HAPPY NEW YEAR FRLians. I wish you all good health and a close family. Neither can be bought, but both are precious. Very Best Wishes.

-- Carol (c@oz.com.au), December 31, 2002

Answers

Happy New Year to you too, our Most Appreciated Down Under FRLian!

I did some 'rithmaticky (always dangerous) and figgered that if it is already 2003 where you are, when it's New Year's here in New York later tonight, then we'll be in 2004. (Uh, Robert, Good Sir, please doublecheck my cipherin' ;-)

These years do go by quick don't they? Wonder how many birthdays our Sweet Princes is gonna have this year...

Anywho, have a great New Year Carol!

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@hapynewyear.carol), December 31, 2002.

It's hard to imagine New Year's in the summertime. What do you do on New Year's Day? Hit the beach?

-- (lars@indy.net), December 31, 2002.

Of course it summer down there!

Heck, the heat hasta go someplace when it leaves Candadianianinainan climes.

And besides, they're metric down under and only have ten months.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (cook.r@csaatl.com), December 31, 2002.

Happy New Year, Carol! I imagine you're sleeping by now. I don't think I'll make it till midnight. :-) I sure hope 2003 is a peaceful year. The odds are against it, but there's always hope.

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), December 31, 2002.

Crikey Rob, the years go by fast enough without thinking about 2004 already. We saw the scenes from the New Year celebrations in New York (city) on the news tonight, that is some crowd they have there. In contrast our town was very quiet as a lot of people are away on holiday at this time of year. I hope you have a great New Year too.

You got it in one Lars. Christmas and New Year fall in the schools summer break, so a lot of people are at the beach for the holidays. Many even forgo the traditional Christmas dinner and have seafood and salads instead. I wouldn't like to miss the turkey, pork and ham though. I hope 2003 is kind to you.

Lol Robert, if we only have 10 months a year, does that mean I'm about 8yrs. younger than I think I am. Thank you and a Happy (non- metric) New Year to you.

Hi Gayla. I didn't have any trouble seeing in the New Year as I'm a real night-owl. I also hope 2003 is a peaceful one and I hope it is an especially good one for you and yours too.

-- Carol (c@summertime.com), January 01, 2003.

My best to each of you in the new year!~ Carol, I have a friend who recently returned from Oz with a funny story. Seems folks down there never heard of banana bread! Is this so?

She also brought me a beautiful cookbook, so maybe you could interpret some of the ingredients I can't figure out-LOL! I was surprised to hear East Indian food is so popular down there!

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), January 01, 2003.

Oh come on!

She couldn't herd of banananananana bread down under in OZ.

Of course, now they can only come in bunches of ten each, but never in loose herds of several dozen. (That would be a gross if you ever stepped in a few.)

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (cook.r@csaatl.com), January 01, 2003.

Hi Aunt Bee, I hope your friend had a good time in Oz. We're not that different, but pretty laid back I guess. No I haven't heard of banana bread (oh great, more ammo for Robert). I would be glad to try and help you interpret the ingredients if I can. I would love to know what grits are (is?). We have people from many different cultures here so we get to try lots of different kinds of foods.

Now Robert, I thought you would have figured out by now that we can only count in multiples of ten because we have ten fingers and ten toes. Anything more than that we just call 'lots of' or 'mega'.

We call a bunch of bananas a hand (as opposed to a foot). I guess that means that a horse which is 15 hands high is as big as 15 bunches of bananas? BTW is banana bread a loaf made out of bananas or is it one with a bend in the middle?

-- Carol (c@oz.com), January 03, 2003.

What would grow if bananas bread?

Do bananas bend the other direction if they grow upside down in NZ?

'Twill have to look up a banana breading receipt, but I'm not sure it'd be appropirate for a family site.

Do you really knead a breeding receipt for that loaf?

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (cook.r@csaatl.com), January 04, 2003.

Banana bread is a loaf made with bananas as one of the ingredients. Yummy!

On the other hand, I think grits are disgusting! They are made from small broken (smushed) grains of corn. I say smushed because it looks like mush! YUCK! (But then, I don't eat Cream of Wheat either if that tells you anything.) ;-)

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), January 04, 2003.

Thanks Gayla. Grits are nothing like I imagined. I guess the name threw me, I had pictured something grainy (gritty) not mushy corn. The banana bread sounds good though. Cheers.

-- Carol (c@oz.com), January 04, 2003.

"Do bananas bend the other direction if they grow upside down in NZ?"

Lol Robert. I guess that depends on whether the person whose job it is to bend them, is left handed or right handed.

-- Carol (c@oz.com), January 04, 2003.

Hi Carol~!

Here's a good banana bread recipe from Paul Prudhomme, of Cajun cooking fame (on of Lon's brethren, he grew up on the bayou!) just in case you have any old black bananas hanging around!

Paul Prudhomme's Banana Bread/Muffins

Makes 2 loaves or 1 dozen muffins

A tasty recipe for those overripe bananas with black skins.

2 cups (about 3 large) well-mashed overripe bananas 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 3/8 pound (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled 2 cups all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 3 tablespoons buttermilk (or a mixture of 3 tablespoons milk and 1/2 tsp vinegar which has been set out for 1 hour) 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, dry roasted

In a large bowl combing the bananas, sugar and eggs with a spoon until well blended. Gradually add the butter, mixing well. Stire in the flour and baking soda until well mixed and creamy. Stir in the buttermilk, then folk in the pecans.

FOR BREAD: Spoon batter into two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 300 degrees F and bake until dark brown and cooked through, about 45 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and cool on a wire rack about 30 minutes before serving.

FOR MUFFINS:: Spoon batter into 12 greased muffin cups (they will be very full). Bake at 300 degrees F until dark brown and done, about 65 minutes. Let sit about 5 minutes, then remove from pan and cool as directed for bread.

The cookbook she brought me is a beauty! "New Zealand Food Wine & Art, A New Journey". Absolutely stunning pictures of the texture of the landscape and recipes from restaurants in each region.

I figured out "capsicum" is red bell pepper, and I think "kumara" is a kind of sweet potato, but one recipe requires a red one and a golden one ????

BTW, we call them hands of bananas too! Unless they are singletons...

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), January 04, 2003.

Recipe for grits.

Go to local resturant or cafe or eatery place where you can buy food.

Order grits. (Add coffee too, or eggs, or omellette, or other things.)

Get grits. Add butter.

Eat.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (cook.r@csaatl.com), January 04, 2003.

Thanks for the recipe Aunt Bee it sounds yummy. You're right about the capsicum, over here thay come in red, green and yellow. I think kumara is a NZ sweet potato, but I don't know what colours they are available in. I will ask one of the girls at work as she is a Kiwi.

I haven't been to NZ. They sure have some stunning scenery packed in to a little country don't they.

Robert, that is definitely my kind of recipe, one that someone else cooks. Unfortunately I don't know what I'd be served if I ordered grits here, grit is something you put in the bottom of the bird-cage.

-- Carol (c@oz.com), January 05, 2003.

Hi again Aunt Bee. I asked the Kiwi lass at work about Kumara and when she had finished laughing at my pronunciation she told me that yes it's a kind of sweet potato, but unlike the one's here, it is purple and very sweet. Hope that helps. Cheers.

-- Carol (c@oz.com), January 07, 2003.

Thanks Carol! BTW, what IS the correct pronunciation? (just in case I happen to be in the presence of Kiwis) And yes, New Zealand is quite a beautiful and geographically diverse coupla islands. Anyone who saw the movie "Lord of the Rings" can vouch for that statement!

Bet your Kiwi friend has some interesting recipes...

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), January 07, 2003.

Kiwi recipe:
Get Plump Purple Potatoes.
Peel. Cook them. Eat them?

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (cook.r@purple.potatoes), January 07, 2003.

Actually dear Robert, one of the recipes using Kumara is "Seared Venison with kumara frittata and port and blueberry chutney" which involves, YES, "Wash and peel the kumara" and place it in a sauce pan with the bourbon and maple syrup, and then water to cover...

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), January 07, 2003.

Yum that is some recipe Aunt Bee. I hope you enjoy the venison, I've only had it cooked on coals, long and slow, and it was delicious.

The phonetic spelling of kumara would be something like koomara with the emphasis on the first syllable. Then you have to say it quickly with a Maori accent.

-- Carol (c@oz.com), January 07, 2003.

Sorry Robert. Given the choice, I think Aunt Bee's recipe would be a tad more tasty than yours.

-- Carol (c@oz.com), January 07, 2003.

Aahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmn.

Okay.

(Watches purple kuwi kumquicks go through the modem on the way to Oz. Notices that they have to slow down and change ends at the equator.)

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (cook.r@kumquietly.purple), January 07, 2003.

Thanks Robert, but I'm afraid at 28800bps they are a trifle squishy.

-- Carol (c@slow internet.com), January 08, 2003.