WHAT AN ENTRANCE!

Seasons come, and seasons go...

Everyone here in the Land of Oz is aware spring has already sprung with an almighty bang while winter departed with barely a whimper, giving little or no warning - which was rather rude of winter, in my opinion.  We would have to be on another planet not to have noticed its absence, though. 

Sadly, spring has made its presence known in an unpleasant way.

Spring is supposed to be the season of rejuvenation, renewal, regrowth, and rebirth, rewarding us with a burst of colourful blooms; but...oh, no! This year spring sprung something completely perversely different upon us, and we don’t like it! 

My heart goes out to those affected by the disastrous bushfires; to those living on a knife’s edge; those who have lost so much; to those, here in Queensland and New South Wales, who are having to, somehow, deal with the destruction left behind.  Their heartbreak is unimaginable. May their way of life, and their properties, large and small, be back on track very soon...a smooth, even track. 

An endless thank you to the volunteers; to the fire-fighters, and the police; to all who generously gave of his/her time....each and everyone is a selfless hero. For the sake of others...for strangers...they put their lives on the line.

Where did the past almost nine months go?  Why the rush to get to their destination?  What’s waiting for them there? Is it, perhaps, that ever-elusive pot of gold? 

I’ve not seen any rainbows, but if I do, I’m off to see what I can find.  I’ll try to beat the months in reaching the rainbow’s end, and the awaiting pot.  To succeed in the feat, rather than go by foot...or feet...I’d be better off grabbing a golf cart, or ride-on mower. 

On second thoughts...give us the rainbows, but preceding the rainbows, loads of rain would be far better than pots of gold, in my opinion! 

It is spring....we should be singing and dancing in the rain; not crying because of the devastating drought and fires; not angry because of the brainless actions of those juvenile arsonists/idiots who started the raging Sunshine Coast inferno at Peregian Springs. 

I’m not alone in the anger I feel towards the clowns responsible.   They will receive only a rap over the knuckles for lighting the fires.  Those wastes-of-space should be made fight on the front-line of the fires...allowed no rest breaks!  Our weak “justice” system won’t punish them accordant with the crimes committed.

Where has common decency....respect...common sense gone?  And, where are the parents?  What are parents teaching their children these days?  It is apparent too many parents don’t have a clue how to parent!

Over the past months I’ve been surrounding myself with gold...golden mandarins.  I love mandarins. I’ve been devouring mandarins like they’re going out of fashion.  They will be out of season soon, worse luck.  Like a kid in a candy store, when they’re available I make the most of them.  I’m a glutton for mandarins, depleting IGA’s stocks without apology.  In private, at home so as not to offend anyone, I make a pig of myself on the delicious fruit.  Who cares if the juices run down my chin?  I don’t, nor do my two furry roomies, as long as the juices don’t drip on their fur.  They’re not impressed when that happens. 

Whoopee! Now, golden mangoes have arrived on the scene!  Man! Oh! Man! Where the mangoes...I go!

Now spring is here, my wish is... many springs uncoil, and break loose from the ground, allowing moisture to run free. In the meanwhile, rain springs forth from above, breaking the drought - dousing the fires, once and for all.   

May happiness, and peace of mind, rain upon those who have suffered, and continue to suffer in the aftermath. For those who’ve lost their homes...had their properties decimated... may rain come soon.  For the past seven days fires have been raging....

And, again, also caught in the middle are our farmers...their livestock, and crops...they deserve a fair go.  Haven’t they gone through enough already?

And, let’s not forget our native wildlife...many lives have been lost among those poor, defenceless creatures, too...

Sadness abounds...

Let us hope... hope reigns eternal...and it rains....


PS....To date as at 13th September

In the Scenic Rim region, which Tamborine Mountain is a part, more than 55,000 hectares have been burned out.  Touch wood...up here on the hill we are okay...I hope the status quo remains.

In the Granite Belt...around the Stanthorpe area in South-West Queensland...4,200 hectares

Peregian Springs....More than 5000 people from 2500 homes in the Peregian area were evacuated due to the fire, as firefighters worked tirelessly to protect properties. Thousands of hectares have been burned.

In New South Wales....A fire in Bees Nest, north-west of Dorrigo in the Armidale area, is currently over 66,500 hectates and out of control. A fire in Drake has burnt more than 40,000 hectares and is out of control. A fire in Legume, in the Tenterfield area, has been contained after burning more than 1,600 hectares, while a Share Creek fire in the Yuraygir national park is not yet under control.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-09/queensland-bushfires-in-pictures-stanthorpe-binna-burra/11491780
 

Mandarin Chocolate Cake:  In saucepan; cover 3 large mandarins with cold water; bring to boil over high heat; drain; repeat (to take the bitterness out of the peel). Return mandarins to pan; again cover with cold water; bring to boil; reduce heat to medium; simmer 30mins, or until very tender; drain; cool. Preheat oven 180C. Grease and line a 22 cm spring-form pan. Coarsely chop mandarins; process until smooth. Whisk 6 eggs and 1c caster sugar until double in size; add mandarin puree, 1-1/2c almond meal and ½c S.R.flour; gently fold to combine. Fold in 200g melted 70% dark chocolate until combined. Pour into pan; bake 50-60mins. This can be served warm with cream and/or ice cream as a dessert; or cold as a cake.

Mandarin Buttermilk Cake: Preheat oven 175C. Spray 10-inch cake pan; sprinkle raw sugar into pan, coating evenly. Lay mandarin slices on base, layering.  In bowl, with whisk, combine 2-1/2c plain flour, 3/4c granulated sugar, 1tsp baking powder, 1tsp baking soda, and 3/4tsp salt; add 2 large eggs, 1 egg yolk, 1-1/2c buttermilk, 3/4c cooled, melted unsalted butter, 1tbs mandarin zest and 2tbs mandarin juice; stir with fork until just incorporated, but still lumpy; don’t over-stir. Pour into pan; bake until top is golden, 35-40mins. Transfer to rack; let cool 5mins before inverting out of pan on to rack, or plate.

Spring Salad: Peel and dice 1 pawpaw, 1 mango, 1 avocado and 1 rockmelon; transfer to bowl. Combine gently. Heat 1tbs olive oil in pan over med-heat. Add minced garlic clove and 200g peeled green prawns; fry 4-5mins, stirring occasionally, until prawns turn pink; add to fruits. Whisk together 2tbs chopped mint leaves, 2tsp lime juice, 1tsp honey and 3tbs x-virgin olive oil; season to taste; pour dressing over salad; gently mix; serve on rocket or lettuce...or in the scooped-out shell/skin of the pawpaw (papaya).

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW...

Is it best to be caught between the devil and the deep blue sea; or between a rock and a hard place?  It’s six of one; half a dozen of the other, I guess.  For a non-swimmer the former would be a bit tricky, unless either a life-jacket or dinghy was within arm’s reach.  In the second instance, if it’s a large boulder, not a pebble or rock that’s blocking your way, or, worse still, has landed on you, that would be enough to deflate one’s ego; flatten one’s ambitions...of becoming a rock-climber, at least. 

Looking on the bright side...one door closes, and another opens; but a breeze will always blow in the direction that it wishes to go, closing the door while opening another...on and on it continues. Doors opening and shutting until you use the rock as a doorstop. 

While the doors are opening and slamming shut hold onto that flighty bird in the hand. I’m told it’s worth two in the bush.  I’m not sure how or why.  

There is nothing as pretty as a bird on the wing...unless it’s a vulture.  They’re not the most attractive avian feathered creatures. If you see them circling above, I’d be a bit concerned if I were you.  

Our wings are small, but the ripples of the heart are infinite. No bird (hen or cock) can fly without opening its wings.

Sometimes you have to wing it, though!  You cannot fly like an eagle with the wings of a wren, or a quail, for that matter.  Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Get all your ducks in a row. If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...it’s probably Donald. Not everything is what it quacks up to be, though.

No one can love without exposing his or her heart.  

It has been said blood is thicker than water.  However, that is not always the case.

Being all show and no substance; all show, and no go, many are angels on the outside, but devils inside. 

Measure for measure, in a nutshell, Shakespeare’s insightful words nailed it in one: “O' What may man within him hide...though angel on the outward side!” 

Judging others comes easily to many; but they must remember to be perfect for the rest of their own lives.

Like wild seas eat away at the coastline, jealousy eats away at them.  

Disappointingly, some who espouse various religions – Christianity, Buddhism etc., etc., - wear the cloak of hypocrisy.  

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.  Understanding is the heartwood of well-spoken words.

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “The ancestor of every action is a thought.” 

Lebanese-American author, poet, artist Kahlil Gibran - he who generously gifted the world with “The Prophet”, his inspirational book of prose poetry - believed:  “Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.  Love one another, but make not a bond of love. Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. To belittle you have to be little.”
 

The shadow which I throw is definitely a shadow of me. No tricks, or trick lighting used.  What you see is what you get.  

Still waters run deep, but don’t be fooled. Such is not always the case.  Water in the kitchen sink is still, but not deep.

To cover my butt, I confess I plagiarised most of the sage maxims herein, not only those of authors I acknowledged.

I add a few thoughts for Father’s Day, which was celebrated yesterday, 1^st September...but, I suppose, like Mother’s Day, every day is Father’s Day, if you are one or the other:-

A father carries pictures where his money used to be. 

She got her looks from her father.  He’s a plastic surgeon. 

By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.  

A father is someone you look up to no matter how tall you grow.  

Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a Dad.  

He who laughs last, laughs longest... probably because he’s laughing at his own jokes – Dad jokes!  
 

Dry-Rubbed Baked Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dip: Preheat oven 200C.  Line a large baking sheet with 2 sheets of aluminium.  Place sprayed cooling rack on top; set aside. In small bowl, combine 1/2tbs each ancho chilli pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder, salt, 3/4tbs brown sugar, 3/4tsp chilli powder, 3/4tsp paprika, 3/4tsp cumin, 1/2tsp garlic powder, 1/2tsp cayenne, 1/2tsp dry mustard powder, 1/4tsp black pepper, 1/3tsp dried oregano and 1/4tsp ground thyme.  In a large bowl, put 2kg chicken wings and 2tbs x-virgin olive oil; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle in the dry rub; use your hands to massage it into wings, coating evenly.   Add chicken wings to prepared baking sheet and bake 45 minutes. Serve with - Blue Cheese Dip: Place 1/4c crumbled blue cheese, 1 garlic clove, 1tsp minced fresh thyme, 1tbs minced fresh parsley, 1tbs hot sauce (or to taste), pinch of salt and pepper, and 1/2c sour cream in bowl. Mix with fork; adjust seasoning, and thickness.

Orange and Sage Glazed Duck: Score skin of a duck breast; season. In pan over med-low heat, add 2tbs butter and1tbs honey or maple syrup. Cook until butter has slightly browned; then add 1/4tsp sage and 1/2tsp orange extract. Let this cook until butter is deep amber. Put duck breast into a cold pan. Set pan’s heat to med-high. After a few minutes flip duck; skin should be crisp. Add 1tbs cream to orange and sage butter; stir well. Pour over duck breast in pan; let mix with the duck fat. Cook a few minutes. Wilt spinach in pan.  Serve duck on wilted spinach.