Wednesday, June 23, 2010

They grow 'em big in Australia



Things grow big in Australia... real big. We have the Big Banana, in Coffs Harbour, the Big Prawn in Ballina, (now closed), and the Big Pineapple in Nambour. There are also other BIG things... but you will have to search to find them.

Why do we think that it is an effective marketing tool to make it "big". Everyone wants the iconic shot in front of the Big Banana, or do they?

At least it makes them easy to identify when visiting a new city. Provided you do want to visit one of these structures!!!

Tourist trap or clever marketing tool?

Something to ponder about.....
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Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Morning tea - a tradition


In my husband's family, it is a tradition to have morning tea, that is a cup of hot tea with a scone or two with butter and jam. This is quite an English thing to do, but my husband's paternal grandmother was a brilliant farmhouse cook, and used an old wood stove, without thermostat or temperature gauge, to cook everything. And everything was cooked to perfection. Wouldn't we all love that skill.

She was of German heritage, so one wonders where she got her scone cooking skills from. Perhaps from necessity. They owned a dairy farm, so it is self-evident that there was plentiful quantities of cream available and making scones was a way to utilize the excess. Not only did the scones feed her ten hungry children, but also the tourists that made their way up to Clear Mountain for a picnic on sundays.

Do you have a tradition of food within your family heritage? Do you still make this food? Will you keep up this tradition for generations to come? Something to ponder about....








Granny McLaughlin's Scones

(served to the Governer and countless others at Clear Mountain, Queensland, Australia in the 1940-50s)

(the quantities of ingredients were never measured by the cook, just estimated and cooked on a wood burning stove)but for the rest of us, I have provided the following measurements:

2 1/4 cup Self Raising flour (flour with baking powder added 2 tsp baking powder per cup flour)
1/2 tsp salt1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup cream * (I sometimes add currants or sultanas - my kids love that.)

Combine mixture by cutting with a knife.
Knead mix with extra flour if needed to make a dough smooth enough to handle.
Roll out to 1 inch high ( no less)
Cut 6 cm rounds with scone cutter or empty washed small baked beans tin!
Bake 12 -15 minutes @ 210 degrees Serve with butter or jam and cream.

Best eaten while hot but they do freeze well or keep in container for two days.
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Monday, June 14, 2010

Ron Mueck Exhibition of Sculpture Art

And here are three more of Ron Mueck's masterpieces on show at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane
8 May - 1 August 2010

The two old women are my favourite . The level of detail in their clothing and the hair on the large Jim Morrison like man is truly mind boggling. Each hair originates from horses and is implanted into a minute hole by hand. There is follicle holes on the skin on most of the figures. These are the little holes in which the hairs sit, and open pores are simulated on some parts of the body.

This is something not to be missed, and the hours of painstaking work, and genius in the construction is something we can all ponder about.

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Ron Mueck Exhibition

Everyone is talking about this unique contemporary art exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane.

The Australian born, London based artist has established and international reputation for his moving and poignant sculptures. Sometimes, huge in dimension such as the baby or miniature as in "Dead dad" the emotion portrayed in each sculpture is thought provoking and confronting.
The sculptures speak to you. This exhibition can appeal to all generations, even my young daughter and highly scruntinizing teenage son were mesmerized by this exhibition.



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