Aussie Foods Galore - vegemite, roo

Hey All! I had a lot of different foods over xmas and I've been eating eating eating. I also have to talk about the other foods I've had here but neglected to mention before...

Thurs Dec 25 - When the family came back, we had a traditional aussie xmas dinner (the neighbours ended uo not coming). We had prawns (served cold and whole with the heads attached and the eyes staring back at you), ham, plus the stuffing and mashed potatoes that I had made. Everyone loved my stuffing! I wasn't sure if people would like it since it's a unique recipe and it was my first attempt at making it. But Rhys and Allison want to make a WWOOFers cookbook and collect recipes from WWOOFers that visit them -- they want my stuffing recipe! Cool! After dinner, I learned an aussie card game called 500.

Fri Dec 26 - I went out to weed some thistles in one of the paddocks when Cara came around parading a dead bunny in her mouth. She really didn't catch it herself because she isn't fast enough to catch a rabbit and sometimes she won't notice a rabbit is nearby until it had already run away. Well, Cara just went up and down the field proudly clutching the dead rodent and showing off. The bunny appeared freshly killed with its head missing (decapitation is the MO of a fox). How lovely.

The day after xmas is also Boxing Day, where stores sell things on special. Ahhh, it's so nice to have Boxing Day again! We have it in Canada but I've been deprived in the years I was in NY. This day is also Women's Day Off according to tradition in Allison's family. All the women are to relax and do nothing because they had been busy cooking and preparing for xmas. So I got the day off too (except for the weeding I did in the morning). Hence, while the guys were trying to figure out how to assemble a greenhouse, us girls relaxed in the house and watched The Princess Bride. Afterwards, we all went to the dam where some of us swam. I went to see the dam and later on I went for a jog (much needed exercise after all that eating!).

I found out that Bella the annoying neighbour dog had broken Nicky the duck's water container when she leapt into it. Bella had scared all the animals and now one of Nicky the duck's girlfriends is MIA. We don't know where she is. That dog was so hard to control - we tried to bring her back to her house but she would come back (and her owner wasn't there). So we tied her up and she managed to break loose. Then we put her in a cage and she dug a hole in the ground to escape. So finally, she had to be tied up IN the cage. She was like freakin' Houdini! She's like those happy-go-lucky neighbours who always drops by and don't know how annoying they are. Basically, next time she comes around she's going to the pound and her owner will have to pay to bail her out.

Sat Dec 27 - I helped Allison lay hay in the garden today because it prevents weeds from growing and it decomposes to provide nutrients to the soil in additon to looking pretty.

I got started on sewing one of the banners with a sewing machine today. Rhys taught me how to use the sewing machine. Yep, I came to Australia to learn how to sew from a big burly man. LOL

Sun Dec 28 - This morning the french guys left for a road trip up the east coast to Byron Bay and will return on Friday. They left the house a mess with garbage and clothing (including nasty underwear) lying everywhere (no exaggeration) and Allison and I had to clean up because visitors are coming and I cannot live in a pigsty. Boy, I am extremely bitter that I had to clean up. Don't get me started! Grrrrr.

Well, one of the visitors that came today is a new WWOOFer. Her name is Sujin from S Korea and she is nice...very polite and respectful. We tried bbq'd kangaroo sausages for dinner. Allison had bought them at the supermarket and the package called them "kanga bangas". Hahahaha. I liked that. The roo meat is dark and has a verrry strong taste. Kinda similar to liver. Ugh. I mean, it's okayyy. But I wouldn't be hunting kangaroos to eat them so no need to worry about me killing cute little kangas. Although I wouldn't refuse a roo stir-fry or burger or kebabs because they may taste different from the sausages...

Tonight we saw the many stars in the country sky. It was so dark outside and the stars were plentiful and magnificent! I saw the Milky Way and the big dipper. I also saw the Southern Cross, which is made up of 4 brightly lit stars in the shape of an upsidedown kite - you can only see this in the southern hemisphere! How special is that?

What are other aussie foods I've eaten? Vegemite! This is a black paste that is made from the remnants of beer -- it's concentrated yeast extract. It is rich in Vitamin B and is an excellent cure for hangovers. Aussie kids bring vegemite sandwiches to school everyday for lunch - like our equivalent of peanut butter and jelly. Although it is eaten differently than PB&J. You have to take a piece of toast, spread some butter over it and then put on a thin layer of the vegemite. It's true, it's quite disgusting. It is very bitter. I actually prefer Marmite (the Kiwi/NZ version which is milder).

I've also had pudding cake....yum, sooo good! It's pudding that is boiled into a cake and it contains many dried fruits in there. Like a fruit cake but good! (The fruit cakes back home are horrible). We had this for xmas dessert. Traditonally, you would place silver coins in the cake for the kids to find (they'd be baked in).