Tag Archives: Queenslander

Brisbane

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I’m currently in Brisbane to visit my kids. Brisbane is where I was born and spent 30 years learning skills in medicine, pathology and specifically clinical microbiology. I grew up here. I love Brisbane. I’m a Brisbane boy. I’m a Queenslander.

This year I didn’t get an opportunity to go to The Ekka with my daughters. Maybe next year. Miss15, ever thoughtful bought me a hat from one of her trips to The Show.

Me in a new hat from Miss15

Today we joined up with one of my brothers (Mr41) and his son (NephewMr6) to watch a junior rugby match.

Brisbane is beautiful in August. The sky is clear and the morning cool but not cold like Canberra (which has the skies but the trees aren’t all evergreen). Canberra’s deciduous trees remind me of death and the cycle of life. This picture says it all, great sky, beautiful trees and rugby posts. Only summer is better with a swimming pool or surf beach.

A perfect scene. A winter’s morning in Brisbane. Evergreen trees and rugby posts.

While Miss11 and Miss15 went to gymnastics training I took Miss17 shopping. She was hungry after missing breakfast because of a sleep in and an early start to the junior rugby match.

We both had the same idea. A crumbed chicken and coleslaw sandwich.

Crumbed chicken and coleslaw sandwich with pineapple drink

After gymnastics we had to attend the Clayfield College open day. Miss11 and Miss15 have scholarships to attend school here. Without the half scholarships I could not afford the fees.

I tried an ice cream treat I’d not heard of before, viz., drippin dots. I chose caramel and brownie. It was really very nice.

Caramel and brownie Drippin Dots

This afternoon Miss17 captured an image of me.

Me in shades

Tonight I took Dad, Mum and the girls out to dinner to Hog’s Breath Cafe for an early father’s day celebration. These restaurants have a great Aussie history. Many people assume an origin in the USA, the truth is they started in Queensland and have spread across Australia. Importantly, the franchise is a big supporter of motor sport and rugby league in Australia.

I had a steak and rib combination for a main meal.

Steak and rib combination with a side of calamari and Béarnaise sauce

For dessert the girls helped me share a sundae.

Hoggies Rocky Road Sundae which is enough for four

Mum and Dad had profiteroles which Miss15 informed us are made from choux pastry which resembles cabbages. Miss15 likes to pronounce choux as chucks just to make us laugh.

Profiteroles

I’ll be back in Canberra tomorrow.

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Footy food and the Decider #origin #QUEENSLANDER Queensland defeats NSW 21:20

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Tonight it was the decider. Last year Queensland won its sixth State of Origin series. This year Queensland won the first game and NSW won the second game. I’ve previously written that I really hope for a good close game and truth be told, as much as I wanted Queensland to win, NSW winning would mean that Rugby League is the winner. We need to have two strong origin sides not a lopsided competition. We need to have a game that kids can remain excited about, after all, rugby league is the greatest winter sport of all. Much more enjoyable than soccer and Aussie rules and for a spectator superior than Rugby Union. I write these things not wanting to upset readers. I just find so much satisfaction in watching a good game of rugby league.

In the end the result was right and the game was one of the most exciting nail biting games of rugby league we’ve seen. Queensland defeated NSW 21 to 20 in a very tight match.

For dinner tonight I was partially inspired by recent MasterChefAU episodes featuring dude food. I knew I needed some vegetation so there is some avocado. Otherwise it was all chicken. Chicken wings coated in oil, honey and spike.

Eight chicken wings in my fry pan. Ready for roasting. (Nikon D90)

So I put the wings into a fry pan and then put them into a hot oven (200 °C) for 30 minutes.

Nicely cooked chicken wings. (Nikon D90)

I could have just eaten the chicken but my conscious got the better of me so I added some avocado as an after thought. It’s also green :-)

Spiked chicken and avocado. (Nikon D90)

During the game it was great watching my Twitter timeline. It was fantastic seeing Lisa Curry tweeting for Queensland. I recall watching her swim when she was a school girl and I was swimming at school. She is a fantastic Queenslander.

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Shout out and thanks to @phonakins

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A couple of weeks ago I blogged about a big day and this year’s first state of origin game. In that blog I also mentioned I’d won a prize in a competition run but a well known Australian tweep and blogger, viz., @phonakins or Fiona the littlelioness.

Today my prize arrived. Thanks Fiona :-) Thanks Red Rock Deli.

Importantly Fiona has decided to do something crazy for her 30 years on year. She’s giving up caffeine for a month. She’s doing this for charity. Please visit http://www.everydayhero.com.au/phonakins30 to learn more.

Red Rock Deli hamper from above (iPhone)

 

Inside the Red Rock Deli hamper (iPhone)

These are the Red Rock Deli corn chips that were inside (iPhone)

This is a gratuitous photograph of my dinner tonight. Avocado with drumsticks and peas and corn.

I like symmetry when plating up (iPhone) my avocado and drumsticks :-)

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Big day and a big result and shout out to @phonakins (#QUEENSLANDER #StateofOrigin)

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Today was huge with back to back meetings all day. I did an hour session on record management systems and came back to the office to be greeted with cake. Readers who follow me on instagram will know I regularly post photographs of cakes and biscuits that work mates make and bring in to work. It makes for a wonderful work environment.

During the training session I answered some questions and received chocolates :-)

Cake and chocolate (iPhone)

Tonight is the first of three State of Origin games. As I was driving away from work I thought about dinner. It needed to be a footy dinner. Hamburger I thought and hamburger is what I made. For readers who don’t know me, I’m a convinced and convicted Queenslander, that is, I am passionate about Queensland the greatest state in Australia; and Rugby League the greatest game of all; and State of Origin, the greatest sporting contest known.

I checked my e-mail and discovered I’d won a prize. On 16 May @phonakins at littlelioness.net posted on her blog a competition to win a Red Rock Deli Corn Chips hamper. The request for the competition was to let Fiona know in the comments your ideal corn chip and dip combination (fantasy or reality) and why they go so well. I answered, “I want a sweet corn chip coated in icing sugar that can be used to scoop up thickened chocolate sauce or melted chocolate and then eaten whole, that is a chocolate corn chip slam ;-) Perhaps then http://wayfaringchocolate.com/ can review.“Thank you very much Fiona. Much appreciated :-)

So I better show images of my hamburger.

Cheese and barbecue sauce with Wagyu beef burger (iPhone)

With it’s top on (iPhone)

And to all my friends and family who support New South Wales and the Blues, I’m sorry if you find me offensive on nights like tonight.

For readers not familiar with State of Origin rugby league history. Queenslanders (Maroons pronounced marones) are known as the cane toads (Buffo marinus) and NSW (Blues) are cockroaches. These are affectionate terms of endearment. As they say, State of Origin is mate against mate, state against state. For those interested, it was Kangaroo great Barry (garbo) Muir who coached the Queensland side from 1974 to 1978 (two years prior to the adoption of Origin selection criteria) and during this time Muir coined the term “cockroaches”, the descriptor of the New South Wales rugby league team still used by the Queenslanders.

In the end, Queensland defeated NSW 18 to 10. There was a very poor decision that resulted in a Queensland try in the last ten minutes that soured the victory. But as they say, a win is a win. I will attend work tomorrow a happy Queenslander.

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Australia Day cheesecake

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For the past few weeks Bron has been talking about cheesecake since she made a white chocolate cheesecake some weeks ago. She has had her eye on a recipe from Nigella Lawson. To give it more interest, Bron chose Nigella’s Chocolate peanut butter cheesecake.

I need to digress and explain why this has more interest for me. I grew up in Queensland in the 1960s and 1970s. We only knew of peanut paste and Queensland nuts. We’d heard of peanut butter and Macadamia nuts but our impression was that only southerners used those terms. As Queenslanders we knew better. There are a few sites that mention the debate, e.g., Peanut Butter or Peanut Paste? and there is also a Facebook page. As far as I’m concerned, the edible species in the genus Macadamia found in Eastern Australia are Queensland nuts and that’s how I shall always know them. While it may be Australia Day, I am and always will be a proud convinced and convicted Queenslander.

Last night I also learned that 24 January is national peanut butter day in the USA from food blogger John-Bryan Hopkins also known as the Foodimentary Guy.

Back to the important stuff though. This is a baked cheesecake. Nigella describes it best, “This is not for the faint-hearted. Unashamed indulgence, wallowingly so, is what this recipe is all about: think reese’s Peanut Butter cup in cheesecake form. For that reason, I don’t bake this in a water-bath as I do the Banoffee cheesecake. The water-bath is excellent if you want a silky texture, but for me, the peanut butter constituent demands a certain amount of pleasurable, palate-cleaving clagginess. And baked like this, too, the top gets a slight crust when it’s cooked, making it all the easier to spread the chocolate topping.”

Baking in the oven

Straight out of the oven

Time for the chocolate topping.

Here comes the chocolate topping

It is good.

Smoothed over chocolate

Melted chocolate swirls.

Chocolate swirls

The finished product with the Queensland nut brittle similar to the cheesecake we had at Kingley’s steak and crab house.

A perfect slice of cheesecake with Queensland nut brittle

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Some of the preparation happened in a new blender.

My new work area

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I recently agreed to move work areas to make more space for work mates in an area of the branch. The new work area has worked out really well. As part of the plan I have promised to stop storing papers just for the sake of it and become ruthless at not holding on to things.

So far it’s working well. One of my walls used to be a pin board so I thought I would make it a feature wall.

My new feature wall. Queensland and Northern Territory Flags.

You will notice the NT flag is upside down. It’s a distress call. I want to go back and live in Darwin :-)

I will never hide the fact that through and through I am a proud Queenslander. The greatest state in Australia with the most wonderful people and attitude to life. I also feel that part of me still exists in the Northern Territory. The Top End of Australia has the best weather, the friendliest people and the most comfortable life style. It’s humid and warm and full of muggy goodness. I can’t call myself a Territorian because I don’t fulfil one of three criteria, viz., born there, lived through Tropical Cyclone Tracy or spent 20 years there. I want to call myself a Territorian and a Queenslander. Come state of origin time you will read more about being a Queenslander.

F/A 18 Super Hornet Squadron 322 Tindal

The main photograph is especially dear to me. When I was working in the NT the CO of RAAF Tindal was severely unwell with an infection and the medical officer at the base sought my advice. The CO recovered and he gave me this framed photograph. It always reminds me of the times I’d travel to Katherine and would see the F/A 18 Super Hornets flying low and loud. I love feeling the sound of a jet fighter.

My desk now looks a lot cleaner than it has in the past.

My desk

I’m enjoying my new work area.

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