Sugar Mountain is a village in Avery County, North Carolina, USA.
http://www.staysugarmountain.com/sugar-mountain-nc.php
Winter is a great time to visit because of the snow. This is the first place I learnt to snow ski and I have memories to share.
Decked out in what seemed like layers and layers of clothes to keep warm, I was ready for my new challenge....The ski boots I wore wanted to make your legs go forward and were not comfortable, but that did not stop me! The poles were everywhere but in the snow...... What a picture!!
Beginners like myself are given lessons at the bottom of the mountain. My only problem, all the people I learnt to ski with were kids, I felt so embarrassed. Lessons finished and I went to the top of the mountain in the chair lift. What was I thinking??? I somehow made it back down the mountain in tact.......Oh, I did manage to take out a few people along the way!
Well that was enough skiing for me for one day. Still in one piece, frozen to the bone with all my friends still skiing, I made my way back to the shops. I managed to find this great little place that made fudge. You could see them making and laying it to set on marble table tops.
I ordered a hot chocolate and found a wood fire to sit next to.
Refreshed and ready to go, discovering a beautiful ice rink not far from the shops. I sat and watched people gliding around the ice. Wow, I liked that better than skiing. I did not attempt this, just happy to sit and watch.
I am always glad to try something new, but do like to have my feet firmly on the ground!
The North Carolina mountains are just beautiful. The smell of pine trees and views as far as the eye can see .....definitely a place to go.
Now for something really cold...
Bernadette's Mango Ice Cream
Ingredients
8 egg yolks
225g sugar
500mls milk
300mls cream
1 vanilla bean
300mls mango puree
Method
In a mixing bowl, whisk yolks and sugar. Leave aside.
Pour milk into a large pot. Add 200mls of cream, scraped vanilla bean and bring to boil on stove. Then remove and add to the whisked yolks and sugar. Combine well.
Place back into saucepan on low heat, stirring continuously until mix (custard) lightly coats the back of the spoon.
Pour custard through strainer - add remaining 100mls of cream.
Blend mango puree in to the custard and mix well.
Cool
ice cream in a large bowl in the freezer until almost frozen. Remove and beat
in mixer or hand beat well. Place back into freezer. When firm and
frozen ice cream is ready to serve.
Perth, Western Australia has many places to visit. One that stands out is the Old Swan Brewery. The brewery building once featured lights in the shape of a sailing boat, which shone on the river. It was so pretty to see as you travelled along the Kwinana Freeway at night.
The Brewery's history will be always remembered by those who grew up in Perth.
In 1857 Frederick Sherwood established the brewery in Sherwood Court in Perth, naming it the Swan Brewery, after the black swans that lived on the Swan River.
Following Sherwood’s death in 1874, the family offered the Swan Brewery for lease. The lease was taken up by Ferguson and Mumme. In 1879 the Swan Brewery was moved to a site at the foot of Mount Eliza.
The buildings that comprised the Old Swan Brewery complex were originally
built in 1838 as a mill for timber cutting, as well as flour grinding.
These were the first steam driven mills in Western Australia. Later taken over as the first convict depot (following the acceptance of convict transportation by the colony
in 1850), the buildings were subsequently (between 1859 and 1879) used
as a tannery, and at one time contained a restaurant (used by travellers
between Perth and Fremantle).
In 1888 the Swan Brewery took over the neighbouring Lion Brewery. In
1906 the bottling works attached to the brewery were destroyed by fire,
with a new facility constructed closer to the city.
The Swan Brewery acquired other breweries such as Emu and Kalgoorlie Brewing Company. The brewery ceased production at the Mounts Bay site in 1966 and moved all
brewing operations to the Emu Brewery site in Spring Street. Then in 1978 it moved for the last time to Canning Vale.
The site on Mounts Bay Road was redeveloped and features private apartments and a restaurant. Kings Park Botanical Gardens has a wonderful view of this building, especially from the suspension bridge, known as the Federation Walkway.
Mums Ginger Beer
Ginger Plant
Ingredients
1 teaspoon compressed yeast
1 cup of water
9 teaspoons sugar
9 teaspoons ground ginger
Ginger Beer
Ingredients
4 cups of white sugar
Half a cup fresh squeezed and strained lemon juice
11 pints of water
Ginger Plant
Method
Mix yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar in a large jar, add water (barely warm) and 1 teaspoon ginger. Cover with a cloth and leave for 8 days, adding 1 teaspoon of sugar and ground ginger each day.
Ginger Beer
Method
Put sugar and 2 pints of measured water on to heat, stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, add remaining 9 pints of water and lemon juice.
Strain contents of jar, now called ginger beer plant, through a cloth (my mother used a new pair of stockings!) Add to sugar and water mixture. Stir well and pour into 8 large bottles. Stir mix frequently as sediment settles quickly. Seal with bottle tops and leave for 5 days. My mother kept in cool area, if the bottles got too hot the tops would pop off! Taste after 5 days, it may need longer depending on your climate.
The ginger beer plant left in the stockings or cloth should now be halved. Add 1 teaspoon each of ground ginger and white sugar and 1 cup of water per jar.(Not yeast after first start). Repeat process as before, add sugar and ginger daily for 8 days. You have two plants, double your batch or give one to a freind!
Cheers!!!!
Most children love balloons and adults do too, some never admit it!! Normally they are for special occasions and birthday celebrations. The ones I would like to tell you about are a little bigger!
Hot Air Balloons are truely amazing, they drift through the air and look spectacular. Years ago, I went to a festival in South Carolina, USA.
They still seem to have the festival and I have included a link from a website...
http://www.hotairballoon.com/Freedom-Weekend-Aloft/
The words I have do not do the balloons justice. A field full of balloons, lying on the ground, people in the baskets turning on the tanks, heating the balloons and making them rise into the sky. They were secured with ropes until ready to go.
These were not just your every day hot air balloons, they were all shapes and sizes. One in particular still comes to mind, a cowboy sitting on a horse shaped balloon. I never knew that balloons could be anything other than round.
One day, I plan on travelling through the sky with nothing but the wind in my hair and bugs in my teeth probably!! I think we all should try things and I believe you are never to old!
Lamb Chops - Italian
Ingredients
8 lamb chops
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 can of tomato soup (430grams)
Three quarters of a cup of milk
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon of soya sauce
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 green capsicum, sliced
1 small can of whole champignon mushrooms(190grams)
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
In a frying pan, place oil and brown the chops slightly on each side. Do not overcook, or they will dry out. This should be done on low heat.
In a casserole dish, place place the soup, milk , soya and Worcestershire sauce. Stir with a fork until well combined. Add the garlic, basil and salt and pepper and stir once more. Add the capsicum and champignon mushrooms.
Lastly, put in the chops, making sure they are covered with the sauce.
Bake in a moderate oven for 1 hour.
Serve with cooked vegetables of your choice on the side.
New Norcia is a tiny little town approximately 132kms north of Perth, Western Australia. See the link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Norcia,_Western_Australia
Originally two Benedictine Monks - Bishop Rosendo Salvado and Bishop Dom Joseph Serra travelled from Spain in the early 1800's and were granted 7,500 hectares of freehold land and built a mission and farm. In 1867 Bishop Salvado was appointed Abbot. During the 1860's-70's the
mission flourished with the monks building a series of wells, breeding horses, producing silk & olive oil
and growing grapes,almonds, dates & carob.
The town was named after Norcia, a town in the Umbria Province of Northern Italy, in honour of the birthplace
of the Order's founder, St Benedict Salvado.
It has a Monastery, frescoed chapels and is known for the largest post-Renaissance religious art collections in Australia.
Another building is the hotel built for the Spanish Royal Family for their visit. Unfortunately, they never came.
A fire broke out and threatened the monks' crops and the mission itself. High winds fanned the fire
and the monks tried in vain to extinguish the flames. Many received burns to their hands and faces and some had
their beards singed. With no options left, the monks ran into the chapel and removed the picture of Our Lady (sacred
image of Mary) and placed it in front of the raging fire. Within minutes, the wind changed direction and the flames
died down. Both the monks and the aboriginals were witnesses to the event.
Only a couple
of monks reside there now as the others have passed on. The monks still
adorn the heavy brown robes with a tie around the waist.
Today, one of the best things to come from New Norcia is its bread. A private company, New Norcia Bakeries, operates under an agreement with the Benedictine Community of New Norcia, making bread which is sold though various shops in Perth.
In 1993, New Norcia Bakeries was granted permission to use the
original wood-fired oven at the monastery (installed in 1886) to produce
authentic artisan breads. In 1996, another 100 year old wood-fired oven
was discovered in the Perth suburb of Mount Hawthorn and was recommissioned.
With the two ovens working in tandem to produce a range of breads,
pastries, biscuits and cakes, New Norcia Bakeries soon established a
reputation as Western Australia’s finest artisan bakers.
Bernadette's Banana Cake with Icing
Ingredients
For the Cake:
250grams of softened butter
1 cup of light brown sugar
3 eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups of self raising flour
For the Icing:
45grams of softened butter
90 grams of cream cheese
1 and a half cups of icing sugar
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
Method
Pre heat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and lightly flour a deep 24 cm ring tin.
For the Cake
Beat butter and sugar until a pale colour. Add eggs one at a time and keep beating.
Now stir in the mashed bananas and flour. Pour mixture into cake tin and bake for 45 minutes or until cakes springs back.
For the Icing
Beat together the butter and cream cheese together until smooth.
Gradually fold in the icing sugar and lemon juice.
When cake is cool cover with the icing and Enjoy!
Decked out in what seemed like layers and layers of clothes to keep warm, I was ready for my new challenge....The ski boots I wore wanted to make your legs go forward and were not comfortable, but that did not stop me! The poles were everywhere but in the snow...... What a picture!!
Refreshed and ready to go, discovering a beautiful ice rink not far from the shops. I sat and watched people gliding around the ice. Wow, I liked that better than skiing. I did not attempt this, just happy to sit and watch.
8 egg yolks
