Food, Finds & Forays
Hey there....
How’s your week going? Ours of course has been short with the holiday for the national day of mourning to observe the passing of Queen Elizabeth followed by another holiday to celebrate the Australian Rules Football Grand Final makes for a short week and long weekend.
Two such momentous events drawing on the loyalty of the masses reminded me of the qualities of parochialism and our own loyalties and traditions, which brought me to the ubiquitous sausage roll. I know, sounds like a vague link but stay with me there’s a thread there.
A long weekend, as is tradition in our family, sees us heading out of town. I thought you might be curious to see what we’re up to and eating and have shared a couple of photos from previous visits.
On the subject of loyalty I owe you a huge thank you. This week is the first anniversary of Food, Finds & Forays, my little newsletter. Some of you have been with me from the start and some have hopped aboard along the way. No matter when you’ve joined in I’m enormously grateful for your time and company on a Thursday morning. I have a few ideas for my little weekly journal which I’m working on and hope to share soon, which I hope you’ll love.
Until then, however, I hope you enjoy this week’s instalment and find something interesting to try and if you're in Australia enjoy the break this weekend.
Cheers
S xx
PS: As always, if you think a pal might enjoy a read please share using one of the buttons below.
Food
The word Parochial, according to both the Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries, has two meanings. One referring to religion and the other referring to a narrow scope of interest, single mindedness if you will. In the scope of the last week, both globally and locally here in my home town the true meaning of parochialism feels ever present.
Like billions worldwide, on Monday night, I sat up glued to the television enraptured by the pageantry and tradition of the royal funeral. The ceremony and customs observed by The Church of England in marking the passing of its traditional head and the British head of state was both majestic and humbling. Breathtaking voices of the combined choir soared into the highest peaks of centuries old Westminster Abbey heralding the procession’s arrival into the historic entrance to the nave and its slow progress forth. Goosebumps rose on my skin, a lump in my throat swelled and I was transfixed. Centuries of traditional rites honouring the values, structure and history of the church marked each convention in observance of the passing of a sovereign and the accession of a successor. Not only was the occasion a momentous one in the life of the church but also one in the history of the United Kingdom. The sight of hundreds of thousands of British subjects and visitors lining the Mall adorned with union jacks fluttering in the breeze framing the massed military march escorting the Queen was a stirring one of nationalism and loyalty to crown and state. It was truly one of the most parochial and unifying events in modern history. It was awe inspiring to watch and humbling to feel a part of even as a home viewer. Regardless of your feelings on royalty, both historically and into the future, you can’t help but feel awed by the reverential parochial respect the British people held for their monarch the nation and the sheer grandeur of the ceremony.
Now, I’m not a religious person but I do love tradition, loyalty and dedication. In a far lighter vain, in Melbourne this week we observe what is colloquially called a religion, Australian Rules Football and its Grand Final and similarly evoking another reverential type of parochialism. Whilst only celebrated on a fraction of the scale of the pomp of the royal ceremonies and a far less sombre and significant occasion it’s one of great parochialism unifying the two tribes of supporters whose two teams will go into battle for the ultimate prize of their sport. Suburban football clubs will hold smaller events to join into the festivities, supporters will stop at nothing to get their hands on tickets to the game at the MCG, our colosseum of sorts holding 100,000 spectators and groups of families and friends will gather around televisions roaring with each triumph. It’s a brutal game, men going to war putting their bodies on the line with every turn of play, no padding or helmets just primal brute force in the pursuit of possession of the ball and ultimately a goal. And in the midst of combat a population come together with nothing else in focus but that one day and prize, each driven by a parochial and unwavering loyalty to their team.
I love tradition, I love the rites and symbolism of occasions grand and small, significant and festive. Rituals and customs are anchoring and unifying. Maybe that’s why in many ways parochialism in all its forms can be a positive thing. From the formalities and rituals of a religious parochialism and the unity and comfort that it’s familiarity offers it’s followers to the one eyed loyalty individuals feel in parochialisms around communities, sport and unifying events no matter how trivial in the grand scheme of the world they may seem.
We too love the football grand final period and enjoy our little traditions around this period. Usually gathering with friends to cheer and lament the warring teams and raise a toast to the ultimate winner. It won’t surprise you that we’re particularly parochial about the food we celebrate the footy with. Every year, regardless of whatever else I’m serving Sausage Rolls are compulsory. My family’s parochial love of the humble seemingly simple hot pastry is without peer. Like many such dishes everyone has their own bent on the party food classic. Mine started, rooted in a Donna Hay recipe from one of her earliest books and over the years has evolved to reflect our own tastes and preferences. Generally I use store bought pastry but occasionally I’ll feel like something a little extra special and make my own. If you’d like to try making them with homemade pastry this one is perfect for these. They’re always best served with tomato sauce (ketchup) but we also love them with this delicious chutney.
Ingredients:
500gm beef mince
500gm sausage mince
1 onion very finely diced
1 carrot peeled and grated
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs made from old bread or 1 ½ c of dried, bought crumbs
1 egg beaten
¼ c worcestshire sauce
2 tb tomato sauce/ketchup
4-5 sheets of butter puff pastry or one quantity of rough puff pastry
I egg extra for glazing
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 c, line two large baking trays with baking paper, set aside.
Combine all ingredients except pastry and extra egg in a large bowl. Using your hands mix all ingredients very well. You can also do this in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment.
Lay out pastry sheets and allow to thaw until still cold and firm but pliable. Cut each sheet in half length ways. Using a disposable piping bag, end snipped to create a 2 cm wide opening, pipe the meat mixture down the middle of each pastry strip creating a sausage shape and size similar to a bbq sausage the full length of the pastry. Brush pastry edge then roll up encasing meat in pastry. Cut the full length roll into four smaller rolls. Repeat with remaining ingredients until all the meat is used. Place on baking trays, brush with extra egg beaten with a splash of milk to glaze and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.
Notes:
You can alter the mix of meat to as much as all sausage meat but not less than at least half sausage meat. This gives it a softer texture and loads of flavour.
Makes 40 snack sized rolls or 60 smaller canape sized rolls. If you’re unable to find sausage mince you can use BBQ style sausages in their casing and squeeze out the filling.
Finds & Forays
The football grand final weekend brings with it a public holiday and opportunity to get away. We’ll pack up our sausage rolls and head to one of our favourite parts of the world to enjoy the rugged wild beaches and big open skies. We head down there with our friends a lot and have quite a few favourite places we make a habit of stopping in to visit.
If the sun's shining we’ll head here for a glass of local wine and the view. If the weather holds and we’re feeling energetic we might head here for a walk and explore. I’ve intended to visit this gallery for years, maybe this weekend we'll get there, the art looks so very beautiful.
When we’re not exploring the local area, weekends away call for relaxing, reading and sharing lots of yummy food. I bought a large tub of blueberries at the farmers market last weekend and have been gifted a big bag of lemons so I think I’ll make this cake to take and share. If I don't get round to it though I can always stop in here on the way past and stock up, at what is one of my favourite country bakeries. It might also be a good idea to make a pot of this to warm up in the cool, spring ocean breezes. And I’m definitely packing this for 'special' after dinner hot chocolates around the camp fire.
