A Pearl and Its Perils!

History is what made us and why we are here today. One place that stands out in history  and really makes you think is Pearl Harbour, Hawaii.

The harbour is still abuzz with military. What lays beneath the harbour is there for us to remember.

Today you can take a boat tour which gives the insight of what happened on the morning of December 7th 1941. The Japanese launched a surprise air attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbour. After just two hours of bombing, more than 2,400 Americans were dead, 21 ships had either been sunk or damaged, and more than 188 U.S. aircraft destroyed. This led to the involvement of United States in WW2.

One battleship, USS Arizona has oil leaking from the wreckage and is still seen rising to the surface of the water. This oil is sometimes referred to as "The tears of the  Arizona" or "black tears" Over 1000 lives on this Battleship alone were lost. Names on a marble wall in the memorial list those who were killed, there is a smaller plaque nearby with the names of survivors. The survivors that passed after this event gave their permission and had families permission to have their ashes to be placed  in a canister and a interred in the wreck of the USS Arizona. The canister was placed there by US Naval divers.

Near the USS Arizona Memorial is another battleship called, USS Missouri. It was moved from the West Coast of United States in 1999. One part this battleship's place in history is very important. It is where the surrender took place on it's decks from the Japanese to Douglas Mac Arthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz, ending WW2.

Strangely today, these battleships are close to each other - A beginning and a ending to ww2 for the Americans.

Today, every United States Navy, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine vessel entering Pearl Harbour participates in the tradition of "manning the rails." This is where personnel serving on these ships stand at attention at the ship's guard rails and salute the USS Arizona Memorial in solemn fashion as their ship slowly glides into port.

So if you are in Hawaii a visit to Pearl Harbour should be on your list of places to see. 

The day I visited Pearl Harbour, I stopped at a little place and remember eating a strange sandwich called "Ruben Sandwich." It was so yummy! Here is my own version, I hope you enjoy it. 


Bernadette's Ruben Sandwich

Ingredients

Per sandwich you will need
2  slices of Rye bread
1 teaspoon of butter
4 thin slices of corned beef
A quarter of a cup of sauerkraut (pickled cabbage)
2 slices of Swiss cheese
1 teaspoon of French mustard 


Method
 
Spread 2 slices of rye bread lightly with butter. This is for the outside of the sandwich for when cooking.
Spread the inside of one slice of rye bread with the mustard.
Top this with corned beef, sauerkraut and lastly, the Swiss cheese.
Place the other piece of bread on top and now toast in a grill or fry pan.
The bread should slightly brown and the middle will warm with the cheese melting.

Serve with potato chips and a pickle cucumber(dill pickle).

 

 

A Tale of Two Mints!!

Perth Mint in Perth, Western Australia opened in 1899. Sir John Forrest (the first Premier of Western Australia) laid the foundation stone in 1896. The building was designed by George Temple Poole and the National Trust made it one of the first buildings to be entered on the State's heritage register.

The reason why it was built was due to the discovery of rich gold deposits in Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. It was the third branch of Britain's Royal Mint - the others being the Sydney Mint and the Melbourne Mint.

People came from around Australia and the world in large numbers with their raw deposits of gold which was then melted and turned into gold coins. The Mint stopped making gold sovereigns when Britain abandoned the gold standard in 1931.  Nevertheless, the refinery remained busy as staff turned their skills to making fine gold bullion bars.  


In 1940, with Australia on a war footing, an urgent telegram arrived from the Commonwealth Treasury in Canberra: "Heavy demand for Australian coin and Melbourne Mint working full capacity.  Could you undertake minting copper coin?"
Hundreds of millions of Australian pennies and half pennies were produced by The Perth Mint between 1940 and 1964.  The Mint also fulfilled an order for 1.3 million shillings in 1946.  Its considerable output was boosted further when Australia introduced decimal currency in 1966.  It had produced a staggering 829 million 2 cent coins and 26 million
1 cent coins by 1973.

The Perth Mint remained under Britain's jurisdiction until 1 July 1970, when ownership transferred to the State Government of Western Australia.  

The Perth Mint is open 7 days a week and they do guided tours for a fee. On this tour you can see historic Perth mint coins, the worlds largest gold bar collection, gold being poured and Australia's largest nugget collection.  There is gift shop where you can buy coins, jewellery and souvenirs.  Definitely worth a visit.

The other mint was a recipe of mine which I know you will enjoy!

                                                   
                                                           Chocolate Mint Slice

Ingredients

Base 
One and a half cups self raising flour 
2 tbsp cocoa 
1 cup coconut 
Half a cup brown sugar 
125g unsalted butter, melted
 
Filling 
30g copha, melted
2 cups icing sugar 
2 tbsp milk 
Half teaspoon of peppermint essence
 
Chocolate layer
125g dark chocolate
 30g unsalted butter


Method
 
Preheat oven to 180°C. Butter a 16cm x 26cm x 3cm slice tray and line with baking paper.

Combine flour, cocoa, coconut and brown sugar in a bowl, stir in melted butter and mix until well combined. Press mixture into slice tray and bake for 10-15 minutes until slightly brown. Remove from oven and cool slightly.

To make filling, place icing sugar in a small bowl, stir in melted copha, milk and peppermint essence. Spread filling over warm base. Place tray in fridge for about 30 minutes until filling is cold.

To make the topping, melt butter and chocolate together, stir until smooth. Spread chocolate over peppermint filling.

Leave at room temperature to set and then slice into squares. I usually slice through the chocolate layer first, then go back and cut right through the base.

A Treat For Royalty

Iolani Palace in Honolulu is one of the most beautiful historical old buildings I have seen. I still have my admission tickets.

King David Kalakaua, the last King of Hawaii, built the new palace in 1882 after demolishing the old palace in 1874.

Influenced by European architectural styles, this royal residence included Hawaii’s first electric light system, flush toilets and intra-house telephones. The rich interior features a beautiful koa wood staircase, portraits of Hawaiian royalty, furniture and royal gifts and ornaments from around the world.  It also has an American Florentine-style throne room, reception and dining room.

You can view the private living quarters of the royal family. On the basement level, view the ancient regalia of Hawaiian royalty, from swords and precious jewelry to the two golden crowns of the King and Queen. On the spacious grounds of the palace, see the Iolani Coronation Pavilion, where in 1883, Kalakaua was crowned king.

Queen Liliuokalani, the kings sister and successor, was deposed and the Hawaiian monarchy overthrown in January 1893. A provisional U.S. government was established. The Hawaiian Islands were eventually annexed as a United States Territory in 1898. Hawaii became the 50^th state in 1959 and during this time Iolani Palace was used as the capitol building until 1968.
 
Government officials carefully inventoried its contents and sold at public auction whatever furniture, or furnishings, were not suitable for government operations.

Government offices vacated the Palace in 1969 and moved to a newly constructed capitol building on land adjacent to the Palace grounds. 

Restoration of the Palace began in earnest.

In preparation for restoration, the Junior League of Honolulu funded and staffed an extensive historical research project. Researchers uncovered clues about construction, furnishings, and palace lifestyle from nineteenth-century newspapers, photographs and manuscripts found in various archives and libraries.
Overseeing the restoration was  The Friends of Iolani Palace, founded by Mrs. Liliuokalani Kawananakoa Morris, grandniece of Queen Kapiolani. This organization continues to manage Iolani Palace as an historic house museum and to share the history of the Hawaiian monarchy.

Many original Palace objects sold and dispersed at public auction have been recovered from different parts of the world – glassware found in Australia, and a table in the Governor’s mansion in Iowa to a chair in a local thrift store. The quest to find original Palace furnishings and artifacts continues. Many original furnishings are still missing. 



Pineapples in Hawaii are very popular. Here is one of my recipes that would make any Royal happy!!!


Pineapple Upside-down Cake

Ingredients
  
440g can pineapple slices in juice
One third of a cup brown sugar 
90g butter, softened 
Half a cup caster sugar 
2 eggs, lightly beaten 
One and a quarter cups self-raising flour, sifted

Method 

  

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a round ring baking tin. Line base with baking paper.

Drain pineapple, reserving 2 tablespoons juice. Cut pineapple in half. 

Sprinkle brown sugar over lined base of baking tin.  Arrange pineapple on top of brown sugar.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and caster sugar for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Stir in flour and reserved pineapple juice until well combined. Spread mixture over pineapple. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean. 

Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Serve with fresh whipped cream. Yummy!

 

The Dingo and A Scone!

Western Australia has different sorts of land marks. One that stands out is in North Fremantle. It is the Dingo Flour Mill, on Stirling Hwy facing the Indian Ocean. The main reason it stands out is the large red dingo painted on the building.

The mill was designed by architect J.F. Allen, of Allen and Nicholas, and the office building was designed by Powell, Cameron & Chisholm Architects.

Known as the Great Southern Roller Flour Mills Limited which dates from 1922.
On the property are silos, an office, laboratory and other buildings. In January 1976, the company was taken over by Allied Mills Limited, an Eastern States Company, which became Goodman Fielder Wattie Ltd after a subsequent merger.

The dingo logo was painted by artist Les Nash in 1940 for £40. It is about four storeys high. Rumor has it during WW2 it was painted over so it wasn't a war target. In 2010 the flour mill was renovated, and the dingo now gets re-painted every month.

The flour, came in cream coloured calico bags with the red dingo logo. Maybe you still have a bag in your cupboard!

To do the mill justice, here is one of my favourite recipes.

Pumpkin Scones

Ingredients  
1 tablespoon butter or margarine 
Half a teaspoon of mixed spice 
1 egg 
1 cup cold, mashed, cooked pumpkin
2 cups self-raising flour 
Half a cup of sugar

Method 

Preheat oven to 225°C.

In a bowl, combine butter and sugar with electric beater. When butter mixture light in colour add egg, spice and pumpkin and beat until well combined.

Then, with a spoon,  gently stir through the flour. Once mixture formed place onto a bench. 

Combine with your hands and flatten the dough out until you get to 1 inch thickness - add more flour if needed.

Flour the rim of a cup or round cutter to cut each scone out.

Place on greased tray with 1cm space around each scone and bake for 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of your scone. 

When cooked, they should be brown on top.

Serve with butter and jam,  jam and cream or just plain.

This recipe makes about 12 large or 24 small scones......Enjoy!

Sugar Mountain!

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.
  

 

Bottoms Up!

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!!!!

Up, Up and Away!!!

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.