1/18/2015
If you’re not from Australia you may not be aware that January 26th is Australia Day. Australia day is to Australians what 4th of July is to Americans, or that’s the closest approximation I can make.
Truthfully it marks the day Captain Cook landed in Australia, (This wasn’t such a great day for the indigenous Australians who were already living here because no one bothered to ask them if it would be okay if the English took over their country. No treaties were signed, no recompense was made. Until the white man came there was no disease here, they brought that with them. I digress).
Australia Day is a hot day where people host bbq’s (cook outs), go to beachside picnics and enjoy the end of summer. (School goes back this same week but summer doesn’t officially end until the end of February but we all know that when school goes back it feels like an ending). Lots of citizenship ceremonies are held on Australia Day and the Australian of the Year is also announced.
It’s a day when most Australian’s feel pretty bloody lucky to live in this country of ours.
There are lots of things that people love about their home country, wherever it is, and food is a big one. So I’m going to share with you some classic Australian foods.
That photo up the top is of Tim Tams. These are biscuits/cookies with a chocolate cream in the middle and then redipped in chocolate. They’re pretty wonderful. People who move abroad get homesick for the Tim Tam. A great way to enjoy them is to bite the end of and then suck your coffee or better yet your Irish coffee through the Tim Tam. This is known as a Tim Tam Explosion. You’ll thank me later.
Most foreigners know of and fear our beloved Vegemite. A thick salty spread that is the by-product of beer manufacturing it is a truly acquired taste. You need to have it on toast with butter and then smeared sparingly on top, if you wish to adjust to this salty treat. The truth is Australians (who drink like fsh) have some of the highest Vitamin B levels in the world thanks to Vegemite.
The Australian meat pie is another iconic choice. I shared a recipe for one last year around this time so you can make your own if you like.
http://www.moniquemcdonellauthor.com/blog/taste-of-tuesday-an-aussie-meat-pie-recipe
Of course the frozen foods section of our supermarkets have a lot of shelf space dedicated to the pie so if you find yourself down under you’ll be spoilt for choice. Perhaps you fancy a kangaroo pie just for something different.
Tumblr now has whole sections asking if certain Australian foods ( and wildlife and language) are actually real. Well we really do have a very delicious ice-cream called a Golden Gaytime. These were the sorts of ice-creams that as a kid they were so expensive your parents never let you have one. You had a Paddle Pop or an icy-pole and your mum got a Gaytime.
Here’s a sneak peek of the iconic TV commercial that states quite rightly “It’s so hard to have a Gaytime on your own.”