[Celebration] Wishing everyone happy holidays ‌🎉‌

[Robin4]

We Aussies look for any excuse to have a get together and celebrate something, and with Christmas 2023 just around the corner there will be hardly anyone in the country who will not spend time with family and friends on either Christmas day or the subsequent week leading up to New Years Day. 

This country’s beginnings as a convict settlement instilled in us a sense of comradeship that is possibly unique in the world, and along with other Aussies we celebrate Australia Day, on the 26th January each year!

My way of contributing is by holding a street luncheon dinner each year for about a dozen of the neighbours. We live in a short street which leads nowhere with a couple of dozen houses. It’s a nice friendly community on large house blocks and we do get along well with each other.

Being the biggest loudmouth in the street, I relish the opportunity to stage this event each year, show off my cooking skills and have my local mates around me. They bring along what they want to drink, and Ade and I supply the food!

As it’s the middle of summer here, despite the fry-pan in hand, I don't serve anything hot.......but there is a decided Aussie flavour to whatever we serve.....I think the only thing we don’t do is….”Throw a Shrimp on the Barbie”!! That expression is about as loathsome to an Australian as drinking a can of ‘Fosters’ beer.

Got to have the patriotic table decorations

And it wouldn't be Australia Day without one of Ade's Pavlovas. Whatever New Zealanders might say, Ade (who inherited the art from my mother) is the Pavlova queen! She has cooked a single humongous Pavlova that offered 24 servings in the past! This particular one managed a dozen!

We do what Australians do, we eat and drink heaps in our lovely stable, carefree environment and thank God we live in (what we feel is) the best country on Earth. In these troubled times we just wish we could share some of our good fortune with the rest of the world.

Have a great festive season all you lovely contributors to the Community Centre family, and on Australia Day Ade and I will raise a glass to all of you. 

Cheers.........Rob

[Marisa182]

@Robin4 Happy Holidays to you and Ade! Wish I was there with the nice weather and that fabulous spread. I am about to try a Pavlova for the very time time, and hope it will be as beautiful as Ade's.

All the best for the New Year!

[Robin4]

@Marisa182 

Marisa, I have to admit, in younger years Ade was not the greatest of cooks! She had no interest in cooking and many is the time she would say to me...."I am going to try something a bit different tonight"!  And my reaction would be...."Oh don't bother, the old usual will do just fine"! I had, had a hard days work and was almost prepared to live on takeaway!!! That might sound unkind but Ade will be the first to admit, cooking was not her strong suit!

But she felt somewhat privileged when my mum called her aside 35 + years ago and said to her....."I don't want my 'Pav' recipe to die when I am gone, can I entrust it to you"? 

Marisa, they spent literally weeks.....the crust was too thick......it spread out like a pancake.....there was a few failures before Ade's mind clicked and she said to me, "I need to do this for Madge" (my Mum) and she put her heart and soul into it!

Ade went on to master every form of pavlova from the tradition cake to the Pav roll.....

with Strawberries, raspberry's, passion-fruit and Pistachios!

There is one sitting in the oven at this very moment for friends of ours who are coming for a Christmas lunch with us tomorrow.

They never look great out of the oven......it's how you decorate them that makes them stand out, but it's the taste

Marisa, if you would like Ade's, (my mum's) recipe.....I am sure she would not mind me passing it on to you.

It is a guaranteed success every time but, you have to follow it to the letter, never assume that you can take a shortcut! The only way she has added to it over the years is, once decorated with whipped cream and fruit, place small sprigs of Rosemary around the edge! It does great things for the flavour of the Pav. Sounds weird but, it works

If you would like it I will send it in a DM to you.....just let me know!

Cheers........Rob

[Marisa182]

Hello @Robin4 ,

What a fabulous story. It warmed my heart and I loved it. Only this morning I was looking at recipes online, even though I will not be able to make the Pavlova for Christmas because I have come down with a nasty cold and instead of being with family on Christmas Day, I will probably just be home in my pajamas. Oh, maybe that would be a good time to practice making some mini Pavlovas.

I love the story of your mum entrusting her recipe to Ade, and taking the time to make sure the perfect Pavlova recipe would live on. I had no idea that the interior of the Pavlova is supposed to soft, and that, I suppose is the tricky part of the recipe. Yes, I would very much like to have Madge's  recipe because I feel that it will be the real thing. Do you know when your mum started making it? Did you grow up having this dessert very often?

Your message makes me think that perhaps I should start passing down family recipes to my 12 year old granddaughter. She and her slightly older brother are already good little bakers, and make the desserts on holidays, but I have not yet taught them to make recipes from my Italian family.

I hope you had a beautiful Christmas, and that the new year brings love, peace and good health!

Warmest regards, Marisa

[Marisa182]

@Robin4  Happy New Year, Robin and Ade!

I am now well enough to try making the Pavlova, and would love to have your mum's recipe. Would also like to know when your mum started using this recipe. I collect family recipes, and it's always nice to have a date along with them. Thank you very much for offering to share such a personal recipe. If possible can you send it to: mzang8@verizon.net

Warmest regards for a happy and healthy 2024.

Marisa

[Robin4]

@Marisa182 

Ade hasn't risen for the day yet, the thing about living in a global community, while you play on that side of the world, we sleep!

As soon as she surfaces I will ask her to dig it out for me. She never has to use it now.

I have taken a screenshot of your email just in case admin remove it as personal info!

All the best to you too Marisa for the coming year, don't get up to too much mischief on NYE!!

Cheers........Rob

[Marisa182]

@Robin4  Thank you Rob. I thought long and hard about when to send my request for recipe, and hoped that while you sleep and we play, you are completely unplugged. It's about noon there now, right?

Thank you Ade and Rob. I'm so excited to be learning a new recipe.

I am just getting over Covid, so will not be up for any mischief on NYE. I was feeling quite smug for not having gotten it the last three years, but it caught with me and made my 2023 holiday season no so much fun.

Nappy New Year!

Marisa

[Marisa182]

Happy New Year!

[Robin4]

@Marisa182 

Hi Marissa, hope the recipe came through ok, if you had any issues receiving it can you let me know.

Cheers........Rob

[Marisa182]

@Robin4 

Hi Rob,

The recipe did not come through, but please don't worry about it. I found a recipe in my Mary Berry cookbook, and made the pavlova on New Year's Day. I decided to make individual ones, and thought they turned out very well. I just had one for dessert, and it was delicious!

A very Happy New Year to you and Ade.

Best, Marisa

[Robin4]

@Marisa182 

That's strange Marisa, I did follow the email address correctly and it didn't bounce back to me as un-deliverable so goodness knows where it ended up.

What I will do is post it again here for any that might be interested. 

Ade's recipe is just a short handwritten note, and lacks all the important detail as per.....

So I have typed it as per instruction.....

Cheers.........Rob

[Marisa182]

@Robin4 

Thank you, thank you, Rob and Ade, you are both so amazing and generous. This is my new favorite dessert and I will be making it often using your recipe. Not only is pavlova delicious, it's fun and quick to make, and I have had good luck storing individual pavlovas in a cookie tin for about three days.

Wishing you good health and happiness in 2024. Warmest regards, Marisa

[Louis2324]

Hi Robin 

thank you very much for the invite. Unfortunately I’m going to celebrate with my family. 

i wish you a happy holiday and have a great time 🍾🍾🥳

[Ruth413]

Happy Christmas Rob & Ade !

I hope you have a fantastic one. 

For the 1st time ever it will be a quiet one over here,  just me, Mike & the dogs.  I am tempted to spend the day in my pyjamas !  

We are actually doing our Christmas dinner today as we have friends visiting and it seems silly cooking a Turkey just for two.  So Christmas Day itself will be spent relaxing with good wine, cheese & chocolate.

Molly & Em have stopped to work for a few months in Apollo Bay and are adjusting to spending Christmas in the warm Australian climate.  They are happy because their lodgings have 2 friendly dogs who they look after.  I think Molly misses her dogs, more than she does us !

Have a wonderful Christmas & a Happy New Year & a Great Australia Day & we will be raising a glass to you both too.

Ruth & Mike 

[Robin4]

@Ruth413 

Oh Ruth, isn't life Freudian, in 1999 we passed through Moreton on our way back from a couple of weeks in Cornwall and I took away some lovely memories from there. The church was subject to some unexpected bomb attacks during World War 2  and all the windows of the church of St Nicholas were blown out! Rather than replace with leadlight they were replaced with etched glass with beautiful effect.

Yes I still have this picture Ruth!!!

But the thing that stuck with me was, Thomas Edward Lawrence......"Lawrence of Arabia' is buried in that Moreton St Nicholas Church cemetery!!!

The history I felt in Moreton was so palpable, it was so much a part of England that I as an Australian so cherished! 

Glad Molly and Em have got themselves a pit-stop on their way around the country.

I got a lovely card from Molly a few weeks ago.......

We are thinking of you Ruth, hope Mike's back is on the improve  and would love to think we could personally raise a glass to each other some day!  

Have a great Christmas Ruth!

Cheers.........Rob

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