Cooking

NAPLAN, A Wreath, Curried Egg Sandwiches and Herbs

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NAPLAN

After abandoning teaching fads and adopting old style ‘direct instruction’ a cluster of Catholic schools (56 schools) in the ACT and Goulburn have shot to the top of NAPLAN this year. Catholic schools that have underperformed for years were directed in 2020 by the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn to adopt explicit teaching methods.

Explicit teaching requires the teacher to

1. Introduce a new concept,

2. Children practice or repeat concept,

3. The teacher tests for success, and

4. Reteaches where necessary.

Image Pixabay

Within four years the schools have delivered their best ever NAPLAN outcomes. These schools are recognised by ACARA ( Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority) as making a difference in the ACT. ACARA compares schools where students come from households with similar incomes, education and occupations.

Based on an article written by Natasha Bita, 04/12/2024 the australian.com.au

making a gate wreath

I want to freshen up our Christmas decorations this year, but don’t have a lot of time to spare. I found a bag of Christmas bits and pieces in a cupboard when I was looking for something else and knew I could incorporate them on a very plain wreath I already had but hadn’t used in the past. The wreath had clusters of red berries and little lights run off batteries and could easily be attached to our front gate.

Arranged the decorations on the wreath and contemplated how I would secure them. The wreath had a wire frame and the decorations had wire stems, so I decided to twist the decorations onto the frame. Went to work on it. Poked the clusters in place, did a bit of rearranging and a lot of twisting and the decorations were secure. Finished. Added batteries to see if the lights worked. All good.

end of year yoga

I’ve been going to the same yoga class for about six years, although the sessions were patchy and sometimes on Zoom during the pandemic. We end each year with a Christmas party. Our class is made up of an eclectic group of people, some with dietary restrictions, so I took curried egg sandwiches to the first party. They disappeared in no time. Now, I am reminded frequently before the party each year that I’m expected to take curried egg sandwiches. So easy! And a lovely morning, too.

herbs

I frequently use herbs in cooking. Years ago I used to buy them from the supermarket or the green grocer but preparing food for two people meant there was a lot of waste. They either went limp in the fridge or slimy in a glass of water. Either outcome meant they were thrown out.

The solution was obvious! I needed to grow my own. Made a list of the herbs I commonly used and either planted seeds, or in the case of the mint and parsley, got some from my Mother. I grew spring onions from the cut off white bit on the end with roots attached and they have been providing us with fresh spring onions for about 20 years.

Image Pixabay

I also grow chives (from seed) and basil, also from seeds collected at the end of the season. I have shallots, grown from seed, as I use them in a great David Lebovitz dressing, (not including the recipe as I’ve tweaked it to suit us but you can see similar by searching his name and FRENCH VINAGRETTE), plus perennial spinach. The spinach isn’t a herb but adds a dash of green and lovely flavour added to so many things. I have three plants which feed two people regularly.

The other flavours I rely on regularly are lemons and limes. The juice or zest adds to both sweet and savoury dishes. I have a lime tree in the courtyard at the front and lemons out the back. I really like passionfruit, too, but the vines never thrived and I eventually pulled them out. Disappointing.

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Retraining Teachers and Odd Jobs

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retraining teachers in south australia

One in three Australian students failed to meet the minimum level of achievement in NAPLAN testing this year. (National Assessment Program- Literacy and Numeracy.) The score and specific information regarding the areas the child did not meet expectations is then sent to the school and the classroom teacher to reteach. Sounds great, but what if the teacher doesn’t know how to teach that skill?

The University of Adelaide has launched a new microcredential course focussing on explicit teaching. The Federal Minister for Education, Jason Clare is reported saying, “The reading wars are over. We know evidence based teaching methods work and this free short course will help teachers in the classroom” It’s all about teaching teachers how children actually learn to read, write and do maths. In recent times teachers have not been taught these teaching skills as part of their training.

The free course is offered online and can be completed at the teacher’s own pace. It will teach explicit instruction techniques, that is, a teacher explains a new concept to the students, directs the children to practice or repeat what they learnt, tests for success and reteaches where necessary. It is very specific teaching, directed by the teacher. Universities in South Australia will be required to include explicit teaching instruction in their teaching qualifications.

The first course, already available, teaches how to teach phonics, the sounding out of letters and words. I taught junior primary for most of my 40 years teaching and cannot believe phonics is not the basis of all reading skills taught. My friends, still in teaching, talk about children in their second and third year of education who cannot sound out or spell words phonetically.

Image Pixabay

A course already offered online teaches teachers how to keep classrooms calm and under control. These skills are no longer assumed to be learnt at home. Children are taught to line up quietly, sit and to listen. Already 1280 teachers have completed the microcredential in classroom management.

Source : The Weekend Australian, November 23-24, 2024, by Natasha Bita, Education Editor.

odd jobs

Do you save buttons from old shirts? My Mother snipped the buttons off worn out shirts before they became cleaning cloths. The buttons were stored in old coffee jars, the white buttons separated into small for shirts and the bigger ones went into another jar. Every other colour was a mix of sizes. When I was working I also kept a jar of small white buttons in the laundry plus a needle threaded with white cotton. This meant I could replace a button within minutes and still get to work on time. Over the years I must have washed and ironed thousands of business shirts and school shirts and frequently needed to replaced buttons.

Luckily, I inherited my Mother’s button collection! An unusual but very useful inheritance. Just recently, I bought a pink linen shirt but really didn’t like the wintery, dark button at the front. Snip, and it was gone to be replaced by a large pink button from one of Mum’s button jars. The jars are stored in a cupboard where I can easily retrieve them, as they continue to be useful.

Snip, stitch, done.

The same day I had to repair three necklaces. Earlier in the year I’d restrung two of the necklaces, using a variety of pretty beads. I wore both regularly. I’d used clasps I bought in a local shop and within five or six times of wearing them, the clasps broke. Annoying. ( I used a large safety pin to connect each end of the necklaces for a few weeks. Not exactly ideal, but it worked!) So I went to a craft supplier and bought good quality clasps, took apart the two necklaces and a third which needed restringing and got to work. Really pleased with the quality of the fittings, now, and considering updating the catch on another necklace.

Repaired, back in service.

Then I decided to use up half a dozen large, super fresh golden yolked eggs a friend of my husband’s gave us. I made an egg and tomato pie, using up things I already had such as onions, tomatoes, spring onions and some yoghurt, plus the eggs and then some chives on top. Baked in the oven.

While the pie was cooking I peeled and quartered some apples. We really like fresh apples but this year they all seem to be a bit doughy. You know I hate wasting food, so I caramelised some caster sugar, swirled in some butter, then arranged the peeled, cored and quartered apples in the caramel. I’d cut the pastry to the size of the pan I’d used for making the caramel and had then stored it in the fridge. Quickly arranged it in the top of the apples, poked the sides down with a spoon and put it in the still hot oven. Smelt wonderful, tasted really good, too.

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Asparagus, So Long Maryanne and Halloween

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asparagus

Really pleased to find asparagus grown in Albany, an area down south in Western Australia. I’ve bought asparagus labelled Grown in Australia no area specified, which was an improvement on the asparagus more generally available in the past, grown in Mexico or Peru! Or Thailand. Locally grown, really fresh asparagus is lovely.

To prepare the spears for cooking, wash under running water then snap the ends off, they’ll come away where the woodiness ends. I usually cook them in the microwave. It’s easy, just dampen a length of paper towel ( I use three sheets folded in half) and wrap around the spears. Thin stalks need about two minutes, thicker ones need three minutes. Unwrap and serve. I often cut the cooked spears in half, so they fit well on the plate, then add a little dab of butter and a good squeeze of lemon. Delicious. (If the asparagus spears are quite long it’s probably easier to cook them in an asparagus steamer)

If you need to keep asparagus fresh for a few days, snap or cut the woody ends off and put them in a jar or glass with water. Best stored in the fridge. Drain, pat dry and steam or microwave as usual.

books

Do you remember Leonard Cohen singing So Long, Maryanne? I have just finished reading Kari Hesthamar’s book So Long Maryanne A Love Story. This biography begins when Maryanne, aged 22, travels to Hydra with her boyfriend, Axel Jensen. They have left Norway seeking a cheaper and more relaxed life, where Axel, an emerging author, can write.

They marry in 1958 and have a son Axel Joachim. They become part of an artist group of Westerners, including Australians Charmain Clift and George Johnson, both published authors. Axel has a book published and buys a house but believes he will find his purpose with other women and other places. He leaves Maryanne and new born son, Axel Joachim.

The island is inhabited by more than six thousand Greeks and six expats although others come and go. Maryanne and Axel had met Leonard Cohen within the expat group of artist and authors. When Axel abandons Maryanne and Axel Joachim, Cohen becomes close to Maryanne and eventually they live together. These are fluid times, fueled by drugs and alcohol. Maryanne goes back to Norway but cannot settle, then back to Hydra, then to Canada and France and America then Mexico, sometimes with Cohen, sometimes without. She seems to be always on the move, always restless. He gives up on writing books and becomes a singer, poet and song writer. He is very successful. Like Maryanne and Axel and others on the periphery of their group of artists, he is always ‘searching for himself.’

Maryanne drifts around, always in his orbit, and the relationship is gentle and kind but not monogamous, and eventually in 1972 she goes back to Norway to provide stable schooling for twelve year old Axel Joachim. Her son is taken by his father to India when he is fifteen and given acid. As a consequence, he has been institutionalised most of his adult life. Maryanne becomes employed and settles in Norway. She eventually meets a partner and has lived with him for many years.

Maryanne collaborated closely with the author of So Long, Maryanne providing many letters and other mementos referred to in the story.

Maryanne is the subject of one of the most famous love songs ever written, So Long, Marianne*. Her story has been made into a series, of the same name, currently showing on SBS On Demand in Australia. The book tells the story from Maryanne’s point of view, the series is written from Leonard Cohen’s point of view. Interesting. Both are a real insight into the 60’s in the arts world.

* The book spells Maryanne with a ‘y’, the film spells her name with an ‘i’. Maryanne herself spells her name with a ‘y’.

halloween

Do you celebrate Halloween? Originally a Celtic pagan celebration going back more than 2000 years, it marked the end of the harvest and the end of the year. The crops had been harvested and the beginning of shorter days leading into winter. Halloween is also celebrated on the eve of the feast All Hallows Day.

Door handle hanger from our letter box. (Duet)

I understand the enthusiasm for sweet treats and lollies but despite reading more than I need to know about Halloween I’m not sure about the mass of plastic rubbish associated with the event. The shops are full of plastic, disposable Halloween decorations. Not good.

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Preserving Lemons and a Study About Rat Behaviour.

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preserving lemons

Are you a fan of lemons? I think almost everything I make is lemon scented or lemon flavoured at the moment. We have so many lemons! Today I am preserving lemons, so I’ve picked fresh ones, the jars are in the dishwasher and I’m about to start preparing the brine. The size of your jar dictates how many lemons you will need.

Glass jars for storing food can be used and re-used multiple times. They are strong, easy to see the contents and easily cleaned and reused. Of course, they are useful for storing many other things, too, but they are perfect for food.

sterilizing the jars

I’ve listed three common methods for sterilising jars. For each method you begin by washing the jars in hot soapy water, rinse but don’t towel dry. I wash them in the dishwasher although they have been stored after being cleaned previously.

1. Set the oven to 110°C, place the jars on an oven tray, place in the oven for 15 minutes, carefully remove and leave to cool.

2.Alternatively if you have a pot deep enough you can set the washed jars in it, cover with water and boil for 10 minutes. Remove carefully and leave to cool.

3. Or you could place washed jars in the microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove carefully and allow to cool. This is how I sterilised the jars when they came out of the dishwasher.

Preserved lemons are pickled in their own juice and salt for three weeks. Originating in Morocco and Middle Eastern recipes I find a little preserved lemon adds zing to everything from salads to stews. Select and sterilise the jar you want to use to preserve your lemons. A wide opening makes it easy to insert them. Cut off the tops and bottoms of each lemon after you have washed and dried them. Then cut your lemons into quarters leaving them joined at the base. Spoon two dessert spoons of salt into the jar and spoon more salt into the first lemon. Place it in the bottom of the jar.

Continue adding salted lemons, squashing them down and releasing juice. Finally, when the jar is full of salted lemons top up with extra lemon juice.

Leave in the fridge for four weeks before adding to salads, soups, stews and casseroles, or whatever takes your fancy! I turn the jars every few days during the process. Be sure to scrape the pulp from the skin before using the preserved lemon.

rats

Back in 1962 an experimental psychologist John Calhoun published an article in the Scientific American, after considerable research, on rat behaviour in growing populations. He observed that growing populations with increasing physical proximity induced stress and that the birth rate then decreased to reduce crowding.

However when he increased physical proximity by reducing rats personal space all sorts of other behaviours were triggered. Violence and homosexuality rocketed, females ceased to nurture and suckle their young which were then eaten by male rats. Some adults survived by avoiding social contact and spent their time grooming themselves. The population collapsed. The survivors with few social skills lived passively alone.

In another experiment rats in a closed environment were never allowed to become ill or run out of food. Once they reached a certain population density vice wiped them out. Food for thought when you consider the pressure in Australia for people to adopt tower block living in apartments in preference to our traditional way of life of living in separate houses on separate blocks of land. We are not exactly running out of room, are we? Points to ponder!

Taken from a book review in the Spectator of a book written by Lee Dugatkin’s, Dr Calhoun’s Mousery; The Strange Tale of a Celebrated Scientist, a Rodent Dystopia, and the Future of Humanity, published October, 2024.

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Arum Lilies, Vegan Leather and Other Things

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arum lilies

Arum lilies were originally introduced to Australia from Natal and the Cape Provinces in South Africa via UK gardens where they were very popular. They thrived in Australia and eventually ‘escaped’ from gardens. They are a declared a weed in most parts of Australia. Arum lilies thrive in wet conditions, particularly under trees in swampy areas. Many districts spray annually to eradicate them. They crowd out native vegetation, are toxic for animals and humans, they dominate wetlands and impede water flow.

Arum lilies are also very beautiful. They grew well where I grew up and even years after I’d left home my Father would bring me a bucket of lilies. I love them! I have grown a bed of arum lilies in our garden where they cannot escape. They continue to thrive and I enjoy having them indoors during their flowering season. I have never had any sort of reaction to them.

Image Pixabay

About forty years ago a visiting Dutch neighbour was aghast seeing a vase of lilies in my house! She told me Europeans considered them funeral flowers. Apparently the lily symbolises rebirth and are thought to give hope to the grieving family. Taking lilies into a hospital was also a faux pas. In contrast, they are commonly used as Easter decorations in churches. Lilies are seen in many of images of Christ’s resurrection.

vegan leather

I am not a vegetarian and like to think of all parts of animals butchered for meat being used in some way. I really like the nose to tail approach becoming more common. So I prefer leather handbags. They use by- products of meat production, they last a long time with little up keep and are usually strong.

Vegan leather is most commonly made from a polymer, polyurethane. Polyurethane is plastic. Vegan leather (pleather, faux leather, artificial leather) is usually wholly plastic but some designers only employ plastic to strengthen the plant based material being used, such as pineapple leaves, cactus, mushrooms and cork. But when the bag is no longer used, it is still a plastic bag.

Consumers avoiding ‘cruelty free’ materials, byproducts from turning animal skins into leather or have concerns about toxic waste and pollution should research the production and longevity of products made from plastic/polyurethane. Also, the alternate materials being promoted by PETA ( People For The Ethical treatment of Animals) rely heavily on fossil fuel to harvest, transport and manufacture vegan leather. Make up your own mind, but do some research first!

other things

Planted two different types of tomato seeds. One type, harvested from my Mother’s garden a few years ago, produces trusses of delicious, dark red, explode in your mouth tiny tomatoes. The bush grows quite tall and needs support.

The second lot of seeds I’ve planted were saved from a delicious tomato given to me by a lovely neighbour. She’d been given some tomatoes and kindly shared them. They were big and heavy and tasted wonderful. I think they will grow on a shorter, bushier plant. Fingers crossed I have two types during summer.

Also tidied up the remnant basil plant and added saved seeds to the pot. We use a lot of basil and I really like the scent. I bought pesto today because I’d been smelling basil. Looking forward to making it from my own plants, too.

Another blogger, sustainablemum. wrote explaining how she planned meals for her family. That was the push I needed to get organised. For months we’ve been spending a few days at a time away, returning home late in the evening. Dinner needs to be fast and easy. So often we have eggs on toast!

Beef Curry

Hungarian Goulash, looks a bit messy but smelt and tasted wonderful.

As suggested, I scrolled through a slow cooker recipe book I bought back from Australind, along with the slow cooker. Marked several recipes I knew would appeal to both of us and could be served with quickly steamed vegetables and noodles. Bulk bought the ingredients and made Beef Curry and Hungarian Goulash. The scents coming from two slow cookers was very tempting.

Will make another recipe I marked but have been online looking for a curry with more flavour. Probably do the same with the goulash because basically it was good but needed more oomph, too. I can take the precooked food from the freezer the morning we leave, put it in the fridge and it will be thawed and ready to heat when we get back. I also like the idea of not cooking every night, too!

Some for the freezer, some for the fridge.

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Triangle Families, Farmers and Menu Planning

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triangle families

Have you heard of Triangle Families? Me neither, until I read about it this morning. It was of particular interest as it turns out we are a triangle family, but I have never heard the expression before today. A triangle family is a couple with one child. Apparently Triangle Families have doubled in the past 40 years to the point where 40% of households in the EU with children are Triangle Families. ( here )

The reasons given for the growth of Triangle Families in Australia are complex and individual but include couples living in different circumstances from their parents and previous generations, couples wanting to further their careers and travel more frequently and rising infertility rates. Interestingly, 14% of couples feel they can’t afford to have any children, 9% are delaying having children and 6% have decided not to have children due to rising costs limiting their lifestyle choices.

Image Pixels

The article raises the common stigma attached to only children families. We have an only child, my Father became an only child due to the death of a young sibling, my cousin is an only child and has an only child herself, one of my brothers has one child and one of my nieces has one child, so it’s not uncommon in my family. The reasons are varied and complex and really nobody elses’ business but it was certainly of interest when I was younger with friends having their second, third and fourth babies. Close friends knew why and never commented. ( A friend with five planned children was often asked if they knew what was causing it or didn’t they have a TV!)

Although the article highlighted the apparent stigma surrounding Triangle Families, I’d like to think we are becoming more accepting of a range of situations and becoming a little kinder, too.

farmers

When you see the word ‘farmers’ did you immediately think of a male? Most people do! Can you believe until the 1990s women in agriculture couldn’t list themselves as ‘farmers’ on census forms? Change began with the creation of AWiA, Australian Women in Agriculture in 1994. This group set about changing how women on the land were perceived by the agricultural industry, government and the population generally.

Women have been an integral part of farming forever but were rarely recognised for their contribution. They did the same job as the men. Then the daughters of farmers began going to university and returning with degrees applicable to genetics, economics, diversifying farming practice and general skills used in efficient agricultural businesses.

Image Pixabay.

I frequently use ‘free to use images’ to support what I have written. I entered ‘women farms’ in the search box. There’s 555 pages of related images. I gave up after six pages as the only women in the images wore coolie hats, were up to their knees in water and obviously labouring in developing countries. Two others portrayed a woman draped over a lavender bush and another of a beautifully dressed woman standing amongst sunflowers. Finally found two acceptable images.

It has taken a long time for the work of women to be recognised. This is evident in the paucity of women representing farming on boards, in government and in the news. Women are not just labouring beside their husbands, they are running these businesses themselves. They are adept at using technology and data to make decisions and dictate change.

Image Pixabay.

This year AWiA celebrates 30 years of promoting women in agriculture. So, that’s something to consider as you eat your fruit and vegetables, add milk to your coffee, boil your egg and make your toast. Think about who might be responsible for that chicken breast you’re marinating for dinner, the steak in the fridge next to the bacon and butter. Things change slowly.

menu planning

I was reading a blog this morning I have followed for years. The author is recognised for her money management skills. Today she referred to menu planning, something I have never tried, but she runs a fortnightly list with some variations due to family celebrations or outings and what was well priced in the shops she visits.

The produce at the green grocer influences what I cook, along with time available and what I can pick from the garden. I have several perpetual spinach plants so we have spinach at least once a week, although I was away a while ago and came back to a big pot full of fresh leaves. Made a goats cheese and spinach pie. I always have herbs and lemons and there’s limes on the tree, too. I buy meat, chicken and fish depending on what looks really good.

Image Pixels

When I saw the glossy white to pale green to dark green leeks at the greengrocer I knew I was making Chicken and Leek Pie. It was very good. I often wonder how other people decide what they are making for dinner. Not only do I run out of ideas but the enthusiasm can be pretty low, too. That’s when we have oven roasted salmon in maple syrup and lime or lemon juice with boiled vegetables, because my husband makes one thing and that’s it! In warmer weather he’ll also barbecue some steak if he thinks to thaw it beforehand.

Chicken and leek pie.

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Bits and Bobs

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laundry

Choice, the publication of the Australian consumer organisation of the same name, has tested more than 90 laundry liquids, powders, pods and sheets. They tested the products using front loading and top loading machines. Their comments about the efficiency of top loading machines were quite harsh.

According to Mark Serrets, editorial director at Choice, ‘ Fancy new products don’t perform as well as old school stuff.’ I think he is referring to powders. He continues,’In fact, some of the lowest scoring products barely performed better than just water.’ The laundry sheets marketed as being eco-friendly were some of the worst performing. The Choice tests also showed using half the recommended dose of product resulted in much the same outcome as using the full amount.

For front loading machines the top four products recommended were OMO Ultimate Powder (86%), second was OMO Laundry Powder (84%), third was OMO capsules (the most expensive product tested) and in fourth place, ALDI’S Laundrite Powder, scoring 79% . This product was the best performer for top loading machines, too.

I bought this OMO powder as it met the criteria for ‘stripping’ and returning whites to crispy, clean whiteness. It worked well. So why is it sealed in a plastic bag? The scent is so strong and overpowering I could smell it in the laundry from the front door! Totally overpowering but a few days on the clothesline in the sun removed the smell, so I’d use it again.

There are no guidelines available in Australia defining eco-friendly laundry detergents. Manufacturers can claim whatever they like on the box.

the country women’s association cookbook and household hints

This household bible was first published in 1931 during the Depression. My copy, originally my grandmother’s, was published in 1941 and was a gift to her from my Father. It was published under the direction of the Country Women’s Association of Western Australia with the added title, Non Sectarian and Non Political.

The recipes and household hints were sent into the CWA by women from all over Western Australia. The CWA is still active in many farming and some city communities. And online. Apparently, the CWA are publishing old recipes that can be made from things you probably already have in the fridge or pantry. Hearty and economical, these recipes are easy to prepare and apparently a hit. More information (here) Recipes and information also on Facebook, search cwa woy woy online, also on Instagram.

Apart from recipes. the CWA Cookbook has a plethora of household hints, some you might never need , such as How To Mend A Leaking Bucket, but some you might like to try, such as Reviving Flowers.

What prompted me to get out and search the CWA cookbook in the first place? I bought some lovely chicken sausages last week. I rarely eat sausages but the men in the family really like them. These chicken sausages looked fat and glossy. I bought quite a lot!

Eventually there were eight left and I decided to make old fashioned curried sausages. Nothing fancy pants like my usual curries, involving racks of spices. I wanted something old fashioned, ergo the CWA Cookbook. There were fifteen recipes for curries, none involved sausages, so I did as I always do, and went to Nagi’s recipetineats.com

Delicious, warming on a freezing night and enough for lunch the next day, too. Perfect. So good I went out and bought more chicken sausages. We’re having them for dinner tonight.

rust stains

While we were away recently I left several indoor plants on the table with ceramic watering spears partially embedded so water seeped into the plant pot. It was very successful. And a relief as it was very, very hot at the time.

Unfortunately, I also left a wine cooler with a potted plant in it on the table, too. The metal happily rusted onto the tablecloth. Initially I treated it with a blend of salt and lemon juice. Then I spread the cloth over a drying frame and left it in the sun all day. The rust marks faded, but not completely.

Not totally effective. More research required.

Searched online again. Found several sites recommending vinegar for removing rust stains. Using the Weed Killer spray bottle of vinegar I was able to target the stains. Then I left it draped over a small olive tree, in the sun. The stains had mostly gone. Washed it. Hung it out in the sun. No more rust marks.

Billowing in the breeze and now stain free. It is not actually a tablecloth, it is an Italian double bedspread, but I don’t have any beds that size. I have a table that size. My Mother, who gave it to me, was a bit surprised to see it being used as a tablecloth.

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Inflation & Cost of Living and Father’s Day

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We have a large shopping centre nearby. It has two supermarkets, one where we get some fruit and vegetables, plus sheep’s yoghurt and goat’s cheese, eggs, fish and often meat and always chicken. The other supermarket is where we buy pasta, frozen vegetables, crackers and biscuits and a few other things. I only prepare meals for two of us most of the time, so our shopping trolley isn’t very full. Most of our fresh fruit and vegetables come from a green grocer.

There is a whole array of other shops at the local shopping centre. There’s a David Jones, a department store, lots of clothing stores including R.M.Williams, Country Road and Camilla and Marc, cafes, a lovely gift shop and a Chanel shop. Plus lots of other shops like hairdressers, bedding supplies, a bank inside and two others nearby, also Mecca, which claims to be Australia’s biggest beauty retailer. I hope the gangs of very young girls I see in there buying skin care products are also buying sunscreen. Good places to eat close by, including a hotel and other cafes.

Image Pixabay

Australia is experiencing high inflation and a cost of living crisis. This became really clear to me last week when I walked through the shopping centre. This once vibrant and busy shopping centre with good parking and everything from cut flowers to a new dinner set or a hair cut was strangely quiet. It was easy to get around. No long waits at the checkout. Also, not many sales assistants, although I was lucky to snag one who was very helpful. Customers in the coffee shops, but none were crowded. Sales advertised in most display windows.

In August, Channel 9 (here) claimed about 4 million Australians were struggling to buy food. Inflation is blamed on pressures due to high energy costs and labour shortages. Producers complain that they are being paid less and less by the buyers from the big supermarket chains. Primary producers are paying more for fuel, fertilizer, labour and transport. Politicians are threatening an inquiry into price gouging by the supermarkets. This problem apparently exists in Britain and the USA where similar inquiries are threatened. Inflation is a universal problem caused by quantitative easing and all the money spent by governments during the Covid epidemic.

Read in the Sunday paper that Woolworths, one of our two big supermarket chains, announced a net profit of $1.7 billion. This was later reduced to $108 million because of an ‘impairment’ to its New Zealand business. Coles, the other big supermarket chain, posted an annual $1.1 billion profit this week, a 10% increase. This duopoly controls 65% of Australia’s grocery market. (Source The Sunday Times, Sunday 1st September 2024)

roast lamb’

Sunday, 1st September was Father’s Day in Australia. Our son flew in from Singapore, en route from Taipei to Kalgoorlie, so we had a lovely weekend. I asked my husband what he’d like for Father’s Day lunch and he said Roast Lamb. I grew up on a farm and I think it was easy for my Father to butcher a lamb by himself, whereas he needed help for a bigger beast, so we ate a lot of lamb! I think we ate bacon for breakfast (we had a piggery, too) then beef or lamb for lunch and dinner. I don’t remember eating a lot of chicken but we ate a lot of duck in season. A friend of my Grandfather was a keen fisherman and I remember him exchanging fish for meat.

So for years I haven’t eaten pork, except ham and bacon in moderation and I haven’t eaten lamb. I wasn’t confident about cooking the leg of lamb I bought and as usual, sought Nagi’s recipetineats.com method and followed it exactly. Picked lots of rosemary and some mint for the peas and did as directed. The lamb turned out pink and beautifully cooked. The rest of the family were very pleased with it too. Made the gravy following the recipe and even sieved it, as instructed in the recipe, to remove the garlic skins, rosemary twigs and big bits of roasted onion. This was the best gravy, silky and rich but not overpowering. I also used her recipe for Crunchy Roast Potatoes, which were just fabulous.

Nagi suggested pushing the gravy through a sieve. Did as instructed, great gravy.

I’d made the pudding beforehand. We had a lot of red apples in the fruit bowl and I felt they needed using up. Generally Apple Crumble is made from green apples such as Granny Smith’s. Again, straight to Nagi’s Apple Crumble recipe. The scent of cooking apples and cinnamon was lovely. So was the Apple Crumble, served with vanilla icecream.

We had a lovely day with great food and the best part…lots of leftovers for dinner that night!

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Sunrise, National Gallery of London, Neighbours & Egg, Ham and Vegetable Pie

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sunrise

The days are getting longer! The sun is up before me now. I took this photo a few days ago.

national gallery of london

We have no plans to revisit the UK this year or next year but have very happy memories of previous visits to the National Gallery of London. Celebrating its 200th year, the gallery is considered one of the world’s greatest art galleries. A film has been made as part of the 200 Years of the National Gallery of London celebrations called My National Gallery. Various people working at the gallery, including cleaners, curators, security guards and the director were asked to identify the piece of work which meant the most to them and to explain why.

Great art can communicate with anyone and well known celebrities and other art lovers were also asked to identify one artwork that resonated with them and to explain why it was their favourite. Well known and not so well known people and paintings featured. Their stories were told along with stories about the original gallery, the architecture and development of the current gallery, the modernisation of the new areas and information about how some of the works travel for exhibitions around the UK.

During World War 2 the artworks were safely stored in a slate mine in Wales. Each month a painting was chosen to be returned to the Gallery and displayed. If there was an air raid warning, the painting was quickly taken off the wall and stored in a safe place below the building. During this time a famous concert pianist Myra Hess organised a series of lunchtime concerts, too.

Two things struck me as surprising. So many of the works chosen by the people being interviewed for the film were based religious or Biblical events. The second thing was with few exceptions, the artists were male. Women artists were not taken seriously. This was a thought provoking and interesting film.

JMW Turner (1775-1851) ‘An English Packet Arriving at Calais Pier’

Image, Royalty Free, Wikipedia

My husband’s favourite painting in the gallery is Turner’s ‘An English Packet Arriving at Calais Pier’ . We have visited it many times but often the gallery was crowded. He laid a plan. We’d be first in line when the gallery opened and would go straight to the painting, which was towards the back of the building. When we arrived, I talked to the guard and my husband had nearly fifteen uninterrupted minutes in front of the painting before anybody else arrived. Very satisfying.

neighbours

Do you have lovely neighbours? Since Anzac Day 2020 five neighbours on our side of the street have gathered regularly at each others houses for ‘get togethers’. Sometimes it’s to commemorate Anzac Day together, sometimes it’s ‘Christmas in July’ and sometimes it is for no reason at all, just an opportunity to chat and eat together. The dogs come, too.

Then circumstances resulted in one household preparing to move to another suburb! They’re currently packing and making moving plans. We will miss then being nearby but I’m sure we’ll keep in touch with regular ‘get togethers.’ So on Sunday we converged on another neighbour’s house to say goodbye and good luck. Everyone brought food to share and we settled in for a good catch up. Sad to see them go but they’re happy with their new house and they’ll be invited to every Neighbours Get Together.

Zucchini and Corn Fritters made with sourdough leftover mother/starter.

sorting

We’ve spent a lot of time sorting out my Mother’s house which involves a four hour journey as well as time spent doing jobs. So it’s no surprise that I couldn’t even recognise some of the things in our freezer. They might have been there for months. Time for a clean out. One of the finds was frozen ham. Half of it, chopped, was added to leftover corn from Sunday’s Zucchini and Corn Fritters, along with tomatoes and some spinach picked from the garden. Added eggs and some yoghurt and baked the resulting pie. Good to tidy the freezer and a rather nice pie, too.

Looks a bit rough, I know, but it tasted very good.

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Lego, Cooking and Painting

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lego

Sorting and emptying out my Mother’s house has made me realise she wasn’t keen on throwing out anything! I found a box in her shed with some of my dolls, their tiny teasets, many dolls’ clothes and their tiny wire hangers my Father made for my dolls’ house plus a bag of Lego. The Lego brought back so many memories. It actually belonged to my brothers but by the mid sixties they’d lost interest. I absolutely loved it.

There’s white rectangular building blocks, green roof tiles and red framed windows and doors. I designed and built mini houses. They sat on a flat base plates. There were none of the people available now in Lego, nor the fancy pets or pieces for ships, spacecraft or botanicals.

Lego was first manufactured in 1949. The plastic bricks quickly replaced wooden toys and were hugely popular. They enabled unlimited projects to be created, so long as they were square or rectangular. In the 1970’s mini figures appeared. The pieces could be taken apart and reassembled without effecting their structural integrity.

Sales began to slow down in the 1990’s due to competition from video games. Lego introduced the Star Wars and Bionicle ranges and sales soared. During this time, Lego was increasingly bought by adults to create their our designs. During Covid lock downs the sales of Lego skyrocketed, mostly selling to AFOLs ( Adult Fans of Lego) Many AFOLs have entire rooms dedicated to their collections. A television show appeared about this time called Lego Masters.

A keen collector of Lego as a child, my son’s interest was renewed during lockdown and he built many models. Last year at Christmas he surprised me with a beautiful vase and a collection of Lego flowers.

Visiting friends brought us some spinach. While it was still crisp and fresh I chopped it up and put it in a bowl with diced onion, some finely chopped garlic, three eggs and ground black pepper. I know it sounds like spinakopita and I did add crumbled feta cheese but also grated leftover red leicester from a grazing board because you know I try to avoid food waste. Didn’t have any philo/filo pastry, either, so used some puff pastry.

Constructed the pie in the bread baking tin and put it in the oven until the top was crisp and golden. This made two dinners for two hungry people!

Also made bread and butter pudding. We had leftover artisan bread. A friend also delivered a jar of orange marmalade so of course, I thought of bread and butter pudding! Nearly out of custard powder but as I read the ingredients listed on the box I decided I’d make it myself. I remember my grandmother standing at the wood stove, stirring a big pot of custard. We ate puddings with lunch every day and that often included custard on pies, crumbles, dumplings in golden syrup with added custard and stewed or preserved fruit also served with custard. We also enjoyed jelly and custard or cream from the freshly boiled and cooled milk. Does anyone still eat jelly?

Looked up a recipe and gathered the milk, eggs, vanilla, sugar and a teaspoon of butter and made a pot of custard. Worked well. I buttered the leftover bread and added the gifted marmalade, arranged it in a dish and added the custard. Sprinkle of nutmeg and it was done. My husband likes bread and butter pudding for breakfast, also lunch and particularly dinner.

painting

I haven’t been able to paint for a long time. We spend a lot of time at my Mother’s house, dispersing her things, keeping the garden tidy and dealing with business matters. When we are at our home we are also trying to keep up with our own gardening, cleaning and administration matters. Add a few regular activities and there’s no time for painting. The table where I like to paint is also frequently covered in paperwork.

Spending an hour or so for the last few weeks doing some felt making and printing motivated me to put all the paper work on the table to one side and sit down and paint. I found some YouTube videos showing artists doing quick flower paintings. Decided I could spare twelve minutes to do the same. These paintings are wet on wet and rapidly completed. That means wet paper so the colour runs a little and is easy to apply. I tried several and have concluded this is not for me! My paintings looked nothing like those being demonstrated.

So many online tutorials, so not for me!

Much happier painting from life. It took a lot longer than the flowers tutorials on YouTube.

Looking at the screen trying to work out where my paintings went wrong I realised I was actually now looking at an arum lily and leaf in a vase behind the screen. Painted that and felt relieved I can still paint, just not quick, loose wet on wet flowers.

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