 tsp butter
1 Tbls hot water
1 cup Icing sugar mixture
2 Tbls cocoa

Sift cocoa & icing sugar. Put butter into hot water until almost melted & mix into icing mixture.

Stuffed Lamb Backstraps

2009-06-14T18:53:00.000-07:00

2 lamb backstraps
baby spinach leaves
approx 200g fetta
approx 1 whole oven roasted capsicum, skin & seeds removed*
8 finely sliced lengths of proscuito or parma - wide enough to wrap around and enclose the lamb & filling
salt & pepper

Using a filleting knife, score through the centre of the fillet, then butterfly the sides so that instead of a thick backstrap, you are left with a pocket into which the stuffing can be placed. Line the inside of the 'pocket' with spinach. Add strips of capsicum. Place fingers of the fetta in the centre of the backstrap & bring the outer edges of the lamb together. Season with salt & pepper. Usually my deli slices the proscuito/parm and lays it overlapping onto sheets, with four or five (depending on their size) on each sheet. I place one sheet of the ham (ham side facing the top of the backstrap) over the lamb then invert and wrap the ham around the back of the lamb. Secure each backstrap by tying up with cooking string. Preheat oven to 175DegC Place backstraps, uncut side down, into a baking dish drizzled with a little olive oil. Cook for 20 minutes then turn backstraps & continue cooking for a further 10 minutes. I served it with a sauce made as follows:

1 cup chicken stock
½ cup passata
2 cloves garlic crushed

Saute garlic until soft, add passata & bring to a simmer. add stock and allow to reduce to half. If sauce still too thin, blend cornflour with a little water and gradually stir into the sauce until desired thickness is achieved. During the cooking of the backstraps I also drained off any liquid and added it to the sauce.

* Oven roasted capsicum: wash and thoroughly dry the capsicum then liberally smear with olive oil. Place into a baking dish and bake at 200DegC until skin blackens, turning two or three times during cooking. Once soft, place hot capsicums into a plastic bag and seal the bag. Once cool the skin will be easily removed.

Poached Chicken ... and end results

2009-06-14T17:53:00.000-07:00

Went to the stocktake sales and simply could not resist buying a 14L stockpot - especially given it's been so cold here of late and I really fancied getting into soup making... So I bought 2 roasting chickens (free range/organic) and removed all the skin and fatty deposits, though left the birds whole. Stuffed their cavities with whole lemon, halved and head of garlic also halved, horizontally. Added 1L chicken stock to the pot, inserted the chooks, 2 onions roughly chopped, 2 carrots roughly chopped, 2 stalks celery, chopped, 2 sprigs rosemary, 2 bay leaves, 2inch piece of ginger, julienned, 1 star anise, sprinkling of cracked black pepper and one teaspoon chopped chilli. Cover with water and allow to simmer for around an hour to hour and a half.

Shredded Chicken & Leek Soup

3 leeks, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbls grated ginger
½ cup dry sherry
approx 3-4 Tblsp kecap manis (thick sweet soy sauce)
2 tsp finely chopped chilli - red for extra heat, green for a milder tang
1 bunch tatsoi - 4-5 bulbs plus leaves
salt & pepper

optional extras: egg noodles /corn

Remove chicken and allow to cool slightly, before shredding the meat. Strain stock twice and return to the stockpot. Allow to cool, then skim off any remaining fat. (I use several paper towels which I swipe over the surface, which picks up the fat particles) If you have the time, allow the stock to cool in the fridge, it makes removing the fat a whole lot easier, although a little fat does add a nice lusciousness to the soup. Thoroughly wash leeks, discarding the green tips, and julienne into 2 inch long strands. In a frypan, saute the leeks, chilli, ginger and garlic until tender. Add to the stock. After shredding the chicken meat, add to the stockpot containing the stock and add sherry & kecap manis and bring to a simmer. Taste & season to suit. Allow to simmer gently and just before serving, add the chopped & washed stems of the tatsoi (similar to bok choy, but with a more yellow stem and small roundish leaves - use whichever asian greens you prefer) Julienne the leaves of the greens. Ladle into bowls and add the slivered greens in layers. ENJOY!!!

Chicken Pie

meat from 2 poached (or roasted) chickens
2 leeks, finely sliced
2 carrots, finely diced
4 celery stalks, finely diced
50-100g plain flour
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbls grated ginger
½ cup dry sherry
200-300ml pure cream
butter & oil for sauteing
puff pastry - I was a lazy bitch & used Borg's ... which is wonderful
egg yolk & a Tblsp milk for glazing

Gently saute the leeks, carrots, celery, garlic & ginger until transparent. Add flour and cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the cream and bring to a simmer. Add chopped chicken meat and mix well. Add the sherry and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool before filling pie shells or pastry will not cook well - tough, not rise etc. Grease individual or single pie dish and line with (if necessary, rolled out) pastry. Spoon chicken filling into the base. Glaze the edges of the pastry and top with final sheet of pastry. Brush with egg/milk mixture and bake at 210DegC for approximately 20-30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown & crispy. I made two individual pies and reserved the rest of the mixture for later baking. They were extremely scrummy!!! (even if I DO say so myself)

Lamb Shanks with Preserved Lemon

2009-06-06T13:19:00.000-07:00

The weather has been decidedly chilly here of late - well, chilly by Brisbane standards. When the temperature drops there is nothing quite as satisfying as a slowly simmered stew or casserole. As I walked into the markets the other day, the butcher was just stocking his tray with a mass of lamb shanks and it got me thinking... and planning. So I grabbed 6 of his meatiest shanks, some carrots, brown onions, a bunch of celery, a jar of preserved lemons (really must find a recipe and make my own - $10 jar for about 4 lemons - sheesh!!). Into the dutch oven went 2 shanks, along with a liberal splash of olive oil, browning them until the kitchen was thick with the smell. Repeated the process with the remaining 2 x 2 shanks, then added chuncks of carrot, celery, onion, 6 cloves garlic, 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary & 2 newly sprouted bay leaves from the garden, covered the shanks with about a litre of stock and topped up with water to cover the shanks/bones. Let it simmer away happily, minding its own business, for nearly 3 hours after which time I fished out the shanks, removed the skin, sinew and gristly bits and chopped up the, now oh so tender and succulent, meat which went into a tightly covered container and into the fridge. Put the stock through a sieve (twice) and put it in the fridge to chill out. Was tempted to offer the lamb skin/discards and lamby flavoured vegetable mush to the neighbour for her pooch, but she's on a diet (the dog, that is) so thought better of it. Following morning I diced up some carrots, onions and celery & sauteed them, adding 3 largish cloves garlic when they were almost done. Stirred in about 2 Tblsp tomato paste and 2 tsp harissa and fried it off for a few minutes. Lifted all the now solidified fat from the stock (I love the way good stock turns to a gel!!) and added the whole lot - nearly 3 litres - into the pot. Within a minute the stock had melted and the aromas started my mouth watering! Picked over the cold lamb to make sure I hadn't missed any grungy bits then put it into the now simmering pot. Added a liberal splash (about a cup full in truth) of a rather tasty cab. sav (hard to believe we didn't drink it all last night). Fished out the preserved lemons, discarded the flesh (as you do) and finely chopped about three quarters of a whole lemon and added it to the lamb along with a few sprigs of lemon thyme. When GJ arrived home from work he commented on the great aroma emanating from the kitchen... which is always a nice compliment. Decided rather than mash, I'd serve with couscous, a lighter and more pleasing accompaniment to a rich, wintry lamb stew/casserole. Just before serving I added about a cup of finely chopped parsley which was a nice addition and finished it off well. I'd been tasting it off and on all afternoon and thought it was just right - had adjusted the seasoning (certainly didn't need salt, but did add a rather generous grind of black pepper). GJ's first comment on tasting it "... mmm... it's a bit lemony though." Ah well, can't please him all the time I guess. Couldn't help but feel somewhat miffed though. Interestingly, I dished up some for Mum & AJ for lunch the next day - they gave it high praise. Which, for Angus, who loathes and detests stew of any shape form or description and would rather eat dog poo instead was a milestone. He even went as far as saying he'd be happy to eat it any day of the week and that "GJ was mad! The lemon was JUST right!"

Disgusting risotto ingredient...

2009-06-02T00:26:00.000-07:00

Jap pumpkin from the Pizza Capers Blue Cheese and Roasted Pumpkin risotto

Okay - it's Echo production time and last night - having spent the best part of 11 hours at the coal face typesetting - I simply could not muster the enthusiasm, or will, to cook dinner. Go figure. Asked GJ whether he fancied any of the leftovers - beef stew, a thai curry, bolognaise - or even a something light - but he knew that despite his having a gourmet lunch, I'd almost certainly not eaten a thing that day - so he opted for Pizza Capers. His fav. pizza is the New Orleans - cajun chicken, potato & a whole lot of other stuff. I'd received a press release advising PC were now cooking risottos - and I LOVE risotto! Ordered GJ his New Orleans & opted for PC's Blue cheese and roasted pumpkin risotto - it sounded delish! Now I know that their pizzas have oven roasted pumpkin - Jap variety - and the high heat of the pizza oven makes a small amount of the pumpkin skin not altogether unpalatable. I couldn't believe they used the same pumpkin for the risotto, especially with the bloody skin on! The risotto w/ blue cheese was lovely - but the pumpkin was not only RAW, but of the eight or so pieces of pumpkin in the dish, only two had an acceptable amount of skin, the rest.. well... look at the pic above and you'll get the idea. Such a shame. Could have been a really enjoyable meal. As it turned out I was fuming. $12 for the container was an insult, especially when more than 80 percent of the key ingredient was revoltingly undercooked and inedible. NOT HAPPY JAN! Needless to say I complained to the (barely out of adolescence) Manager today - fat lot of good it did. "Oh, but that's unusual. We do use 'skin on' pumpkin, but there would only be 2 or 3 pieces out of a WHOLE BAG which are mostly skin and we ALWAYS discard them" Ha! Like bloody hell they did! Probably won't be ordering PC again in the foreseeable future. Felt ripped off.

Most Expensive Sausages!

2009-05-15T18:27:00.001-07:00

Because yesterday was GJW's day off we decided on some retail therapy... as you do. First on the agenda was a new laser printer... followed by a new firewall router & a hub, all of which GJW dutifully installed later in the day. After that we went in search of UMDs for his PSP, which he believes will become collector's items in years to come. I've always preferred mincing my own meats, rather than buy commercially prepared minces. Only trouble is, the old manual crank variety of mincers are VERY labour intensive. Needless to say when I found a Sunbeam Electric mincer/sausage maker it found it's way to a good home... now begins the tale of the world's most expensive sausages ever! Decades ago there was a brilliant little café style restaurant called Café le Hague, situated on the lower floor of the Myer Centre in Brisbane. One of its specialty dishes were Merguez sausages, which GJW loved. Discovered that they sourced these French Algerian sausages from James and Neal's Gourmet meats at Kenmore. For a good number of years I would trek over to Kenmore & collect a couple of kilos so we could enjoy them at home. Sadly the partnership split up and the butchery changed hands and (I believe) production of the Merguez came to a halt. Which coincided with the closure of Cafe le Hague, also a sad loss. After getting home with my new machine I got onto the net & found a recipe (among about 4) which sounded like it had the right blend to recreate GJW's much missed sausages. I'd been asking the guys at The Markets Butchery to make some, but I guess they didn't feel there was much of a market for them. With recipe in hand (and an extra copy for the butchers) I gathered the ingredients: 1kg shoulder of lamb, fat on; 350g lamb fat and natural casings, which then had to be blended with: cayenne, paprika, harissa, sumac, fennel seeds, 4 large garlic cloves, black pepper and salt. Once I got home I spent the next hour or so boning out the lamb & dicing it and the fat. The recipe didn't lie when it said it was 'labour intensive', but at least I could look forward to a relatively easy task of mincing with my new whizz bang appliance!! The mix had to marinate overnight and (sad to admit) I dreamt of sausages, sausage making, sausage making disasters.... First thing this morning I put the mincer together & proceeded to do the first mince using the coarse blade. It then went through again this time using the finest blade. I fried off a small blob to check the seasonings and it was like a trip back in time! They tasted EXACTLY like the Merguez at Café le Hague! Success!! Meanwhile the casings were soaking & after I rinsed them internally (to get rid of excess salt) the sausage making could begin. The first foot or so was pretty dismal - which I ended up hacking off, disgorged the stuffing & put through the machine again. So... the lamb came to around $23, casings $2, spices etc say $4 ... $29 before time & labour... for 22 sausages!

Ta da! Home made Merguez sausages - all 22 of them

Definitely a labour of love!

As you can see, the first foot or so looked pretty mong, but eventually I got the hang of it

Didn't even split the casing once!

After second mincing, using finest blade

First mincing using coarse blade

The new appliance in action! It's going to get plenty of use that's for sure!!

Recipe: 1kg diced boneless lamb, with fat on 350g diced lamb fat 4 large cloves garlic 1 tsp salt 1 tsp fennel seeds 1 tsp harissa ½ tsp sumac 2 tsp paprika ½ tsp cayenne (ground) 1 tsp ground black pepper lamb casing or pig casing Using a pestle & mortar, crush garlic with salt, add fennel, cayenne, harissa, sumac, paprika and pepper & grind to a paste. Toss together the lamb, lamb fat and the spice paste. Cover, refrigerate & leave overnight. Using coarse grinding blade, process meat, then process again using the finest blade. Put mixture through sausage extrusion, twist in lengths of about 10cm/4"

Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T15:52:00.000-07:00

My Mother's Day flowers from Jess & Alex

Had a MARVELLOUS night at Charlene & Kevin's last evening. We were invited to dinner to experience Kevin's Super Dooper BBQ Hamburgers w/ loads of extras - they were awesomely good! After we shared a bottle & a half of a rather nice Wolf Blass Sem.Chard & 'some other stuff' (which I'd not had since I was a mere slip of a thing of 18) we were in fine form. Some of us 'finer' than others... hehehe Charlene & I were carrying on like giggling teenagers, Kevin was in "Maths Mode" and GJ was (apparently) enjoying his personal lightshow behind closed eyelids! Felt like a total twerp ringing for a taxi to take us home - neither GJ nor I were in any fit state to drive. Poor cabbie only netted $6 on the fare, though I gave him a $10 & told him to keep the change. It was a really, really, really, REALLY good night! Sunday dawned - Mother's Day. Kids due to arrive sometime around lunchtime, as was Mum. After our usual coffee on milk in bed with the Sunday papers, I started preparing the ingredients for the fried rice - to accompany the Thai which Jess & Alex are bringing with them. Jess & Alex bought me Australian BBC Good Food magazine for my birthday & in the May edition Kylie Kwong printed her Mum's Fried Rice recipe, which I used, but added our other favourite fried rice ingredients. Here's the recipe:

80ml vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 small red onion
1 tbls finely chopped ginger
2 rindless bacon rashers, diced
2 tsp sugar
2 tbls shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine) OR dry sherry
4 cups cold, cooked rice
2/3 cup finely sliced green onions/spring onions
2 tbls tamari
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 long red chilli, finely sliced on the diagonal, to serve (opt)

Heat half the oil in a wok on high until surface shimmers.
Pour in the egg and cook for 10 seconds, then use a spatula to fold.
Lightly scramble for 1 minute, until almost cooked through.
Carefully remove omelette from wok & drain on paper towel. Set aside
Heat remain oil in same wok on high, stir fry onion, ginger and bacon for 1 minute.
Add sugar & stir fry for 30 seconds.
Pour in wine (or sherry) and stir fry for 1 minute.
Add rice, green onion/spring onion, tamari, sesame oil and omelette and stir fry for 2 minutes.
Use a spatula to break the omelette into smaller pieces - continue to stir fry until well combined and rice is heated through.
Transfer to a bow and serve with finely sliced chilli if you like a bit of heat.
Tip: It's best to cook the rice ahead of time so it can cool completely and dry a little before stir
frying.
So I used the recipe above, doubled it in quantity, but also added:
3 carrots, finely diced
1 brown onion
1 cup cooked peas,
1 cup corn kernels
1 red and 1 green capsicum, finely diced

It was gorgeous and we have some leftover to accompany sausages, steak or whatever, or GJ can take a container in for lunch. Mum bought me a beautiful anthirium (peach coloured) as well as a bottle of Devil's Corner chardonnay from Tassie, Angus gave me a bottle of Wirra Wirra Scrubby Rise Unwooded Chardonnay, & Jess & Alex brought a beautiful vibrant arrangement of lilliums (bright yellow), gerberas (red as red can be) and deep purple chrysanthemums (first pic, above) and 24 scratch-its (1 for each year I've been a mum...awww) Our Thai luncheon included: 8 curry puffs & 8 chicken saté - which were the best we've ever had I must say! Gang Dang Beef - red curry w/coconut & veg (Graeme) Gang Masaman beef - mild muslim curry w/veg (Angus) Hot Wok Duck - roast duck fillet w/veg, roasted chilli & roasted cashews (Alex) while Jess, Mum & I ALL opted for Pad Gra Tiem Prig Thai (beef) w/garlic, pepper, fresh coriander & veg Jess, bless her little cotton socks, had been up til 11pm last night baking a lemon meringue pie (see photo below!!) which was uttlerly divine! The girl done very, very good!

Jess' first ever Lemon Meringue Pie

Lunch was delicious, the company great and we definitely weren't having anything for dinner we were still full-as-googs by 6pm! Hope everyone else had a wonderful Mother's Day. I certainly did!

Saturday 9th May

2009-05-08T23:40:00.001-07:00

Husband's Corsair died in the arse on Thursday morning and left me stranded - well, I did the right thing and offered my car for his use so he could get to and from work... much better idea than offering to fetch & carry him which would have amounted to several hours in peak hour traffic. A sadist I am not. If you can avoid peak hour traffic, do so, that's my motto. So today we got the call that his beloved Giant Jaffa (why do blokes always have to find pet names for their vehicles?) was resuscitated (at least temporarily - we have grave fears for the auto transmission among other things) and was hot to trot! Woo hoo! Having been effectively grounded for two days - and staples and desirables in short supply - I dropped him off at the mechanics and headed of to, literally, shop til I dropped. Three hours later I was back home with the back of my 'weirdmobile' as Graeme affectionately calls it, stuffed to the gunnels with bounty from shops near and far - I had been to 3 supermarkets, 2 delis, a health food store, the newsagent, dry cleaners, off license/bottle shop, baker... think that about covers it. I much rather shop in stops and starts - short forays into the retail market - on a daily basis. I haven't done a 'major' shop since my kids were 3, and they're now 24. Shopping sucks. It's not the actual process of traipsing up and down the aisles of supermarkets, or browsing through delicatessens near and far that causes me angst... it's the bloody checkouts. I find it really depressing and arduous spending my time in a queue to 'escape' with my provisions, to say nothing of the vile pre-packaged crap, most consumers seem to buy. Being a new-age-sensitive-man, my beloved is always on hand as soon as I hit the driveway, helping to ferry all the stuff upstairs. That's one good plus for having kids, at least (if they want to eat) you can press them into service to cart your shopping to the kitchen! Todays shopping ordeal saw me arrive home with: (in no particular order) 2kg diced yearling beef, 2 kg skirt steak (for mincing), 8 pepper/steak sausages (a new addition to the growing variety of sausages at our local butchers), a goodly dollop of ricotta, mascarpone, cottage cheese, pecorino, kalamata olives, baby spinach, 8 beautiful red capsicums, vine ripened truss tomatoes, then (among more baser requirements, from the supermarket) tamari - which took a bloody age to find - 3 supermarkets, 2 delis, I bloody nearly gave up in disgust - spicy plum sauce, sesame oil, savoiardi biscuits (4 packs! they were on special!! just as well as it turns out), capers, mini croissants, gram (chickpea) flour (I might make some pakoras for tomorrow's lunch too) and other necessities. Being Mother's Day tomorrow, Jess (#1 daugther) decided that cooking was taboo - she has a particularly wonderful Thai restaurant nearby and suggested picking up around 8-10 dishes, plus entrees (they do the most wonderful curry puffs!!!) and would be bringing 'lunch' with her when she made the obligatory Mother's Day visit! Woo hoo! Being a control freak, like her dear old Ma, she photocopied the menu and gave each of us a copy so we could choose our dish/es which she and Alex will collect and deliver. Such a sweetheart! After unpacking and restocking pantry, fridge, freezer et al, on went a pot of boiling water into which were plunged large pasta 'baskets' (have no idea what they're called, large, shell shaped pasta extrusions with a 'handle') which will tomorrow be stuffed with my 10 cheese & spinach filling. Rice cooker went on as well, with 6 cups of basmati rice, 5 cloves, 1 cinnamon quill, 4 cardamon pods and a goodly pinch of saffron, which tomorrow will become a rather stupendous fried rice to accompany the Thai. I had planned on making the stuffed pasta tonight, but around 3pm got a call from my dear friend Charlene (who we'd loosely arranged a dinner at her place with, tonight, about 10 days ago) confirming that dinner tonight was all set! So at 3.30pm there I was throwing together a quickie dessert (Kevin is addicted to my Tiramisu!) which was in the fridge chilling by 4pm. I'll take along some triple choc muffins for Charlene, she's not overly fussed on Tiramisu, but as Kevin is chef tonight, he deserves a treat. I reckon Charlene will be happy to dive into the Tiramisu anyway after a wine or three or four! The mince will become (realistically on Monday, although maybe tomorrow) bolognaise, the diced beef will morph into a luscious beef & guinness stew (most likely Monday also) & the sausages will, more than likely, end up being used for a light dinner tomorrow, after gorging on a marvellous Thai banquet lunch!

LABOUR DAY HOLIDAY in QUEENSLAND!!

2009-05-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

Heee... while our southern neighbours have to trudge off to work today, we who live in the BEST place in Oz are enjoying a public holiday in recognition of the labour force... Appropriate then that I have spent all day (so far - with the prospect of a considerable number of hours yet to come) in .... drum roll ... wait for it ... the KITCHEN! So todays luncheon for 5 will star - in honour of Swine Flu, yes, I know, I am a sick, sad human being for even thinking of serving up pork in light of the epidemic sweeping the globe - ROAST PORK! I feel so bad for all those poor pig farmers out there with their produce laying untouched on shelves of provendors... so I am supporting the pig farmers! Accompanying the said RP will be divine roast potatoes, roast pumpkin and roast sweet potato, cauliflower cheese, wilted baby spinach and runner beans. Guests due to arrive sometime around 12.30pm and all is ready - pork is cooked and smells fabulous, spuds & pumpkin are crispening away as I type, cauli cheese is all set to go, beans topped & tailed & meat juices ready and willing to offer themselves up for a luscious gravy.... I was tossing up what to make for dessert and decided that, not knowing my guests capacity for large (ish) meals at my table, they may well not have room, in which case something like an apple & pineapple pie, cheesecake etc might end up being relegated as leftovers for the week. So, as I don't mind tiramisu, and had all the ingredients on hand anyway, tiramisu it is. With the added bonus that it actually improves with keeping, in direct contrast to shortcrust pastry products which are best eaten on the day of baking... As a stop-gap I also whipped up a batch of triple chocolate muffins - just in case they're more chocaholic than coffee oriented. Herewith the pics of the roast pork... Was cooked to perfection with oodles of crispy crackling! Helpful hint for extra crispy crackling: place the pork on a trivet/rack over the sink and boil up the kettle. Pour boiling hot water over the joint, especially the skin. You'll see the skin shrink back (where scored by your butcher or yourself) thus allowing oil, salt & heat to bring about the best possible crackling!! I left it sit for a good half an hour & used the juices which escaped for added flavour & goodness in the gravy. Lunch started around 1pm and we finally finished (yes, everyone finally had room for dessert!!) around 5.30pm. Wonderful company, great conversations and pretty alright food.

Vegetable Pakoras

2009-05-02T04:25:00.000-07:00

It's been getting chillier and chillier every day this week, so after a lengthy discussion on 'what do you fancy for dinner tonight' the resounding response was 'something light'. Hmmm. Decided to try my hand at making pakoras - those feather light, tasty morsels usually served as an entreé at your local Indian restaurant. Opted for the vegetable variety & if you're remotely interested, here's the recipe:

Ingredients

250g besan or gram flour (also known as chickpea flour)
50g self-raising flour
1 tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp chilli paste
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp lemon juice
300g potatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces -equates to 4 smallish spuds
300g onions, finely chopped - I used 1 largish brown & 1 medium sized spanish/red onion
3 spring onions, trimmed, finely chopped
20 odd baby spinach leaves, finely chopped
½ cup cauliflower florets - single stem, small sections or you'll be eating raw cauli!
½ cup frozen peas
handful fresh coriander leaves, shredded
1 tsp chopped green chilli
1 tsp salt
To cook: vegetable oil, for deep frying

Method 1. Sift the gram flour and the self-raising flour into a bowl. Add the chilli powder, chilli paste, garam masala, paprika, cumin and coriander powder, and mix well. 2. Add the lemon juice, then gradually add enough water to form a smooth batter that is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Allow to stand for 10-15 minutes while you prep the veg. 3. Add all of the remaining ingredients (not the oil of course!) to the batter mixture and mix well to coat the potatoes, cauliflower, peas and onions. 4. Heat the oil in a deep heavy-based frying pan until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns brown when dropped into it. 5. When the oil is hot, carefully drop tablespoonfuls of the batter mixture into the oil and fry for 5-6 minutes, or until the pakoras are crisp and golden-brown and the vegetables have cooked through. This quantity makes around 20 pakoras, cook in batches, don't overcrowd the saucepan/oil or they will a) stick together en masse b) lower temp of oil c) take an eternity to cook! Serve immediately with riata - although GJ is not overly fond of riata, so we had them with sweet chilli sauce, which was more than acceptable!

Ok, I admit, this could be construed as looking slightly dubious - yes, I agree, it does look like vomit - was debating whether to post this or not... Bubble bubble, toil & trouble... beautifully crispy, light and ever so tasty pakoras! Success!! woo hoo It's so encouraging when an 'experiment' works out and GJ loves the end result!

A PASSION FOR PASSIONFRUIT...

2009-04-29T02:14:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful to our neighbour Angela! Last year she planted a passionfruit vine on our boundary fence and the thing has taken off! Her macadamia tree is literally overgrown with the vine (not a bad thing) and it's fruiting something chronic! Only thing is, her garden is in full shade nearly all day and the vine has decided to spend most of its time on our side of the fence!! SCORE!!!!! There's still an enormous number of fruit & vine on her side, but despite her planting it, I've not seen her harvesting any of the fruit... weird! Last weekend I noticed that it had not only scarpered up the macadamia tree in her garden, but was also encroaching on our roof. My only concern was that the prolific bounty of fruit would see it drop onto our roof, fall into the gutters and block the downpipes! So with secateurs and loppers in hand GJ shimmied up the ladder, onto the roof and cut back the offending macadamia branches, which then dutifully fell to earth, where I assisted in harvesting the fruit! I'd already cut some of the fruit and left it to 'ripen' which it stubbornly didn't. Damn things are green as green can be and show absolutely no signs of turning the usual purple. Unfortunately it would seem that this is due to a lack of watering (10-15L per week during summer) on Angela's part. Not to be thwarted, I decided to cut one open & see whether the fruit was developing, or whether the hundreds of passionfruit hanging from the vine were a lost cause...so imagine my surprise when the fruit appeared not only ripe, but tasted wonderful - slightly sour with a hint of sweetness! Tomorrow I'll be spending the day packaging the pulp from around 100 odd passionfruit and whacking it in the freezer so we can enjoy the bounty all year round! woooo hoooo!

LOVING the cooler weather... and it's bounty!

2009-04-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

stardate: Brisbane, 23rd April 2009 For one going through 'The Change' (as it's so diplomatically called) I for one am thoroughly enjoying the cooler weather we've been experiencing for the last week or two ... mind you, in comparison to many other countries, our 'autumn' is more like summer in northern climes. Ah well... sucks to be them! Why on earth do women need 'The Change' anyway? Men don't get caught up in a hormonal war of the worlds, why the bloody hell should we? As if it's not bad enough to have to go through the indignity of childbirth (and the months leading up to that blessed event, where every intern within a 300km radius gets to peer inquisitively up into your lower regions), that womanly (and cursed) monthly 'blessing' (well, in truth it IS a blessing if you've ever been pregnant... been there.. done that... not likely EVER again thankyou so very much) and all those other womanly investigations we have to endure... mammograms, pap smears... for pity's sake... haven't we been through enough? Apparently not. Once we reach our twilight years we can look forward to an ever soaring internal body temp (even in winter I am hot as hades, while my beloved curls under the double layer doona - he is more than welcome to my share; in his thermal underwear and flannelette pjs (cute yellow ducks - another malaise of menopause I fear, as I bought them for him) while I am atop the covers, windows wide open and an arctic gale blowing across our bed! Then there's the 'facial growth'... without prescription glasses and a mega-power mirror and surgical tweezers, you can NOT find those sneaky bloody grey/white whiskers... but you sure as hell can FEEL them! Oh the indignity.... But come autumn/winter life returns to some semblance of normality. Well, ok, not normality. But something closely approximating it. No longer is my internal thermometer raging in the high 40s! Have even been wearing real clothes for the last week... shock horror! (no more sarongs...at best!) No more racing around like a chicken with it's head ala Ann Boleyn trying to find SOME bloody thing to throw on when the doorbell chimes! Sorry... not a good mental image, I grant you, won't insult your senses further on that subject. So here in the land of Oz it's finally autumn. I seriously LOVE autumn! And winter! Am so pleased to finally see Aussie oranges & mandarins now at the markets! Don't know about the 'ravening hoardes', but I for one will only buy Aussie produce! So there yanks! Doesn't matter how many sodding oranges you send over from California - I will NOT buy the f****rs! I was like a kid in a sweet shop today - dashing around our local fruit & veg provendors checking out the new season citrus, green beans, cauliflowers (so white I nearly needed sunnies!!), gala & red lady apples, and although not present in huge numbers, Aussie naval oranges! Bloody daft to get all ga-ga over Aussie oranges/mandarins, but there you go. I am a sad human being who is choosey about what produce she buys. I often wonder what conditions the imported (crap) produce has to endure, before it reaches our fair shores/shops. I also think it sucks big time that the American government subsidise the shipment of some of their produce, while our government sits idly by, watching our primary producers crumple, fade and die an unnatural death (business-wise), in the face of the staggering number of imports which we accept and SOME buy. In months and years to come, when our primary producers are a thing of distant legend, and we can no longer supply products demanded/required by householders, the prices will inevitably rise. Once the imports have eradicated their local competition, we will be held to ransom and the prices will soar. So, despite being able to buy American oranges for just $2.99 kg, I for one will be forking out the $4.99/kg for Aussie oranges to make sure at least SOME of our farmers have local support and stay in the game.

BLOODY AWESOME BURGERS!

2009-04-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

Even if I do say so myself! After being the SOLE cook in our household for the last 32 years, there are (understandably) times when, to be honest, you just can't be f*****g bothered.... Last night was one such night. GJ had been battling some ghastly stomach/gastrointestinal upset for the last two/three days so was 'off his food'. So much so, in fact, that he actually took (drum roll here) a SICKIE on Tuesday! Would be about number 4 in the last 15 years... he's such a legend.... and not just in his own lunchtime! So, given the dicky tummy, Tuesday night was a less than gastronomical affair- simply prepared softish scrambled eggs on freshly toasted slabs of vienna. By Wednesday morning the internal rumblings had subsided sufficiently to muster his resolve & head for work. On returning home he had several choices.... leftover butter chicken & pumpkin curry w/rice; veal parmigiana or just plain old schnitzel... caesar salad.... none of which tempted his taste buds. I was leaving the best till last you see... I'd been procrastinating over what piece of dead animal to cook for dins and decided perhaps one of my burgers would 'hit the spot' and tempt him back into a (semi) normal eating pattern. So I'd been down to the baker and bought some lovely, flat (non-doughy), hamburger buns together with some beef skirt which I'd whizzed through the mincer on returning home. (Note to those who might be contemplating a Mother's Day present.... I would seriously admantly adore an ELECTRIC mincer!!!! the old manual sort is getting very tiresome!) When GJ was given the choice of a burger he jumped at it and his little eyes lit up! Amazing that such a simple suggestion could elicit such obvious pleasure!! I am to please.... Bless him, he thought I already had some burgers in the freezer so was apologetic at learning that I had to prepare them there and then... no biggie... done in a flash! LadyJane burgers ============= Into a large mixing bowl:- 1 medium sized brown onion, very finely diced 4 cloves garlic, ditto about 1 Tblsp or so of minced ginger 1 whole egg good dollop of tomato ketchup (Heinz organic is lovely & not too salty) (2 Tblsp) good sploosh of kecap manis (2 Tblsp or so) - thick, sweet, soy sauce 2 generous tsp Dijon mustard tsp each of shredded fresh oregano, thyme, basil mix well until thoroughly blended. Wash your hands thoroughly & mix in the beef mince (about 1kg) with your hands - squooshing the mince & incorporating the sloppy mixture through the meat. Depending on 1) size of egg 2) generosity of dollops/splooshes and quality of the mince will depend on whether or not you need a larger or smaller quantity of fresh breadcrumbs, which helpl the mixture to bind & cook, keeping their shape. Last night's batch took about 4-5 Tblsp breadcrumbs, but it changes every time I make them. Form into patties & freeze in either single or double packs, those not required for immediate consumption. Heat a frypan on medium then add a little olive oil & place the meat patties in making sure the underside of each burger has a light coating of oil - jiggle it around a bit just to make sure it doesn't cement itself to the pan.... then.... Do not touch them! Let them sit over the medium heat for a good 4 - 5 minutes. Flip over and cook for a further 2 - 3 minutes. Place a generously thick slice (5mm) of fully matured cheddar on top of each burger pattie, cover frypan with a loosely fitting lid & turn heat to low. Cook for about 2 or 3 more minutes (until cheese has partially melted/become soft). Being Aussies, we have to have beetroot - no burger in this country IS a burger, without it. Once the burgers were cooked, I sliced open the rolls, lightly buttered them, added a dollop of tomato ketchup (Heinz of course!) top that with the hot meat/cheese, arrange sliced beetroot, tomato & torn lettuce (GJ HATES shredded lettuce, prefers it in larger format - completely understandable as the shredded variety usually ends up on the plate, in your lap - everywhere but IN YOUR MOUTH!) The recipe above made 8 'decent' sized burgers - 1 each was more than enough & we still had the bonus of extras in the freezer for next time!! Only downside is that they DO tend to be a tad messy... almost like mango eating... need lots of napkins, but they are sooooooooooo bloody delicious! Graeme reckons they'd be easier to eat if he had a dislocatable jaw... hah! They're not really that big... well, in truth they are, but dinner was all done-and-dusted within 40 minutes.

OUR PLASTIC SOCIETY

2009-04-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

The local butcher sells the most marvellous eye fillet steaks... we're utterly addicted to them. Luckily the 'size' relates well to what dietitians recommend - no larger than the palm of your hand! However I do suspect the dietitans expect that the height will be no more than 5mm.... hehehe! These steaks are fabulously thick - a whopping 20-30mm! Probably not a normal portion size. The teaspoon in foreground gives some idea of the size of these babies! The only thing I'm not completely convinced of is the recommendation (by the butcher) to cook them with the 'Glad wrap' collar. While it might make for uniform presentation when plated, I have this deep an abiding fear & loathing of unnatural additives, especially where food preparation, cooking and injesting is concerned. I was reading Lennie Nash's Chef Sandwich blog today, which dealt with the British press slamming Gordon Ramsay for adopting the latest craze of sous vide (boil-in-a-bag) technique among other things. As with most tabloid papers, mostly hot air & little substance to their claims, - all sounds like 'tall poppy syndrome' to me - but it got me thinking. Every half decent cook/chef sources the best possible ingredients for their kitchens and families and a greater number nowadays are on the 'organic is best' waggon. We check the ingredients list on packaged & tinned food to make sure there are no additives, chemicals etc, or that it's been produced/manufactured in a 'safe' country. I don't buy tinned veg, not ever. If I can't buy it fresh, it doesn't appear on my table. When my kids were young I made a conscious choice to avoid msg and certain food colourings, flavourings, knowing full well that these had an adverse reaction on my sprogs. I also don't use plastic wraps for anything! Not for microwaving, not for packing sandwiches, not even 'covering' food. Good old greaseproof paper, ceramic or glass containers and stainless steel for cooking. After Mum's bout with bowel cancer back in 2005 - despite having a far healthier diet that me - it's made me even more aware of what we are putting down our gullets. It's also made me question whether or not our 'convenience' lifestyle, genetically modified foods and the advent of plastics etc, might not be partially to blame. If you're going to go to the added trouble & expense of buying free-range, organic produce, why on earth would you cover the stuff in plastic and cook it that way? I may not be a biologist or scientist, but I was always under the impression that plastics are nought but chemicals! And toxic chemicals at that. Ok, the manufacturers have brainstormed & paid researchers to come up with all sorts of things which we now can't function without. They've brought out 'microwaveable' plastic wrap, and the bags used to poach foods/meals sous vide are probably state-of-the-art plastics, but you have to ask yourself whether, in 20 or 30 years time, there will be a link to some horrid cancer or similarly catastrophic disease. I'm even suspicious about the new silicon bakeware available - I do have one wiltshire silicon pan, but I wouldn't be surprised if, down the track, there is some drama about their use - in exactly the same way silicon implants were found to leech and poison a whole generation of women. So, despite the perfectly wonderful steaks being wrapped to perfection for the benefit of keeping a 'perfect' shape, I'll continue to remove the bloody stuff and serve the steaks au naturale and it will not diminish our pleasure or the taste of them, one iota!

Rainy Easter weekend

2009-04-14T17:53:00.001-07:00

As is usual with Queensland weather, Easter was abysmal - rained and stormed the entire weekend. Made a foray to the shops early on Thursday (in a bid to beat the crowds) and was back home by 9.30am! What better way to spend the weekend than cooking up a storm? Had everything I needed to create a weekend of feasting - although I did for go plans to make my own Easter eggs or truffles. Been there. Done that. Much rather spend my time with things other than melted chocolate. Have discovered our local baker is more than willing to sell compressed yeast - which isn't readily available anywhere in a retail market - which ensured the hot cross buns would rise a treat! The days disappeared in a blur of yeast, flour, currants & spices (home made hot cross buns for Friday); lamb, pumpkin, chicken breasts (a medley of hearty curries for Easter Monday but made on Sunday so they would improve); an enormous slab of beef, spuds, sweet potato (orange of course), butternut pumpkin, yorkshire pudding, broccoli & spinach (Sunday dinner) followed by a delicious tiramisu which, in truth, no one had space for. Ah well.. better to over cater, than under cater! Friday's offerings: hot cross buns, lightly toasted & a generous smearing of butter. Beef casserole with puff pastry lids, garlic mashed potatoes, peas, roasted sweet potato Saturday lunchtime, decided to make GJ a pea risotto, which was lovely and very 'fresh' then in the afternoon I made an enormous batch of fried rice - Graeme loves fried rice with just about anything - and we had it with home made chicken kievs and cheesy potato bake Sunday Mum and Angus were coming for dinner, so by 9.30am the tiramisu (pictured above) was chilling, the yorkshire pudding batter was chilling by 10am, the roast beef was roasting away happily by 11am. Mum didn't buy hot cross buns this year - so I made a double batch, half for her and half for us. They were just out of the oven when she arrived and she couldn't wait to have one.. or two... Around 1.30 I started prepping the veg and decided that as I was doing pumpkin to accompany the roast beef I might just as well do both pumpkins and get the pumpkin curry on the go for tomorrows Curry feast. I've decided I just HAVE to source bigger plates.... and dispite Mum's assertions that she only wanted a 'small' helping, she managed to scoff her way through the unmodified serving. We were all well replete - so much so that we had to leave the tiramisu for a good hour and a half! Monday morning was up early getting the Butter Chicken and Lamb & Spinach curries on the burners... nothing quite so lovely as the aroma of freshly cooked curries wafting through the place... the neighbours were dead jealous!! The days disappeared in a blur of food & food preparation - nothing much else seemed to enter my consciousness! Must have been having a mother-daughter sync - Jess and Alex had a curry night on Sunday! We ended up on a mission of mercy on Monday night though (they were having a friend over for a second curry night) and didn't have any roti, naan or even pappadums! Mum & Dad to the rescue - pappadums & roti to save the day!

2009-04-14T17:37:00.000-07:00

In the Sunday Courier Mail, 5th April, an article appeared which compared three different lunchbox compilations. The three lunchbox contents were a broad example of lunches provided to primary school age children, following a survey undertaken (presumably) by the newspaper. Dietitians Warn of Nutrient Neglect Suellen Hinde April 05, 2009 12:00am

WHAT your children eat in their lunchboxes today will make a difference to their health now, and in 40 years' time.

Dietitians are ringing alarm bells after reports of children as young as four turning up to daycare centres in Queensland with a Coke and sausage roll for lunch.

Diabetes Australia-Queensland dietitian Julette Kentish said parents needed to take more care with their children's lunches if they wanted to ensure they would live long and healthy lives.

Ms Kentish said an investigation into what children were eating in the playground showed many would face conditions such as heart disease, osteoporosis and cancer when they reached their 50s.

She said parents made a lot of effort to ensure their child was healthy in the uterus, but by the time that child was three or four the pressures of time saw the nutritional well-being of the child take a backseat.

"They then start relying on food manufacturers to provide nutrition and that is not good enough," she said. "One packet of processed munchables is 1500kj - that is the same as three pieces of raisin toast or five pieces of fruit."

The unhealthiest lunchbox contained a total of 61.2g of fat and equalled 5208kJ. However, a healthy lunchbox comes in at 2678kJ and a total of 18g of fat - a difference of 2530kJ.

An average 10-year-old weighing 42kg would need to walk for more than four hours every day just to burn up the extra energy between the two lunchboxes.

The short-term health effects for children that eat a poor diet include difficulty concentrating because of dehydration from high salt content in food, constipation from lack of fibre and poor behaviour.

The daily recommended intake for a 10-year-old child is 8500kJ a day, and 45g-80g of fat.

On average, a lunchbox with pre-packaged food costs $33 a week compared to a fresh food lunchbox at $14 a week.

--- end of article --- How totally unrealistic of dietitians to expect that children's lunches today would be any better than their breakfasts or dinner! When you have a look at the vast quantities of convenience foods which now greatly outnumber the 'fresh/whole' foods in supermarkets, then have a peek at what most shoppers end up loading into their shopping trolley, it's no wonder that kids meals generally are well below standard. It's just a shame that the dietitians didn't survey the kids for an entire week and include their breakfasts and dinners. The ever-present microwave oven was supposed to enable hot, nourishing meals to be ready in minutes. In truth though, all they are used for (in the main, in my opinion) is to reheat foods. It appears, judging from the contents of trolleys and counters at cashiers, that very little actual cooking (and by that I mean cooking-from-scratch) is done these days. Most homes could get away without even having a 'standard' kitchen - a bench, microwave & small fridge with a walk in freezer would suffice the vast majority - if the rubbish they buy from supermarkets is any judge. Perhaps the parents are time-poor, perhaps they are indifferent to food, perhaps they are just lazy or inept in the kitchen, but if the latter is the case there are a zillion cookbooks on the market, and an enormous number of 'meals in minutes' paperbacks which are even available at the supermarkets thanks to Women's Weekly & New Idea etc. Food and cooking shows have never been more popular - the irony is that too many people are sitting in front of the box watching the shows but not putting into practice what they are learning. Probably enjoying some vile frozen pizza or ready-to-eat meal while they are viewing too! I love to cook. Always have, always will. My kids grew up with healthy breakfasts, lunches and dinners - all home cooked from 'scratch', despite having a working mother. It would be very interesting to survey a random group of 6-15 year olds and get them to identify raw/whole foods, wonder how many of them would pass. For that matter, wonder how many of their parents would pass! When my son did home economics in high school (he was a keen cook even then) one of the early lessons was to bake a cake. Great you might think, but no. He was instructed to bring a PACKET cake mix and the required ingredients on the pack! This is where the rot sets in - teaching kids that 'cooking' involves opening a pre-prepared foodstuff and throwing in a cup of water and viola! A cake. When I did home ec, cakes, cheesecakes, casseroles, etc were made from the basic ingredients - funny that, that's how we learned to COOK! Sadly the lunchbox issue is just the tip of the iceberg.