ASSOCIAZIONE SARDA-SYDNEY

This is the Sardinian Flag






Today the Sarda Association held its six monthly
picnic in the Auburn Botanical Gardens.




All the persons that attended

enjoyed themselves.



The food was very good,
the company very nice,
and not forgetting the
WINE.....it put most
in a happy and relaxed
mood







Helping hand with
the cooking











Special treat for all the mothers











A photographic shot of all (or most)
of the mothers present











Children being entertained
by the Clown









A young couple not long
arrived from Sardinia
and some local visitors








Drawing of the Raffle
( I think one of principal income
earners of most Associations)



We are all looking forward to the
next get together.

Best wishes and

SALUTI a tutti i Sardi nel
Mondo

I have lost the winning way

In times past, I could not leave without winning a prize in the club raffle,
and I felt somewhat embarrassed by winning so often.
But how times have changed!
So tonight again I did not score a winning number,but
not to worry, times will change again. I hope so!
On to something totally different.
MALTA is about to become poorer, one of her most
ardent admirers and long time visitor,is about to bid
farewell to her beloved Island, but rest assured,not
for too long!
Eileen (Queen of Malta) is returning to Australia.
I'm sure that she will be warmly received, even
at the early arrival time.
At least I wont have to do any more cooking.
I'll have much more time to spend in the garden!
Hope to take some photos on Sunday, at the get
together of Sardinian community, then their
friends and relations in SARDEGNA can see them.

'Till next week.

Happy 10th.Birthday

Happy 10th. Birthday

CLAUDIA

On your birthday

it will always be a public

holiday, for it falls on ANZAC DAY

Fishing in April

Yesterday as usual we went out on the 4th. Sunday of the month,
this month being the 23rd. of April.
The day started on the cooler side with some winds a
bit strong at times, but as the day went on. The wind moderated
and so did the current, so much so that at times the boat did
not seem to be moving at all. As far as the catch went, I think everyone on board had
a fairly good catch. I managed to get 15 fish (not all top
quality) but I was quite happy with the catch.

Here you can see two of the better catches (fishermen) some are better than

others, or they could be using different bait, or maybe they talk to the fish!

Both fish weighed just under 2 Kg. the largest I caught was about 1Kg.

That is my estimate....and I'm sticking to it!

Tomorrow is ANZAC DAY, a day very important in the history of both Australia and New Zealand. It is a day that the People of both countries pause and reflect on the sacrifices made by many Men and Women for their respective countries, many of which did not return.

They will never be forgotten

Disappearing Post

Sometimes things just do not work out. On Friday I went to the Club but unfortunately
I again did not win a prize,so I decided to write
something about the Garden,but as I was about to
plublish it, I lost the internet connection,so that
was it! No post. So I will try again tonight.
In this photo,you can see that
some of the new growth leaves on this young orange tree,
have been damaged, they are
somewhat distorted and have
other markings, that are typical
of damaged caused by the LeafMiner.
I treated this one and other citrus
trees,with Pest Oil,mixed with water,
and then spray on to the leaves of the effected plants, every two weeks, or so whilst the condition is present.
Luckely, the oranges have not been effected.



Here I have a couple of pictures (taken on different dates)

of a "Turkish Pumpkin"




The bottom one, was taken just after it was cut from the vine

BeralaPatch Olives a Success

The BeralaPatch Olives were a runaway success, at
today's Easter Day lunch,the BeralaPatch olives were
praised by all the participants present,both by the
young and the not so young!
They were nearly as popular as the Easter eggs, I
had thought about using them for the very popular
"Egg hunt" but I really did not think that they would
win a popularity contest with the children,when pitted
against the chocolate eggs,so I decided to just place them on the table,with the rest of
the food(which was both very well prepared and plentiful)
But honestly I was very pleased with the response from all the people that tried them!
Maybe I will have to market them next year. We'll see how the other batches turn out.
By the way I only took two small jars, only holding about 30 olives each.
A very enjoyable day indeed,Good food and Good company.

Royal Easter Show

I spent a couple of hours at the Easter Show today, mainly to see some of the produce, I took some photos ( so I can try and match the size of some of the pumpkin on display) I have always been fascinated by the displays that the different Districts put together to display their produce.


I also took a photo of The Cannon Ball Lady just after she was fired from the cannon, and she can be seen in mid-air, she apparently travels about 130 feet,landing on a specially set up net. (Just as well)


I couldn't get the cropped version up, but the Cannon Ball Lady can just be seen above the smoke, in line with the cannon, and just where the line of the last stand is, in the cropped photo she is quite visible.

Last night at the nearby Telstra Stadium the Rolling Stones gave a concert, and I could hear some of the music and the crowd noise, and fire works from my place! There was a large crowd and by all reports all went home pleased with the performance of the Rolling Stones.

No I did not go to the concert, photo compliments of one of my sons!

Stuffed capsicum Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 - 4 large red capsicums,( or 7-8 smaller ones) green ones are OK also,but the red ones have a

sweeter taste.

2 -500 grams of mince meat,either beef, or (what I used) half beef and half pork

3 -1 onion, 2 eggs, 1 chicken cube, 1-2 chilies,20 olives (10 green and 10 black)

about 150 grams of diced tomato sauce,and (usually also use 1 table spoon of tomato paste)

Grated Parmesan cheese, dried bread crumbs, oil, pepper and salt.

METHOD

Wash the capsicums, with a sharp knife,cut around the top of the capsicum, at an angle,so that

the top can be removed, and then used again as a lid, to stop the meat mixure from coming out,

remove all the seeds,and the the other fleshy parts from inside the capsicums.

For the filling.Cut the onion fine as to make small squares,put 2 table spoons of oil into a pan

and cook the onion until it starts to change colour, then add the mince meat, the tomato

sauce,the tomato paste(if used)the chicken cube (crumbled) the chillies (cut into small pieces)remove the seed,unless you want it very hot,add the salt,then cook (on high) for about 15 minutes,then tranfer it into a bowl, to let it cool down,then add the 2 eggs,the grated cheese (a hand full) and mix everything together(you can add the olives, also cut into small pieces) or you can do that later after you have filled the capsicums.

Depending on how soft the mixure is, you may have to add some of the dry bread crumbs,

The mixture should be a bit on the dry side,as if too soft it will come out when cooked in the

oven.

Now place all the filled capsicums in a oven proof dish,use a dish that can hold all the capsicums,

without too much space between them,add some oil on top of the capsicums, and 1/2 to1 cup of water in the dish also,then place them in the pre-heated oven (200 degrees) for about 30 minutes,occasionally, spoon some of the liquid in the dish,on top of the capsicums,and turn them

over a few times,so that they cook evenly, let them cool down,they can then be cut into slices and served.

Tawny Port to the rescue

After many weeks of zero winnings at the Friday night raffle, a bottle of Tawny Port
came to the rescue, it may have been a consolation prize,but I'm not complaining,I think it was the second last prize,just when I had all but given up hope of getting a prize, that one of my numbers was drawn.

I had the choice of a bottle of white wine, or the port so I settled for the Port. I think it might come in handy around Easter time!
Who said that the Easter Bunny doesn't bring presents?

At least I am now back on the winning circle......well sort of.

Happy Easter

My Olives

Here are some of the olives that I'm preserving,I have made 3 jars of green ones already,the one in the picture is in Brine(10% salt solution) as can be seen,the olives are off the bottom of the jar,because of salty solution.

I kept them in plain water,for one week(changing the water every day) then I placed them in the glass jar in Brine and added some Chillies,Basil,Oregan and Garlic,I then put a slall layer of oil on top,( to seal the olives from the air)they seem to be OK to eat after about 3 to 4 weeks.When they taste"Ready to eat"I place them in the refrigerator,so they last longer.

The black ones, after placing them in a basket,I pour some hot water on them and after they drain,I allow them to dry out and then put a couple handfuls of sea salt,still in the basket,as the salt tends to melt,I place the basket in a tray, or a dish,I mix the olives about twice a day,for apprx. One week, and( removing any that are soft) by then they should be ready to be placed in a glass jar, with the usual chillies and other herbs,they should be eatable in around six weeks.As you can see the green ones are just about finished,so I separate the few that are there and place them in a smaller jar and do them as per the green ones,and the black ones as per above.They should last for awhile!

The grandchildren will be happy!

Happy reading

Formula 1

This afternoon Fernando Alonso cemented his lead in the 2006 Formula 1 season, with his win in the Melbourne Race. After both cars crashed in today's race, the Ferrari team will be looking for better results in the next Formula 1 race in San Marino. It was an exciting race to watch today, with false starts and a number of spectacular crashes, with nearly half the field failing to finish!