Anzac Day.

April 25 ...

Today is Anzac Day in Australia, the day that we pay homage to the brave men who fought and died at Gallipoli. It is a public holiday, so there will be many picnics and BBQ’s later in the day.

Anzac biscuits are the food most associated with the day, and we have looked at their history on a previous Anzac Day (see the links below), so today I give you a couple of recipes with Aussie names, just for fun. They are proof of the idea that each nation re-names the classics in its own honour – the following could just as easily be Irish Stew and Fruit Bread.

They are from an undated version of The Coronation Cookery Book, compiled by the Country Women’s Association of NSW.

Drovers Dream.
Flour and season 6 thick shoulder chops, place in a casserole. Fry 1 medium sliced onion in butter, place in the casserole with the chops, add 12 small sliced turnips with sufficient water to cover. Bake in a moderate oven until chops are tender – about 1 hour. Remove cover the last 15 minutes. Serve with small new potatoes sprinkled with chopped parsley and melted butter.

Bushmens’ Brownie.
Use 4 cups of flour, 1 cup each of sugar, dripping, currants, and raisins, 1 teaspoon each of baking soda, cream of tartar, spice, and cinnamon, and sufficient milk to mix. Rub the dripping into the flour in which the soda, cream of tartar, spice, and cinnamon have been mixed and sifted. Add the sugar, currants, and raisins, and mix with milk to make a dough slightly stiffer than that of fruit cake. Place in a greased meat dish and bake for one hour.

Previous Aussie Food Stories.

Last Year’s Anzac Day Story:
http://theoldfoodie.blogspot.com/2007/04/aussie-war-cake.html

From Hardtack to Anzacs – on Companion site (about ANZAC BISCUITS).
http://companiontotheoldfoodie.blogspot.com/2006/04/from-hardtack-to-anzacs.html

Lamingtons: the first recipe (so far).
http://theoldfoodie.blogspot.com/2006/01/barons-hat-and-other-mysteries.html

The Pavlova: Aussie or Kiwi? The debate.
http://theoldfoodie.blogspot.com/2007/01/pavlova-story.html

Tinned Meats, Australian.
http://companiontotheoldfoodie.blogspot.com/2007/01/tinned-meats-australian.html

Australian Meat, English Pie.
http://theoldfoodie.blogspot.com/2007/01/australian-meat-english-pie.html

Damper
http://theoldfoodie.blogspot.com/2008/03/unconspicuous-consumption.html

and Damper 2.
http://theoldfoodie.blogspot.com/2008/03/yesterdays-promised-post-is-postponed.html

Monday’s Story …

Bread and Mutiny.

Quotation for the Day …

Always eat grapes downward -- that is eat the best grapes first; in this way there will be none better left on the bunch, and each grape will seem good down to the last. If you eat the other way, you will not have a good grape in the lot. Samuel Butler (1835-1902)