Getting ready to move... Yuk!

I am a crab - born in the sign of Cancer, and I like my home comforts. Accordingly I am a little out of sorts at the moment. We are moving to Brisbane, and the movers invade on Wednesday and Thursday. I know I should take a glass half full perspective (and there are definite advantages), but I choose to believe that I am hardwired to protect my cave. 

There are advantages: 

-We don't have to do the packing/lifting/loading/driving/unloading. If you have to move, then a full service move has to be the way to do it. 

-We have been able to have a clean out of stuff we no longer need/want/use. For natural hoarders, this can be a blessing.

-We are moving closer to family. Big plus, and we are also moving away from the tropical humidity. Even bigger plus.

We won't have a new home for five weeks, and by then will desperately want to get into a home routine again. 

As a part of the preparations, we have to ensure the gardens are as they were when we moved in (this generally means bereft of any living thing, on the off chance that the next tenant will have no interest in things green). This is easy enough to do, unless a Curlew decides to make a nest in a garden. Which they did this week.

The Curlew is a ground dwelling bird from the same family as the Road Runner, but doesn't go "Beep Beep". It has a high pitched kind of wail that sort of sounds like its name. They are endangered, and looking at how they breed and nest it isn't hard to see why. They are actually a  pretty cool bird. They have excellent camouflage, and will often just lie flat on the ground as you walk past.

This is our curlew on her nest. Nice position - although she does get sun for most of the day!

When you get close to her she will come off the nest (technical construction...)

...Spread her wings, and hiss. Quite startling if you haven't seen them, and they come up behind you!

With a nest like this, it isn't hard to see why they are endangered!

MacK loves to watch the nest, but the birds get too agitated if he is close. All he wants to do is wave at the birds, and say "Hello Curlews", but they freak out a bit! He now sits inside, where he can make sure they are safe.

Jane had her birthday last week, and we combined a farewell brunch for work colleagues with a birthday cake. As it was Jane's birthday, we had lots of chocolate including Jane's favourite chocolate croissants. In addition, we had chocolate, prune and espresso sourdough, sausage rolls, feta and cherry tomato quiche, raspberry and passionfruit friand, mango, pineapple and mint salad, caramelised popcorn and banana chocolate muffins. 

The Cake - Chocolate cake, with a chocolate and cognac icecream centre, and chocolate ganache. Wicked!

We had a lovely morning, and now I think we are done for entertaining in Townsville. Time to start packing, finish cleaning and then to get on the road.

This morning I was breakfasting with MacK. He was finishing his weetbix, and asked for some of what I was having (chocolate prune and espresso sourdough). When he tried it he smiled and said "Yummy cake". I told him it was bread, to which he simply replied "cake!" This exchange went on for a bit before he gave me that look which I translated loosely as "you can call it whatever you want. You and I both know that it is cake. Or it should be. Stop trying to pretend its healthy. Oh - and give me some more, please!"

Our last Tropical food frenzy

As we do at this time of year, we held another dinner party last night. This one was tinged with a little sadness with the knowledge that it was to be our last here in Townsville. I do have to say though that any sadness was well and truly tempered by the thought of cooking in slightly less humid conditions in future.

Our guests for the evening's festivities were Phil & Kate Cox, Tim & Jo McGlinchey and Geoff & Lyn Hansen. As ever, I took the opportunity to try techniques for the first time. I don't know why I always do that - surely it would be easier to at least practice things once prior to going out on stage.

The menu we planned was as follows:

Hors d'oeuvres

• Peking duck rolls
• Thai style lamb salad in cucumber cups
• Flash fried prawns with red Nam Jim dipping sauce
• "Pea and ham soup"

Dinner

• Pork belly with rocket and cornichons, jellied pickled beetroot, carrot, mustard and roast tomato jam and caramelised cider vinegar glaze.
• Apple, lime and mint sorbet with apple crisps
• Chicken fricassee - Roasted chicken breast with potato, thyme and mustard frittata, glazed asparagus and carrot and mustard veloute.
• Esrom cheese, wrapped in prosciutto and grilled
• 'Frivolity' - Kiwifruit Ice
• Tropical Christmas pudding 

When people arrived we had a couple of quiet drinks, with hors d'oeuvres. This time we managed to photograph most of the courses, for your vicarious joy!

The Peking duck spring rolls and Thai lamb salad. 

We didn't get the prawns, but this is the Pea and Ham soup. Whilst not being a devotee of molecular gastronomy and the work of Heston Blumenthal, I was inspired to have a crack at spherification. Essentially what you see is a sphere of liquid peas held (just) by a gel shell, with a shard of baked prosciutto on top. This was definitely a single bite dish (the pea explodes in the mouth), and certainly had people talking. Everyone was in the kitchen, so got to see it taking place. I was so glad this one worked! It was really impressive.

This was our entree, and probably my favourite dish of the evening. I cooked the pork belly for the first time over rosemary and preserved lemons, and it had a wonderful citrus flavour. The carrot jam was fantastic, and the pickled beetroot jelly was just wonderful. Phil was particularly taken with the beetroot, and when I offered him another, I almost had a mutiny on my hands!  

This was how we served the sorbet... MacK particularly enjoys the sorbet, and refers to it as 'gelati'. Our guests asked if they could buy the apple crisps in a bag anywhere!

Chicken Fricassee - The breasts were brined before being steamed for five minutes. Prior to being roasted, they were pan fried to crisp the skin. So tender and flavoursome, and the sauce was spectacular. The carrots were a little bit arty, but had to indulge my fancy side!

We didn't catch either the cheese or frivolity courses on camera, but they were both very good. The Esrom cheese is a salty Danish cheese that is magnified in flavour when wrapped in prosciutto and grilled. Phil did say that the cheese was the MOST savoury thing he had ever eaten. It was lovely, but a single bite was enough. Any more might be inviting cardiac arrest!

Dessert (pictured above) was our tropical christmas pudding. We served a chocolate and cognac ice-cream with christmas fruit, marsala sabayon in a chocolate cup with a peppered pineapple crisp, and peppered grilled pineapple. What a way to end a meal!

After dinner we opened a couple of bottles of Schnapps. We had brought Jo a bottle of the Wild Brumby Pink Lady Apple Schnapps when we were in the snow and she wanted to knock the top of that after dinner. Tim and Jo had given me a bottle of Flaschengeist cognac and walnut liqueur which was just stunning. It tastes like a liquid ferrero rocher chocolate and was so good that some suggested they could brush their teeth in it. Geoff realised that he has finally found the tipple he can take with him on extended bush walks. 

All in all a brilliant night! Thanks Townsville...

What the table looked like immediately after our guests left us. 

MacK and the disappearing Carrot Cake

I know that some of you will by now have seen the video that Jane posted to facebook showing Mack attacking a carrot cake I made a couple of weeks ago...

I was doing a couple of birthday cakes which, in the tropics is just plain dumb at this time of year. The occasion was the 18th birthday for Riley, the son of one of our good friends in Townsville. We made him a chocolate mud cake, frosted with ganache and buttercream (last minute icing due to the humidity). Tim's birthday was the same day, and we did a carrot cake (his favourite) with a Harley Davidson logo on top as he had just bought a Harley as a birthday present to himself.

I pulled the carrot cake out of the oven, and left it on the bench to cool whilst doing some stuff at the other end of the house. I came back to see the centre of the cake had disappeared - into MacK's tummy!

As he had already destroyed the cake, we let him have another go while we filmed it. Every couple of bites, he would stop, grin and say "Yummy".

This one doesn't show the true size of the hole, but it was big enough to need a new cake

This one I love - MacK is dreaming up another nefarious scheme I am sure... Maybe standing there wondering when Daddy is going to bake another cake!

Photographs and thoughts from the past few months

Well, we promised we would post pics of MacK a blog or so ago, so here are a few of my favourite photographs of MacK and the rest of the family from the last couple of months. The pic above is of MacK with one of his snow girlfriends, back in August!

On that same trip, Phyl completed my jumper. She knitted an awesome skull and crossbones jumper that I can't possibly wear in Townsville. Fortunately we won't be living here for much longer (another couple of weeks now!) so I will have opportunities to wear it. While out one day in Canberra, I saw a small version, at Big W and just couldn't resist!

Me and MacK - getting our pirate on!!

Thank you Phyl - just too talented.

In August, we were lucky enough to get together for a family party on the Gold Coast. This is one of my favourite photographs of Dad, Tyson and I.

And this is my beautiful, glamourous wife! Don't you think she looks stunning? 

As big as we think MacK is (and he is when put next to his peers), every now and again he will put something of mine on, and bring it all back into perspective.

In November, we had the first of our Christmases for 2012. Jane's family always celebrate in November, tying in with the Snowy River Trout Festival. Dave comes down from Darwin, and we make sure that at least Jane is able to get there. This year we were all there, and had a lot of fun. We had a really simple lunch, with slow cooked beef, hot smoked trout and BBQ butterfly lamb. Good food, wine and company. Our Canberra Christmas was held on Remembrance Day. Peter and Phyl have poppies galore in their garden, and MacK was proud to wear one. We look forward to taking some of the seed to the farm, and seeing the poppies come up each year.

 

MacK with his poppy, and Jane at the park.

Melissa, MacK, Jane and I at lunch

We had a lot of fun in the parks around Kambah, with MacK particularly enjoying the swings. He was regularly going to sleep in the swing, and would roll up in bed saying "park, fun, swing, fun". We enjoyed this slide too, but the first time MacK went down himself he spun out, and ended up going down sideways with limbs everywhere but in the slide. Holding hands was a MUCH safer way to go!

Not so long ago, MacK was petrified of the vacuum cleaner. These days he loves to help out around the house. He stands up at the bench and rolls meatballs, has shaped his first loaf of bread, and loves to mop, sweep and vacuum. He is a very housetrained kid!

Whilst in Canberra, he added another string to his bow, insisting on watering all the plants, and "doing gardening". 

He had great fun checking out the water feature in the garden. He loves to play in any water, and we occasionally walk around the local suburbs counting sprinklers!

That's all for now. We will try to keep up the blog over the next couple of weeks, although our schedule is simply ridiculous. We only have a couple of weeks before the movers come to pack the house, and then we will be driving away from Townsville for the last time. Heading south, closer to family is going to be a fantastic thing. For those we don't get a chance to talk to, have a great Christmas, and we look forward to spending time with you as soon as possible.

A most important thing!

Last Saturday, Jane and I attended a cocktail party at the invitation of the Commander of the 3rd Brigade in Townsville. He is an Ambassador for White Ribbon Day in Townsville, and hosted an event to mark the launch of the event in Townsville. If you don't know anything about White Ribbon, please take a moment to look at their website, at www.whiteribbon.org.au to find out. Essentially, it is a movement that recognises that violence against women is a male problem, and that males have to take the lead on solving the problem in our society.

An ice carving, representing the White Ribbon logo was the centrepiece for the function

In the presentation we had, the statistics truly astounded us. Queensland does not have a proud record when it comes to violence against women. One in three women will have experienced some form of violence before they are fifteen, and one in four after that time. The violence may take physical, emotional, verbal or financial forms and a majority happens in domestic situations.

Police are reluctant to use their resources in cases of domestic violence, as they know that in the majority of cases women will return to abusive partners. Whilst those of us on the outside cannot understand why they would do that, the women typically love the partner, but just wish that the violence would stop. They typically think that by agreeing to go back that the behaviours will stop. Generally it does - for a brief period; and then the abusive behaviours begin again. The males are typically very seductive, and do what they do out of a sense of power.

There are two typical reactions that people take. The first is that of silent disapproval. Friends, families and acquaintances are aware of what is happening, and essentially do nothing. The behaviours are reinforced, and the position of the woman and her family is continually undermined. The second response is to take the male outside for a bit of 'dead ground counselling' - or beating the **%& out of them. This also does not work, as the female typically sides with the male, who then takes it out on the woman.

The key element is that this is about power. The presentation we had was very strong and direct, and stressed that there is a third option. We all need to stand up and be counted - and to refuse to allow cowards to continue to satisfy their own perverse urges for power through the abuse of our women. If you know someone who is perpetrating any kind of violence against women, be it physical, verbal, emotional or financial, then the onus is on you to take action. You need to confront the male with their cowardice. In the words of the presenter (and apologies if you are upset by strong language), these males are nothing but gutless fucking cowards, and need to be told so. 

The only way that behaviours can be changed is if they are challenged. Silent disapproval does nothing but isolate the victims. Belting the perpetrator negatively affects the victims, as the perpetrator needs to reconfirm his power base and will only increase abusive behaviours. Challenge the coward. Call him out in front of society for what he is - a coward.

One in thirty three is not acceptable, let alone one in three. For the sake of our women, and the children who are exposed to this violence through no fault of their own; take the pledge. Visit the White ribbon website, and share its information widely.

And do not sit in silence. Please.

i swear

never to commit, excuse

or remain silent about

violence against women

this is my oath

Jane and I, both very happy to take the oath.

Our wee Lad!

Having spent thirteen weeks away from home, the changes in MacK are very obvious, and really rather impressive. I know that I, along with every other Dad think that their child is a prodigy, and the most prodigious at that. So please feel free to measure MacK’s progress against your own experiences – just don’t spoil my illusions!

He is a big lad – 75^th percentile for height and head circumference, but off the charts in weight. His hands and feet are Labrador in nature, and we can only assume that at some stage he will grow into them.

He has a huge amount of words, and is now parroting Jane and I. So last week we had an ‘oh crap’, and ‘shit’. Just lucky that we didn’t have a ‘@$%& **&^%...’ as well, so we are counting our blessings. He is starting to put sentences together, and has a fine level of visual comprehension. Jane watched an episode of West Wing with MacK commentating. He pointed at objects on the screen, and clearly told Jane what they were. Most of his words are really clear, but he does have one unique word – “GUP!” I hadn’t been home long, and was lying on the floor playing with MacK, when he pointed at me and called “GUP”. He repeated it, and when I didn’t move, he threw a ball at me (perfect shot – pegged me in the head). It turns out that “GUP” is MacK-shorthand for “Get up”, or “Get up you lazy sod”, depending on how forceful his delivery is. Jane couldn’t help herself, and collapsed into paroxysms of laughter.

When you sneeze, he immediately responds with “Bless you”, and he is getting better at asking with a please (or ‘pease’). He is very forceful in his opinions too. When he wants you to stop doing something, it is very clear – including the outstretched hand, with palm out.

He still loves to read, and is now finishing some of the sentences in his favourite books. He knows what he wants to read, and will ask for the books by name. As far as counting goes, he is starting to get the gist of things, with his favourite numbers being 2 and 5.

He is going to be particular about language too, we think. I wish we could remember the exact circumstance, but a couple of days ago, MacK corrected Jane in something she had said. Jane’s response was to tell him he was a pedant, just like his father and grandfather!

He loves to help in the kitchen. He will regularly stand beside me and stir a pot with me, and today spooned sugar onto everyone’s porridge. He didn’t sprinkle it, just dumped a spoon of sugar in the middle of the bowl – but it’s a start. The other day I was cutting onions and garlic for dinner when he pointed at the garlic and asked what it was. I told him, and he picked up the clove, and bit it in half. The look on his face was priceless, but a little curiosity goes a long way!

It reminds me of a story from my distant youth, that I am sure my mother would vehemently deny, regarding tomato relish. I have two memories of summer relish making as a child. The first is making a double batch with Dad, and later discovering that we had quadrupled the salt in the recipe. For a lot of effort, it was sad to have to throw it away. It was just inedible. The other story is from a time I was ‘helping’ Mum to make a batch of relish, and I asked her what cayenne pepper tasted like. She told me to try it, so I dipped my finger in the jar and licked it clean. I don’t remember what happened immediately after, probably because the top of my head blew off and into a million pieces. I just hope I didn’t rub that finger into my eyes.

As I write this we have another six weeks in the tropics before we move south towards Brisbane. We are looking forward to the drop in temperature and humidity, and the proximity to family, beaches, good food and live entertainment.

The next post will have an updated set of photographs - Promise! 

On being 40…

When I turned thirty I wrote a few observations as to how I saw myself, and my aspirations and plans for the future. I have no idea where it is, but it would be fascinating to see how my perspectives may have changed over the past decade.

In any case, I am going to be a little self indulgent, and record my thoughts on being forty in this forum.

During lunch last week with a friend, we debated the best decade to have lived. He suggested that there was no better time than the 1970s. Whilst I obviously think they were good years, I enjoyed the 90s as a new adult. I do think now though that the best years of life are definitely ahead of me. As much as I enjoyed the PJ years (pre Jane), life now is just so much more complete.

I have developed strong views (me – opinionated?) on environmental and economic sustainability. I am not sure when, but my change seemed to coincide with my enlistment into Army. I have always wanted to live on a farm, but hadn’t given a lot of thought to how I might farm. In line with a kind of collective awareness/awakening, I find myself evermore drawn to concepts such as permaculture, organic farming and natural farming on the land side of the house, and economic sufficiency on the financial side of things.

I can’t understand why more people don’t share my views, but I have to remind myself to stay off my soapbox. No one has an obligation to operate in a more sustainable manner, and cannot be challenged if they choose not to do so. I can’t judge, as to do so potentially robs me of worthwhile human encounters. My friends and colleagues tend to see me as a bit of an oddball; almost eccentric. I am comfortable with that.

I care as much for food as I ever have. My views have changed a little so that my focus is as much on the point of origin and manufacture as it is about the finished product. I want to know that the ingredients are the very best I can source. Ditto with wine and beer. I support artisan and craft producers wherever possible and get a real kick out of farmers markets. One of my biggest food peeves is restaurants who apply a classic name to a dish, but put something completely different on the plate. I enjoy good coffee – generally black.

I am enjoying the work I do, and find I am much more settled than I was during the frenetic twenty/thirty years. I can perhaps best describe it in rugby terms. As I got a little bit older, I started to play a lot smarter. I would no longer rush headlong into each and every contest, but would pick my battles. Those I engaged in I would do so with maximum effort. I find work is a little like that, and that approach certainly helped me through RMC as an older cadet. Taking a break from the kitchen has perversely allowed me to become a much more creative and better cook. I have a greater respect for the magic that happens in a kitchen.

On physical fitness – I may not be quite as fit as I was in my twenties, but I am not far off it. I make a point of exercising every day wherever possible, and take pride in being able to meet and beat the fitness standards prescribed for those fifteen years my junior. I have pretty much given up contact sports, and now enjoy squash, swimming and swinging kettlebell weights. I intend to maintain my fitness through not only this decade, but all of them. My Dad is my inspiration as far as fitness is concerned. At 71 he is still able to walk dozens of kilometres per day swinging a whipper snipper.

I have a couple of hobbies I really enjoy. Food is a pretty obvious one, and my spectrum of interest covers food preservation (including air-dried salami and ham), brewing beer, sourdough bread and cheese. Outside of the kitchen, I enjoy woodworking, and have made a lot of the furniture in our home. Going through school I was never any good at woodwork, but have developed reasonably good skills over time. When I reflect back, I think that I developed a degree of confidence or arrogance that allowed me to establish a veneer of competence (not just in woodwork). Over time that has dissipated – failure will have that effect! I think that now I am in the process of developing competence through reflection. Through knowing what my capabilities actually are, I now enjoy the challenges represented by new crafts and tasks a lot more than in the past.

Family is now my focus. What I do I do for Jane and MacKenzie, and I look forward to giving him a brother or sister to share our life’s journey with (should Jane and I ever spend time in the same town for more than five minutes!). I can watch MacK for hours, and Jane has enriched my life beyond imagining. Our farm in Canowindra will be a family haven. I am looking forward to the hard work, the sense of accomplishment when able to see the fruits of our labours and the change of seasons. In a couple of years, the boards in the cheese cave will be groaning with rounds maturing, the brewery will have bottles of cold pressed cider, Jane’s Grandmother’s ginger beer and a couple of my own recipe brews. The cold larder will have hams swinging in the breeze as they engage in their slow, eighteen-month journey from free range foraging Berkshire pig to glorious prosciutto. I am hoping to have salamis made in both the Italian, Polish and Croatian traditions. I want MacK to be able to find his own understanding of our natural world through his explorations and experiments.

In summary, I still dream big, but I now have a family to share those dreams with. The focus of those dreams has evolved from money to tangible goals that allow me to continue to develop. I may become increasingly eccentric and fussy with food, and I will embrace that change wholeheartedly. I have redeveloped a love of learning (having just finished my first undergraduate degree) and look forward to continual study in both formal and informal avenues into the future. I am concerned with the quality of the world we may leave to our children and grandchildren, and am sometimes bewildered at what I can do to change things. I have to remember to do only what I can do. I hope I am becoming a little more grounded each day.

I still get frustrated when menus have basic spelling mistakes.

Leonard Cohen is my preferred musical artist.

Les Miserables is still the most powerful musical I have ever seen.

I have really enjoyed both Sons of Anarchy and The West Wing.

Bread is my passion. I want to bake bread for other people.

I would like to learn to dance and speak French.

I won’t eat at McDonalds

I don’t like Coke

I love to swim in the ocean, and should do it more often.

I want to visit New Zealand and Europe.

I would like to explore more of Australia.

Oats are my breakfast of choice.

Coffee over tea, water over juice, and cider, beer and wine in equal measure (all over spirits).

This is a little of what makes me tick at forty… See you in ten!

Almost time to go home

My time away from home is rapidly drawing to a close. It is only a few days now when MacK will be able to cuddle me instead of the computer screen. I have a friend who was away for a considerable length of time last year, and was only able to speak to his kids via skype and phone. For the first couple of weeks after his return, his youngest (three) would only talk to him if she was holding a phone at the same time. It is both funny and sad at the same time. I cannot begin to imagine how those long since departed managed their absences from home during times of war and work away from home.

I will have been away for almost thirteen weeks by the time I get back home, and it has been difficult both for Jane and I (much more difficult for Jane, dealing with a boisterous toddler). Jose Paronella (Paronella Park, near Cairns) came out from Europe to build a life for his fiancé with the intent of returning for her when he was established. His return took eleven years. It simply beggars belief!

As much as I am a closet luddite, I am also very grateful for the technology that we do have available to us in this ‘enlightened’ age. I owe a lot to skype and the power of the internet.

I would love to bring MacK to where I have been staying. I think he would get a kick out of the animals that are around us. In front of our accommodation, we have a lake (I think it is an enhanced natural feature) that has goldfish and a monster carp (I am the only one yet to see ‘Nessie’). There are ducks, wood ducks, egrets and marsh hens. We have seen several clutches of ducklings born, and it has been a little sad to see their numbers drop over the first couple of days of life. Rabbits and kangaroos surround us, and the variety of birdsong is brilliant. I know rabbits are a major pest, and I am quite happy to pot them in the future. Right now as I wander across the lawn I think MacK might get a kick out of seeing them, with their funny, floppy ears, hopping across the lawn.

I have been able to have a bit of fun while away (although would rather have spent the time with Jane and MacK). Last Saturday we went to the Rutherglen for a winery tour. We started at All Saints (Wahgunyah), which is lovely. They have built a red brick castle as the backdrop for the winery and have a really good restaurant and cellar door. We had a tasting in the VIP room (must have had us muddled with someone else), and were able to sample a cross section of their range. I wasn’t too keen on their whites, but the reds and fortifieds were well worth the effort! We were lucky enough to get a taste of one of their top flight Rare Muscats (aged a minimum of twenty years in barrels). It has the richness and depth of a Pedro Ximinez sherry, and similar fruity characteristics.

Our last port of call for the day was the aesthetic opposite of All Saints. Chambers Rosewood Winery has just been nominated the number one cellar door in Australia. You walk to the cellar door past barrels which have the Australian coat of arms, and the date 1887 carved into the front. The cellar door itself is a rugged corrugated iron building with little to recommend it to passers by. When we walked in and asked for a tasting, the old bloke pretty much turned his back on us. We stood around for a bit, unsure what we were doing when he turned around and told us to help ourselves to both the glasses and the wines. Some of the wines were excellent, and the fortifieds were really good. They have a sign on the wall saying something along the lines of:

We like to keep our products reasonably priced.

Accordingly we choose not to spend money on fancy buildings, fancy labels, bottles or any other bullshit!

It turns out the old bloke in the cellar door was the owner, and is a fifth generation vigneron. His family replanted the vines in 1907, and he has been one of Victoria’s top wine judges since the 50’s. Appearances truly can be deceiving!

On the Sunday morning I took an early train to Melbourne (think 0400 departure time), arriving in the city just after 0730. I walked across to the South Melbourne Markets, and caught up with a couple of friends for breakfast. It was a little cool, and I thought I might buy a jumper if anything took my fancy.  I was lucky to see a lined woolen duffel coat at a 75% discount. It was a much-appreciated addition to my travelling wardrobe for the day! In addition to breakfasting with Lauren and Ash at the markets, I spend the afternoon catching up with an old friend and his family in the city. I was able to realise a long held goal (as insignificant as it is in the grand scheme of things) by being able to sample the bread baked at Baker D. Chirico. I bought a loaf of the Casa Linga sourdough. It really is as good as the reports say. If you ever get to Melbourne, his bakery is definitely worth a trip to St Kilda. The train back to Albury didn’t get in until 2315, so I was a little fatigued come Monday morning.

In a couple of days I will be able to return home to Jane, MacK and the tropical build up. Not looking forward to the weather, but can’t wait to be with family again. Then we are on the downhill run to packing up the house and moving south to Brisbane.

A Spring catch up

To our occasional readers, an apology for the time between entries. Again I am away from home and family on residential courses. Whilst contributing to my professional development, formal education and long term resume prospects, 13 weeks away from the creature comforts of home is a long time.

I am on the homeward stretch now, and look forward to returning to the three dimensional world in the next couple of weeks. Now that MacK is old/cognitive enough to engage with the computer, I have become the quintessential modern day ‘flat pack Dad’ through the wonderful services of Skype. Whilst our schedules don’t always overlap, the opportunities we have had to chat have been magnificent. I have been able to watch my boy change and develop, and it was a wonderful thing to see the first time he pointed to the screen and said “Daddy!”

It is funny that now he is comfortable seeing me there, and is happy to sit and draw and occasionally look up and grin. He will also point to my facial features on the screen and occasionally the screen blurs as he hugs ‘me’ via an envelopment of the computer monitor.

Half of my time away has been in the Gold Coast Hinterland, where I was able to spend a bit of time on Mt Tamborine. If you ever get the chance to climb the Mountain (a hill on any other continent), take it for the views alone. Of course, the artisan cheeses and chocolates are also a good draw…

I am currently in Southern New South Wales, experiencing whatever it is that is the climatic opposite of an Indian Summer. With the limits on luggage allowance and the volume if kit I needed to bring with me, I decided to compromise on cold weather gear. In this instance, compromise means to not pack it. The Gold Coast Hinterland was warm (and I wore none of the cold weather kit I took there), and we are now in mid October. It couldn’t be that cold, could it? If you are following the weather reports for this part of the world, you will have seen the unseasonal snowfalls and lingering effects of Winter.

This last weekend I took a train to Wagga Wagga to see a couple of old friends. We had a really good night at Kapooka. The Army band was playing and they capped the night off with a spectacular rendition of the 1812 Overture, complete with requisite artillery fire. We went four-wheel-driving on Sunday morning and as a consequence I missed my (and the day’s only) train. A road trip was required to get me back to my current abode. Fortunately for Matt, the trip was only 120 km or so each way.

Peter is down in Yarrawonga this week playing golf, and we are aiming to catch up for dinner on Wednesday evening. I did suggest Rutherglen, but it appears that not much is open during weeknights. We will sort something out…

Jane is ‘enjoying’ the buildup to Summer’s humidity, and she assures me that despite being born in the tropics MacK shows no sign of wanting to be there. He is struggling with the increase in humidity and will enjoy our move to Brisbane next year. I have had my return date confirmed, and the course is being shortened by three days. It might not seem a lot, but just the thought of being home!

Our future foodie...

Sitting in the Gold Coast hinterland, waiting for the weekend to pass so I can get back to the course, I was reading the paper – food bits first of course. The Weekend Australian printed a column by Necia Wilden that I think sums up how I feel about my darling boy (and any future siblings).  

Below, customised for MacK, with all respect to both the Australian and Necia WIlden.

Dear MacKenzie, you are almost 18 months old – so it seems like a good time for Mummy and Daddy to talk about our hopes for your future.

 Your food future, that is. Which is not to say that other things aren’t important – on the contrary – just that, well, your mother and I are food people.

            

 And judging by your appetite so far for prawns, pheasant, grass fed rib-eye, duck, asparagus and brique d’affinois – anything, in fact, that costs more than $30 a kilo – you’re already showing signs of turning out to be a chip (Sebago, double fried) off the collective old blocks. So here goes. A short list for you, going forward…

             

We hope you will find cooking a dance, not a drudgery. That you will be strong, capable and curious in the kitchen, and that your cupcakes will be better than Nigella’s. And if you are ever offered a telly chef’s gig, take it! You won’t miss cooking nearly as much as you think you will. And you get to live your old man’s dream!

             

We hope you’ll love restaurants – good restaurants – as much as we do. Of course the food matters, but its not the only thing, despite what some might try to tell you. The best restaurants can mend a broken day in the first ten minutes, before you’ve eaten a thing.

           

 A handy cooking tip: Cream rises to the top. So does scum. It’s the same in life.

          

 If you want to learn a foreign language, we hope it will be the international dialect of Wine. For your Grandfather, it’s a tossup between that and golf. Let’s stick with wine. Whereas most languages usually require years of study before you get to the fun bit, Wine tends to work the other way around. Confused? You won’t be after your first few, tentative sips. And the rewards – well, apart from the obvious pleasures, you’ll learn to drink outside the box.

             

We hope you’ll come to understand, as the Chinese do, that your food can also be your medicine. Some good examples of medicinal foods are legumes, bitter greens, coffee, single-malt scotch and chocolate. Dosage is everything, dear boy.

             

We hope you will make the effort – thereby joining a pitifully small minority – to educate yourself about genetically modified foods. About who owns them, the arguments for and against, and why your Dad calls GM edible asbestos.

           

 And if you ever decide to come out – “Mum, Dad, I’m a vegetarian” – please try to break it to us gently. 

            

 When you are old, we want all your good food memories to be undimmed in their power and intensity. Less like a stroll down prissy memory lane, more like a high speed car chase hurtling you back to the past. To the sweetness of prawns, pheasant, grass fed rib-eye, duck, asparagus and brique d’affinois, and your parents pretending to be horrified by your extravagant tastes.