It's all coming down to bananas once again.

I have been keeping an eye on my banana tree since a conical shaped flower appeared suddenly after the rain. My enthusiasm   is compounded by the fact it is long overdue to repay me with its dividend since I first planted it in my backyard five years ago. Until now, it is one of those bad investments that are not yielding a good percentage of its par value.

I am pretty sure my conversation piece at the dinner table in my house for this week will be the CPI barometer growing in my backyard. For Australia, it's all coming down to bananas once again by the RBA. The nation's 23 million people have always been very touchy about references to the yellow fruit. A previous Prime Minister Paul Keating from 1991 to 1995 once famously warned Australia risked becoming a banana republic. But the plummeting price of bananas over the past three months has been a godsend to the current Treasurer, Wayne Swan, by pulling down inflation. According to the some economists on the Reserve Bank‘s interest rate decision tomorrow; falling prices - led by a drop in the cost of fruit - have made an interest rate cut all but certain by the RBA board which always meets on the first Tuesday of each month to set rates with a view to holding inflation within a 2 to 3 per cent target range.

Like all investment in the stock exchange, it is all about timing. Unfortunately, my banana tree is flowering at the wrong time as it is mid autumn and a cold snap may wipe away my potential harvest of its golden yield.

Lest We Forget...

Thousands of Australians rose early to pay respect to the nation's fallen diggers in Anzac Day dawn services around the country this morning. As a Singaporean migrant, who was away from his home country for more than four decades, bearing a Singapore passport, I once struggled to see how Anzac Day could have meaning for me when I change my national identity. During my earlier years, I found myself at a loss when watching ceremonies, parades and other activities were held on ANZAC Day to remember the lives of those who participated or died in military action. This wasn’t something to which I could relate except for marching veterans and military personnel trooping their units’ colours in the street as they reminded me of my own participation in street parades during my enlistment in the National service in Singapore. And I also knew enough to know that the Australian Diggers fought to defend the British Malaya, colonial Singapore and Papua New Guinea in World War II against the Japanese. In time, I came to accept the Anzac legend as integral to an Australian story, as a cornerstone of mateship and represent the comradeship that the soldiers experienced as they rose each morning to prepare for another day of military action, particularly on the Gallipoli Peninsula in World War I. Truth is, when you adopt a national identity you inherit a tradition, with all the benefits and responsibilities that come with it. And one of those responsibilities is to remember on Anzac Day that the soldiers risked and sacrificed their lives for Australia, a place we now call home. It has since developed into a day where all enlisted men are remembered and honoured for their service to the country. It is important not to forget the sacrifices made, hence the words; Lest we forget.

 Anzac Biscuits Recipe
 Ingredients:
 1½ cup Rolled Oats
 ½ cup plain flour ½ cup sugar
 90 grams butter 1 tablespoon golden syrup/honey
 1 tablespoon boiling water
 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda Method:
 1. Pre-heat oven to 180°
 2. Mix together the oats, flour and sugar in a medium bowl.
 3. Heat butter together with golden syrup or honey until melted.
 4. Combine water and bicarbonate of soda In a small bowl, then add into the golden syrup/honey mix while stirring.
 5. Pour syrup into the dry ingredients and mix together to combine.
 6. Roll a dessertspoon of mixture into balls and place on baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper. Press down tops to flatten slightly.
 7. Bake for approximately 12 minutes or until golden brown. Stand for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Chicken or the Egg?

Last week at a friend’s place, the sight of brood of chicken digging and searching for food over a pile of lawn clippings evoked fond memories of the kampong lifestyle I knew from my visits to my maternal grandmother at her village during my school holidays. Sadly, the old village was bulldozed to give way for the construction of blocks of HDB flats after it was zoned and destined to become Ponggol Housing Estate in Singapore. I am now seriously toying with the idea of having a couple of chooks in my backyard as they bring a bit of old-style living back to my suburban existence. I am pretty sure that I am not the only one going “chooku”, as it is reported recently in the news recently that the retail giant Bunnings who owns a chain of home improvement stores has noted a recent trend towards people trying to create a more eco-friendly environment for their kids at home. Before I build a chook pen and rush to buy a couple of day old chicken, I have to sell my idea to my wife who has always been not too keen of having backyard chooks. It is going to be a tough sell on the economic point of view. Not only will I get a negative answer but for sure to receive a question in return. Is it economically viable to produce your own eggs? Sadly the answer is no. I have done some calculations which to begin with, will make the cost per egg more than purchasing eggs from a store, especially when you take into the account of the initial costs involved with raising chickens in your own backyard. I also learned that chicks up until the age of around 2 months should also be fed a special chick feed, this will set you back between $10-$15.The purchase of a chicken coop will be your largest expense. Unless you are lucky enough to have an old shed that can be turned into a coop but if not you will either have to build your own or buy a pre-made coop. Pre-made coops can cost anywhere between $200-$2000. The other option is to keep an eye out for second hand coops in your local classifieds. You can save a lot of money by building your own coop. Costs in building your own coop with involve timber, chicken wire and nails and vary in costs depending on the size required. There isn’t much ammunition left for me to convince my better half to come to the party, but there is no harm telling her that chooks makes great pets even if you are not interested in egg production.

Sweet Potato Leaves Fried With Sambal

My wife came to the kitchen with a handful of sweet potato leaves that she had just harvested from the vege patch in our backyard. Nonchalantly, she put it into a jug as if it was a bouquet of cut flowers for the house. She turned to me and said, “It not what you think but it’s for dinner tonight”, as she added water to keep it fresh.
The leaves of sweet potato are often judged to be a poor man’s’ vegetable in the past and eaten without much fanfare as it has been given today. In modern Singapore today, a dish of sweet potato leaves cooked in sambal would cost at least $10 or more for anyone who likes to sample the taste of yesteryear at the food stalls in the kopitaim. The image of these leaves as a vegetable was tarnished during the World War II, as it became the staple diet of many families during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore (especially in the tropical warm climates, where the plant tends to be evergreen and be easily grown all year round in any vegetable patches).
According to my late mother, sweet potatoes were a daily staple in those days as there was a great shortage of rice during the war. Sweet potato was dished up in every possible way, making many older Singaporeans resistant to the use of this very versatile plant and its tubers for a long time. Contrary to popular belief, the sweet potato plant is related to morning glory, not potatoes, and originated from Mexico.

Sweet Potato Leaves Fried with Sambal(Hwang Tsu Heok Char Sambal)

500 gm Sweet potato leaves
4 tbsp cooking oil
80g Dried prawns soaked and pounded.

To make Spice paste (ground or pound):
5 pcs fresh chillies
8 pcs dry chillies soaked
2 cloves garlic
I small brown onion or 12 shallots
5 candlenuts
5g belachan, toasted
3 tbsp of water
1tsp salt
1tsp sugar
Wash and drain sweet potato leaves. Cut stem and leaves into 50mm in length. Heat wok and add oil to fry dried prawns until slightly golden brown. Remove and set aside. With the same oil in the wok, sauté the grounded spice paste until fragrant. Add sweet potato leaves and stem and stir fry to mix well with paste.Put in fried dried prawns and mix well. Add water and salt to taste.

A Fisherman's Tale and Trick...

In order to show off our biggest catch of the day and to make it appear larger than its actual size, an often used camera trick by many fishermen was suggested by Mark, the owner of the boat; by simply holding the fish with an outstretched arm towards the camera, it will double its size in an instant.
The next biggest trick was to turn the Australasian salmon into a delicious lunch for us and especially for Mark’s teenage children who were not too keen on fish except the filet o’ fish from McDonalds.

Despite the common name, Australian “salmon” is not related to the salmon (family Salmonidae) of the Northern Hemisphere; it was named so by early European settlers only because of their superficial resemblance to the salmon. Furthermore the big difference lies underneath the skin; it has white flesh unlike the distinguishable pink coloured flesh of the salmon.



Mark’s wife came to the rescue by offering to cook the fish. She simply chopped up a mango and two peaches from her fruit bowl and combined it with a chopped onion to make a stuffing for the fish. She smeared the fish with olive oil on both sides and top with chopped chilli and a squeeze of lime juice. Wrapped in foil to form a parcel, the fish was roasted in a hot oven for about 10 to 12 minutes before it was served strewn with fresh coriander leaves and lime wedges.

A Big Day Out ...The Sun and The Sea

I was not sure what the catch was going to be but I was happy to be invited to go fishing at Lake Macquarie (that’s the largest coastal saltwater lake in Australia) if only for the weather being so warm, bright and cheerful after a La Nina weather pattern, had produced unseasonal wet Sydney summer and it’s not over yet. The weather outlook for longer periods of extreme rainfall, such as those that caused flooding of the Darling, Lachlan and Murrumbidgee rivers and which made the Warragamba Dam to overflow a fortnight ago, still hold a threat to many residents living downstream.

It was a big day out at the Lake Macquarie, an aquatic playground, perfect for a relaxing day! Needless to say birds of all kind seemed to descend together on the same spot; a long line of eager anglers waiting in their 4WDs for other early birds taking their turn to launch their watercrafts, sharp-eyed terns circling in the clear blue sky and lazy seagulls with a flotilla of penguins waiting for a feed from fishermen gutting their catch of the day.



Soon we found ourselves floating and trolling lazily on the lake and occasionally interrupted to check on the moving lines with their metal lures. I was the first in the group to pull in a catch but luckily for the fish, it was just millimetres short of its legal size and I had to let it go back to the water to see another day.


My good deed was eventually rewarded with a combined catch of five taylors and an Australian salmon for the crew. Everyone on board was pleased with the catch of the day and for the next half an hour of homeward bound trip we were already planning for next fishing outing and collectively decided what was the best fish recipe for lunch. . Please stay tuned for the recipe.

There's a Toad in My Kuih Kodok !

Buying this whole box of banana for $5 in the market was likened to a ray of sunshine peeping through the dark rainy clouds that hung over Sydney in the past few days. How could we not bring it home to share with neighbours and friends? From our past experiences, we know that the price of vegetables and fruits will soon shoot through the roof as flooding had inundated most of NSW. I remember that a kilo of bananas was selling at $15, after cyclones desolated nearly all the banana crops in Queensland, last year and the year before. Like many price conscious shoppers, we simply had to delete bananas from our shopping list during that period and waited for the price to drop before we could afford to put bananas on the table again.

After distributing half a box of bananas away, we are left with the other half, and that is a lot of bananas for a family of three. Besides, they are all ripening at the same time right in front of our eyes. Think fast, mate! “What are we going to do with them?”, My wife said to me, as if it was my responsibility to save every banana from turning brown. “No worries mum, what we cannot finish today, I turn them into banana bread tomorrow”, I replied. “Before you do that, can we have some kuih kodok (banana fritters) for afternoon tea?” She added. For the next hour, we were still talking about what to do with the bananas which seem to be ripening by the minutes. Okay, before I go banana, let me post the kodok recipe. Incidentally kodok is toad in the Malay language and I do not want to go there without relating to the cane toads and bananas in Queensland. That’s another story.



Recipe: Kuih Kodok (Fried Banana Fritters)

Ingredients:
6 big ripe bananas
1 1/2 cup flour
2 1/2 tablespoon sugar
Pinch of salt.
Oil for deep frying




Method:
Mash the bananas with fork into small pieces and put them into a bowl. Add flour, sugar to the mashed banana, Stir the ingredients so they are well blended.
Heat the cooking oil in a wok. Once the oil is heated, scoop up a spoonful of batter into the hot oil.. Deep fry until golden brown. Drain well on paper towel