Beyond Beeton» Australia

Recipes that have me drooling this week

Rachel — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:42:31 +0000

In my travels around the blogosphere I've found some wonderful recipes to make this Easter long weekend. I thought I'd share some of my favourites with you.

Cinnamon-Fig Jam by Eating Out Loud

Photo by Eating Out Loud

The recipe and beautiful accompanying pictures are giving me tingles. What an amazing use for figs! If you're in Australia grab them quick before they go out of season and make this divine looking jam. I'm sure this will be fabulous added to an autumn cheese platter.

Blood-Orange Yogurt Cake from Picky Cook

Photo by Picky Cook

It is no secret that I love the lightness and texture of yogurt cake and this one looks fabulous. Moist, light and an amazing colour - what more could you want? STOP PRESS: You could also want a great grapefruit version!

Especially for easter:

Iron Chef Shellie's Hot Cross Buns

A classic looking recipe, adapted from Donna Hay's but with extra fruit, just the way I like it. Shellie's photography is always gorgeous and these buns look soft and glazed-shiny.

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns by Not Quite Nigella

Photo by Not Quite Nigella

Oh oh .. cimmamon, chocolate and the soft butteriness of a hot cross bun? Diet? What diet? Not Quite Nigella's take on the standard looks fabulous and I can almost taste them already.

What are you cooking this Easter? Share your recipe ideas or links in the comments below!

4 cookbooks and recipe collections I couldn’t do without

Rachel — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:57:14 +0000

I admit it, I have a small problem. Cookbooks and cooking magazines have overflown out of the kitchen, out of the bookcases and all over the house. To make things even sillier, I don't often strictly follow a recipe. I love to tweak, adjust, be inspired. I often read them in bed, imagining flavours and textures and smells. It is a guilty pleasure I'm unlikely to give up.

However, when it comes down to it - these are the best. The favourites with sauce spatters, smears of chocolate and well turned pages. These are the classics that will endure and will be passed on.

My favourite cookbooks

1. The Cook's Companion: The Complete Book of Ingredients and Recipes for the Australian Kitchen by Stephanie Alexander

My younger sister was horrified to see that there aren't any recipe pictures but this book focuses squarely on the basics, fundamentals and classic recipes with little time for frou frou. It is an excellent resource on almost every food one can imagine, a seasonal guide, buying guide and more all in one.

This is the one I always recommend as a starter book for those moving out of home for the first time. This is the solid foundation to build a lifetime of cooking upon.

2. David Thompson's Thai Food

Fabulous, inspiring, challenging, aromatic. David starts with the basics and hammers you with them - stressing freshness and a thorough understanding of Thai food. This is another fabulous resource book with detailed explanations of thai ingredients and methods. If you're looking for pretty cupcake pictures you won't find them here. The text and sheer volume of information is the star.

3. Gourmet Traveller magazines and website

Besides the useful news and events (even though they are solidly eastern-states focussed) they share a great collection of recipes from the very basic to the challenging.

Different to the more pedestrian and commercial offerings from some other cooking magazines, Gourmet Traveller offers an inspired menu and reviews of great places to eat out.

4. My grandmother's index card recipe collection

A family heirloom, childhood memory and guide to a dizzying array of mostly sweet treats all in one.

I've previously written about cooking and eating as a child and I can't stress enough how amazing the gift of cooking and enjoying food is. My grandmother's recipe collection includes jewelled jam drop biscuits, home-made chutneys, casseroles, puddings and more.

While these are the most used sources of recipe ideas in my house, I don't restrict myself. I also happily browse the web and my bookshelves for inspiration and recipes.

I tend to particularly seek out recipes from Claudia Roden, Georgio Locatelli, Bill Granger, Maggie Beer and the venerable Stephanie Alexander.

While I have serious respect for the work he's done to encourage kids (and adults) to eat "real food" I'm not Jamie Oliver's biggest fan and I can usually happily ignore Nigella Lawson's (particularly savoury) options.

For more great suggestions on how to build your cookbook library, you can also check out the wonderful tips from Cake and Commerce.

I'd love to hear which cookbooks are your favourites - share them in the comments below or catch me on twitter.

Music for the heart, mind and spirit: Too elitist for Australia?

Rachel — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:22:23 +0000

Last night I had the great pleasure of attending the Australian Chamber Orchestra's performance of Beethoven 8: Euphoric. It was a masterful performance: warm, exuberant yet precise and beautiful. Richard Tognetti was brilliant as always and there was a truly wonderful cello solo by Principal Cellist Timo-Veikko Valve. I was not alone in my enjoyment, the Perth Concert Hall was a full house.

I must clarify that this post is not a review: my knowledge of classical music is sadly limited. I enjoy it and seek out any opportunity to listen to skilled musicians but my technical knowledge is zip. I'm sure there will be a number of reviews of the performance by people more qualified to comment.

However I was very disappointed to hear that the Federal Government have withdrawn funding (amounting to approximately $2.5m per year) from the Australian National Academy of Music. Without this funding the Academy will not able to develop Australia's elite young musicians (55 currently enrolled), preparing them for positions in the Australian Chamber Orchestra, State Symphony Orchestras and other orchestras. The academy also uses this funding to bring in world class musicians from around Australia and overseas to inspire their students. It is expected that without this funding the Academy will close its doors at the end of 2008. It appears that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's education revolution does not extend to music.

Arts Minister Peter Garrett has pulled funding from the Academy at the eleventh hour, claiming that the money could be used more effectively without proposing an alternative institution or means or training classical musicians beyond undergraduate level. Apparently the Academy is perceived as 'elitist'. However one doesn't need to be elite, or elitist to enjoy the wonderful, world-class music that the Academy's graduates produce. It would be a shame if more young Australians are forced to head overseas to seek the training and development opportunities that no longer exist in their homeland.

Perhaps Peter Garrett would prefer that we replace the National Academy of Music with the 'Peter Garrett Interpretive Dance Centre'? Or perhaps the 'Peter Garrett Academy of High Volume Political Ranting and Forgetting About All Of Your Convictions When You're in a Position to Do Something About Them?'

Can we not learn from our friends in the United States that pandering to the lowest common denominator is not the best strategy?

If you have a moment, please sign the petition on the Australian National Academy's website and show your support for this vital Australian institution.

I encourage you to seek out, support and enjoy the performances of Australia's classical musicians, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and in WA for example, the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra. Even if, like me, you have no knowledge of classical music, go with an open heart, mind and spirit and enjoy what you find there. Classical music is not the solely the domain of the wealthy or elite (and since when did they become dirty words?). An A reserve ticket for an ACO's Perth performance is $30 if you are under the age of 30, or $70 full price. Discounts are available for season subscribers and in the Entertainment Book.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder..or forget. One of the two.

I’m a p-plater and I drive a turbo car

Rachel — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:20:32 +0000

If you've arrived seeking advice on what car you can legally drive on your P plates, speak to the Licensing Department or a lawyer in your state. If you're in Perth and you need legal advice because you've been charged with a driving offence, you might want to contact Lyn Zinenko Lawyers.

I'm a (26 year old) P plater. I have never had a driving infringement, no speeding tickets, have never even been pulled over. Nor have I ever had a driving accident. I also drive a turbo car.

My car is a twin turbo. It has 18 inch rims and sports suspension.

It also has more air bags than you could imagine, excellent safety ratings and very good visibility (without being an urban assault vehicle).

So what do I drive? A beige Volvo sedan, specifically a 5 year old s80. Many larger European cars are turbo powered as this is more efficient than putting in a v8.

It is, admittedly, a big car, about the length of a Holden Statesman. As I think I've mentioned before, my husband and I only have one car between us. Our 'daily driver' is a big green Mercedes that runs every 15 minutes or so. However every weekend we ferry a bunch of rowdy passengers around in comfort - our elderly grandparents who are now unable to drive.

It would not be legal for me to drive this car in NSW. If the WA Opposition has its way, this high powered abomination will be banned here too.

The fact that some idiotic young drivers have turbo cars and also have accidents does not show a causative relationship. The idiots will be idiots whether they are driving a turbo or a 10 year old Hyundai Excel. It is quite possible to do very serious damage in a small, underpowered car and you are far more likely not to make it out of a tiny tinbox alive.

While the idea of assessing cars based on a power to weight ratio is a more sensible one, it still misses the point. It isn't the car that kills, it is the driver.

The real issue for young drivers on the road is insufficient driver education, alcohol and drug abuse, boredom, fatigue and immaturity.

When I called to renew my drivers' licence, the operator at the DPI commented that I was eligible for a free licence for a year because I have not had any infringements in the past two years while a probationary driver. Frighteningly, she told me that I was one of very few who were eligible.

While the proposed changes won't make a difference to me personally as I'm off my P's in 3 days, I am concerned that the Opposition is again looking for an easy scapegoat rather than addressing the real issues.

What do you think? Am I a hoon? Or are they just looking for an easy answer?

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