Monday 27 April 2009

Another Anzac Day, Another Batch of Biscuits

Saturday was of course the correct day, but today is the public holiday so I figure that if I make biscuits today it still counts. I'm using the same Anzac biscuit recipe as last year: an authentic one from the war memorial. The recipe makes about 3 dozen, assuming you use well-rounded teaspoons. I compress the mix into the bowl of the spoon with my hands. It's pretty dry and crumbly, but don't worry, it bakes up fine. And of course clean hands are a cook's most essential tool.

I rarely use dessicated coconut, so I was a bit worried that my stock might have gone rancid, but it smelled and tasted fine. It's safe to do a tiny taste test of potentially rancid nuts and oils - just nasty if it is actually off. And while it's not safe to consume a lot of them, it's more likely to give you cancer later in life than to kill you right off.

I didn't take a picture of these - it looks exactly the same as last year. Bickies: check, bag of oranges: check; funky but nasty blue tile benchtop: check. (Waiting for a quote to fix that last point.)

On a more serious note, the Bloke reminded me of Kemal Ataturk's words on the ANZACS. Another good thing about ANZAC day is that the enemy our troops fought is no longer our enemy. The tragic events have, oddly, forged bonds of friendship between the nations.

"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours... you, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land. They have become our sons as well."

1 comment:

Dina Roberts said...

I love that poem. It always brings a tear to my eye.