We are en route from Bellingen to Tasmania for our summer adventures. It’s been hot and windy through Victoria. I’m flying between joy and anxiety as the trip begins.
We’ve found a new swimming respite in Wangaratta by Ovens River then explored Benalla for a camp. The official camp (470 in the free camps Australia book)is dusty and depressing today so we head into town to a promising green patch by the river. Locals are fishing carp out of the Benalla lake.
We are relieved by the green promenade of the Benalla gardens. Soft grass and immense rose gardens of beauty scent and vibrancy. Roses and succulents rule the plantings. A great surprise and delight for me.
The playground is a great combination of retro equipment of the type removed from other places (a real seesaw with no handles, exclaims L) and newer framework. Lily finds a tree to climb and all is well.
Category Archives: travels in Victoria
Glimpses of the Queen {Victoria}
Good Airplane food
Good morning me, you’re up about 12 km above earth today! Fathom that… Is the highest mountains on earth about this high? I heard on Mars there’s a volcano about 28km high! I believe it’s the lack of gravity which enables it to keep growing unlike on earth. (Note to self, research stuff like this so I can score at Trivial pursuit. I mean get the facts straight before you publish it on your reputable blog Rosi!)
Transitioning mentally and emotionally began last night as I repacked my bag…
Do you know that moment when you become aware you are no longer fully here but not yet there…
I had pre travel tension through the night so blearily arose at 5.30 wondering why I chose the early flight…
Anyway the point of this post is the food. The inspiration I had because I’d rather not eat plane food. Plain food good. Plane food bad.
So I put together this morning
Yep iPhone photo not up to scratch…
Recipe as below, adapt to your taste and ingredients
A cup of full fat creamy Barambah honey yoghurt
A crisp apple washed cored and diced
A handful of Buckini (soaked and dehydrated buckwheat, crunchy yum)
A handful of black Chia seeds (excellent for digestion)
A dozen chopped almonds
Variations
Add sunflower seeds or pepitas
LSA
Cinnamon
Vanilla
Natural yoghurt (personal preference. Honey yoghurt too sweet)
Fresh berries or other fruits
Rolled oats
…….
I’ve also a great yoghurt recipe with beautiful photographs here…
Pack Into a leak proof container, maybe in a ziplock bag, pack a spoon
When you get peckish halfway from here to there you have a light but sustaining, healthy snack. Mmmm
Great for lunch boxes or car trips also. Make sure it’s with an ice pack if its a hot day.
Ps open your container away from you in the air as I’ve learnt the pressure build up inside the pot can make your yoghurt explode all over your nice charcoal grey city clothes:)
How would you do it?
Any plane survival tips anyone??
So far.. away…
on departure the morning mist cloaks the hillsides
departing the fertile valleys of the mid north coast and headin south… it’s a beautiful perspective of the folds and crests of the land hearabouts from up sky..
the big smoke… a fleeting stopover…
on the plane i listen with empathy to the crying babes
and turn back to my book with glee… it’s not me with puking kids, this time…
at the airport Sydney I am famished as the few mouthfuls of breakfast I distractedly inhaled have worn off, i seek the noodle bar my mama described to me and am so enjoying my broth and reading and then the $2 massage chairs…
i forget to check in for my next flight…
oops, lucky i got a self proclaimed ‘nice’ man at the counter who lets me on anyway…
{feeling abit country mouse at this point but enjoying myself…}
arriving into a babble of easy banter with my oldest young friend, we join her friends inner city for lounging, ethiopian eating and dancing! wow feeling so bold and dashing in my red wool coat and that new wool skirt i made… {details one day. maybe}
in between i had a stroll in the road and delighted in my find of this Pincushion Hakea a favorite from Western Australia. What a quirky flower and great name. Some aspects of the medicine of this flower is
to have an open mind and be open to new ideas and interested in the world. {can you see how the flower reaches out in every direction confidently?}
Think that might come in handy this week for me?
dinner, Ethiopian flavours astound me, smoky paprika or warm cumin or slightly vinegar pickle or sweet beet or queer fermented pancake bread… mmmm new things to experience
and 5 other lovely ladies to enjoy with…
and then and then there was more at The Substation
Dead Quarry Mountain Rats play high speed twanging tunes, handsome talented lads with flying fingers
{but i snobbishly think they could do with some articulation assistance…}
I cannot keep up and go out for a breather and a cuddle with the radiator
enjoying people watching and trying to digest the days stimulation!
until the highly quirky and amusing Perch Creek Family jug band step up and have me soon in stitches
four siblings and a partner, all beautifully talented musicians and a couple sporting magnificent vocal range! harmonies to soar in this great hall and hilarious almost embaressing banter betwixt.
when did dorky become cool? i think i could really fit into this scene in Melbourne…
In another life I played double bass and when i see the instrument hopping and jiving in this folk/bluegrass/soul context i long to be there thumping out the bass line. it really wasn’t so much fun at the back of the orchestra…
this sign greets me in my dear friends kitchen. I say YES yes yes!
being idle in the sunroom for hours… luxury… my thoughts can come to a natural completion with no interruption! hoorah! i can think any think i can think…
and then such a long long invigorating seaside stroll with a myriad of greys and mauves and silver sheening water for company
and pressing my face into WA wildflowers growing happily in the garden
Geraldton wax my favorite since ever has taken me on a great healing journey {still on it actually}
in another life i spent a year working on an artwork of this flower and a dear friend put it onto my skin. daily reminders of the medicine of this flower…
have you ever crushed some of the leaf and smelt the divine aroma?
and then check out these enormous pillars of Banksia. Im not sure which variety but so striking.
and then later…
my daily victual awaits…
ahhhh so full of gratitude to all who have made this a possibility and to myself, yippee you’ve given yourself a mini sabbatical… xx
what would you do if you could run away from life for a few days?
potato, dill and goat’s cheese frittata
good food good times, this yummy simple dish featured as a girl’s dinner in during my time away from home…
though i like it also for lunch and breakfast and leftover for lunchboxes and um well anytime….
Potato, Dill and Goat’s Cheese Frittata
To begin dice up 1 medium potato per person into maximun size 2cm cubes
heat a good 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy bottom fry pan {cast iron really is best for this as it will retain enough heat to cook through the thick frittata without burning the bottom}
lay in the potato chunks and lid on, cook about 10 minutes, shake or turn occasionally
Meanwhile
- chop fine 1 small onion and 2 cloves good garlic
- dice a small zucchini
- dice a small capsicum
- slice 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
- shred a little dill
- get some goats cheese ready {about 3 tablespoons}
- whisk up at least 6 eggs {maximum 12} with a couple tablespoons of milk
when the spuds are cooked pop in a bowl
now heat a little more oil and lightly fry your onion and then add garlic
add the potato back to the pan and onto a low heat now
mix it all up with the zucchini and capsicum
pour over your egg mix
lay on the olives and some decorative capsicum and season well with salt and pepper
spoon on little chunks of goats cheese
and sprinkle on the dill
pop a lid on {low heat remember}
check regularly until the frittata is cooked about 2/3 from the bottom of the pan, up to 10 minutes
make sure it’s not burning on the bottom
get a grill nice and hot because you will now put the pan under the heat {keep the handle sticking outside the grill unless metal}
watch the eggy top puff up and brown slightly
it’s ready, be careful it’s so hot!
oh delicious, i’m hungry again just thinking of it…
i like to serve with some good chutney or kasundi and a big salad…
so many varietiations depending on what you have on hand… experiment…
or just stick to potato and eggs for more simplicity, like a more traditional spanish omelette…
ps when we are in the bus i don’t have a grill {i don’t have a lid that fits the pan either i use a thick plate…}
but about that grill, instead just keep up the low steady heat and keep an eye on it, or loosen it all underneath and slide onto a plate and flip back into the pan to cook the top if it’s taking too long. not as pretty but just as tasty.
see, good simple nourishing food, easy and should be less than half an hour til it’s on the table…
oh yes i did burn a few bottoms before i got the frittata regularly great, so don’t you fret, just trim it off and enjoy…
RosaLindenTree 