when only the best will do

 

Are you one of those people that loves to sing along with radio ads?!

 

Didn't think so.

 

But for those who are, here's a CD full of them.

Golden tunes like Happy Little Vegemite, Aeroplane Jelly, Benson and Hedges, Toyota - Oh What A Feeling, Nigger Boy Soap Pads (seriously), and Hard Yakka.

Surely you'll want this on repeat on a long car trip.

 

more aussie than an outdated stereotype

I wish I'd known about this book on Australia Day! (And all those countless other days!) All that time I was sitting around thinking: "I wanna make a cake... I want it to be patriotic, but not obvious. I want it to say "Australia", but not in a modern, artistic, or indeed even obviously edible way...?" 

Behold!

Because I know y'all have always wanted to make an edible

...VICTA mower...

...Tuckerbox (Of course u cant eat the dog! Because that'd be weird.)...

...Akubra...

...Caravan! (I dont know how many times I've wanted to make a caravan cake...)...

...Meat pie with patriotic sauce! (Imagine! An edible meat pie!)...

...Billy (complete with gumleaf and soggy tea bag accessories)...

...Hills Hoist! (What? You can only eat the patch of lawn?! Disappointing!)...

...Weber-Que! (You call those sausages 'done'? That's not nearly enough charcoal for a true Aussie barbie! And where's the proverbial 'shrimp'?)...

But seriously, all joking aside, there are some cute Aussie animal cakes in this book - just look at this sweet little spearmint-leaf salt water croc!!! OMG he's ADORABLE!!! 

"C'mere! C'mere, you cute little...naaaw look at that: he's gnawing my leg off! Aww! Look he's doing a cheeky little death-roll and dragging me under the surface! Squee! Someone get the camera!!!"

extreme frugality

No one's more respected in the world of home-cookery than the Country Women's Association. These are women who know how to be domestic, productive and frugal. The proof of which lies in their cookbook:

Why would I feature this as a 'wtf book'? Well, there's frugality, and there's...

And of course, there's the ever popular...

I don't even wanna know what's in the

Or the

Or

Eek O.o

But what's really bizarre is, if this was a book published in the depression.. in post-war ration days, it would make more sense. But no:

And therefore, I cant help but wonder how applicable some of these recipes will be to a modern audience...? Although with the cost of electricity and fuel going up and up... SO. Just in case: Here are some helpful hints:

yummmm

Just made a batch of Averie's vegan protein bars - YUM!!!! Had one for breakfast and I think I want another one!!! :)

Mine have pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and chia seeds in them as well as the other ingredients, plus 2 Tblsp coconut oil. We used Stevia instead of Agave (sorry Averie, but Agave really does taste like fug - we tried, but we cant like it!) and used about 1/2 the amount in the recipe.

Will def make these again!!!

good housekeeping

I have just discovered my grandmother's copy of "The Australian Women's Weekly Picture Cookery" and I have spent a lovely cup of tea flipping through it and being transported back to my Nan's kitchen, where packet mixes were unheard of and everything was made from scratch in her favourite beige enamel bowls and using garlic was considered 'ethnic' and 'exotic'.

Did your nan ever make you a 'Dolly Varden' cake?

I dont remember my nan ever using so much gelatine or aspic...? Eeeew. It looks as though it was a big thing in the 50's... every second page has a recipe that needs to be refridgerated and turned out of its mould..!

i often wonder what Nan looked like in the 50's...

Maybe one day I'll try living like her for 2 weeks just like Jen...

first attempt: macarons

These are scary. I was frightened to even *move the air* around the oven while they were in, such was my intimidation of these light little treats. It turns out, I was being silly. My recommendation = dont be afraid of failure. Just have a go!

I took a few deep breaths and got everything out and of course - Murphy's Law - the baby woke up. Ok... *breathe* popped 6mth old in highchair in kitchen with toys and rusk, and prayed. (Turns out I needn't have worried! Kitty was perfectly happy watching mum make a mess of the kitchen, whilst making a mess of herself with said rusk.)

Took 2 attempts to whisk egg whites into stiff peaks as I over-whipped the first batch (*whoops*) but luckily had more eggs. Didn't have any caster sugar (*damn!*) so made do with fine Stevia sweetener (which worked fine, but is maybe a bit too sweet. Chalk that up to experience.).

Next problem (*sweat sweat*) cant find correct piping bag attachment (*bugger*) so settle on the one with the 'teeth' and had to accept the fact that my macarons probably wont have the requisite glossy top (IF they eventuate at all!)

 Post baking...omg. These look...OKAY. Omg. I think this may work out ok...

A word to the wise: Dont trust your baking paper. Next time will give it a light spritz with cooking spray, as macaroons stuck a little, and then wanted to crumble...

And voila! They don't look professional, but they dont look too shabby! They're a bit on the 'too sweet' side, but they're light and fluffy inside, with a nice little shell - even if a few are a bit cracked and brittle. not bad for a first attempt.

MORAL TO THE STORY: Be brave!!! I am never going to cook like a Michelin star chef, but I have fun and even the most catastrophic baking disasters are yummy on ice cream... :)

I - roughly - followed this recipe: http://www.masterchef.com.au/violet-macaroons-with-raspberries-and-butter-cream.htm