Wheels Whales and Wildflowers





If "the earth laughs in flowers" then springtime in Perth is hilarious. The highway verges are covered with banks of Geraldton wax with its tiny pink and mauve sprays and Golden Wattle full of fluffy yellow pompoms. The undergrowth is thick with wild freesia and whilst they may lack colour they make up for it with their sweet fragrance, a scent so strong its intoxicating as you drive past. A few minutes from our home in Armadale and high in the hills of the Darling range is a gem of a botanical garden called Araluen, an aboriginal word which means "singing waters" or "place of lilies". Creeks running through a long valley have created a cool moist climate and it a place of great natural beauty with waterfalls and deep peaceful pools surrounded by scarlet rhododendrons, white camellias and lilac wisteria. The magnolias and tulips were in full bloom when we visited and the garden was a patchwork of vivid colours. A tranquil place to linger and recharge our batteries after a hectic couple of weeks spent searching for wheels and our new home.

I lost count of the number of car dealers we visited in pursuit of the perfect "Ute" (bakkie).It made our heads spin as Tommy agonised over torque, manual verses automatic, load bearing capacities, gross vehicle weight and other sundry details of Nissan Nevaras, Holden Colorado's, Mazda BT50"s, Ford Rodeos and Toyota Hilux. My idea of a great drive is more primitive and based on colour and comfort. I spent a lot of time sitting in the cab and fiddling with switches, checking the air con,vanity mirror,legroom and storage facilities whilst Tommy's head was stuck under the bonnet.. We found a great buy but with an unfortunate number plate.....1 DIE 4WA and decided that it was one vehicle we wouldn't be seen dead in............forgive the pun. In the end we settled for a "pre-loved" silver Nissan Navara 3 Lt Turbo Diesel with adequate torque (no that is not a french pastry) to pull our motorhome .It feels enormous compared to the little Ford Fiesta that I used to drive but I am getting use to surveying the countryside from my elevated status.Our next step was buying the right rig (motorhome). After a lot of research online we decided on a Fifth Wheeler and the nearest dealer was in Albany. We drove south through  neon yellow fields of canola and giant Karri forests to reach this small whaling town on the shores of the great Southern Ocean. In the calm waters of the King George Sound we saw eight Southern Right whales playing with their calves, a wonderful sight. This is a favorite habitat for them as its sheltered waters are ideal for young whales preparing to take the long journey south to the deep icy waters of the Southern ocean around Antarctica. From 1820 hundreds of whaling ships left from this harbour to hunt the Humpback and Southern Right  and it was the last whaling station in the southern hemisphere to close in 1978. The whaling factory is now a museum and the town is very sensitive about its whaling past preferring to dwell instead on its claim to fame as the first penal colony in Western Australia in 1826 some three years before the Swan River Colony later to be known as Perth. On a more poignant note it was the last sight of land for the Anzac soldiers leaving Australia in their troopships for the Ist World War in November 1914. Many of them went on to die at Gallipoli, never to return, but the fame and resourcefulness of the Aussie "diggers" is now the stuff of Anzac legends.




Ultima Fifth Wheeler

 The "Ultima", it was love at first sight.. It looked even better in the flesh then in cyberspace. This was a miniature home on wheels,the bedroom complete with a double bed and skylight overhead to watch the stars at night.A shower and separate loo and storage space for our clothes.The living area has a slideout section down one side with a beautiful cafe style sofa which turns into a double bed for guests (book your time share now) and a cute kitchen in the rear end with built in oven, microwave and gas hob, fridge freezer and washer/dryer. Loads of cupboards for foodstuffs and a desk area with a pop up TV for entertainment. As a little girl my childhood dream, never fulfilled, was to have a "wendy house". Now I have one and this one has wheels too! The enormity of what we are doing strikes me .This is now a reality, this is our home for the foreseeable future, life on the open road as a "Grey Nomad" beckons, well less of the grey actually......... with a little help from my friends at L'Oreal I shall ward off the "grey" for as long as possible ......".because I'm worth it. 

 On the journey back  we stopped at a roadhouse to pick up some snacks.  I found an interesting treat called "RoadKill"  apparently the "champagne of jerky" The "Bloody Hot Chili" took my fancy and lived up to its name. The gift shop was a treasure trove and I found just the right Christmas present for my good friend Julius.

 A pack of 5 Dinkum Aussie Disposable BullshitBags

Directions: 1 Open Bag before opening mouth

                 2 Tuck open Bag beneath chin

                 3 Start "talking" Let the BS Flow

                      4 When full, seal bag and dispose of.

WARNING Do not attempt to dispose of your BS through any government agency since they produce more bullshit than they can dispose of themselves. We suggest that you send it to the major networks in return for all they send out each day.

Let me know how many you would like sent..................no charge for postage, just a handling fee.

SOULFOODKITCHEN

Honey Fried Prawns with Sesame.

We had a dish of these at our local Chinese the other night, easy to make and very tasty.

Serves 4

12 large green prawns, peeled with tail intact.

I tablespoon sesame seeds

Peanut oil for frying

1 1/4 cups cornflower

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup chilled soda water

1/3 cup honey

Fried vermicelli noodles

Use a sharp knife and cut prawns along the back from top to tail. Remove vein. Place sesame seeds in a non stick frying pan and toast over high heat shaking the pan till seeds are golden. Transfer to plate. Heat oil over medium heat till hot.

Meanwhile place cornflower and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add egg and chilled soda water. Whisk with a fork until just combined. Dip prawns one at a time into batter and then drop carefully into hot oil. Deep fry 3 or 4 at a time for 3-5 minutes or until batter is crisp and golden brown. Do not overcook. Transfer to wire rack lined with kitchen paper to drain.

Heat honey over low heat till runny. Place fried noodles on serving plates and top with prawns. Drizzle over honey and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve.

To make fried noodles cut vermicelli in 5cm lengths and deep fry in hot oil until puffy. Drain on paper towel.

Makes a great starter.....yummy!

Catch yer later.......................................

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Well crammed into a metal canister for 11 hours and flying at the speed of 550 mph over 6,000 miles of ocean does eventually get you to OZ, but there is no sign of the yellow brick road. The wonderful Wiz was not there to meet me, but a stern Chinese immigration official stamped my "spouse visa" and told me I had not ticked the boxes correctly. You must tick inside the box! Not an auspicious start to my new identity as an Aussie. Fair go's mate, I expected a better welcome than that. At least a rousing chorus of Advance Australia Fair, even a few bars of Waltzing Matilda to greet my arrival, but they didn't seem too excited to see their new migrant. Even the blond hulk of a customs officer wasn't interested in my secret stash of chocs.

A week ago Chocolat's walls were reverberating to the sound of ripping tape as everything in the house was turned into brown paper parcels. Elliot's are Amazing, nothing escaped the brown scourge and if it didn't move it was wrapped. By the third day it resembled a post office with a serious sorting problem. And then it was all over. One red Studebaker 293 boxes and the collected memories of 20 years safely packed away in the container bound for Fremantle on the good ship Darwin and Tommy and I left standing there with a suitcase each of dreams.

Exhaustion overwhelmed us but we had a safe haven in the Italian quarter of Schonies where we were pampered and loved for our few last days by the Tonins. We took a meandering trip around the Karoo, visiting Tommy's old haunts and spent time at Graff Reinet and visited the Valley of Desolation. From the top of the Ouberg the Groot Karoo with its stark beauty stretches for miles in all directions. Spandaukop like a flat topped sentinel stand guard over the small Karoo dorp. In the days of the Boer War the commandos used it as a lookout and a refuge from the British. There was a secret route to the top but the climb must have been treacherous. The valley is enclosed with huge dolerite columns of stacked rock and its a dizzying drop to the bottom.

I had a small silver angel medallion in my pocket.It was given to me by my precious sister when I was going through a particularly dark time. One word, HOPE, was inscribed on the back. On a whim I threw it as far as I could into the chasm. Two courageous and wonderful people who are dear to me are battling cancer at the moment. Maybe a tiny piece of HOPE in the midst of desolation is what is needed to turn the tide in their favour. I pray so.

Now I am busy settling into the Aussie way of life which can be confusing at times. The attitude of officialdom is pedantic at best but there is a strange and rather endearing whimsical side. Here we have "pre-loved" cars not second hand, and go to a garden center and you can buy tiny seedlings called "fairies". it all comes tumbling down of course when you go back to the car park and find a car parked next to you with FIWAOFOM on its bumper. "Fit in with Australia or **** off mate!" Now that's more like the Aussies I know!

A visit to the local supermarket to buy groceries is mind boggling and time consuming. I spent an hour just looking at the choice of vegetables many of which I didn't even recognise. Dorian fruit ,like a large shaven hedgehog looked interesting. I am told it tastes heavenly like creamy sweet custard if you can get past the smell, which is like a combination of sour milk, old tackies and dog poo. In Malaysia where they grow you are not allowed to take them on trains they are so pungent.Reminds me of that tale in Jerome K Jerome's book Three men in a Boat when he repels people from his railway carriage with the smell of his strong cheese. Its hilarious and a book that deserves to be read at least once a year...I digress. I think I'll pass on Dorian fruit and save that experience for later.

Now the wine is another matter. The rule of thumb here is not to buy cheap, the cheaper the wine the more ridiculous the name. How about a drop of Dancing Chook, Rusty Ute or Kanga Rouge? No. Well here's a nice Chardonnay called Slippery Fish....one critic is quoted as saying " the best thing you can say about this wine ...is that's its wet".Mind you I have drunk some delicious wine from Margaret River called Greedy Sheep and Swooping Magpie, so its not all bad. I'll keep you posted when I'm sober.

I am awake most mornings at 3 a.m., jet lag lingers. By lunchtime I am ready for bed. In-between I have managed to make some delicious Kumquat preserve made from cute miniature oranges like drops of sunshine. The trees in Tommy's garden were laden with fruit so sweet I couldn't resist making a batch. This preserve is delicious on toast for breakfast but is also great with cheese and biscuits to round off a dinner party.


Kumquat preserve (Spread some sunshine on your toast)


Rinse the fruit well and soak overnight in cold water.
Drain and weigh the fruit, you can leave them whole or slice into little rings.
Put into a heavy based pot with the equal weight of water, and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer till the fruit is soft, takes about +- 20 mins.
Add the same weight of sugar and bring to the boil again. Boil till setting point is reached . (Jam crinkles when dropped on a cold plate and pushed by your finger. Don't burn yourself!)
Pour into clean glass jars and seal with melted candle wax.
Keeps well.
Try it folded into bought ice cream and refreeze. As a filling for a sponge cake with cream, or even as a base for orange sauce with roasted duck.
Hm mm......now that's lip smacking.

Min Dae Schoenies

Sadness. Looking down the trail I realize again my time here is drawing to a close. The walk on the beach today was lonely without the dogs. I miss them so much. Leo and Robbie barking joyfully at the sight of the sea and trying to catch the gulls wheeling overhead. The sight of Boo and Coco racing across the sand towards us,the white flash on their foreheads and black button noses making them look like flying exclamation marks. Even fossicking for sea glass and the blue and white shards of pottery from the wreck of the Sacramento holds little joy today. Schoenies is a special place of space and light which resonates with peace. It has been so much a part of my life and I will carry it in my heart always wherever I go.
Charles Holing has painted a beautiful view for us from the bluff where Tommy and I got married, looking west towards what we have named "Blue Feather Bay". It will evoke so many happy memories for us whenever we look at it.
The house is chaos with piles of books and boxes scattered over the floors, pictures and paintings propped up against walls, carpets rolled and cupboard doors open disgorging their contents. All is mess. The packers come in next week and then the house will be empty and ready for the new family. It makes me glad to think that the walls will soon ring with the happy laughter of children and barking dogs again. This home Chocolat needs to be filled.
Our new adventure beckons and we will be "down under" in a few weeks time. I am now an official aussie" sheila" my visa for permenant residency came yesterday........shall have to put off the solar topee and don the hat with corks but even that will not deter those damn antipodean flies ......thank the Lord for Aeroguard!
There are so many recipes I could attach to this last letter from Schoenies, Tommy's Oxtail is a legend on its own, roast potatoes and Malva pudding from Sunday lunch at The Soul Food Kitchen. Home made fresh spinach and ricotta raveoli with sage butter from the Italian Evenings but perhaps it is best to go back to where it all started...........Cream Teas at the weekends with Susie's Scones. I have had too many requests for these to ignore.
Whenever I make these scones I will be transported back to happy times, friendly faces, and whale watching from the deck.
Good bye Schoenies " A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul" You have been to mine.


Susies Scones
Make a lot, you can never eat just one, especially when topped with whipped cream and strawberry jam!


8oz self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt.
2 oz butter
1 tablespoon caster sugar
Milk

Sift dry ingredients and rub in butter. Sprinkle in tablespoon caster sugar and add enough milk to make a soft dough. Roll out gently and not too thin, you want puffy scones! Cut and place on baking sheet. Sift over tops a little flour.Bake in a preheated oven 190C .for approx 12-15 mins. Best served fresh and warm but they also freeze well.
(Omit sugar and add 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and a some fresh chopped herbs, parsley, thyme and marjoram work well, and add 2 oz grated strong cheese to the mixture before rolling out for delicious savory scones.)
Enjoy!

Lunacy from the "old country" 2006

A month on and Jack Frost is making his appearance most mornings. Winter is setting in,the trees are bare and the sunshine when we get it lacks warmth. The clocks moved back some weeks ago and the days are short, its dark by four.
I managed to get some part time shift work in a local nursing home. The pay is appalling even at the weekends when I am on duty from 8 till 8 but the inmates make up for it and are dotty and delightful. Aunty P is 103, she tells me with a twinkle in her eye, that her parents removed her from school because she was "too frail" for the system. She obviously thrived despite the lack of education which unfortunately can't be said for the youth of today in this country who wear their ASBO's (Anti Social Behaviour Order) convictions as badges of merit.
Britain seems obsessed with "nannying" its population and if the Department of Health and Safety had its way we wouldn't set foot outside our front doors. Staying in bed is not an option either and will do you no good unless your duvet is tripled "tog" endorsed by the British Safety Council and is stuffed with Eco-friendly duck or goose down from hopefully organic poultry farms committed to deep litter carpets for its webfooted residents. Of course there will also be a resident manicurist on hand to deal with any annoying broken claws.
I bought some sausages yesterday which informed me on the packet(bio degradable from sustainable forests) that these sausages were made from "happy pigs that had access to custom made shelters in adverse weather conditions". Who are they kidding. A pigsty and plenty of leftovers more likely and of course they will be "happy as pigs in ...." until the farmer waves the sage in front of their noses.
Guy Fawkes Night was filled with anxiety for the locals and one county council (on grounds of health and safety) and fed up with all the restrictions, banned all fireworks and the bonfire. Instead they opted for a large screen erected on the local common to show a filmed fire and fireworks display. Maybe they had a point as some idiot in a neighbouring village decided the most sensible thing to do was to try and launch a rocket from his bottom. I kid you not!. Needless to say he wont be sitting comfortably for some considerable time. It gives a whole new meaning to "up yours" for the arsonly challenged.
I am comforted by the thought that the government is bringing in legislation to provide teachers to help me learn to recite nursery rhymes to my kids. Now if only they could help me find my keys.......
The shops are filled with Christmas goodies and we are exhorted to pay homage to the God Plastic and only declare bankruptcy in the New Year. I hope you will not succumb and instead opt for the Eco-friendly version; hand crafted presents from your local car boot sale, wrapped in brown paper and string and tastefully decorated with tags from last years Xmas cards.
Happy days!




Christmas in a Glass aka Mulled Wine
(it helps you forget the lunacy! Well actually it helps you forget anything....)


3 bottles of red plonk (cheap is best here....truly)
300 gm demerara sugar
Rind of 1 lemon,and 1 orange
4 sticks of cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 vanilla pod
3 star anise
1 whole nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
4 slices of fresh ginger

Put sugar, rind, ginger and all the spices and one bottle of wine in a large pot. Heat stirring occasionally until sugar has melted. Bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave it to infuse for 30 mins (if you are desperate you could miss this stage!But it does help with the flavour)
Add the other 2 bottles of wine and bring back to heat.
Enough to warm the cockles of yer heart........have a blessed Christmas full of good cheer.

Grahamstown Festinos July 2010

Two glorious days spent in the City of the Saints. The Festinos that wonderful multicoloured mix of people from the weired to the ridiculous ,old codgers to young kids were out in force taking advantage of the warm and sunny weather.Tommy and I wandered the craft tents on Fiddlers Green which were stocked with a profusion of eclectic wares, rainbow hats, "African time" clocks made from recycled tuna tins,ethnic clothing of every description ,local art and so much more. I bought a piece of kiln fired glass,a pendant of flaming orange as bright as the wild aloes which were flowering in profusion in the veld. We discovered a stall which sold a unique portable stove called "PotjieKing".which we decided would be perfect for our travels in the outback. Small and compact, great for a braai for two,but even better just the right size for our cast iron three legged potjie pot in which I make stews, pot bread and curries.
Had a riotous time laughing at the humour of David Newman, Went to his one man show called "Politically Incorrect" South Africans have reached that healthy stage of being able to laugh at themselves......."you can't impress me ...i know that is your Vuvuzela" and wife wearing husbands bafana shirt....."don't get any ideas darling.....no one is scoring tonight!"
Home to Schoenies and three days of trying out different recipes on the "PotjieKing" all so easy and delicious. Heaven on a plate....this is Soul Food at its best.......not to be confused with a certain fast food chain that purports to have the "soul"rights to food of such high distinction!




Soul Food Chicken (a succulent dish of tender meat simmered in a tangy apricot gravy with seasonal vegetables)


One free range chicken
4 Onions roughly chopped
4 Carrots
4 medium Potatoes
2 Gem Squash
1/2 cup of sunflower oil.

Rub
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon brown suger
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup of white wine
1/2 cup Apricot jam
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic
knob of fresh ginger grated.
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chicken stock.


Put the Rub mixture in a small bowl and stir to mix with your fingers. Remove giblets from chicken and rinse under cold water, inside and out. Dry with paper towels. Sprinkle a little of the Rub inside the chicken and use the rest over the outside of the bird.
Heat the oil in your casserole or poitjie pot and brown the chicken all over. Remove. Add the roughly chopped onions and and stir well.Cook till transulcent .Place the chicken on top of the onions and place your peeled and cut carrots and potatoes around the bird.
Mix the white wine, apricot jam, soy sauce, garlic and ginger and add to the pot. Top up with chicken stock so that the vegetables are covered.
Put lid of pot on and simmer for +- 45 mins.
Then add halved gem squash to the pot and continue cooking for another 15 mins.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

The chicken will be so tender, it will fall off the bone. Serve this succulent chicken in soup bowls with the vegetables and gem squash on the side and lots of crusty bread to mop up the delicious tangy gravy.

A bottle of Springfield "Life from Stone" sauvignon blanc will take this to another leval!
Bon Appetit!

Autumn in East Susssex 2006

I have been back in the "old country"for two weeks and already have slipped on the comfy cardie that is England. The Brits are still full of irony, Radio 4 and by gosh a decent cup of tea!
Damp days and leaden skies, but the joy of kicking through piles of fallen leaves, collecting blackberries from the hedgerows and going home for hot buttered crumpets for tea.
Sussex is beautiful at this time of the year with the Ashdown forest ablaze with all the burnished russet colours of Autumn. The countryside is winding down. quiet and sleepy, ready for Winter.

Such a contrast to my first week in London with Em and Thom, where all was hustle and bustle and teeming with people.London has this wonderful energy, and I became a tourist and did all the usual things. Took a red doubledecker bus around the City, popped into Buck House for a spot of tea with Queenie (unfortunately she wasn't in but her Gift Shoppe sells nice tea towels) Spent many happy hours wandering along the South Bank and had a futuristic trip on the London Eye. Amazing to see London with a bird's eye. A mind blowing visit to the Dali exhibition. His sculptures were challenging to say the least;a lobster telephone and a sofa made in the shape of Mae West's lips.
The bliss of all those second hand bookshops. I picked up a first edition of poetry by W.H. Auden. (He was my North, my South, my East, my West,.......my working week and my Sunday rest,My noon ,my midnight,my talk, my song.....I thought love would last forever...I was wrong.) A bargain to keep for posterity.I had to be physically restrained from the cookery sections, how can you resist Nigella for 50p?!


Hedgerow Blackberry Jam (for hot toasted crumpets dripping with butter)

Wash and weigh the blackberries you have picked. Take a heavy base pot and put in the same amount of sugar as berries and the finely grated zest and juice of one lemon. Simmer slowly till the sugar melts and then add your berries and stir carefully. Bring to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes.By now you should have a luscious shiny dark red jam oozing with flavour and the scent of Autumn. Spoon into clean jars when cold. Delicious on crumpets or toast or anything.....hmmmmm.

Wet,Windy and Cold in PE 2010

Three days of rain, freezing south westerlies and cabin fever setting in with a vengeance. There are only so many DVDs you can watch at any one time.....tending the fire and having a chronic attack of "the munchies"
The only travelling I am doing is in my head, remembrance of places,sights and tastes of colourful Mexico warm my soul.
What can I cook, I need some comfort food.
It has to be good old Bangers and Mash with onion gravy. The gravy is the key and loads of butter and cream if you have it in the spuds! To hell with cholesterol.



Caramelized Onion Gravy

Big knob of butter.
2 thinly sliced onions
Worcestershire sauce
Flour to thicken
Marsala or red wine
Stock

Melt the butter and fry the onions gently till golden brown and soft. Add some flour (about a tablespoon) and stir into the onions, add the Worcestershire sauce, Marsala and stock cook gently for 15 minutes,stir occasionally. Pour over crispy pork sausages and soft fluffy mash.Hmmmm comfort food at its best !