Mum's Christmas dip

This really is an amazing dip - worth the time it takes to prepare and cook. Yes, cook. Christmas in July? Sure, it's winter in Australia, and that's a good excuse. But no, my friend asked for the recipe and I need to keep this blog from complete death. I'm sorry - life is getting in the way.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons malt vinegar
• 250g cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped capsicum (green and red for an xmas theme)
  

DIRECTIONS

Let cream cheese soften a little. Beat eggs with sugar and malt vinegar. Put in a double boiler (or a saucepan in a saucepan of water) and cook, stirring until thick. Remove from heat and put in a mixing bowl with remaining ingredients. Mix well and chill.

SERVES MANY!

Happy birthday Quaint!

I'm over a week late, but I've been busy with new jobs!

25 April was the first anniversary of the fabulous photo blog Quaint. They're celebrating the milestone with a cool new site design. Here is a tiny version of the amazing montage Jocke made of the past year. It actually feels nostalgic:

Minestrone Soup

Don't be discouraged by the amount of time this soup needs to simmer. It doesn't take long to prepare; you just need to start a little earlier and find something else to do while it's simmering. Oh, and it's very yummy.

INGREDIENTS

• 250g dried (or 1-2 400g tins) haricot/navy/borlotti/white beans
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 celery stick, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
• 4 tomatoes peeled & chopped (or 1 400g tin)
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley and some sprigs to garnish
• ¼ cup red wine
• 8-9 cups vegetable stock
• 1 turnip, chopped
• 2 potatoes, chopped
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• ½ cup (60 g) chopped green beans
• 1 cup (80 g) macaroni elbows
• salt and pepper
• shaved Parmesan cheese, for serving

DIRECTIONS

If using dried beans, prepare according to the directions on the packet . If using tinned beans, rinse and drain. Leave beans aside.

Heat oil in a saucepan, add onion, celery and carrot. Cover and cook over a very low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, adding the garlic in the last few minutes.

Add the tomatoes, parsley, wine and stock, then cover and simmer for 1-2 hours. Add the turnip, potatoes, beans and tomato paste; simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes.

Add the zucchini, green beans and macaroni. Simmer, covered, for 10-15 minutes, or until vegetables and pasta are tender.

Season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with shavings of Parmesan cheese and parsley to garnish.

SERVES 6-8

Don't shoot the puppy!

Don't shoot the puppy; that's just awful.

Happy birthday Frank!

May your face never need masking, and your bowl always be filled with corn.

To the rest of you - yep, this is at least ten years old. We're all grown up and responsible now. Honest...

The price of nice

Over the past few weeks, I have grown ten strange appendages. After biting my nails for my whole life, for some reason I just stopped. And people have always told me to stop, so I figured it might be worth a try.

My hands look, well, nice, but I'm just not sure it's worth it. I am accidentally scratching myself and others. I am accidentally scratching squeaky surfaces, making my blood run cold. I am constantly getting dirt under my fingernails and am obsessed with cleaning them. And now I'm worried about breaking them. If I paint them, I'm going to be afraid of chipping the polish. And typing, something I do for hours a day, feels weird. Why do women do this?

I'm starting to understand that long fingernails are a minor feminist issue. Fingernails are restrictive, much like heels or skirts or makeup. When constrained by these items, women can't be as active as men for fear of hurting themselves or making a mess.

Of course women aren't less feminist if they have long nails (or wear heels or skirts or makeup for that matter - something I did for years in a corporate workplace). But a society that expects women to have long nails is perhaps not completely supportive of the idea that women should have as much freedom as men.

So to all you who told me to grow my fingernails, poo. But I might keep trying it a bit longer anyway.

Tiny update

Millie, Joey and Mickey are now getting along fine, and we think three cats is just the right number.

I have added a lot more links (lower right-hand column) to stuff I read regularly - mostly other Australian blogs. I'll edit it from time to time as my subscriptions change, but these are highly recommended.

On the list is Pink Mountains - something I worked on after leaving my day job at the end of last year. It's a comprehensive resource for all people living in or visiting the mountains who don't identify as heterosexual. The editor's story about the Blue Mountains Folk Festival made me want to go! Yes, her name is also Anne. Yes, it's sometimes confusing.

My friends in Finland, the Quaint pair, are still producing some amazing photographs, with a new image every day for more than ten months now. Wowie!

I promise real content soon.