Sitting on the Rabbit Proof Fence

Dawn at Cape Keraudren



Dawn at Cape Keraudren is a vivid slash of mango on the blue -grey horizon of empty sand plains. We have passed the Tropic of Capricorn and are now enjoying the warm days and balmy nights of this part of the Pilbara. Here at one end of a stretch of coastline called 80 Mile Beach there is no reef and when the tide’s out its out for miles. There is a tidal range of nine meters and after a high tide the abundance of sea shells is amazing. I have never seen so many varieties of shells on one beach. Beautiful marbled cone shells, speckled barrel shells, spotted cowries , fragile hinged scallop shells that remind me of powder compacts and tiny pieces of pink coral that look like ruffled lace. I have spent many happy hours looking for “treasure” and have never been disappointed.

 We have camped on a sand dune with an enviable view of the sea and rocky shoreline. Behind us lie mangrove swamps, home to mud crabs and “salties”, the dreaded estuarine crocodiles. Cape Keraudren marks the start of crocodile country and your worst reptilian nightmare. This predator reigns supreme northwards from this area and can grow up to seven meters long. Luckily none have been seen this season, but we are on our guard, especially when fishing. We have however discovered a far more voracious predator….cullicoides molestus  aka the Australian sand fly. This malicious midge doesn’t bite but loves to pee on any available exposed human skin , causing huge lumps that drive you mad with itching. We have tried everything, all the known anti repellents, tea tree oil, deet, and have now resorted to a mixture of baby oil and Dettol. It seems to be doing the trick even if we are more sanitized than sanflized.

This is also one end of the famous No 1 Rabbit Proof Fence, the longest fence in the world. Constructed in 1904 and stretching for 1,837 kilometres from Starvation Harbour on the South Coast to this tip of remote coastline on the north western edge of Australia. A further two fences were constructed to stop the feral rabbit population in the east spreading to Western Australia making the total length of fences 3,256 kilometres, but you guessed it…..the rabbits beat them to it, and are now enjoying their retirement at Keraudren by the Sea. 

Treasure



Keraudren also has a nine hole golf course………not perhaps up to Greg Norman’s standards but nine holes on the mud flats behind the mangroves. A challenging course, you have to dodge the divots caused by the odd wild camel. We were here for their annual play off for the prestigious “Battered Hubcap “trophy. A beer a hole is the maxim here and all monies raised goes to a worthy cause, The Flying Doctor. This year they managed to raise $5,000, and quite a few hangovers.



Dales Gorge


This time last week we were enjoying the rugged beauty of the red gorges at Karijini National Park , in the Hamersley Range. What a contrast, there,we would wake most mornings to ice on the windshield. Karijini’s rusty soil is broken up by clumps of sage spinifex grass with feathery seed heads and the cone shaped flowers of purple Mulla Mulla. Spinifex is pretty to look at from a distance but treacherous to walk through as its leaves are spiky and razor sharp.

Fern pool

We hiked to the bottom of Dales Gorge where waterfalls cascade into deep jade pools and beautiful ferns crowd the banks It’s a tranquil and peaceful place where the white Corella’s rest in the branches of huge fig trees.



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Terns in flight

We have decided to dig in at Keraudren for a few weeks to avoid the kids school holidays. The  traffic travelling north is hectic and  the leisurely lifestyle of beach combing and fishing for our supper is a far better option. Tommy’s reel broke the first week and we devised a system to stop the fish from falling off the line when he couldn’t reel in fast enough. I would stand by with a gloved hand, and as soon as he had the fish hooked I would grab the line and run like hell for the beach. This method of saving our tucker earned me a new title…”Women who runs with Fish” We have also had the joy of making new friends. Apart from the gracious welcome from hardy residents like Pene and Michael who camp here for months, we have had some great times with fellow beachcombers Jean and Ken, landed gentry from Bryon Bay, swapped ghost stories around the camp fire with fellow Perthians Lee and Chris and with the help from Trev and Kayleen, a couple of Tassie Devils, raised the task of  “crab catching” to an art form.



  
 
 
                                               Soul Food Kitchen
 
 

It's Crab for tea!

 
 
Susie’s Devilled Crab…….in honor of those Tasmanian Devils.


This is an old recipe that my mother and grandmother used to make. The original recipe came from the Kenya Cookery Book and was based on a Thermidor sauce. It’s great with any seafood but with crab its delicious.. Served in the crab shell it looks and tastes amazing.
                                                                Chakula mazuri sana!





1 large mud crab.


Drop the fresh crab in a large pot boiling water and cook for 10 minutes.


Remove and plunge into cold water


Get as much white meat as you can from the claws, legs and carapace. (a messy job!)


Set aside to cool.



The Thermidor Sauce

30g Butter
30g Flour
60g Strong Cheddar cheese, grated
½ teaspoon dry mustard
Yolk of one egg
300ml of milk
A good slug of whiskey or brandy or sherry (in the interests of sobriety please choose just one!)
Salt and freshly milled black pepper
Pinch of Cayenne pepper.


Make a white sauce with the butter, flour, dry mustard and milk. Cool slightly and beat in the egg yolk, booze and grated cheese. Season well and add the cooked flaked crab meat. Spoon into individual ramekins or the shell of the crab. Sprinkle with a little grated cheese and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Place under a hot grill till the cheese is golden and bubbling.



Serve with a crisp green salad and a nice Unwooded Chardonnay goes down well.

Next stop Broome..............catch yer later!

Pax Tibi

New Norcia

Pax Tibi


Pax Tibi…..Peace to you. The motto of the Benedictine monks that welcomes you to their little mission town of New Norcia. It seems strangely out of place in the Australian countryside with its Spanish style Abbey and Monastery, and it is unique, the only one of its kind in Australia. Famous for their crusty bread baked daily in wood fired ovens, fragrant olive oil from the many olive trees some over 100 years old, and a very fine matured Port from their vineyards. Oh and let’s not forget the great Abbey Ale which Mr. T found irresistible. We had no option but to sample these delights whilst camping on the playing fields near the Abbey church, it was a real hardship. Those first pioneering Spanish priests, Rosendo Salvado and Joseph Serra started the mission in 1847 just 17 years after the Swan River colony was established. The monk’s community life is based on the Rule of St Benedict which balances periods of prayer; seven times a day, the reading of scripture and work. There are also two silences; the “small silence” at mealtimes, and the “grand silence” when they sleep. What about the snorers among them I hear you ask? Perhaps they have a special dispensation!. The peace was tangible when I joined with others at Vespers one night as they sang Psalms in a side chapel where a beautiful altarpiece of the Black Madonna of Guadeloupe held pride of place. The monks established the first road through to Perth though I am sure that they could never have imagined the volume of traffic that now cuts their community in half as the Great Northern Highway. Monstrous road trains 60 meters long now shake the monastery buildings with their beautiful frescos to their very foundations.

Gay Galah Garden Party

A flock of Galahs every afternoon would settle on the grass to feed. As they minced around decked out in their baby pink waistcoats and grey morning suits they looked like a gregarious group of portly gay gentlemen attending a Garden Party.




We are on our way north to the “Top End” through the Goldfields region of Western Australia. This is dry arid country which borders the Little Sandy Desert and the road is long straight and monotonous. You can see where you are going to be an hour ahead. We dodge huge black eagles as they feast on Roo road kill. With their 6 foot wingspan their take off is slow and if you hit them at speed can cause serious damage to your rig. The soil in this area called the Pilbara is a rusty red ochre and coats everything with a fine dust; nothing escapes it tenacious grip and it’s impossible to remove from clothing, don’t wear white unless you’re partial to pink. The biggest deposits of iron ore and copper in the world have been found here and it is rich in gold and other minerals but it doesn’t make for pretty scenery, open cast mining and huge mulluck heaps dominate the skyline, and most of the little towns we pass through look sad and neglected.

Once a jolly swagman........under the shade of a collibar tree........

Finally we pull off to our first bush camp, a peaceful billabong fringed with white gums near the Gascoyne River. This is the part I love the most about travelling through Australia, finding little sacred spaces with water and shade in the midst of the heatand dust.We set up camp and today like so many millions of women around the world I have cooked over an open fire ,hand drawn water do my washing, hung it over bushes to dry and swept my home. There is comfort in connection through time and space to other women and a quiet contentment in doing daily chores slowly and quietly. But I miss the constant friendship of girlfriends. The friendships and connections that you make with likeminded women on the road are all too brief. Each encounter brings a new perspective and hopefully somewhere down the track we will meet again. There is an art to letting go and I am learning. For now I have the blessing of birds of a feathered variety! As I sit here on the bank a flock of tiny zebra finches have flown past, with their bright red beaks. Two western rosella parrots are sitting in the branches of the gum tree above me and a quail with her chicks have just come down to the water to drink. Suddenly there’s flash of brilliant cobalt blue, a kingfisher skims the surface catching dragonflies. Pax Tibi…….the peace of New Norcia has followed us and if it wasn’t for the distant roar of the road trains on the highway behind us it would be Heaven.



Soul Food Kitchen



Billabong Damper. (for two)




Nothing tastes as good as food cooked over an open fire, and feeling the need for something sweet I had a go at making “damper”. Once a girl guide always a girl guide…….this took me back to my girlhood guide camps where it was a staple item on the menu.

Clean the bark off 2 nice long fat sticks about a metre long


Mix together I large cup of self raising flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, a pinch of salt and enough warm water to make a stiff dough.


Knead for a few minutes and shape into 2 long rolls, rolling them between your hands. Coil each roll around the stick and cook over SLOW coals till the dough has risen and is a golden crusty brown. It will pull off easily from the stick if it is done.


Now the best part……….drop a big knob of golden butter into the damper so it melts down the hollow center and drips onto your hand. Then fill it up with jam, syrup or anything sweet that takes your fancy. I have known the truly decadent to use a stick of chocolate


There will be much licking of fingers…….but the elbow is impossible. The singing of Kumbyya is optional!


Happy Camping.

Lest We Forget

Dawn Anzac Day

                                                         

They shall grow not old,as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

Lest we forget.

A crowd of campers tramped through the puddles and huddled together for warmth.  We had gathered for the dawn service to commemorate Anzac day. In the dark just before dawn the magpies started calling and as the strains of the Last Post sounded a kookaburra laughed.  In the midst of remembered sadness, life goes on and hope reigns eternal. We have had a wet Easter,but the much needed rain has done little to dampen the spirits of the folk on site. I have been watching a couple of young boys riding their bikes through a muddy puddle getting filthier by the minute but as happy as ducks. Lets hope Mum is wise enough not to care! We are back at Quininup, home of the tall trees and a world away from the translucent aquamarine waters of  the Southern Ocean.

We took our time meandering thought the wheat belt of Western Australia to get back here. This is "broad acre" farming and the fields stretch out as far as the eye can see on either side of the highway. They are freshly raked at this time of the year, ready for planting. The  soil is a rich ochre and the Salmon Gums with their smooth reddish trunks fringe the road . Flocks of 28's flew alongside the van urging us on but we had to stop at Hyden a small dot on the map but home to the famous Wave Rock. This granite monolith looks like a vast petrified wave  and is only one of a collection of interesting rock formations .We climbed the huge rocks and had a magnificent view over the surrounding countryside A flat landscape dotted with Gums and She Oak ( a type of Cassurina) and underneath small tea tree bushes



Catching a wave!



 Hippos Yawn  aptly named, is a tafone  within a very large boulder. While tafone or tafuni might sound like some exotic Italian ice cream, it is in fact an Italian word for window or aperture. In Geology it refers to a large hollow in a rock caused by the action of wind and water............so now you know. Another vital piece of trivia for you to remember and who knows might even help you win that game of Trivial Pursuit against your peers!    

Hippos Yawn!



This has been a short hop compared to the journey we will be taking next week. We fly to the USA on Saturday to spend time with my brother Gary and his family. A trip long overdue and we are looking forward to a road trip taking in Utah Arizona and Nevada, Tommy will be fulfilling his cowboy fantasy in Zane Grey country. so my next blog will have a distinctly American flavour.

Hope you have had a Blessed Easter and are not suffering from a sensory overload of chocolate.  Needless to say I have eaten so many Lindt Easter Bunnies I have fur on my teeth.

Till the next time......so long folks!

 

 

 

Soul Food Kichen

 

 ANZAC COOKIES

                                                               

 

 

 

 

This has to be the recipe for this blog..........in honor of heroes and a tribute to the fallen. These were sent to the front by Australian and New Zealand  mothers,wives,sisters and girlfriends,as they kept well . A taste of home in the midst of terrible adversity.

 

1 cup plain Flour

1 cup rolled Oats

1 cup brown Sugar

1/2 cup coconut

125 gm butter

3 tablespoons Golden Syrup

1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon Bicarb

 

Sift flour into bowl and add sugar, rolled oats and coconut.  Melt butter and golden syrup in a pan with the water. Stir in bicarb..........it will fizz!  Add liquid to dry mixture and mix thoroughly. Place walnut size balls on a greased baking sheet and bake for 15-20 mins at 175C. Biscuits will harden when cool.

Just hits the right spot with a cuppa!

 

 

 

 



Adventure before Dementia.

Sandy Bight Cape Arid National Park

One bite away from the Great Australian Bight. We drove for hours along a blindingly white beach in Cape Arid National Park before we stopped for our breakfast of hard boiled eggs and chewy homemade sour dough bread. The Southern Ocean stretched out endlessly to the horizon, the lovely deep blue changing to turquoise as it bordered the white sand. Behind us lay the vast expanse of the Australian outback with Mallee scrub and Banksias covered with their stubby yellow candle flowers. The beach was empty and desolate as far as the eye could see. It was an eerie feeling and I suddenly felt panic. I was standing as far south as I had ever been .The silence was palpable and I felt isolated and very far away from civilization. Would anybody ever find you if you went missing on this far side of the ocean I wondered? For those early explorers it must have filled them with dread “water, water everywhere but ner a drop to drink” One intrepid sealer, James Manning on exploring this area in 1835 wrote “we subsisted on limpets and roots of grass” .......not good tucker mate............arid is a apt description for this stretch of coastline. But it has not all been like this.....

Native Dog Beach

For the last month we have been hugging the south east coast of Western Australia from Albany to Israelite Bay. It has taken us six months to do 700ks.......at this rate it will take us years to do the Big Lap! Where ever we find ourselves the place cries out to be explored and we can't move on until we have savoured it all. The magnificent coastline of Cape Le Grand National Park is a an area of outstandingly beautiful beaches, the sand as fine and white as icing sugar which squeaks underfoot. I started writing this looking out over the stunning Bay of Esperance and the islands of the Recherche Archipelago. The Aboriginal name for this area is "Kepa Kurl", 'the place where the waters lay down like a boomerang', but it takes its name from a French frigate L'Esperance which discovered the bay in 1792 whilst sheltering from a savage storm. 

Kepa Kurl  Bay of Isles Esperance

This place is also known as the Bay of Isles, and the 110 islands were once the haunt of Australia's only known pirate Black Jack Anderson........whose well known slogan "adventure before dementia me hearties" has become the mantra of
many a Grey Nomad ourselves included.
.Every day we discover an even more beautiful beach than the day before........I have discovered it is possible to get drunk on beauty and then an overwhelming inertia falls upon you, and like the roos on the beach at Lucky bay……the inevitable happens and its time to soak up the rays and laze the day away.

Lucky Bay, the whitest sand in Oz

Tommy as usual is not content to sit and dream ,where's there's water there's fish to be caught and he has provided us with Dhufish ,Tommy rough aka herring, and Breaksea cod which around here is called "blackarse" which despite its name is very delicious! I have rediscovered my calling and am now called "women who guts the fish" a primal urge which is totally rewarding. Fresh from the sea it is into the pan within minutes. Lightly dusted with flour and fried in hot nutty brown butter and a squeeze of lemon, this is is food for the gods and one of the greatest taste sensations to delight the palate.



Blackarse and Dhufish......no really!


Our favorite spot has got to be the Duke of Orleans Bay. We are staying at a wonderful caravan park affectionately called  "The Duke" by the locals. James and Wendy and their two sons run this little piece of heaven and it is a perfect place to sit back, relax or do a spot of fishing. The beaches are breathtaking with water so clear its like swimming through glass. You can be up to your neck in the pristine water at Wharton Beach and still see your painted toenails. I have spent hours snorkling and catching a few waves on my "boogie board". Unfortunately all this exercise is not having much of an effect, too many "happies" at happy hour, its still a chunky dunk as apposed to a skinny dip!
 

Duke of Orleans Bay



Surf's up so catch yer later!....................


Chunky dunking!



Soul Food Kitchen

Zucchini Fritata

This is a quick and easy dish, that's great to snack on at anytime of the day.....and perfect for picnics on the beach.


1 large zucchini cut into cubes (don't peel)
1 large onion finely chopped
250 gm streaky bacon chopped
1 cup self raising flour
2 cups of grated Cheddar cheese
6 medium eggs
1/4 cup of sunflower oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fry the onions and bacon in a little oil till cooked. Add to the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Pour into a square baking dish. cook at 170 for 30 mins or until a nice golden brown on top and filling is set. Nice hot or cold, cut into wedges and served with a fresh green salad of rocket, baby spinach and a sweet balsamic dressing.
Enjoy!

.

 



Wild Wild West

I could have been in Nashville but nobody was packing any heat. I was in in fact at Boyup Brook Western Australia  for their famous annual country music festival. The little town was packed with caravans of every shape and size, awash with folk in checked shirts, denim and assorted cowboy hats, and a wannabe Slim Dusty on every street corner with his twanging guitar. For those of you who know me well this was not my idea of heaven..........country and western music is my "bete noir" and is apt to push me over the edge if listened to when I am feeling low.........another sad song of "he gone and done me wrong, now the dog has died and I'm in jail" is enough to make me want to commit bodily harm to my person........however I am now married to a fan of all things country so compromise is the key. By the end of the week I was foot tapping along with the rest of them. My favorite a blind guitarist called Lorin Nicholson a man with real vision and speaking the universal language. Mind you......we had a young girl playing next to us at the street market, who moaned her way through every song in her repertoire and definitely needed to be put out of her misery.  I could have cheerfully shoot her myself , there is only so much one can take.

We stayed at Harvey Dickson's a few miles out of town, a rustic campsite, no power or water but at only $8 a night whose complaining We took lots of al fresco showers and enjoyed the dusty solitude.........and merciful silence. We went to a "brekky showdown" in his shed, the ceiling of which is festooned with objects from yesteryear and a stage dedicated to the KING. Some wonderful Bush Poets, regaled us with humorous Aussie verse,so funny we cried with laughter.

Tommy became the talk of the town, winning first prize and $300 for his "bush sculpture"entitled "Sacrifice". I have an amazing husband who has more chutzpah than anyone I have ever known. While we were at Quininup he spent time picking up old iron railway sleeper nails, barbed wire and gnarled bits of wood, and using some of my beads magically turned them into works of art. I was so proud of him! Trouble is we are now living with "an artist" they need lots of TLC



Sacrifice



It must be a weatherman's heaven,forget the precipitation he has far more exciting scenarios  like heat waves,cyclones, flash floods and now bush fires to report on.. Enough already! Give us a break,  please.  In the last few weeks we have run through every weather  imaginable except perhaps snow! At the beginning of the month Tommy and I had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We had to go back to Armadale Hospital for Mr T's  annual checkup and as we drove into the outskirts of Perth we hit smoke. I had booked us into  a quaint chalet in the hills above Armadale, right next to a picturesque dam and with stunning views. We realized something was wrong when the proprietor came out to greet us and to tell us there was no electricity. As we got out of the car and gazed across the hillside below us all we could see were hugh billows of smoke.  He said we were in no immediate danger as the wind was blowing away from us but we felt uneasy. As we unpacked  we heard a terrific noise as a helicopter dropped down to suck water up from the dam right outside our room to water bomb. We realized that  the  fire was obviously nearer than we thought.  Then a ranger came past and advised us to leave.........so we hastily crammed everything back into the car and made a quick getaway.. Armadale was chaos with frightened people flocking to the town hall, for safety. Most of them had lost everything and had escaped with what they stood up in, many had their pets in their arms. It was a sorry sight but thankfully no loss of life,and started by an off duty policeman using his angle grinder. I don't fancy being in his shoes with over 80 homes lost, he's got a unhealthy amount of guilt to deal with poor man.

Room with a View

We are now camping at Cheynes Beach, on the south western coast, trying to catch some fish but not with much luck.......not biting!



Soul Food Kitchen

Pork and Spinach Soup

 Had an enjoyable couple of evenings with Jan and Brian Beattie and this is Jan's recipe for a delicious heartwarming soup.
Especially good after an alien sighting on the Nullabor!

1 Pork Hock
1 onion chopped

Place in a large saucepan and cover hock with cold water and add some salt. Cook until meat is falling off the bone, a pressure cooker will do this in a jiffy. Remove hock, put aside to cool. Add the following, all chopped finely.grate ginger and crush garlic.

1 bunch of spinach
1 clove of garlic
1 small knob of ginger
1 chicken stock cube
2 tablespoons of soya sauce
1 cup thin vermecilli noodles

Disolve stock cube in one cup of liquid, bring to the boil and cook until noodles are soft. Meanwhile take meat off the bone and chop into small pieces. Add to soup.

Delicious, enjoy with some crusty bread.

Advance Australia Fair





Waltzing Matilda

  
Two days anxiously watching and waiting for Cyclone Bianca to hit us with expected winds of 120ks an hour  but luckily the lady was a no show. We didn't even need to tie the kangaroos down mate and  finished the month with a whimper and not a bang. Poor Queensland wasn't so fortunate with Yasi ,devastation of homes and farms near the coast but thankfully no loss of life, in fact three babies born, imagine they will dine out on that story all their lives..........but guess we wont be having bananas any time soon. One of things I am trying to come to terms with living in Australia is the sheer scale of the disasters they have here.Nothing small about this country,and their hearts are just as expansive. It is time for us to be moving on. We have mixed feelings. The longer you stay in one place the harder it is to move, and Quininup has become a special place for us. We have loved the camaraderie here in the camp and have made some good friends. We celebrated my first Australia Day with bunting flying from the awning and the fishing rod as a makeshift flagpole. Had a  traditional "breakfast barbie" with  Carol and Nev who cooked up some great Aussie tucker and spent the day waltzing with the roos. I now have a tame "28" parrot, who has lost his tail, (does that make him a "14" I wonder.).............we have named him Waldo, don't ask me why.  He has taste for sunflower seeds and will happily munch handfuls but  attacks any other parrots who dare to muscle in on a free lunch.



Jenny and Jack with their two small boys, Jackson and Braydon and not forgetting Scruffy the dog, have spent the last sixteen months on the road.They have been in Quininup for the last eight as caretakers of the park.  They opted out of the rat race,selling up their business in Queensland to spend more time together as a family. Home is a 16 ft caravan filled with all their worldly possessions. I take my hat off to them, not many of us would have the courage and resilience to bring up a family in such a confined space. Though they do have one enormous advantage, the whole of Oz is their backyard. Whilst they have been here they have managed to grow tomatoes and cucumbers up their awning ropes. I am filled with admiration as Jenny  home schools  the computer savvy  boys with  the help of S.I.D.E.  (Schools of Isolated  and Distance Education). The boys have a taste for rice smothered in balsamic vinegar.......maybe some budding gourmands! They love the adventure of the open road with  new places to explore, and they will be heading off soon to the Eyre Peninsular in South Australia and no doubt Jackson and Braydon will be fishermen like their father the next time I see them. Travel safe guys.



Waldo and me.......

On one of my walks around Karri Lake I came across a family of Emus busily eating blackberries. I don't know who was more surprised, them or me.The adult and six babies eyed me in alarm,gathered themselves into a line like a miniature group of burlesque dancers and sashayed off their tail feathers bouncing. Their choreographer chiding them on faster with clicks "C'mon girls ,shake that bootee and give them a grand exit!" The female Emu is a liberated bird. Once she has mated and laid her clutch of aqua blue eggs she hands over all responsibility to her husband. He then sits, hatches and generally cares for his brood till they are large enough to fend for themselves. Can't you just picture it........."That's it honey......I'm off to join the girls down at the Bramble Bar, catch yer next year for a bit of whoopee.".... now there's food for thought.

Ye ha!  I am dusting off my hat, squeezing into my jeans and heading  inland to Boyup Brook for the Country Music Festival for five days. Hoping the local cowboys and girls have a liking for beads as I have been busy decorating cowboy hats  Intsimbi style.
Wagons roll!



Soul Food Kitchen

This is a delicious dip to share around the barbie or whenever a group get together for "happy hour" Feeds many!

Quininup Corn and Bacon Loaf

450g  round cob loaf
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of fresh garlic crushed
250g tub soft cream cheese
1/2 cup grated tasty cheese
1 dessertspoon Dijon mustard
2 rashers bacon roughly chopped
420g can of creamed sweetcorn
1/4 cup of sour cream
Couple of dashes of Worcester sauce
Handful of chopped fresh herbs,parsley,chives,thyme.

Slice the top off the cob loaf. Remove the inside soft bread. Place cob on a baking tray. Cut the soft bread into small strips and arrange the extra pieces on a separate tray, spray them with oil.
Fry bacon and onion in a little oil for 2/3 minutes. Cool. Place in a mixing bowl and add other ingredients. Mix well and add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.Spoon into prepared loaf. Place the top back over the cob.
Bake the loaf at 200C for 25 minutes, then add the bread pieces to the oven. Cook the loaf and bread pieces for a further 10 minutes or until the filling is hot and the bread is crunchy.Wrap in foil until ready to serve. Serve at room temperature. Use the smaller pieces of bread to dip first and then break up the cob loaf from the top as you work your way down to the bottom. There won't be any left, believe me! Delicious.



The Big Wet



2011 already.......what happened to 2010? 


What a start to the new year. One half of the country plagued with floods and the other half fighting bush fires. Like most Australians I have been watching TV footage of the unfolding disaster of the relentless floods in Queensland and now moving into Victoria. The sheer scale of the devastation is overwhelming. Imagine an area the size of France and Germany under water and in some areas the flood level reaching 30ft or more. The inland tsunami that ravaged Toowoomba  and parts of the Lockyer valley was so violent, one body was recovered 80 kms downstream from where he was swept away. We watched with horror as one family climbed onto the roof of their car , the mother and son were picked up by a helicopter, but the father disappeared before they could go back for him. The statistics are mind blowing with figures of 70 million tons of water in 74 hours flooding Brisbane, 7,000 insurance claims worth an estimated $365 million, (but many are not covered for river encroachment so face a  lenghty battle for compensation). It will cost the nation 30 billion dollars to rebuild and restore. But forget the statistics and get back to the human cost. So far 20 dead and many more  missing, most of them from the small village of Grantham, where whole houses were swept away, farms decimated, livestock drowned . For many of the victims they face an uncertain future, mortgages still have to be paid for homes that are no longer habitable or just not there. The cost in human suffering is incalculable. Families and communities in the rural areas are close knit and one loss affects everybody. In the midst of this terrible tragedy there are stories of tremendous courage. One young boy insisting they save his brother first, he and his mother were then swept away before they could be helped. Strangers risking their own lives to save people trapped in cars. Parents pushing their kids onto the roof of their home for safety only to be dragged under by the raging flood before they could pull themselves up.



A couple of the more exotic of the species

I have been been moved by the way the  Queenslanders and their fellow Australians from all over the country  came together to support one another through this terrible time. The Aussies have a remarkable stoicism in the face of adversity and this coupled with their unique sense of humour  "she'll be right mate" help us to remember what really matters is not the loss of possessions or property but looking out for your neighbour. We have been  fortunate to experience that ourselves from fellow travellers. Wherever we find ourselves we are encouraged  by the positive feedback we receive, helpful advice and great companionship. We saw the New Year in with great crowd of friendly Aussies and a couple of Kiwis.........so to Carol, Nev, Maureen , Dale, Cheryl , John,Chris and Greg........Cheers and thanks for a great evening  from the colonial sheila and the Big T

Catch yer later on the road again sometime!



Warm feet and warm hearts!

 It has been a month since we set out on our journey and opted for the simpler way of life. We have bought a solar panel which we have fitted on the roof of the van and now we can stay in places where there is no electricity. Fresh water will be our only restriction. Living in a confined space has its challenges,there is definitely no space for mess.Clear up or move out!  I am learning that I can cook perfectly well with just one pot, in which I mix,bake boil,and stew and have adjusted my menus accordingly........if it isn't on the barbie its potluck. I have rediscovered the joy of bread making and make a mean soda loaf. Tommy has become the "Marron catcher extraordinaire" and with the produce from the local farmers markets we are eating like kings.An indispensable  item is one that can multi task, like our portable freezer which works off our batteries and doubles up as a coffee table,foot rest, ironing board and dumping point for anything that needs a home. My wardrobe now consists of a couple pairs of shorts and assorted  T's ,and I am setting the new fashion trend in camp wear with  kikois,which I can always whip off and throw on the table when we entertain. This is, as you can imagine, or perhaps not, makes for a great ice breaker! Less is best has become our mantra as we aspire to only own as many things as we genuinely need.......and more importantly realize we can only tow so much. I have never felt more liberated.

Its marron season and yesterday armed with our "chook" pellets for bait and our license we spent the evening at the local dam.It was a beautiful calm night,the sky chock a block with stars which were reflected in the dark water. The kookaburra laughed goodnight to us from the jarrah trees, and  dozens of frogs serenaded us with a rasping chorus.As we pulled in our nets it looked like we were catching stars not crayfish.  Today,the romance has faded and  I have the task of cooking the catch. This is not an easy task. They are remarkably frisky and object strenuously to becoming gastronomic delights. The water boiling ,the first two safely in the pot, I tried to extricate a large marron from the bag. The remaining marron had decided on an "all for one and one for all" policy and clung grimly together with their pincers locked  in a long chain. I grabbed the first one and tried to swat off the rest with a wooden spoon. It proved to be my undoing. The large marron dropped onto my bare foot maliciously nipping my toe. In the ensuing panic to shake him off I tripped over the bag and his comrades decided this was as good a time as any to make a dash for it. In a flash the floor was covered in scrabbling crustaceans, with the chef hopping around on one foot trying to scoop them up with a plastic sieve..........Master chef  it was not.....oh the joys of the simple life.


Soul Food Kitchen

Danny's Chilli Jam

 This is a great accompaniment to a dish of grilled crayfish, looks pretty too. But is great with everything that you feel needs a bite or a "zoosh" up in flavour.

Large handful of fresh red chilli's
I cup of apricot jam
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Fresh garlic (optional)

Blitz together in a blender and put in a jar. Keeps for ages in the fridge.
Watch out for the bite!