blessed are the hamsters

Farewell

2011-10-30T19:28:00.001+11:00

Farewell to Thee! But not farewell

To all my fondest thoughts of Thee;

Within my heart they still shall dwell

And they shall cheer and comfort me.

Life seems more sweet that Thou didst live

And men more true that Thou wert one;

Nothing is lost that Thou didst give,

Nothing destroyed that Thou hast done.

Anne Brontë

Do you believe in reincarnation, mum?

2011-06-23T10:09:00.000+10:00

Umm, no honey, I don't.

Well, I do & I want to come back as a bird.

Then you will be a beautiful bird sweetheart...

Somewhere in my unmade & messy bed is my youngest favourite daughter.

Whose dad is ill. Very ill.

I don't know what to do.

Bay of Fires...A change of pace.

2011-02-26T19:44:00.000+11:00

We are stardust, we are golden,

2010-11-30T20:22:00.000+11:00

and we've got to get ourselves

back to the garden

- Joni Mitchell

Portugal on a plate...

2010-08-16T14:15:00.000+10:00

One week to go Opera Nutter...

2010-05-01T17:00:00.007+10:00

First run through today with oboe & strings.

Opera nutter is sick a lot...

2010-03-04T17:28:00.006+11:00

Usually he comes down with 'something' once a week, early evening.
Usually he is over 'something' by dinner time the next day.

Last night it was a migraine.
Last night, a week ago, it was gastrointestinal.
Why has it taken me, his mother, 8 years to work out
which day Phys. Ed. falls on the school calendar?!

Ha Noi and beyond...

2009-04-12T19:43:00.001+10:00

Twelve hours a day, seven days a week ...

2009-02-15T19:30:00.004+11:00

in a new caf...
Four kids, one errant partner & a pumpkin plant bigger than Africa.
My feet hurt. A lot.

Have, however, discovered a new use for wine bottle coolers.

There's something about Lily...

2008-11-22T18:50:00.000+11:00

Happy birthday to youngest favourite daughter (& annoying only sister to seven brothers...counting the halves & steps!)

Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day.

2008-11-09T18:10:00.001+11:00

Yeah, right...

Ta-Dah!

Finding maxima...

2008-10-25T19:51:00.001+11:00

It was totally by accident that we found this beautiful part of Tasmania's south.
The ex-pats, (Prof & his favourite daughter) & I, were driving along the Channel Highway in gregarious companionship.
They were ogling at the gawping beauty & I needed a doppio espresso.

That they saw the FOR SALE sign nailed to the trunk of a eucalypt on a lot just a stones throw from this pristine, painterly beach, at the same time as I realized that we were only 15 minutes from the nearest espresso machine (the RVL, Cygnet) was a stroke of luck.

But, the truly remarkable thing about the day was that it only took me the 3 1/2 hour journey back to Launceston to convince him behind the wheel to purchase it.

The Prof, you see, is an extreme optimizer which makes even selecting a brand of toothpaste a challenge for him (& a torturous experience for favourite daughter who was foolish enough to accompany him shopping...once!)

I might add however, that choosing a pair of socks...to wear with an Armani suit...on a hot date...does not appear to be a problem for our Prof...his feet are always stockinged in red & yellow 'Explorers'!

We love it here. The Prof dives up a couple of abalone to barbeque,
my favourite daughter gathers oysters from the shore & shucks & gobbles and I scour the rocks at either end of the crescent moon beach for mussels to cook up a big pot of moules sans frites on the fire.

It's about as good as it gets...

Gone West for a Jellyfest...

2008-10-25T08:09:00.000+11:00

The Prof says there is no point to Australia unless the sun doth shine.
Unfortunately for Chef, youngest favourite daughter & me on our recent trip west, it didst not.

Well, there was one day dolphin watching on sea kayaks off Rottnest.
Bitter complaint about inclement weather whilst on holiday seems a tad unfair especially when one lives 42°South & right in the pathway of the Roaring Forties.
Chef & his not so favourite younger sister, do not share my benevolence however, so, I dealt with their plaintive chant of "It'ssoooboringherethere'snothingtodooo!" by employing that tried & tested parenting technique of;

walking out the door with a good book (Steinbeck) to a fab cafe (Gino's) & leaving them to the Prof's device...which is to dispatch the little ingrates into a frigid Indian ocean completely colonized by a gelatinous smack of Portuguese Man O' War that have blown in from, oh, I don't know where...the Costa de Prata probably!

The appearance of jellyfish in greater numbers & particularly in places where they were once rarely seen, is a symptom of oceans in crises from climate change, the over fishing of predators like tuna & pollution from the run-off from fertilizers as they thrive in coastal waters where oxygen levels have been depleted by that run-off.

Jellyfish Salad with Sesame, Wakame & Really Strange Mushrooms

Go to your fave Asian deli & buy;

125 gm dried salted jellyfish
250 gm funny looking mushrooms
1 tbs sesame seeds
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbs rice wine
1 tsp rice vinegar
20 gm dried wakame seaweed
1 tsp sugar
1 onion
1 red chilli

Soak the jellyfish in warm water for 20 minutes. Drain, rinse, slice finely. Soak wakame in warm water for 5 minutes, drain. Slice like jellyfish. Slice strange mushrooms, onion & chilli. Combine all in a large bowl with wet ingredients, set aside for 30 minutes. Chill, garnish with sesame seeds & eat.
ps DO NOT use Portuguese Man O' War (or any other jellyfish washed up on Cottesloe) for this recipe...they hurt...Lots!
Image from deependdining

Where the bee sucks...

2008-10-24T20:50:00.000+11:00

Unfortunately poor Ariel may no longer have many bees to suck with...according to Guardian journalist & author of A World without Bees, Alison Benjamin.

Her recent report on the decline in the British bee population (almost one in three honeybee hives were wiped out this year) is very troubling.
Although the cause is unclear the British Beekeepers' Association believes that their wet summer kept the bees indoors creating a stress related disease. (As the mother of four little Bs I can relate to this...fortunately the medicinal employment of a glass or two of Tasmanian Pinot is a universally acknowledged cure!)

Benjamin goes on to describe the sad state of honey production in other countries.

Argentina is the world's honey pot, producing up to 75,000 tonnes a year - three times that of its nearest rival Mexico. But Argentina has suffered a 27% drop in yield due to droughts and the planting of huge swathes of land with soya beans for biofuel. As a result, there has been a 60% rise in the price of raw honey.

In the US, honey yields have been decimated by honeybee loses of 36%, many due to colony collapse disorder (CCD), a mysterious disappearance linked to the blood-sucking varroa mite, lethal viruses, malnutrition, pesticides, and a lack of genetic diversity.

Why should we care? Here are a few good reasons. And here. And here's another!

CCD has spread to Canada & Europe & New Zealand. So far Australia is free of the little vampire mite...although, our honey production (35 000 tonnes annually) is regularly affected by drought conditions & bushfires...AND, there's another sticky issue that is affecting our unique Tasmanian Leatherwood honey...
Clear-felling.

The Leatherwood tree (Eucryphia lucida) traces back to the time of Gondwanaland & is endemic to Tasmania. Unfortunately it grows in the same wet eucalypt forests that are cable logged and regenerated by burning, for wood and fibre production. Because these forests are managed on an 80 year rotation, any Leatherwood that regrows often doesn't reach maturity to produce enough blossom...no fragrant blossom, no exquisite Leatherwood honey.

Save Your Leatherwood Honey Association Inc. is a not-for-profit association formed in 2005, whose principal object is to stop the clearfelling and burning of the accessible Leatherwood Resource in Tasmania. It says;

At present the loss of Leatherwood is imminent in the south of the state and the main concern is the flow on effect to other industries - particularly pollination services for agriculture.

We used this 'in your face' Leatherwood honey from the Tasmanian Honey Company for these cookies bien sûr!
But, don't wait until 'Tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow' to make them as production of this aromatic treat may not be sustainable for much longer.

Beehive Cookies
* 3 cups Plain Flour
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup Butter, lightly chilled, cut into bits
* 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
* 1/2 cup crème honey
* 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
* 1 egg
* a little white sugar

Cream butter, brown sugar, honey and lemon zest until smooth; beat in egg. Add dry ingredients in thirds, mixing well with each addition. Scrape dough onto plastic wrap; shape it into a log about 12 inches long. Chill an hour or so until firm, or up to 24 hours. Heat oven to 180°C. Cut log into 1/4-inch slices; place 1 inch apart on tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle with a little white sugar. Bake until edges are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a rack.
Recipe/image source:
http://www.honey.com/consumers/recipes/recipes.asp

Japanese knives, wasabi & a sharkskin grater...

2008-10-23T08:50:00.000+11:00

My pal AB is soon to rejoin the ranks of the gainfully employed
...which is just as well because he is sooo making the Prof jealous.
They share a love of things Japanese... sashimi, Hokusai, Hakama pants (just kidding) & knives. In fact, AB & his lovely spent two months eating their way around Japan recently & if that wasn't enough to give the Prof a hue the colour of wasabi, this email will...

Howdy,
Have been bored at home so went shopping. Have a new knife sharpening jig that is brilliant.
Can easily get your knives to razor, hair splitting sharpness next visit if you wish.
Also, have invested (yep this is the right word - given the outlay) in some Japanese chef’s knives. Absolutely sensational – still waiting on the final one to be made. You could get some of these and change ut si to a Japanese sashimi house?
And, bought some real wasabi from NZ in freeze dried form. WAY better than the green coloured horseradish they pass off as wasabi in the tubes. Warmth, delicacy and beautiful aroma – not a bad substitute for when one cannot get the real McCoy and grate it on your genuine sharkskin grater.

Honesuki (boning knife)

Nakiri – vegie cutter

Yanagiba (sashimi and other thin meat slicing). Traditional Japanese knife – single sided only – so can only be used by a right hander – scary sharp

Gyoto (chef’s knife) still on order – this is the once in a lifetime buy the dream knife...wait 6 months for it to be made...and don’t ever look at the Visa statement again. It is hand made, hammered/drilled Damascus steel. Needless to say a total indulgence (but heh – what's new you ask?)

Rgds
AB

The Prof, the anchovy & exploiting our seas...

2008-10-22T18:31:00.000+11:00

Prof loves to cook.
With abandon.
Infact, he abandons all known principles of cooking.
Like, if you are cooking in someone's newly renovated kitchen;
THOU SHALT NOT MAKE A MESS THAT REQUIRES REMOVAL WITH A BACKHOE OR NUCLEAR FISSION!

Image from http://www.kirkfood.com.au/

The funny thing is, he is sooo thingy about the tools of the trade...if I even think about stabbing that half-open sardine tin with the GLOBAL I get a lecture!
The Prof's culinary repertoire is exclusively piscatorial...if it has scales or a bivalve it's on the menu...& all over the floor, up the walls, down the benches!
The first dish he ever cooked for us was his famous Anchovy & Parsley Pasta. (Boy, that went down a treat with the kids...NOT!)
It's actually delicious.

Anchovy & Parsley Pasta
Sauté finely chopped garlic in olive oil.
Add 6 anchovy fillets with a bit of the anchovy oil.
Stir until they disintegrate...low heat.
Add 2 cups chopped Italian parsley.
Toss through pasta al dente...add more olive oil.
Squeeze of lemon & black pepper to serve.

Um, this is not the Anchovy Pasta pic...I've lost it. This is the remains of a Sardine & Radicchio salad...but, sadly for us (& the fish), this simple dish may soon be no more.
Anchovy stocks have depleted due to ocean warming & while the sardine enjoys this temperature rise, as its numbers increase so does its exploitation.
And, worse still, according to an article in the scientific journal NATURE, over-fishing of the seas has reduced the numbers of all large fish by 90 percent since the fifties!

From giant blue marlin to mighty bluefin tuna, and from tropical groupers to Antarctic cod, industrial fishing has scoured the global ocean. There is no blue frontier left...Since 1950, with the onset of industrialized fisheries, we have rapidly reduced the resource base to less than 10 percent—not just in some areas, not just for some stocks, but for entire communities of these large fish species from the tropics to the poles.

What should we do? Well, this is not new information. It is capitalism at its worst and to state the bleeding obvious, we should stop killing so many fish!
Cutting subsidies, limiting the size of boats & their technology, creating many more marine reserves & reducing quotas is a start, although the Prof says that any quota at all just causes fishermen to dump their excess...and here's proof.
Watch the Norwegian Coastguard's disturbing video of UK fishermen dumping their catch overboard reported in the Guardian.
Fish on film: can it stop the waste?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2008/aug/13/fishonfilmcanitstopthew

Butterfly

2008-10-16T16:46:00.000+11:00

No time to unpack...to Hobart with son #3 to see Oz Opera's production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Son #3 is an opera buff. Some may say he's obsessed...they are correct.

He has adored this most dramatic of art forms since he was a wee bairn. So, when I noticed in the program that the libretto was to be sung in English, I knew that this production was in trouble & that it would be a topic of critical discussion between him & other Opera nutters from all ends of the planet on YouTube as soon as we got home! It mattered not that the fabulous John Bell directed, nor that the late Jennie Tate's costuming was superb, nor even that Cio-Cio-San (almost) nailed the high C at the end of Act 1.

This lovely & strange child insists that opera should be sung in the language of it's original composition only. Why? Because often lyrics do not translate well & are therefore a distraction to the beautiful music of the composer & stunning vocal ability of the performer.

And he's probably right. It's an old debate. Can't really remember what I was interested in as a 12 year old but am pretty sure it wasn't this!

Macrons & CDG...Gordon Ramsay @T5

2008-10-15T18:00:00.000+11:00

I was going to avoid les grands garçons de pâtisserie Parisienne...Ladurée, Gérard Mulot, Dalloyau, Pierre Hermé and the like, this visite.

However, these naughty little macrons (the holy grail of pâtisserie) from Gaston Lênotre were totally irrésistible...I think it was aux couleurs flamboyantes that did me in.

So purchased they were to share with friends in Scotland...only they didn't make it past Charles de Gaulle. Well, it was the long line at passport control versus my self-control...(and the minty one was the best if you're wondering but I could have chosen balsamic vinegar or chocolate-foie gras too!)

Finally to Heathrow & an entree at Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food at T5. Ordered a Caesar (pretty but no bite)
in the hope of distracting a macron induced sugar coma from taking hold...

Cours de cuisine à Paris...

2008-10-15T08:00:00.000+11:00

This was soooo much fun!

Last day in Paris so I enrolled in a cooking school to learn how to make Pâté feuilletée (or purrrff pustreeee to the person who ordered a guide dog covered in custard with his espresso in a cafe in the Marais last week!)

Chef Olivier Berté & patissier Marie-Laure were friendly, funny & forgiving & I can't wait to return.

Oh, did I mention that we also made a souffle aux fruits de la passion et Cointreau?

www.coursdecuisineparis.com

Allons enfants de la Patrie...

2008-10-14T09:42:00.000+11:00

Just made it to France for Quartorze Juillet...
TGV to Lyon..my 1ère visite to this dynamic and sophisticated gastronomic city...

And so it was to the très agréable Leon de Lyon for a sharp & chic dîner...

Entre chiens et loups...

2008-10-09T20:40:00.000+11:00

To visite ma cousine Marie-Claude & her partner Francois in their little village in the alps of Savoie is an absolute treat.

After a beautiful dejeuner (with all the vegetables, salade & fruit sourced from their garden) of poisson en papillote, fromages, tart aux framboises & a local beaujolais, a champagne & a bordeaux, Marie-Claude & Francois took us for a brisk walk through the vallée de la Maurienne in the magnificent alps & we talked about the recolonization of the wolf to the region...well, they walked & talked, we staggered & puffed!

One of the reasons le loup was reintroduced was to keep the population of chamoix under control. Unfortunately, Monsieur Loup prefers mountain sheep to mountain goat much to the annoyance of the alpine shepherd...(not to mention les moutons). So, the Patou, a Pyrenean mountain breed of sheepdog, trained to protect sheep from wolves to the end, was also introduced.

However, as a few two legged alpine hikers have discovered, Monsieur Patou takes his job très au sérieux...so we were on the lookout!

But all we saw, apart from stunning scenery, were the derrières of a herd of dozy vaches...

Mein Rucksack auf meinem Rucken

2008-10-06T19:04:00.000+11:00

Chef is in charge of staffing back at our caf...or so he reckons.

Yesterday, having offered to assist with some research, I happily wandered around Vienna's fine cafes,

...and, with Chef's brief in mind, (NO bogans and NO mothers),

...found our Maitre'd!

Val-deri, Val-dera.

der Markt

2008-10-05T17:42:00.003+11:00

I love street markets be they farmers or flea.

This huge Saturday party in Vienna is an exotic intermingling of food stalls, cafes, delis & bars at one end,

with a superb chaos of junk & antiques at the other.

Fascinating stalls of vegetable vinegars (even asparagus) & mountain cheeses vie for attention with stuffed aligators, lederhosen...

& toys for the boys!

It's a wonderous sight in world increasingly homogenized by globalization.

But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer

2008-10-04T16:20:00.000+10:00

The Prof is back in deepest, darkest Scotland.
I've just read that, at last count, Scotland had ten restaurants with Michelin stars...who'd have thought this possible in a country whose national dish is a steaming lump of sheep's 'pluck'!
In truth I like haggis...with a wee dram (in truth I like anything with a wee dram!)
I like that it explodes with a warm, stinky richness when you puncture it.
I like its nutty, liverish taste.
And I like that it was born out of necessity...at a time when people had to eat whatever they could get their hands on.

Died & gone to Vienna...

2008-10-03T18:13:00.001+10:00

Where I have discovered two things.

Firstly, that in Vienna you never have to ask for a double shot.

And secondly, that the Prof will never be asked to design our menu!

the Glorious Fourth!

2008-10-03T18:05:00.001+10:00

We celebrate anything in our famille...the storming of the Bastille, the Scottish Bard's birthday, my getting to the bottom of the ironing basket (a biennale).

But, this is our first Fourth of July
and we actually had an excuse to party this time.

Son #1, on mid-semester break, has brought his very sweet American gf, Marianne, home to visit. With friends invited, spare ribs barbecued and Budweiser consumed the Star Spangled Banner was vocally murdered.

And as I write, the lovely Marianne is teaching everyone to play Texas Hold'em!

Happy Independence Day America!

or, The Useless Precaution...

2008-10-02T07:33:00.000+10:00

The opera nutter & I are off to the Devonport CMAX this a.m. to see the Metropolitan Opera performance transmission of The Barber of Seville.

Launched in the 2006/07 opera season, this series of live productions shown in HD in 60 cinemas throughout North America, Europe, Japan & Australia has been so successful that transmissions have now grown to 250 movie theatres, with most of the performances being sold out & many encore screenings.

In fact, according to the LA Times,

... this may be the most significant development in opera since the supertitle.

(Opera supertitles may be a way of providing audience members with an easy-to-read text translation for the opera they are watching, but, ah me, & there are no surprises here, the nutter loathes them!)

The Met has also added live interviews & special features, which give audiences a rare look at the behind-the-scenes drama. How fab it is to hear an interview with a breathless yet mellifluous soprano each time she departs stage left & to watch the sound & light techies in industrious occupation throughout.

In major cities where the transmissions have been seen, there has apparently been an increased interest in live opera performances...indeed, if there's an uplugged production of anything in this state, we're there man...even though most of the family (& some of my friends) think Nessun Dorma is a type of car!

Audience participation, however, ain't what it used to be, it seems.
Initially Il barbiere di Siviglia was a total flop.

Gioachino Rossini wrote the entire thing in 3 weeks & nicked most of the storyline & some of the music from another opera which caused the outraged fans of the original to rudely & loudly disrupt his premiere performance. (And, at the same time, an unfortunate series of mishaps involving a trap-door & a cat that had wandered onto the set, unfolded on stage!)

But, it was all sorted...the hoi polloi soon realized that Rossini's work was far superior & this delightful comic opera is today one of the world's best loved & most performed...And, no one DIES!

Now, if I can just find a decent cafe on the town...

Chicken & beer...

2008-09-29T13:24:00.000+10:00

Oh these girls are so lucky...if it wasn't for the fact that I only have 22 eggs & need 24 yolks for a Portuguese dessert by tomorrow they'd be plated up by now such was the destruction in my garden today.
So this is what Kath & Kim almost became.

Chicken braised in beer with field mushrooms ...(& silverbeet & tarragon if your chooks left you any)

Brown a chopped up posh chicken all over in butter then remove.
Saute a sliced onion & garlic clove & then 3 big field mushrooms, quartered.
Return chicken to pan with a cup of chopped up silverbeet. Season.
Simmer 25 minutes.
Remove chicken again. Add 1/2 cup of cream & reduce.
Return chicken, heat through. Add fresh tarragon.

Drink suggestion: the rest of the 6 pack then the rest of the bottle of Pinot you opened last night.

ps This recipe is ripped straight out of this month's GOURMET...page 103. It has a fab hoppy taste. And, if the kids won't eat the mushrooms or silverbeet, lean right over their plates & eat them yourself.

The therapeutic application of a custard tart...

2008-09-27T15:58:00.001+10:00

I read somewhere that Human Growth Hormone is released in a manner directly proportional to the amount of caring attention a child receives.

Trawling through my inbox recently I came across an email from youngest favourite daughter.

'Dear mummy,
How are you?
Are you giving your children enuff attenshen?
Love,
Lily
x'

Well, clearly, I haven't given her education 'enuff attenshen', so, right after I examined her closely for signs of shortness of stature, I showed her how to turn on spell check.

And, as dietary protein also plays a role in the release of HGH, decided we should make her fave high protein treat together...the custard tart!

I don't think my long bones are going to benefit from all this attention...

but, unfortunately, my adipose tissue will!

Cup-cake...the NEW muffin.

2008-09-27T08:52:00.000+10:00

The Prof and I were in NYC a couple of years ago.

Wandering around the West Village late one night (actually, we were looking for the pub where Dylan Thomas drank himself to death) we came across the extraordinary sight of a long line of fine young twenty-somethings waiting patiently outside a cupcake bakery.

Anyway, apparently this little bakery is responsible for starting the whole global cupcake craze thing.

Still, you'd think twenty-somethings could find something better to do at 11 o'clock on a Saturday night in one of the most fab cities on the planet!

http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/