Long time gone..

Firstly, I thank you all for your kind wishes, & thoughts during the dog days.

I am feeling a lot better. We had 2 lovely warm days, & yesterday was downright summery, climbing to 31 degrees, & making us begin to think about summer clothes. OMG what the hell am I going to wear? I can't have really gained that much weight... can I?

I had a letter from my Dear Niece, with news of family. Also, sadly the passing of their lovely cat, Paddy.


Paddy was very old, & had been with my niece from the beginning of her marriage, & the eventual arrival of her 2 daughters. Paddy cat was really so much a part of the family. She took turns sleeping with the girls as they grew up.

Paddy had 6 toes instead of the usual 5, & she was a very dignified darling. In the end her 'father' had to take her to the vet's to be put to sleep. She had begun to just fall over, & had fallen of the couch. The vet was quite amazed at her age, & she had moved many times with her family. She was born a country cat, but became a city cat, while just a kitten.

My niece said 'Daddy' brought her home in the cage, so the girls could say their goodbyes. The younger daughter asked if she could take Paddy to school for Show & Tell. My niece said she could just imagine the teacher's horror!

She was made a very elegant coffin, & laid to rest in their, hopefully, peranant garden. RIP Paddy.

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Recently I was looking for recipe ideas among my old battered books, one, given to me when I first got married, by my mother. It is a Collins recipe book, they were common in New Zealand. First aid tips. Pages of alternative measurements. Sections for various dishes. Meats, Savouries, Desserts etc.

The book is somewhat splattered in parts. New Husband learning to cook Afghans. Children learning to cook various dishes. Hurried Meggie splatters, making hasty teas.

There are wonderful memories of friends & family. Usually when I wrote a recipe in the book, I also named the person who gave me the recipe. Hence I have 'Sue's Sponge' 'Bob's Chicken Casserole', that sort of thing. Some recipes I have no memory of ever making! How extraordinary. Plus we found our tastes changed over the years & things I once made often, are little thought of now.

One old favourite is Golden Sausages. Gom still loves them, but I am not keen anymore- they give me indigestion. Our Daughter still loves them, though. I was given the recipe by a neighbour, when our children were small. We still keep in touch, & she still makes the recipe now & then too, for her grandchildren.

When I was a newlywed, there were plenty of cooking shows on TV. It seemed to be a 'Thing' of the era, in the 60s & 70s.

There was Alison Holst, who was a sensible 'downhome' cooking Mum, & her recipes were usually family friendly. She had an easy manner, & was very popular. I still have quite a few recipe leaflets, featuring her recipes.

Then there was Graham Kerr, who was more flamboyant, & he tried much more daring recipes. New Zealand was beginning to open up to more varied cuisine. Graham was such a success, and his lighthearted humour was very popular. He did move on from NZ, & became a star with his series "The Galloping Gourmet".

I am not sure where, in the timeline of it all, there came upon the TV scene anther cook, Des Britten. He was an amusing flamboyant cook, who owned a restaurant. He really shook up the nations taste buds, & organised a nationwide cooking competition, with people entering various sections, from all over the country. I have a copy of his cookbook to this day, & though I rarely use it, I still enjoy looking through the recipes & reading his tips, he usually added at the end of each recipe.

I do believe Des 'got God' & became a minister of some religion.

I sometimes watch another exKiwi, cooking show host, Iain Hewitson, who is on TV here in Australia. He sometimes mentions Des, & being a contemporary of his. I don't remember Iain cooking on TV in NZ.

Another really flamboyant & highly humourous couple, was Hudson & Halls. I was surprised to find a documentary about the couple has been made for NZTV.

They were a male gay couple who were very entertaining. I was surprised to learn they are both now dead.

I know that not everybody enjoys watching cooking shows, nor even likes to cook. It is something I really enjoy, when I am in the mood, but now I also love to dine out when I get the chance. So nice not to have to do the dishes or think of the plan!

Bryan Adams, Summer of '69.

Eavesdropping can be such fun at times. Wandering about in a Supermarket can be damn boring but it can also be fun, if you prick your ears up.

Overheard one day.
Talker "Well, I am hoping I recognise her. We haven't seen each other since we were at school, all those years ago."
Same speaker, before the Listener has time to draw breath.
"Oh and did you hear about Olive! She lost her stomach!"

This was too intriguing not to listen in on, so I casually inched up the freezer cabinet pretending an inordinate interest in the Pizza selections. Four cabinets of them! Who knew there were so many??
Thinking 'How can someone 'lose' their stomach'??

Bending right over to inspect the bottommost Pizzas.

"OH!" gasps the Listener "What..."
Quickly she is cut off by the Talker. "Well, she had something, ...her gullet, ...it collapsed & killed her stomach. She was days away, probably hours away from dying!"
Listener, "How...?"
Talker, "Well I think they had to take out all of it."
Listener, "Is...?"
Talker, "She has lost so much weight. She is lucky to be alive!"

I think that might be debatable, & I slink slowly off down the Freezer pretending to inspect Meat Pies. Where GOM stumbles upon me & says in amazement, as he knows I dont eat them, "What are you looking at those for?"

I shrug & we move off to collect some potato chips- or French fries as some of you might call them.

GOM has always had a fascination with electrical gadgets, & for Birthdays & Xmases has often requested such things as an Ice cream Maker, a Waffle Maker, a Milkshake machine- so he could make his grandkids milkshakes!
And one year he wanted a Deep Fryer. Which was used once or twice, like most of the fancy electricals, then retired to the back of the cupboard.

But recently, when we were having friends for drinks, we got it out, & decided to try it for deep frying some Yum Cha style Chinese food. And it worked really well. So we tried some chips- well, GOM cooked them. And now he is addicted to them, & suggests them almost every night for tea.

As I recall the main reason for retiring the Deep fryer in the first place, was because at our age, we really dont need much in the way of deep fried food!

We got one of those George Foreman Health Grills, so we could eat healthy meat, & bacon, & not have tons of fatty food. And it has been a great success. So much so that we need a new one, as the first one is worn out. It has lost it's non stick surface. I hate to think we may have eaten some of it!

We both have no problems with cholesterol, & I try to feed us on healthy meals. I am just wondering how the chip eating marathons will alter the fat factor in our lives. I will often not have any chips. I like microwaved potatoes in a little light sauce. I love plain cooked rice. I love my steamed vegies. But GOM is not a vegie eater, unless I do a casserole type meal.

Thank goodness Summer is coming. GOM loves his salads, but then,... I suppose chips go rather well with salad too.

When we first got married, I was a pretty good cook. I had come from a line of good cooks. GOM didn't know much about cooking, but he was eager to try his hand. Cakes were his 'thing'.

He decided one Sunday, that he was going to do some baking. He chose to make Afghans, which seemed to entail yards of flour, wheetbix, & cocoa strewn about the kitchen. To say nothing of the egg white dripped all over the cookbook! It has never been the same again, & bears the scars all these many years later.

It was really only ever baking that GOM was interested in, & meals were never his forte, in our home. Though when we had the hotels, he loved to get in & be the Grill Chef, if one of the mad lunatic chefs got the huff & stalked off the job.(And that seemed to happen with monotonous regularity. I tell you, they are a breed apart!) And he was a damn good steak cook, & never had any complaints about his meals. Our kids loved to go down to the Restaurant one night a week, & have their Dad cook them their Bangers & chips.

I can see we might have to try & get a leeetle more exercise than we currently do!


Bread, If.