Thursday 26 January 2012

Australia Day for an Anglophile

Just to prove I am also a proud Aussie I am showing the cook book I got as a xmas gift. It has 400 recipes from Country Women's Association members all over Australia. All the recipes are simple, easy to cook and contain no exotic ingredients that I have never heard off. I am showing the Tuna and Mushroom casserole I cooked Monday night. The recipe said 'serves2' right, was still eating it 2 days later after freezing a portion. Most of the recipes are meant to feed farm and station workers and men from the shearing sheds who have been tossing sheep around all day and need a huge meal.
The idea behing this gift was that I would use it to fatten up my patient who lost so much weight during radiotherapy. Yes it works!! I am being fattened up very well but I'm not the patient!!
Hope I don't get a gardening book next xmas. I would rather cross stitch than cook or garden.

One of the recipes I have put in 'the too easy' basket for now. Basically it is some boiled mince with a tin of spaghetti on top.



I'm keeping this one in mind for one of those days when I feel the need to serve rat bait to a guest or family member.

Am going to visit son D on saturday and will take along a plate of these Ginger Crisps. Well I'll have to now, if he sees this post he will demand Ginger Crisps.

Tonight I am cooking Sausage Casserole from the book. There will be enough to last 3 nights.

Here is the ship and the journey that one set of great grandparents took to arrive in Australia as free settlers in 1862. Born in Somerset, Francis and Susan Wakely left Liverpool on the Ariadne with sons William3 and John a baby. The voyage took 120 days and during that time William died and was buried at sea. The Ariadne was the first ship into Maryborogh Nth Queensland and carried much needed workers and single women. Francis and Susan went on to have 7 more children in Australia, my grandmother was the youngest.


The last years and early death of my great grandmother is a very sad story I will leave for another day except to say all hidden family skeletons eventually come out of the closet.

The family seems to have moved around a bit until Francis opened this Bakery in a Northern N.S.W town. Francis is standing in front of his shop here. There is a small hard to see dog behind him and perhaps one of his sons on the left. My grandmother is on the verandah to the right and an unknown woman (though I have my suspicions) on the left.

Emily is very keen to pass on her latest beauty tip. I've told her it's out of context for my Australia day post but she insists, so here it is.

Emily's Beauty Tip #???. Always sleep with your chin resting on the edge of the bed. This will prevent a double chin in old age.

Wish you'd told me sooner Emily, I think it's already too late for me.

8 comments:

  1. Happy Australia Day!. Food at your place looks good. And there's always Emily's latest beauty tip to help out with the fattening effect of the recipes.

    Interesting family story and photo.

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  2. Happy Australia Day!!!!! I do family research too and I have decided recently to put the skeletons back in the closet....eeek! Some things should remain quietly hidden.

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  3. Ginger snaps look good but I think I will skip the toast and rat poison. Maybe the tin spaghetti can go on the toast.

    Not a sunny Australia Day - rather damp in our part of the world.

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  4. Love the last photos, soooo cute!!!

    I´m really interested in australian historie and read a lot of books about it.

    These recipes sounds interesting.

    Happy Australia Day ♥♥♥

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  5. Seems like an interesting book, Sylvia :-)
    And an interesting family story too !
    Emily is so cute, thanks for the beauty tip !
    Nice evening,
    Sylvia

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  6. I think I would have some technical difficulties if I tried a beauty sleep like Emily with the chin on my bedside, lol !
    I see you discovered your cooking skills now to fatten up people ! I stumbled over a recepe which made me curious because it's an Italian Risotto, but with "Shitakes" Never heard that ! It turns out that it is a japonese mushroom ! I wonder what a japonese mushroom has to do with Italian risotto !
    My American uncle's father was 6 years old when they went by ship from Hamburg to New York in 1843 ! When later he married my mother's sister it turned out that there great great grandfathers were brothers !!! One remained in Germany !Isn't that an amazing story ?

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  7. I think that helps prevent wrinkles too! Haha! Kitties are smart. :)

    Hope you had a good Aussie day!
    xo Catherine

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  8. Awww, lovely blog...and love all the memorabilia! as well as the kitty :) they ARE royalty, aren't they?

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