Salzburg

My brother is an exceptional human being. He suffered through the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg for me. He patiently took loads of photos of me and there are a couple of really good photos of him looking pained and troubled but I would be killed dead if I included them here. This is me at the Pegasus Fountain in the Mirabell Gardens. The Do-Re-Mi steps are in the background. A highlight.

Choices

“The choice may have been mistaken – the choosing was not.” Stephen Sondheim

I can't tell you what choice to make. My best advice is that you make sure it is your choice. Don't do something because someone else tells you it is right, or because someone says they won't be your friend.... etc. Make choices based on what you know and what you feel. It won't always be right but at least you know that it was what you thought was right at the time. 

Chicken and Corn Soup

Okay, it's not soup season here. We are beginning (slowly) to get sunny days and warmer weather. Not exactly inspiring anyone to put a pot of soup on the boil. But for those in the Northern hemisphere and anyone who just loves soup, this recipe is easy, nutritious and tasty. Ticks all the boxes really. Freezes okay too. 

 

1 packet of chicken noodle soup (make as directed on the packet)

Add

1 tin creamed corn

1 chopped onion

chicken pieces (leftover bbq chicken is good)

spring onion

 

Bring to boil and then simmer until onion is soft

Mexican Cheese Dip

Easy peasy lemon squeezy...... that's me being politically correct. Really, you can't go wrong with this recipe unless you do one of the two things that I know people have done using my recipe. DO NOT:

1. try to melt a whole block of Kraft cheddar cheese. Grate it first.

2. melt the cheese on its own. The grated cheese goes into the heating water and milk.

Saute 1 onion, 1 chilli, garlic, 1 capsicum

Add ½ cup water and ½ cup milk

Melt 500g grated Kraft cheddar cheese* slowly into the above.

Add a drop of Tabasco, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper and black pepper to taste.

Serve with corn chips or carrot sticks or other raw veggies or all three. El yummo (who knew I spoke Mexican??)

* This is the cheese that comes in a blue box and is found near the Vegemite in the supermarket. 

A Few of My Favourite Things…Beatles Albums

There may come a time when you are lucky enough to have a large piece of Sunday afternoon stretching before you. The late, great author Douglas Adams called this the “long, dark tea time of the soul” and sometimes it does feel like that. You know that Monday is not far away but if you have a chance, take it. Grab a favourite piece of music and really listen.

For me, it is a Beatles album and, after much thought and deliberation, it is Abbey Road. Maybe not everybody’s classic. But for mine, the closing songs – Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight and The End carry me to somewhere else. There are other moments on Abbey Road – quirky Maxwell’s Silver Hammer and the sublime Here Comes the Sun to name just two.