I Miss Zin...

No, not Zen, Zinfandel.

Those of you that know us know we tend to drink red wine with dinner.  In the US, while we tried to cover all continents from Australia to Europe, South America to South Africa with our selections, we did drink a lot of Napa Valley wines. - especially Zinfandels and Old Vine Zins.

Australia has some beautiful wines and we do our best to try lots of them, have enjoyed most and still try to keep a varied selection to choose from.  However, California Zinfandels are very hard to find here - almost non-existent -  but we came across one one recently. 

Of course, it was stored in the cooler and Robert pulled it out the other day to serve. After tasting, I was actually surprised when I realized how much I enjoyed Zinfandel. It was a nice break from the yummy Shiraz and Merlots we have been drinking. 

Just one more thing to add to the list to eat/drink when I go back and visit in the States.  :)

Rainy Season?

I think the "Rainy Season" may almost be upon us. 

According to one local, it generally rains daily from mid November to the end of January and the humidity will vary during the day from low to high making it unbearably hot.  I believe he called it "ugly weather".

Saturday it rained. 

Sunday it rained.

We would see a break in the weather and by the time we noticed the clearing skies and got ready to walk, the clouds would move back in and the rains would start again.

Finally, Sunday late afternoon there was a decent break.  We saw only blue sky from our front entry with clouds miles away on the other side of Brisbane in the distance.  The rains were finished for now!!!  Time to go for our normal walk with a stop in at the pub on the way home.

We got almost 3/4 of the way around the neighborhood when the rains broke again.  Luckily we got home before the hail started. 

Worst of all, the local pub had to do without our cheery faces this weekend. 

Today, there isn't a cloud in the sky but based on my mid-morning outing, it's going to be a hot one...

Greatest Birthay Present Ever

Well - in My Humble Opinion...

I took Robert to the Australian Zoo Friday for his animal encounter with the wombats.  He is fascinated with these animals and if it was possible, we would have one for a pet.  Unfortunately, we don't have a large yard and it would probably dig through the walls and floors never mind the fact I think it is illegal to actually own one here.  Plus, I'm not sure I could get it back to the States!

As long as they were eating, no problems.  Once finished, they were a little skittish.  Interestingly enough, they have a hard piece of cartilage on their back that the keeper knocked on.  If I had been knocked about like that, I would have probably said something but these guys and girls just continued to eat.

 Robert and Tonka

Southern wombat on the left (soft coat), Common on the right (coarse coat). They enjoy back scratches.  As it happens, the Common wombat in this picture has a joey in her pouch but it is too tiny to see.

 Close up!

 As a bonus, we saw this koala joey hanging out with Mom.

While he had fun, I'm not sure Robert thought it was the BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER but that's MY story and I'm sticking to it. :)

Kolaches...Attempt #1

After RLT's last trip to Houston and his commenting about getting Kolaches for breakfast, I decided I would make some.  After all...it looks like rolls with meat in them.

I scoured the internet for a recipe and finally found one that seemed reasonable.  The only downside was the vagueness when it came to the filling.  The instructions were along the lines of...if you want to fill them, now is the time to do it...No information on how much meat / eggs / cheese were needed or the best way to prepare a mixture. 

Time to wing it...

Monday, I cooked a pound of ground chorizo (next time I am using ground Texas hot sausage and spicy brats) and tossed in 8 eggs.  The final mixture was heavy on the meat side and probably needed more eggs.  I also mixed up 8 oz of low fat cream cheese, some cooked English style bacon (it's different from American bacon) pieces and jalapenos.

Tuesday, I mixed up the bread recipe and of course the house is too cold for it to rise.  I had to make a "proofer" by turning the light on in the oven and setting the dough in it for a couple hours.  I rolled out individual circles and stuffed them with either meat and cheese or the jalapeno mixture.  The recipe said "makes 24"...I got 26 with some of the meat mixture left over.

And then I managed to get the oven too hot and overcooked the first batch.  They aren't burned but VERY VERY done.

The sausage kolaches would be better if they hadn't cooked so long and I think there was too much bread especially on the bottom of each one.  Next time I will roll them out thinner...and get more servings!

On the other hand, the cream cheese kolaches are addictive.

As a final comment, Robert did notice the dusting of flour on his mouse and mouse pad.  He leaves his laptop on the kitchen counter - perfect for me to pull up recipes on and to use while cooking.  :P

Brisbane Skyline

This was taken on Kangaroo Point near the Story Bridge looking back to CBD.

Bats in the Belfry...

Well - not quite.

Robert and I left for a walk the other night at 6:00 pm and about 1/2 way through our journey, we saw bats coming out for their evening forays.

Lots of bats. 

I would say 50-60 of them over the river walk alone. (I know - can't hold a candle to the nightly exodus in Austin.)

They came swooping down to see what was going on and were chattering non stop. 

I think they are fascinating to watch and listen to.  I could get a picture of one that indicated the size of them.  I would hate to use a flash though, blinding one even more and having it crash into me.

I am tempted to set some fruit out on our roof to see if they will stop by for a nibble.  The problem with that is I would have to be sitting on the roof with the fruit to see them.  Still working on that plan...