RAGGED EGG SOUP .......Stracciatella

This soup is so named because of the egg mixture that is stirred into the very hot chicken bouillon and it breaks up into little threads.


Beat 2 eggs with 2 tbs of semolina  and 4 tbs of  grated parmeson cheese.
Add 1/2 cup of   chicken bouillon  and stir to a cream like paste .
Now heat in a saucepan 4.5 cups of bouillon bring to almost boiling .
Add the egg mixture and stir vigorously with a fork for 3 minutes .
Allow the soup to come just below boiling point   .
Pour into warmed bowls and sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

STOCK OR BOUILLON ?

BOUILLON..........( French )


( 1)Is a stock specifically made for soup but not especially clarified .


(2) Bouillon   is a pasty mixture of salt , MSG , vegetable and or meat extracts and flavourings for the purpose of making convenience stocks and sold commercially in large tubs .




STOCK.........


Water  flavoured with extracts from herbs, spices , vegetables and / or bones by long simmering .

CHICKEN LIVERS ON TOAST

You will need 500gm of chicken livers .
To prepare the livers , remove any tissues and pat dry .
Chop  the livers very finely .
Heat 2 tbs of  rice bran oil
Saute 3 tbs of finely chopped onions and 3 fresh sage leaves , once  the onions begin to colour remove the sage leaves.
Put the chopped livers into the pan , season with pepper and cook over a low heat till no pink colour remains .
Spread the mixture on buttered toast .
Serve immediately .

PORK CHOPS WITH MARSALA AND FENNEL

Trim 4  pork chops , season with salt and pepper and cook over a high heat in a pan with a little lard until coloured on both sides .
Remove chops from the pan and keep hot in the oven.
Add thin slices of 2 fat garlic cloves and allow them to brown in the remaining fat , then stir in1/2 cup of marsala and 3 tbs of  red wine vinegar.
Add  2 tbs of tomato puree and 1 dsp of fennel seeds , cook for a further 6 minutes and then strain over chops .
Serve with a green salad , broken feta and warm sweet potato .

ZABAGLIONE....Also called ZABAIONE

This is a very simple and delicious sweet but it must be made carefully or it will separate when you pour it into serving glasses.


Put 4 egg yolks and 3 ounces of sugar into a bowl and beat till the mix is light and fluffy.
Stand the bowl over a pan of  boiling water , add 8 tbs of marsala and whisk till the mixture is really thick.
Pour into glasses and serve immediately while still hot with sponge finger biscuits .
If the zabaglione is cooked properly there will be no clear liquid at the bottom of the glass .


Zabaglione Sauce ......A sauce made from Marsala , whipped eggs and sugar served warm with fruit desserts .
A savoury form of this sauce can be made with whipped eggs and white wine .

ELYSHA AND CALLUM`S ENGAGMENT CAKE

A three stepped double layered carrot cake .
I accepted the challenge , and did the calculations , in regards to temperature and cooking times  to suit the size and mould of the cake .
My assistant Laufa Oakley iced the cake .


Elysha and Callum`s  cake was a success .
 It looked  and tasted amazing !

FRESH LEMON JUICE

When juicing a lemon , bring it to room temperature  and roll it under your palm on a bench before cutting and squeezing .
This process will release the most juice.

FRIDAY 22nd AUGUST

There is an air of expectancy about the day ....you know when you get a chill of expecting the unexpected  and it`s all good ..it`s like bring it on ..


120 sausage rolls are sitting cooling on the table , 60 dogs in a roll are ready to go .
An engagement cake has been made and awaiting its icing ..


There is a  tournament of the minds challenge to attend , Ella ( grand daughter ) is part of the Warragul North debating team . Nicole participated in the same tournament many years ago deciphering a secret  Egyptian code
.
The silverbeet , parsnips , and rhubarb are ready to be harvested .


A lemon slice is in the oven and I will use some of the rhubarb to make  apple and rhubarb jam ..


I need to prepare the menu  for  international and foodie  minded students at Federation University , as part of  'FEED THE HUNGRY MIND AND BODY AT FEDERATION UNI '


The fog has lifted , the sky is blue and the sun is radiating warmth .
Life`s good .

LEMON BARS

Preheat your oven to 160 deg C..




Combine 1 cup of butter , 2 cups of plain flour and 1/2 cup of icing sugar...rub with your fingertips till the mix resembles breadcrumbs .
Pat the mix into an ungreased 9 " x 13" slice pan...
Bake for 20 minutes or till it turns golden .
Set aside to cool.


For the filling , blend together 4 beaten eggs , 2 cups of castor sugar , 4 tbs of flour , 1/4 cup of lemon juice and 2 tbs of lemon zest.....
Mix well .


Pour this mix over the base and bake for 20 minutes
Remove from the oven  , loosen  around the edges , cut into bars and sift icing sugar on top while still warm .

POTATO CHIP COOKIES...... ( For Nicole and Paul )

Peheat your oven to 180 deg C .


Place  1 cup of margarine
1 Cup of sugar
2 Eggs .....in the small bowl of your electric mixer
Beat till pale and creamy.


Now add 1 tsp baking powder
2 cups of  plain flour
1 tsp of vanilla essence...beat till well combined
Remove the bowl from the mixer  and add
1 cup of crushed  potato chips .




Drop  teaspoonfuls of the mix onto a greased biscuit sheet .
Bake for 12 minutes.

HELPFUL TIPS

1. To keep brown sugar soft ...place 2 large marshmallows in the canister with the brown sugar .


2.Use cocoa powder to dust your pan when baking a chocolate .


3.To stop dough from sticking to your rolling pin cover your rolling pin with a never worn knee high  stocking  with the toe area cut off.
Slide the nylon over your pin , the nylon will hold an even layer of flour on the pin so you can easily flatten moist dough.


4.Let the kids paint the cookie dough. Make paint by mixing egg yolks with food colouring .
Use  brand new paint brushes ...small ones can be purchased from the craft shops or specialty cake shops .
Paint the dough before baking .
After baking the colours will be bright and glossy .


5. Messy beaters can be easily cleaned if you leave them on the mixer and run them through a bowl of hot water for 1 minute.


6.To make chocolate curls , use block chocolate at room temperature , run a vegetable peeler across the side of the block using moderate pressure to produce curls..
You will need to practice a few times to get it right.

SUNDAY BRUCH ......HAM AND PINEAPPLE STACK WITH CARAMEL SYRUP.

First of all you need to make the caramel sauce .
Place 250ml of cream , 220 gm of firmly packed soft brown sugar along with 2 tbs of margarine  in a small saucepan and bring these gently to the boil.
Reduce heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes  ....till the sauce is thickened.
Remove from heat and set aside.


Drain a small can of pineapple slices...reserve 90 ml of juice ...and pat dry as many pineapple slices as needed.


In another saucepan combine 1 tbs margarine / butter , 1  tsp of soft brown sugar , 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract , 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon  , 1/2 tsp of  ground nutmeg and the 90 ml of pineapple juice.
Bring this mix to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes....set this aside.


Thickly slice required number of banana bread and brush half the pineapple mixture over both sides of the banana bread , the pineapple rings and ham steaks .


Place the banana bread , pineapple rings and ham steaks directly under the heat of a grill  until each side is golden brown .
Brush with left over juice mixture when turning .


To serve...place a slice of banana bread on each plate and top with  a slice of ham  , a pineapple ring and a scoop of softened ice cream...
Drizzle with the caramel sauce .
Serve immediately.


This is a must for Sunday brunch .

PINEAPPLE AND CINNAMON SCROLLS

Found this recipe on the wrapper of a tin of Golden Circle pineapple pieces.


This makes 10 scrolls
Preheat your oven to 200deg C


Combine 1 x 825 gm can of pineapple pieces...drained
1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 tsp of ground cinnamon
Mix well and set aside.


Combine 3.5 cups of S.R. flour and 60 gm of softened butter or margarine  by hand till the mixture resembles  fine breadcrumbs.
Add 1.5 cups of milk and mix in to a dough , turn out onto floured surface and knead until smooth.
Roll the dough out into a 30cm  x 40 cm rectangle .


Spread the filling evenly over the dough...leave a 2cm border around the edges .
Starting from the long side , roll the dough up tightly.
Cut into 10 even scrolls.


Arrange scrolls on a lined oven tray.
Brush with extra milk and sprinkle with 2 tbs of sugar.
Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown .
Stand for 5 minutes before serving

TO SEIVE OR TO SIFT ..WHAT`S THE DIFFERENCE ?

SIEVE.....
A fine stainless steel wire , plastic or other stranded fine mesh either stretched in a flat circle on a metal or wooden former or made into the shape of a half sphere or inverted cone.
Used for separating large from fine particles , for straining liquids or for reducing soft foods to liquid.


SIFTER.......
A closed cylindrical container with a sieve or perforated top at one end for sprinkling flour , sugar or other powders over food items .




A fact worth  remembering ......soft brown sugar does not get sifted  .


Soft brown sugar has varying amounts of entrapped molasses...its no good in a sifter ......you know now , don`t you.

WHAT IS MULLIGATAWNY SOUP ?

A Victorian soup made from pre browned chopped onions fried in oil with curry powder and flour , stock, tomato puree , chopped apple , chutney and desiccated coconut added.
This is then simmered and skimmed for an hour , liquidised , strained and consistency adjusted and served with a garnish of boiled rice.
An alternative ...uses only chicken stock , fried curry powder.. (mixed Indian spices ) and yoghurt ....
this was adapted from the Tamil milakutanni  ( Pepper water ) during the British occupation of India.

TUNA AND PEAR PIZZA

Roll out your basic pizza dough ......the recipe for the dough is in the Thursday night class blog .


Drain the oil from an 8 oz tuna tin into a pan and add 1 sliced red  onion and 2 peeled and sliced buerre boc pears.
Cook for a few minutes , add the flaked tuna and 1 tin of diced Italian tomatoes , cook slowly and uncovered till most of the liquid has evaporated ..
Add a tsp of oregano .
Season with salt and pepper.
Set aside to cool.
Then spread the mixture over your pizza dough , top with anchovy fillets and slices of pickled walnuts .
Bake in a hot oven .

STEWED EELS

Eels are so versatile they can be stewed , roasted  or cut into thick slices , sandwiched between bay leaves and roasted on a spit.
They can be preserved by partly frying them in oil and adding red wine which has been boiled with salt and sugar .Then covering and leaving them to marinate.




Buy a kilogram of eels that have been skinned and cut in 2'" lengths .  Your fishmonger will do this for you ....but they are easily skinned and portioned as they are the shape of a snake .
Heat some oil over a medium heat in a pan and fry a chopped onion , chopped carrot and 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic.
Cook until the carrot is tender and the onion and garlic are translucent .
Now add 6 sliced button mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the eel , 200 ml of white wine and 200 ml of water , a bay leaf and seasoning.
Cook gently until the eel is tender , about 30 minutes .
Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley and buttery mashed potato .
Mmmmm.

VEAL KIDNEY WITH MARSALA

Remove fat and skin from the kidney , cut out the hard core.
Wash and pat dry.
Coat well with flour that has been seasoned with salt and pepper.
Heat some butter in a pan add 1 onion roughly chopped along with 2 cloves of garlic roughly chopped ......cook over a medium heat till aromatic and translucent.
Add the kidney and brown on both sides .
Add 10 button mushrooms sliced .
Add 125 gm of bacon pieces .
Cook for a few minutes and then add 6 tb s of marsala .
Bring this mix to the boil and then lower the heat and simmer till the kidney is tender....approx. 25 minutes .
Add a tbs of brandy and adjust seasoning before serving .
Serve with creamy mash potatoes .

BRAISED BEEF SHORT RIBS

Start by heating a pan over a high heat .
Season 4 beef short ribs ..bone in , season with salt and pepper and seal in a small amount of oil until brown on all sides .
Remove the ribs from the pan and set aside .
Add 2 large onions roughly chopped along with 4 cloves of garlic roughly chopped ...sweat these out till they become aromatic and colour slightly.
Add in 2 stalks of celery and 2 carrots  roughly chopped ....cook these till they start to soften.
Add 1/4 of a bunch of  sage and thyme and 3 tbs of tomato paste , and 200gm of soft brown sugar.
Cook for 4 minutes over a medium heat.
Pour in 500ml of shiraz and cook till the mixture starts to thicken .
Place the ribs back into the pan with the vegetables and cover with 1.5 litres of beef stock.


Cover pan with a lid and place the pan in an oven for 8 hours on 120 deg C , at this time the meat will be tender and pull from the bone .
To finish strain the vegetables from the sauce , reduce till it becomes thick enough to act as a glaze .
Serve ribs with some of the sauce and baby spinach .

WHAT`S ON THE MENU THIS WEEK @ CASTLE GARDEN ...AUG 17TH - AUG 23 RD

Sunday 17th August


HONEY PORK WITH VEGETABLES
Mix`n`Match Menus......card 213 under mains


Monday 18th August


PRAWN CURRY WITH TAMARIND
The Food Of India ......pg 68


Tuesday 19th August


DRY KANGAROO CURRY
Mix` n` Match Menus ...card 226 under mains.


Wednesday 20th August


CHICKEN TERIYAKI
Mix `n` Match Menus ......Card 242 under mains.


Thursday 21st August


SPICY ROO RAGOUT
Mix ` n ` Match Menus .......Card 234 under mains


Friday 22nd August


BENGALI  FRIED FISH
The Food Of India ....pg 77


Sat 23rd August


BEEF AND RED WINE CASSEROLE
Mix `n ` Match Menus ...Card 223 under mains.

WHAT A TEAM

JOE HOCKEY AND TONY ABBOTT.....


JOE HOCKEY`S APOLOGY ....you narcissistic  bastard   regional areas won`t forget or forgive .
TONY ABBOTT DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM HIS TRESURER`S REMARK......oh what a team...
My vote in the Federal election has been vindicated .
Sharpen up Shorten...your time maybe coming .

WHY IS OFFAL SO EXPENSIVE ?

That was the question I asked Shelley`s husband  Paul  ( a butcher by trade ) today.
So why is offal so expensive ?
To which Paul Giles replied.......because of lunatics like you  making them trendy .
I used to be able to buy a full pigs head , cheeks intact for $7.00.
I can still buy the pigs head but minus the cheeks , the cheeks now sell for $12.99 kg .
Beef cheeks were a special order as they were processed into dog food . Not anymore , they are sold by the kg and you buy them 1 per packet .
Tripe and brains are now displayed in the butchers shop refrigerated display and not small change items anymore .
And try as I do , the black puddings sell out on a regular basis and often before I can purchase my Sunday breakfast treat.
Can anyone afford the lamb neck cutlets , you know the beautiful tender cutlets from the neck , the ones that used to get cut up and sold as dog scraps .
Go on ask your butcher the price of lamb neck cutlets , their value is up there with gold bullion .
Price is indicative of demand and I`m glad people are using these cuts , but the price of offal is way over the top,

LEMON CURD

Whisk 6 egg yolks and 1 cup of castor sugar in a medium bowl till combined ,
Now place this mix in a saucepan with 80 gms of chopped butter, a tbs of  finely grated lemon rind  and a 180 ml of lemon juice .
Cook over a low heat stirring all the time until the mixture coats the back of the wooden spoon thickly.
Remove from heat immediately .
Stir for 30 seconds .
Pour  the curd into sterilised jars and seal immediately.
Remember to date and label your jars.

RASPBERRY AND MINT JAM

Tie 6 sprigs of fresh mint in muslin
Put 1 kg of raspberries and 2 tbs of lemon juice in a large saucepan .
Cook over a low heat stirring occasionally.
Once the raspberries are soft add 1 kg of granulated sugar.
Increase the heat but do not boil.
Stir constantly till sugar is dissolved.
Now stop stirring and let the mixture reach boiling point .
Boil uncovered for 15 minutes or until the jam begins to jell .
Remove the muslin bag .
Pour hot jam into sterilised jars and seal.
Remember to label and date your jars , this should be done when the jars are cold.

I AM NOT PERFECT

As a daughter , a mother , a cousin and a friend I `m not perfect but I haven't met anyone who is ....My grandchildren  Ella , Max and Jack are the exceptions in this family .

ROAST PORK BELLY RIBS WITH APPLES...Puntine con le mele

Though there was no set menu at Castle Garden last week but  this was a stand out dish .....


Combine 2 tbs of fresh rosemary , 4 fat cloves of garlic chopped in a bowl .
Rub this combination all over the pork belly ribs
Place them in a dish and cover with cling film ..
Refrigerate over night .


Preheat the oven to 160 deg C 
Line a baking dish with foil.
Season the pork belly ribs on both sides with salt and pepper .
Place thepork belly  ribs single layer in the prepared dish.
Now tuck in wedges of 6 small apples  that have been dusted with crushed cloves .
spray the surface of the apples and pork belly ribs with cooking spray .
Roast for 60 minutes.
The pork and the apples should be golden and tender ...
Remove the apples and keep them warm...


Next step preheat the grill...
Place  the pan with the pork belly ribs under the grill and cook them until crisp...turning them occasionally
Serve with oven roasted vegetables or with a grain of your choosing.

Amazingly delicious and simple .

THURSDAY NIGHT COOKING CLASS.......PIZZA FROM SCRATCH

Carol returned from her caravan trek to Queensland , new grandma Gayle returned the week prior from a trip to the motherland , our adventurous other  Gayle went camping for a weekend with her daughter  Meaghan on the banks of a river in crocodile ridden Northern Territory .
Robyn is a nurse . Deanna is in food services at Federation Uni  and off to Bali during the week . Heather is pharmacy assistant.  Sam is office administrator with GHD Morwell. Jenny is Lady Mayoress  of Churchill. Leica has just returned from an exotic beach resort in Queensland
I don`t get out much  ( ha ha ) ..... so listening to and sharing  all their adventures over the kitchen bench is always enjoyable .


Thursday night was so much fun ...The ultimate fingerfood ..Pizza


500 gm of 00 flour  ( in anticipation to the most asked questions " what`s 00 flour ...it is fine flour ...if you are reading this you have the ability to look it up...type it in 00 flour !....While you are looking it up ..do a search for semolina flour...... we use it as well and I`m guessing you may not have used it before ....I use it in my no potato gnocchi ...its a course flour .....)
Back on track....
.
4 gm of yeast...you can purchase them pre packaged
330 ml of luke warm water
Oven temp set at 220 deg C
Mix all of the above in  a bowl and form to a dough
Spread your bench with semolina flour
Knead for 10 minutes ...
the dough will become smooth and elastic .


Turn the bowl upside down over your dough and let it sit for 10 minutes.


Divide your dough into 2
500gm of 00 flour will make 2  x 12 inch  pizzas .
Dust the dough lightly with semolina flour
Cover with cling wrap and rest for 10 minutes at room temp.
These can be stored in a refrigerator if you are using the dough the next day..


Roll out your dough , on a lightly floured surface  to  1 cm thickness ...less if you want a thinner base.
Place the dough on an oiled pizza tray..
Dock your pizza base  with a fork
Add your toppings
For a crisper base , brush the dough with oil to prevent moisture from your topping seeping through the dough.


Be creative ...try a sweet pizza ...use a jam or chocolate spread on the base


I used a sweet chilli jam over the base , then topped with sliced banana , buerre boc pear, and apple .
Sprinkling the layers with cinnamon sugar.
Popped it in the oven till it coloured  and then drizzled it with moscato grape must glaze ..
Mmmm


I spread horseradish paste over the base of my savoury pizza and topped with whole grape tomatoes ,a good amount of Kebia Bulgarian  White Sheep`s milk cheese in broken pieces  and folded rounds of thinly sliced salami tucked in between the cheese pieces
I also drizzled the moscato grape must glaze  over the top .
It was a great combination of savoury with a hint of sweetness.
Really Yum.

A SOFT BOILED EGG

Seriously it is not rocket science .
Put your eggs into a saucepan ..it is not about the size of the saucepan......
Now cover the eggs making sure the water is about an inch higher than the top of the eggs...
Are you with me so far ?
Now switch on your stove top and bring the cold water to a brisk simmer ....it is at this point that you start to time your cooking time ....Got it ?
Maintain the heat to keep the water simmering briskly .
Soft boiled eggs will be done with 2 minutes of cooking in a brisk simmer.
This will produce a solid white with a runny yolk.
See simple !

TRARALGON SECONDARY COLLEGE

Well done to the year 12 VCAL cooking class ...at Traralgon Secondary College , not one of you want a career in the food industry you just want to know how to cook ....How refreshingly honest !
So from my high moral  stance on knowing the basics of cooking ...we made scones !


There were no sifters , rolling pins or wooden spoons allowed .Forbidden was lemonade , soda water , cream , sugar  and eggs.
We only needed 4  ingredients on the work stations
..S.R flour , salt , milk and  butter .
Along with a bowl , scales , a measuring cup and a bread knife ....
The end result was fantastic batches of scones ....


At the Traralgon Secondary College , the canteen is run by the students themselves , they make hamburgers , toasted sandwiches, sausage rolls and small pizzas . these are made fresh by the students daily. It is an amazing effort . The students do 2 x  20 minute service at morning and afternoon recess and a 20 minute service at lunchtime .
Behind the scenes they do set up in the morning , service and then clean up and prep for the next day as the students work in the canteen on a roster system .
The whole operation is overseen by "Debbie ", who emphasised her role was to help out where needed and to assist with planning and ordering .
The scones we made in class will be taken to the canteen and sold with jam and cream  to staff and students .
All functions at the school are catered for by the students through the canteen .
This is a wonderful program and hopefully more schools will come on board and empower their students with life skills in a practical way.
Well done to students and teachers .

I WILL RETURN

I need organisation and routine to function .
Since March this year my world has turned upside down and my hours of work are all over the shop , I am by no means whinging I love my life and the world of food and public speaking ....but trying to find a routine is impossible when every week is different .
I am learning and exploring new and old concepts with food and  totally hooked on culinary history ...there is so much to learn .
My cooking classes are proving very popular and now I`m getting a mix of males to the classes.
Tuesday class each  deboned a chicken without putting many tears in the skin , in some cases there were no tears at all , they did really well for a first attempt.
Thursday night class requested a lesson on finger food , I have given that some thought and decided to spend the session making the ultimate finger food from scratch ...PIZZA.
We will make 2 pizzas each...... one savoury and one sweet plus the pizza base
I am doing a class at a local secondary college tomorrow ,there is also an order of apple and custard muffins and a raspberry and coconut slice to be made .
I made an absolute beautiful chocolate and beetroot cake on Monday along with a ricotta, lemon and spinach loaf which disappeared very quickly.
I will put the recipes for both cakes up on the blog in the next couple of days.
To my disappointment it is apparent that we are lacking understanding on the basic principles of cooking .......it appears that you are more interested in  downloading recipes from the net that are attached to some super photo that catches your eye .
Just a simple question when the recipe calls for the sugar and eggs to be mixed till they are pale and light ...do you understand the process ?
Do you know how long it takes to boil a soft boiled egg ?
Why do people have trouble making pork crackle ...do you know from what part of the pig gives us crackling .?
What do you do when the custard starts to split ?
Learn the basics people .......!
I will be back tomorrow with lots of new recipes and some tips for  the basic principles of cooking.

A CARROT CAKE IS NOT A HUMMINGBIRD CAKE

A  carrot cake can have the addition of pineapple  and walnut in its construction .
A hummingbird cake is made with coconut and crushed pineapple .
They are two different cakes.

TORTA DI CILIEGE E NOCI..........CHERRY WALNUT CAKE ..

I love this torta .......( Italian for cake , tart or pie...you choose )  and it is so simple.


Preheat your oven to 160 deg C fan forced .
Prepare a square pan with cooking  spray and line with baking paper .approx. 24 cm
In a small mixing bowl combine 2 eggs , 1 cup of castor sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla essence .
Beat these on a medium speed till the mix is light in colour and density  (about 15 minutes.)
In a separate bowl , place 1 cup of wholemeal plain flour  together with 1 tsp  of baking powder  and a 1/2 tsp of salt adding 90 gm of chopped walnuts. and stir to combine.
Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture .
Now add 2 cups of morello pitted cherries
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin .
Level the top and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted comes out clean , and the top is golden and fudgy.
Remove to a cooling rack.
Cut into squares to serve.


I promise this is dead easy and you will love it

THANK YOU SHAUN

A text message from my son Shaun tonight  ..."I like your blog tonight , just don`t have enough of them "it was in reference to the perfect potato chip blog.
Back in the early to mid nineties , I was a single parent with two little children and three adolescent  sons and the worst thing about that period was the price of potatoes ...they were so expensive .
To supplement the single parent pension I secured work peeling the potatoes at the fish and chip shop at the end of my street . ( Prop ..Yoda and Con . in Euroka Cres , Churchill. ).
Yoda and Con made the " best fish and chips ", in typical Greek tradition they led you to believe they invented this staple diet .
In truth they were the best fish and chips I have ever eaten.
There was a period when Yoda  had a mandatory $2.00 chips wrapped and ready for  collection  by Shaun or Paul at 6.00pm on a daily basis .
Those $2.00 chips supplemented our meal when potatoes were called for as part of the meal.
If Yoda and Con can claim inventing the best fish and chips I will claim inventing the first potato chip  gratin and the vegetable and fried  chip stack .
Financially times were tough , but we always had chips .
Next time you come home Shaun I will make you  , Dee and the boys  chips .
Love you , Mum x