Unmasterful Me…

I got home from work and I opened the fridge and stared at the contents. A smart woman would have left something easy out ready to cook when she got home. I’m not smart on a Monday. I leaned against the fridge, had a couple of glasses of vegetable juice, and thought about the ending of Australian Masterchef last night. I’m a sporadic TV watcher. I never see any show in full. It’s the dreaded attention span of a gnat thing. But I wondered what it would be like to be so dedicated to cooking that you became obsessive about making flavors and textures perfect to the point of exquisite. How would it feel to be so caught up in making the perfect meal that was wondrous to taste and amazing to look at? How inspiring would it be to create a meal that people ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ over? Yep – gotta be something special in all that. And then I reached over and grabbed the vegemite jar and decided on toast for dinner. Well, we all can’t be wondrous…

Amarinda Jones
Penn Halligan
www.amarindajones.com
www.amarindajones.blogspot.com
Be daring...read an Amarinda book

Uh huh...

Why can’t people leave things alone….

The makers of what is arguably Australia's most identifiable food may be American, but they are well aware of the danger of tampering with a national icon.

Which is why the people at Kraft Foods took the advice of more than 300,000 Australians before they meddled with Vegemite.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/5650924

As I sat and ate my vegemite on toast, I read this and thought ‘new coke’. Remember when they stuffed around with Coca-Cola? I don’t care how many Aussies this now American company polled, you cannot mess around with a classic. When will these people ever learn?

Yes, just about to take my frozen self up North to defrost the outer layers but I just had to comment on this dipstick move. Some people will never get it. Leave icons alone - especially if you do not belong to the country of origin.

www.amarindajones.com
www.amarindajones.blogspot.com
Be daring...read an Amarinda book

Food of the gods continued….

Okay, so yesterday I talked about the amazing properties of Vegemite and how I believe world peace can be achieved if everyone started the day with Vegemite on toast. No, I have not heard back from the UN on my Vegemite Peace Accord but I expect to soon. Today I bring you other wondrous food stuffs from OZ.

The lamington
What is it? Why heaven on Earth. Actually they are squares of butter cake that are rolled in chocolate icing and then rolled in desiccated coconut. They can also be cut in half and have jam (jelly) and fresh cream smothered in the middle. They are divine. Many a school or Scout group has made big bickies (money) out of lamington drives because Aussie can’t resist them. There is debate as to whom the lamington is named after. My own theory – who cares – lets just eat them.

The Pavlova
Invented in the 1920’s – some say by an Aussie – some say by a Kiwi but in the true Anzac tradition we won’t fight over it. The one thing we can agree on is it’s named after a Russian ballerina called Anna Pavlova – ‘light as Pavlova.’ It has a meringue base that is crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. It is then filled with whipped cream and topped with whatever fresh fruit you like. No Aussie barbie or function is complete without someone whipping up a pav.

Check out www.annycook.blogspot.com. Anny has Sam suddenly reappearing on blog serial. Will he disappear on Monday’s episode on www.kkirch.blogspot.com with Kelly?

Excerpt - Swift of Heart – out now

“Bloody hell!” Stephanie cursed out loud. She looked around her. “Great! Perfect! Here you are wandering along darkened streets in an unknown world talking to yourself. Way to get yourself killed Stephanie.”
She took another look at her surroundings. Either this part of city was falling apart or this was the bombing Mac had mentioned. Strange how fickle fate could be. Saving one building but blowing up another. Even in the eerie darkness, the shadow play of light and dark on the hollowed out buildings seemed incredibly sad and spooky to her.
She stopped in her tracks and wondered where all the people had gone. One minute she had been pushing past crowds and the next there was no one. If the derelict state of the buildings was any indication, it meant no one with any sense was wandering around in the dark ruins of the city. Normally Stephanie was full of common sense and she would have paid attention to where she was and left a breadcrumb trail home. Normally.
“Not like anything is actually normal at the moment!”
She had been beamed up or into a foreign dimension by a man she may or may not love, who may possibly be a liar and who had a plastic fiancée. Nothing normal with any of that.
The sudden sound of footsteps alerted Stephanie that she was not alone. Maybe this should have comforted her but it didn’t. If sensible people did not go walking around bomb sites at midnight, then that only left the abnormal, the crazy and the violent.
She knew nothing about Melotia, however she was not dumb enough to believe there was no crime. Stephanie weighed up her options. Try and walk back the way she came or run like a frightened ninny as fast as she could the other way. She opted for the latter as she heard the footsteps moving towards her in the direction she had just come.
“Damn it! I hate running.”
Normally Stephanie hated the sound of whiners but it was okay when she did it. She shot off at a fast pace that she knew in her state of athleticism she could only keep it up for maybe five minutes. She had no idea where she was running to but it gave her a weird sense of control to have made a decision. Whoever was behind her had also increased their pace. She could hear their footsteps break into a run.
Stephanie dodged and weaved and tried to utilize the shadows as she ran pantingly ahead. She knew that she had no chance of out running whoever it was that followed closely behind, so she skidded to a halt and looked for a weapon. She had no intention of going down without one hell of fight. The glint of metal caught her eye and she bent down to pick up a rusted metal bar, holding it like a baseball at her shoulder.
“I am armed and dangerous and you are in for the biggest ass kicking of your life!”
As Stephanie yelled the words, she was fairly impressed with how mean she sounded. She would have been scared if the positions were reversed. She could only hope whoever followed her was as terrified or…was that laughing she heard?
“I am a woman on the edge! I am not joking! Do not mess with me!” Again, the laughter. Stephanie squinted into the darkness at the figure that approached. “Back off sunshine! Don’t make me hurt you.”
She swung the bar menacingly at the figure. The bar flew out of her hands and the man was upon her. She fought like a wild woman, punching, kicking and yelling. But Mac just pinned her hands behind her back and smiled down at her.
“I got to tell you, Steph, I was terrified. The bit about ass kicking had me shaking.” Mac chuckled in amusement.

http://www.cerridwenpress.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=9781419908255

www.freewebs.com/amarindajones/Go ahead: Live with abandon. Be outrageous at any age. What are you saving your best self for?

The Happy Little Vegemite Song (sing along if you know it)

We are happy little Vegemites as bright as bright can be,

We all enjoy our Vegemite for breakfast, lunch and tea,

Our mummy says we're growing stronger every single week,

Because we love our Vegemite,We all adore our Vegemite, It puts a rose in every cheek!

Vegemite. What is it? It’s a concentrated yeast extract that was invented in 1922 and it’s full of vitamin B and Aussie kids grow up on the stuff. I think that’s why we all turn out so smart and attractive. It’s just a theory of mine. Yes, Vegemite is salty but it’s also delicious. You can spread it on thinly or if you are a hardier soul, such as myself, smother it on crunchy bread with lots of butter and some slices of cheese. Vegemite is low in calories and fat. So, I feel, it counteracts the lashings of butter, the cheese and the bread. It’s called the Amarinda diet. Any half arsed excuse is a good excuse and any time is Vegemite time.

When I used to travel overseas I used to take a large jar of Vegemite with me. Many times I would come across an enclave of fellow Aussies who would weep with joy at the sight of the familiar jar. So the power of Vegemite - it brings people together. And what about Men at Work’s song Down Under? Would that have worked so well if it went “…gave me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?” No. Vegemite is also fantastic as a song lyric. And who can forget the 2006 crisis/urban legend when the FDA said no to Vegemite in the USA? What the? People know their Vegemite rights. So it's also socio-political tool for justice. You may as well ban the elixir of life. Vegemite - it’s been around forever – from the Aussie diggers in World War Two ….

“Vegemite fights with the men up north! If you are one of those who don’t need Vegemite medicinally, then thousands of invalids are asking you to deny yourself of it for the time being.”
http://www.vegemite.com.au/vegemite/page?siteid=vegemite-prd&locale=auen1&PagecRef=649

…to every Aussie household having a jar. So I ask you – how can you live one moment longer without this wonder food in your cupboard? Go immediately to your local supermarket and if they don’t stock Vegemite demand they do. I feel if everyone had some Vegemite everyday there would be no wars as everyone would be ‘happy little Vegemites. ’ Yes, I have suggested that to the United Nations…I am just waiting on feedback to my Vegemite Peace Accord.

For those of you who are avidly following Anny’s acorn cooking experiments on http://www.annycook.blogspot.com/ no, I don’t understand it but it keeps her off the streets – I have sent Anny a recipe for Vegemite scrolls as Veggie can make anything taste good. Kelly has some weird fixation with Nutella so check out her blog http://www.kkirch.blogspot.com/ to see how she craps on, I mean waxes lyrical over it. Hmmm…nuts and Kelly…I'll say no more.

How To Eat Vegemite (I love it when someone has to write this stuff out)
Using your favorite bread, some butter or margarine, and of course, Vegemite.
Spread butter on a piece of toast or bread.
Cover very thinly with Vegemite (for the optimum Vegemite sandwich you only need a dab). Dip your knife in the Vegemite, and scrape up just a bit (it will mix right in with the butter and spread easily). Some people like to "marble" the Vegemite into the butter.
Eat it open-faced and enjoy!
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/VegemiteHistory.htm

Tomorrow I will discuss lamingtons and pavlova...hmm yum.

Back to Anny – she’s a funny girl isn’t she? She takes our blog serial to new and amazing dimensions. Check out www.annycook.blogspot.com now. Monday is Kelly’s turn. She likes to drive me crazy…it’s only a short drive of course. See what mischief she stirs up for the blog serial gang and on www.kkirch.blogspot.com.

http://www.freewebs.com/amarindajones/

Go ahead: Live with abandon. Be outrageous at any age. What are you saving your best self for