Happy Australia Day!

Every nation has their day.  The day where the flag is proudly waved, backyards and beaches are full of revelers, and the night is capped off with good cheer and fireworks.  Australia is no exception to this, and the national day of revelry is held on January 26th.  Happy Australia Day to all those down under!

Having lived down under for approximately 4 years, we returned to the Northern Hemisphere just about a year and a half ago.  Last year was our first Australia Day spent in America, and although the chilly weather of winter makes us long for hot January days, we had a wonderful celebratory dinner last year to commemorate our time there.  The people of Australia are truly remarkable and we have many fond memories of good friends and good times.

Down under, no Australia Day would be complete without time spent in the backyard "undercover" area with the barbie fired up and a few snags ready to cook, along with a tantalizing assortment of cutlets, steaks and seafood.  Unfortunately, we have yet to replace the barbecue we had in Australia with a grill here in the USA.  The combination of cold weather and lack of equipment drives our celebratory meal to an indoor affair.  Our food tradition is developing into a meal centered around an Aussie Meat Pie with Lamingtons for dessert.  More of a winter meal for the Aussies, which works well for our cold January days.

You got Chili in my Cornbread...

So it is Tuesday - one of the days that the schedule in our house requires that dinner be ready to go at 4pm - or else chaos reigns supreme after all the afternoon activities are wrapped up.  I wish I could say that I am always on top of things and my kids never eat dinner after 7pm, but alas, that is not always the case. Today I am determined that our life will follow the routine - for if it is so, life is so much easier.



When I am in the kitchen these days I find myself imagining what to write about next.  Today, I was in the midst of preparing a super simple, from a can, sort of dinner that often gets bumped into the Tuesday lineup.  I was thinking about the recipe and thinking that no way would this ever make it to the written page.  It's too easy.  It's too low brow.  It reeks of suburbia.  It involves canned chili.

Whole Food's One Pot Chili Casserole

The Whole Foods recipe app has led me to some spectacular recipes.  Some are spectacularly time consuming but amazingly delicious and nutritious.  Some - like their One Pot Chili Casserole - are a God send on Tuesdays.  The ingredients for this casserole are always in my cupboard.  Occasionally I'll have store bought cornbread on hand, but more often than not I just keep some cornbread mix around or make it from scratch using cornmeal.

Falafel... Tommy style!

My infatuation with falafel began at a long since forgotten restaurant in Michigan.  I was reintroduced to my lost love of this crispy delight by a dear friend after a late night in Washington D.C.   Quick Pita in Georgetown soon became a favored way to cap off a night on the town.

The Humble Chickpea

Then came another move and another loss of this flavorful treat - local eateries versions never really compared.  I suspect that most establishments rely on the dry powder version that can be found on most grocery store shelves.  What I longed for was the true blue prepared from scratch version I had fallen in love with...

Imagine my delight when I was listening to NPR at work one day and heard the story of NYC's own Tommy Tsatsaroni.  I was almost ready to plan a road trip to sample his wares when they announced at the end of the story that his recipe could be found on their website.

Jackpot.