Rhubarb and raspberry no knead focaccia and nature craft

It was a slow weekend.  E was poorly so we didn't get out much.  Some time at the park, a walk to find nature stuff for craft, a supermarket shopping trip.  A perfect weekend for slow bread.  Especially when there was no bread in the house.  I remembered this rhubarb and raspberry focaccia that Lucy made last year. It was delicious.

This is a no knead focaccia.  The ingredients are stirred together the night before and left to rise.  As you can see in the above photo, my dough rose as high as the clingwrap would allow.  Then we pressed in rhubarb and frozen raspberries and sprinkled with olive oil and sugar.

It was all fairly easy.  We are not an early rising family.  This was finally out of the oven and ready to eat at about 10.  I used to be the sort of person who had to eat as soon as I had risen and showered.  These days with a 4 year old around, it is no longer all about me and I sometimes find myself pottering about with Sylvia before breakfast.

The bread was soft inside, juicy, sticky and sweet on top, and crisp around the edges.  I loved it.  The rhubarb was cooked but quite tart.  I tried slices of bread with cheese, cashew butter, peanut butter, honey, and chocolate spread.  I think the cheese was the least successful topping.  It was wonderful without topping too.

Sylvia preferred to pick the rhubarb off but said, "can you make this bread again, it's too yummy".  Maybe her delight every time she tasted crystals of sugar on top was the reason.  E found it had too much fruit for him and the lack of any sweetener in the dough didn't enthuse him either.

I would definitely make this bread again.  It would be brilliant for entertaining at a lunch or brunch or even to take along to a potluck or family meal.  I am quite keen to try it as a savoury bread.  Probably with onion, olives and sun dried tomatoes and maybe cheese.  If I tried it as a sweet bread again, I think I might like to try plums instead of rhubarb.  It would be brilliant for Mothers Day next weekend.

As well as focaccia, we made pancakes, limeade and pumpkin soup.  Sylvia and I spent time in the back garden admiring the camelia flowers, and went on a walk to forage for goodies for craft.  Afterwards I realised that she had her cardigan on inside out and I had my old cardigan with the moth eaten holes.  If anyone had seen us reaching up for golden leaves off an autumn tree in our street, we may have looked like vagabonds.  We wouldn't have cared.  It was fun.  (Much better than the times in the weekend involving spilled milk and fingers caught in a car door!)

I thought it would be fun to make an autumn leaf crown. Sylvia decided she (and Dolly) wanted a berry and leaf crown.  Whenever she seems berries on trees around us she decides they are holly.  The berries weren't holly.  They did make a sweet crown with a bit of twisting and sticky tape.  (They are now hanging on our door as an autumnal wreath!)  I did make the autumn crown but Sylvia wasn't interested.  (I made holes in each leaf to thread the stem into and secured these with sticky tape.)

Sylvia also wasn't so interested in the twig and wool spider web.  That didn't stop me putting it together for her.  We found the idea at MollyMoo where there was also a spider made of pipecleaners.  We already had a plastic spider hanging around the house that Sylvia's cousin Gabriel gave her in Scotland.  (He has so many of these he wouldn't miss a few and his mother would love to see them all gone!)

Finally Sylvia decided she wanted to have a tea party with her dollies.  According to this article in the Age newspaper, "Celebrating superheroes like Wonder Woman ... provide children with a richer fantasy world than tiaras and tea parties can alone."  Goodness we loved playing Wonder Woman as kids.  But surely the writer would approve of tea parties where there is home made focaccia to eat and foraged decorations.

I wish I could say E is better but he is still poorly.  Sylvia has now come down with a chest infection and I am lacking sleep after she had a restless night.  Our internet connection is still as slow as a wet week.  Touchwood that by next week we will all feel better and the internet will be restored to its usual speed.

I am sending this focaccia to Susan for YeastSpotting.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: Rhubarb and strawberry crumble
Two years ago:  Tea Towels of Scotland
Three years ago: Treacle Scones for Remembrance
Four years ago: Surprising Beetroot Risotto
Five years ago: Meandering Musings on Split Pea Soup

Rhubarb and raspberry no-knead focaccia
Slightly adapted from The Kitchen Maid

500ml warm water
1 Tbsp dried yeast
2 Tbsp olive oil
800g white bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt

340g rhubarb, cut into 3cm pieces (from 450g untrimmed)
150g raspberries (frozen is fine)
3 Tbsp olive oil (or cream or chopped butter)
3 Tbsp raw sugar

Start the night before you want to eat it or at least 8 - 10 hours before you want to eat focaccia.  Take a large mixing bowl.  Place yeast into warm water and leave for about 5 minutes until you see the yeast is active (it should foam or bloom slightly).  Stir in oil, flour and salt to make a soft dough.  Note that I had to stir quite a bit to incorporate all the flour.  Cover with clingwrap and leave overnight or about 8 hours.  I left mine at room temperature.

In the morning, prepare the fruit and sprinkle a large baking tray with polenta.  Preheat the oven to 200 C (I did 220 C which worked for my slow oven.)  Carefully take the risen dough from the bowl - it is fairly sturdy but I needed a bit of flour on my hands for some slight stickiness - and place on a lightly floured surface. Pat it out in an oval shape about 35 x 25 cm.  Use a little flour if needed.  Carefully transfer to the prepared baking tray.  Scatter with rhubarb and raspberries and press lightly into the dough.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle the sugar on top.

Bake for 40 minutes until the fruit juices are running free and the sides are golden brown.  Eat hot or cool on a wire rack.

On the stereo:
London 0 Hull 4 - The Housemartins

How has blogging changed: reflections on my blog and my fellow bloggers

Blogging means sharing food.

A common topic of discussion with fellow bloggers is the changes to the blogosphere since I started blogging.  After celebrating my 6 year blogging anniversary last week, I have had a spate of navel gaxing posts.  Today I wanted to continue a little self-indulgence with my reflections on changes to my blog and fellow bloggers. 

Blogging means enjoying an interesting journey.

Changes to the blogosphere:
When I first started blogging, there were lots of blogs that were of the what-I-ate-for-dinner-with-a-blurred-photo variety.  I barely knew what I was doing.  It took me a while even to find out how to take close up photos.  These days many blogs seem to start with a glossy design, high quality photos and ambitions to be a success.  Perhaps this is a result of so much information about blogging.  Or maybe they are just the new bloggers with the higher profiles.

Changes to technology:
When I first started blogging, I remember tossing up whether to use Blogger or Wordpress.  I can't remember why I chose Blogger but I am still using this platform.  Sometimes I think Wordpress might have a cleaner look but I really like how Google continues to develop Blogger, even if I don't agree with all the changes.  Back when I started, the options for the side bar were far more limited and so were the design options.  Back then, no one who hosted blog events use the Linky tools. 

Blogging means you never have enough time in the day.

The rise of social media:
One of the biggest changes to blogging has been the rise of social media.  Back when I began blogging, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Eat Your Books were unknown.  Now they have made a huge impact on blogging.  It is not enough to enjoy reading a blog these days - even if Google Reader is closing so you need to find another feed reader for the RSS feeds.  Nowadays you can follow many blog on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest.  You might say that old bloggers never retire, they just are found on Facebook.

Changes to my blog:
I started my blog with intentions of merely sharing recipes but not my life.  Six years later I still like to write down my recipes but this blog is more than a large index of many vegetarian, vegan and gluten free recipes.  I now also write about places I have eaten and travelled (though I don't as a rule accept freebies and advertisements).  I have also created an excellent resource of nut roast recipes, discovered an interest in food history. and shared more of my life than I ever expected. 

Blogging means sharing old family favourite recipes
(this is the chocolate pudding that I loved as a child).

A large and gradual change is that I am less wary of revealing some of my life online.  And so my blog reflects my life far more than I had ever planned.  One other change is how death and birth have been reflected on the blog.  It has become a memorial and a celebration of a childhood.  Update: and I forgot to say that the blog is a place to record some of the craft that we do.

Lately the blog seems to have been recording some of the places we have enjoyed.  In fact I might be so bold as to claim that it is not just a food blog any more but also gives an insight into my Melbourne.  This is assisted by better photos that capture some of the sights around me.

However, I am still wary about sharing too much of my life.  I still resist sharing photos of myself and the faces of those closest to me.  But I am opening up in other ways.  I now share my cookbooks, my bookmarked recipes and even recently have started a page of recipe planning.

Another big change on my blog is the photos.  At first I was stingy with photos and struggled to find the close up button.  Then I found that bigger photos looked better, I collected more food props, our kitchen space improved for photos, I bought a DSLR camera and now I just like putting is esoteric photos that record our day and not just our food.  In line with better photos, I have made quite a few improvements to the blog design.

Blogging means lots of photos at a fancy meal.

Changes to other bloggers:
It is fascinating to look around at other bloggers who I have followed since around the start of my blog and see all the changes in their blogs.  Some have become more professional, learn to take better photographs, accept advertisements, hold giveaways or promote products.  Many but not all now post with less regularity than when they first started.  Best of all, they still continue to delight me with their recipes as well as sharing some of their life.

Most of us have had many life changes: travels, babies, illness, deaths, marathons, graduations.  There have been celebration cakes and cleansing detoxes.  Many post round ups of ideas for traditional feasts because we all have such amazing archives of recipes.  Some fellow bloggers have had dietary changes that influence what recipes they post.  Katie and K have been diagnosed as coeliac.  Ricki has embraced an Anti Candida Diet.  Lisa has found her wheat allergy has abated since her pregnancy.

With all the fantastic recipes being published, it is not surprise that many of these bloggers are becoming published authors.  Ricki has self-published a cookbook and many e-books, and she now has a cookbook soon to be published by a commercial publisher.  Lorraine has just had a book published  about her journey as a blogger.  Anh is writing a commercial cookbook with a fellow blogger from another country, Lucy and Kathryn publish a cooking e-magazine. Kathryn also writes a column for Readers Digest and Jac writes regularly for Baby Centre.

Blogging means more colourful food.

Many of the bloggers whom I knew from the start of my blog are now hosting blog events.  Susan started My Legume Love Affair and Black and White Wednesday.  Lisa and Jac co-host No Croutons Required.  Jac has resurrected two events: Bookmarked Recipes and Pasta Please.  And Jac also started the Food Blog Diary to keep track of blog events.

There are so many contributions and achievements by bloggers.  I have only focused on a few that I met at the beginning but there are many more great stories of those I have met since.  If only we had the time.  But I can tell you that I am lucky to have met bloggers at potlucks or just for a meal, to have exchanged emails, comments and parcels, and to have found friendship and support in this community.   And if I ever need to think about where to eat in Melbourne, I can consult the amazing list of reviews by Cindy and Michael.

As an aside:
This is the last of my self indulgent blog anniversary posts.  I have lots of recipes to share and will be posting some soon.  However my internet has been slow for the last week or so and will be for a few more days so it is all slow going here.  

About my oven (or why the nose is mightier than the timer)

This is partly an apology and partly some helpful advice.  Mostly it is an explanation for anyone who finds the oven timing in my recipes a little odd.  The apology is about my oven.  I have noticed every time I write up a recipe on my blog, I always take far longer to bake anything than the recipe states.  In conjunction with this, I have been thinking about a baker I once heard never used a timer but relied on her nose to know when her baking was ready to come out of the oven.  And I would love to know about your oven experiences.

My slow oven:
So it seems that my oven just doesn't have the oomph that is expected of an oven in standard recipes.  It is not due to it being old and cranky.  In fact we bought a new oven in 2011.  (See my kitchen renovation post.)  I expected a new oven would deliver the power to my baking that had been lacking.  It didn't.  The second time we called out the oven repairman, he explained why.

Apparently our place has a weak gas flow so the flames are never as high as they should be.  There was no easy solution.  Unless we move house.  I have always preferred gas ovens over electricity.  Perhaps it is due to my memory of moving house and being told by my mother that we could bake in our gas oven whenever we wanted now because we didn't need to preheat the electric oven.  However if my previous residence I had one of the most effective ovens I have lived with and it was electric.  If I had known about the gas flow before buying my current oven I might have bought a good electric oven.  (Though I couldn't stand an electrical stovetop.)

What this means is that I can't be sure that my recipe times are accurate.  It is frustrating when writing a recipe on my blog that I want to be replicable by others or myself (in this kitchen or others).  What is means is that I am more likely to include advice on how to know when a cake is ready.  This is usually the skewer test but I can also see if it looks baked by the batter firming up, turning golden brown and slightly pulling away from the edges of the cake tin.  I usually turn my cake around midway through baking for even timing.  This gives me an idea of if the cake will need more time that the recipe suggests.

No oven is the same:
When I think about the ovens I have had over the years in many different homes, I think about how each acted differently.  Some were uberpowerful and others looked like they had been there for centuries.  My mum also bought a new oven a few years back and she has the opposite problem.  Her oven cooks so powerfully that it burnt so much food at first.

It seems that many of our ovens have quirks.  We learn to live with them.  My mother has found the right setting on her oven to cook food and not burn it.  I know that my oven will usually take longer than a recipe says.  (I know I need to use my oven thermometer more.  Perhaps one day I will find the setting to bake everything at the time a recipe suggests but I fear it will be off the dial.)

The timer vs the nose:
It is not that many decades ago that cookbooks often didn't give a time for recipes.  I guess it reflected on ovens being less standardised than today.  I am sure many of our grandmothers were quite adept at using their nose (like the aforementioned baker) to know when a cake was ready to come out.  It is all about intuition.  We rely on recipes so much these days that we forget to use our intuition.  Common sense is just not that common any more.

So I will give you this gentle reminder.  There are many ways to tell if a cake is cooked.  However the nose is a great helper.  If a recipe smells like it is burning before the time is up, it may well be.  If a recipe doesn't smell cooked when it comes out of the oven, be wary as it may not be.

Update (November 2013): After this post, I felt I should try harder.  I used my oven thermometer more.  I have started to turn my oven dial up to 20 C above the stated temperature.  Which means that though my oven is fan forced and technically I should put the temp at 160 C plus the fan if a recipe calls for 180 C, I now usually put it at 180 C.  It doesn't always solve the problem.  It can still take ages to roast vegies.  I can't make my oven really really hot.  But it is working better. 

Update  2017 - found this article on The Kitchn really useful in thinking about gas ovens - 5 important things to know about baking in a gas oven.  It advises that you have a pizza stone in the lower racks to spread heat evenly and that you always rotate trays and dishes mid way though baking or roasting, both of which I do.

Questions for you:
I'd love to hear about your oven.  Does your oven have any quirks and if so how you do compensate for them? Have you had problems with a weak gas flow and if so have you any advice for me? Do you prefer to use your timer or your nose to time your baking?

Recipe planning - latest ideas and jottings

This is a work in progress page for planning what recipes to make - both from my blog and from elsewhere.  It is set up to help me plan, and you are welcome to observe just as you can see my bookmarked recipes on Delicious or Pinterest.

However recipes will come and go from this list and not necessarily be used and/or blogged.  I may get distracted or just use an idea and then they will fall off the list.  It is not a meal planning list in the strict sense of the term.

Dinner:
https://www.vnutritionandwellness.com/simple-tofu-green-bean-stir-fry/
quinoa salad - http://twohappyrabbits.com/vegan-mofo-2017-day-15-bonus-recipe/
http://www.bitesizedthoughts.com/2017/10/creamy-vegan-tomato-and-basil-pasta.html
https://pinchofyum.com/instant-pot-wild-rice-soup with tempeh?
https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/stuffed-pumpkin-recipe/
https://www.davidlebovitz.com/the-best-holida/
https://www.mydarlingvegan.com/2018/01/green-goddess-buddha-bowl/
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-crackers-recipe from http://www.withafork.com/2018/03/breaditation.html
http://www.amuse-your-bouche.com/homemade-sweet-and-sour-sauce/
http://feelingpeckish.ca/2013/02/24/warming-up-february-tempeh-corn-chowder/
http://86lemons.com/corn-chowder-quinoa-casserole/
http://www.fashionandlifestyle.at/veggie-muffins/
https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/greek-tortellini-pasta-salad/
https://thetipsyhousewife.org/veggie-pizza-appetizer/
https://cadryskitchen.com/2018/06/26/vegan-cheese-dip/
http://tohercore.com/roast-pumpkin-caramelized-onion-walnut-pizza/
https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/one-pot-pasta-with-kale-goat-cheese/ with tempeh
https://www.amuse-your-bouche.com/vegetarian-savoury-mince/
https://utterlyscrummy.blogspot.com/2019/01/koshari.html - lentil rice and macaroni
saovury granola 
Chef mimi's layered salad 
vegan queso sauce (with potato and cashews) - serious eats
https://www.notquitenigella.com/2009/05/24/forget-about-it-three-cheese-risotto/ - baked risotto
vegan reuben jackfruit sandwich - Cadry's kitchen
Fish shaped (snip snip) bread rolls

Sweet food
Ginger scones
http://wallflowerkitchen.com/sesame-seed-rice-krispie-treats/
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/pumpkin-date-scones/da8f9707-52d9-433c-85f3-fa
http://www.crumbtopbaking.com/coconut-chocolate-chunk-pumpkin-loaf/
https://pinchofyum.com/healthy-gingerbread-muffins
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/82595326/Recipes-Lucy-Corry-gets-creative-with-food-waste?rm=m - AF hotcakes
https://www.goodfood.com.au/recipes/chocolate-licorice-loaf-cake-with-choc-licorice-crumb-and-caramel-20180703-h127p9 via cakelaw
Vegan white cake - yup it's vegan
Vegan choc chip rosemary cookies - food to glow

I have turned off comments for this page because I change the links here frequently.

In my kitchen - May 2013

Kitchens tell stories.  That is why we love to peek inside.  While I don't seem to have many fancy foods in my kitchen lately, I still have food and stuff to share with you.

In my kitchen are reminders of my mum and dad who have headed off on holiday this week.  Above are apples and lemons from my mum's trees.  I am thinking about cooking the apples but still not sure what to do with them.  I am glad to be able to use some of the lemons while my parents are away, particularly as our lemon tree is not being very productive right now.

In my kitchen are badges.  My dad's contribution to the kitchen is the Collingwood Football Club badge.  Strangely enough he could only find Collingwood badges and not  my nominal team, The Cats.  Sylvia is not as steeped in football culture as her cousin Cooper.  She thought the magpie on the badge looked like an emu. 

The other badges are an ANZAC badge bought for ANZAC Day, an old Alice in Wonderland badge bought from the Potter Gallery and an old protest badge from the days of George Bush, John Howard, David Hicks and Guantanamo.  I don't know how the Gitmo badge is still around and I wish I could find the Domestic Goddess badge that used to be blu-takked on the wall.

In my kitchen is a whole kent pumpkin.  I usually buy it is wedges.  It is hard to get a sense of size from the photo.  For those who are wondering, I guess it is about as big as my head.  Half of it has gone into lasagne.  Perhaps the other half will become soup.

In my kitchen is a new set of electric beaters.  My old beaters died recently.  Well they were misbehaving.  They had trouble turning off.  And no one wants electric beaters whirring away when they shouldn't be.  I went down the street and bought the cheapest beaters in the shop.  For a mere $24.  Not as pretty as my old ones.  (I am not keen on the black look!)  I hope they last as long.  They come with dough hooks.  I've never used dough hooks before and wonder how effective they would be on such cheap beaters.

In my kitchen are the dishes.  Always.  Piled high.  Our poor dishrack has seen better days.  One of these days it will just collapse.   I think our dishwasher feels like that sometimes.  (Sorry for all those dishes, E.)

In my kitchen are my keys.  I constantly lose them.  Despite my best attempts at finding them a regular spot.  Last week I lost them.  I could remember the last time I had them.  I looked in that bag.  E looked in the bag too.  We looked everywhere else.  In despair I looked back into the bag where I last had them.  There they were.

In my kitchen is rhubarb.  This is the rhubarb that went into my stewed rhubarb.  The colour is so pretty.  I liked it so much, when I finished it I bought stewed some of the last plums of the season. 

In my kitchen are masks that Sylvia and I decorated at the art gallery on E's birthday.  They relate to an exhibition of masks by Aleks Danko.  Apparently he wanted them to be coloured in with only black and red.  Fortunately Sylvia loves red because it is so close to pink.  Can you spot the house and the monkey she drew on her mask?

In my kitchen is a pairs game with characters from Playschool.  I used to watch this tv show when I was a kid.  It is amazing that it is still going.  Noni, Lorraine, Benita and John are replaced by Justine, Karen and Alex.  It still remains fairly true to my memories and I still want to do all the crafts that they do.  Sylvia loves playing Snap with the Playschool cards.  Often we play a game after dinner before she goes to bed. 

In my kitchen is a small pot of basil that I bought from the supermarket.  It is small enough to fit on the windowsill.  I've remembered to water it regularly.  The bunch has lasted almost 2 weeks and I still have some basil.  Far longer than it ever lasts in the fridge.  I will definitely buy it this way again.

In my kitchen is a lovely pumpkin bread.  Actually the last dried heel of it went into the food processor for a nut roast.  The bread is from the Rustica Sourdough stall at the Fitzroy Market.  It is a great new addition to the market but between markets they can be found at the Alexandra Parade end of Brunswick Street.

In my kitchen are balloons. Not the kind you blow up (though we probably have a few of those around).  These are meant to decorate a cake.  Sylvia and I were in Cake Deco in the city before meeting my friend Jane at Gekkazan@GPO.  We were late because Sylvia left her bag of little and tiny things in the shop and we had to go back for it.  She is besotted with her balloons.  They are just dolly-size. 

I am sending this post to Celia for her In My Kitchen series.  Go there and peek into other people's kitchens.

Calendar of significant dates

I have compiled a list of dates to help me keep track of days that I'd like to remember or highlight on my blog.  Mostly food.  A few quirky celebrations.  Some international.  As much as possible, I have attempted to highlight some Australian calendar events. 

2013 - International Year of Quinoa
2016 - International Year of Pulses

January

6 January - Epiphany
25 January - Burns Night

26 January - Australia Day

26 January - India Day

February

Shrove Tuesday

Chinese New Year (February or January)

5 February - Nutella Day
6 February - Waitangi Day, NZ 

14 February - Valentines Day
17 February - World Cabbage Day

March

Labour Day (Victoria)

Easter Sunday (March or April)

1 March - St David's Day

8 March - International Women's Day 

13-20 March - Celiac Awareness Week
14 March - Pi Day

17 March - St Patrick's Day
21 March - Harmony Day
28 March - Earth Hour (2015)
31 March - Melbourne Food and Wine Festival starts (2017)

April

4 April - International Carrot Day
6 April - Tartan Day (America)

13-16 April -  Songkran (Thai New Year)

23 April - St George's Day

25 April - ANZAC Day

29 April - my Blog anniversary (started 2007) 

May

Mothers Day

1 May - May Day

1 May - The Beltane
5 May - Cinco de Mayo
6 May - International No Diet Day

13 May - World Baking Day

13-19 May - Food Allergy Awareness Week

23 May - Australian's Biggest Morning Tea

26 May - National Sorry Day

June

Queens Birthday Holiday

National Celtic Festival, Portarlington, Australia

1 June - National Doughnut Day
2 June - Yell "Fudge" at Cobras Day

13 June - Kitchen Klutzes of America Day

16 June - Bloomsday

19 June - Red Aussie Apple Day (2013)

20 June - World Refugee Day

Winter Solstice (Southern Hemisphere)

July

Christmas in July

NAIDOC week

1 July - Victoria Day (Australia)
1 July - Canada Day

1 July - International Tartan Day (Australasia)

4 July - American Independence Day

14 July - Bastille Day

21 July - National Lamington Day

August  

Lammas
International Scone Week (@Fig Jam and Lime Cordial)

5 August - International Beer Day

9 August - International Day of the World's Indigenous People 
18 August (2014) - RSPCA Cupcake Day

September 

Fathers Day

13 September - International Chocolate Day
18-24 September - Meat Free Week (2017)

19 September - International Talk Like A Pirate Day

October

Vegetarian Awareness Month 

Canada Thanksgiving
1 October - World Vegetarian Day

10 October - World Porridge Day

16 October - World Food Day (UN) 
23 October - Diwali (2014)
25 October - World Pasta Day

31 October - Halloween

November

USA Thanksgiving

Melbourne Cup

Stir up Sunday (Christmas pudding baking day)

1 November - World Vegan Day

5 November - Guy Fawkes Night (Bonfire Night)

11 November - Remembrance Day
13 November - International Food Photography Day

30 November - St Andrews Day

December

Summer Solstice (Southern Hemisphere)

13 December - St Lucy's Day
21 December - Gravy Day

25 December - Christmas Day

31 December - New Years Eve (Hogmanay)

More dates:
One of the hardest parts of working out days of celebration is that I couldn't find much about national food days in Australia but the UK and America (my other main points of reference) have different dates.  So I will add to the above list according to whim.  Below are some lists of dates that I have found useful:

• Month of Edible Celebrations (fantastic blog with lots of info on food celebrations)
• Bizarre American Holidays (is this a joke - it is so weird!)
• Calendar of Cultural and Religious Dates (Australian government site)
• Dates, info and trivia
• Food Days and Holidays (recipes4us.co.uk)
• Important Dates (NATSIEC)
• Days of the year

I will continue to add to this list and edit the photos as appropriate.  Please let me know of any Australian/international food days/weeks/months of celebrations that I may have missed.

In search of (4)

Many people come to this blog by putting a search term into their search engine of choice.  Many seem to find what they are looking for.  Others must be very disappointed.  Here is a selection of search terms that make me laugh, groan or cover my eyes.  (I did leave out one or two that are too disturbing to share!)  I hope it gives you a smile.  NB the bold headings are my comments on the search terms.

Oh please leave the giraffe to roam free

• can you roast a giraffe
• do people eat fried giraffes
• roasted giraffe nose
• smoked giraffe recipe
• good experiments with a giraffe

Huh?

• giraffe is a pig astra google mail
• chocolate conumdrum recipe
• sausage love for giraffe
• giraffe meme in road drunk get you home 
• giraffe with no clothes on
• don't buy me cake, pie or meat we don't my cat is old
• masteribution is good or bad for health
• "in the water in her t-shirt"
• how to make explosives from tomato sauce 

Here are my favourites for being so silly and giving me a laugh

• if a giraffe ate an apple seeds and all how long would it take to see apples growing out of it's ears?
• what color are the nuts of a giraffe
• can you be arrested for carrying a large bag of apples up a hill, late on a sunday evening in kent, england
• will you marry a giraffe
• sly pie mean bean nasty pasty 
• soup war 
• what does a haggis look like in the wild?   

Gotta to be a typo

• where can i buy giraffe of beer
• melbourne university spinach language short courses
• a picher of marsbar crispy cacks
• cake believe giraffe

Can you be more specific?

• first day of being a vegetarian... what do i eat!
• what not to do
• i am in central melbourne
• what road to take 

I want to see these people's creations

• tim tam pizza
• rice bubbles peanut butter nutella condensed milk slice
• haggis sweeties
• 1 cup brandy chocolate grape
• glue for vegan pizza 

Must be taking lolcat pictures
making viking helmets for cats

Variations on spelling vegetarian
vegetairn, vegetaruiian, vegetraian,  vegitarian, vehetarian 

Aren't you sick of all those giraffes?  Here's an elephant search term!
how do you eat an elephant

If you want to see more search terms that lead people to my blog, check out these posts:

• In search of . . .
• In search of (2)... 
• in search of (3)