Planes, Helicopters and Cinnamon Buns

I recently returned from almost 3 weeks in the US. We visited the lush, mellow Hawaiian island of Kauai so in many ways it does not qualify as the US in my mind as it is small, tropical, quiet and remote place. I could write on and on about how nice and friendly my tribe, the Americans, are. Or, how there was such a variety of food and shopping choices. Or how I'd forgotten American everyday sayings as I am now use to Australian lingo and British ways of saying words and phrases. Instead I will blog about a new phobia, flying.

studentuniverse.com

It is a 10.5 hour flight back to Sydney from Hawaii. After eating (at least there is free wine on international flights), watching movies ('Bridesmaids' gets funnier each time), reading (Shantatram - the 'Eat, Pray, Love' of an escaped convict) and taking a nap (who invented neck pillows...they never work for me)there is still time left. For recently anxious flyers like me, this time in the sky can seem like an eternity. One thing about living on a large island on the other side of the world is that it is a remote island on the other side of the world. It takes forever to fly anywhere. When we lived in California and flew to see family in New York, the 6 hour flight seemed very long; a flight you may only take 1-2 years due to the "long" flight. Now, living in Australia, a 6 hour flight would be heavenly. Here some flight times between Sydney and other parts of the world:

SYDNEY to:

Fiji Islands = 4.5 hrs

Bali = 6 hrs

Shanghai, China = 10.25 hrs

Mumbai, India = 13 hrs

Cape Town, South Africa = 14 hrs

Los Angeles, USA=15.5 hrs

New York, USA = 20.5 hrs

London, UK = 21.5 hrs

Australians like to travel. Perhaps living on a remote island there is a need to get out and explore the rest of the world. Many high school seniors have a what is called a 'Gap Year.' After they graduate from high school, they travel, work and live overseas for 1 year. When they return, they start University. Primary and high schools have 4 school terms during the school year with 2 weeks off between each term resulting in a shorter summer. With kids having 2 week breaks throughout the school year, it is easier to travel without missing school. It is also standard to start a job and get 4 paid weeks off called annual leave. Australians work to live and will take their vacation time. It is accepted in the workplace and not frowned upon. So off they go, when they can.

For those born here and not afraid of flying, they don't seem bothered by these long flights. I guess they are use to them and have no choice if they want to travel abroad. This morning I bumped into an acquaintance at a neighbourhood shop. She told me that she just returned from Iceland (yes, Iceland) and was jet lagged. She said they split up the flights back to Sydney and the last one wasn't so bad - it was only a 10 hours from Hong Kong! I have a new found respect for globe trotters. My husband is one and he doesn't mind flying and rarely gets jet lagged (no fair). After about 6 hours on a plane, my overactive imagination starts running at full speed and I start thinking (il)logical thoughts like – what am I doing in a tin can at 30,000 feet? How does this big hulking airplane have enough gas to get back to Australia? What really happened to that Malaysian plane - could we disappear too? Who are all these strangers in such close quarters behaving so nicely - when will the riot break out? How big is the septic system on this plane as there seems to be someone in the lavatory every 10 mins? Only 4042 miles to go...are you serious?!

While I was in Kauai, I decided to face my fear by taking a helicopter ride. Kauai is a great place for a helicopter ride since much of the island is untouched, undeveloped and unseen. This was a bad bad idea. The 45 minute flight seemed like the longest minutes of my life. I was nauseous, shaking and praying in my head. I could have prayed out loud and no one would've heard as the chopper was so loud. They had us wear big heavy earphones so we could instead hear the pilot's corny jokes and songs by the Little River Band. This music selection put my husband's 70's music in a new, more positive light. There was also a foreign woman next to me who kept laughing. I wasn't sure if she was scared bleep like me, loving the flight, or laughing at me. I was ready to give her my barf bag if I used it. Luckily I didn't lose my lunch. I was shaken and stirred from this ride and very happy to get back to my family and a stiff drink at our timeshare.

Now that I am on the ground and safely sitting at my computer, I decided to do a little research in hopes of getting over my new flying fear. In speaking with my next door neighbour who is an international pilot, he told me that the only time to have concerns are on take-off and landing as that is when accidents mainly occur. In between, passengers should just relax. Even with turbulence, which scares the bleep out of me, I am suppose to view this like a bumpy road that has pot holes and will soon be smooth again when the plane tries another elevation. I like the analogy but at least potholes are already on the stable ground and not thousands of feet in the air. That said, I did some research and there was some interesting data. Would you believe that after pilot error, the second most likely cause of a plane crash is birds? I knew those pigeons were up to something. Your chances are very slim for getting killed in a plane crash. I was actually very surprised by these odds.

Odds of being involved in a fatal plane accident

Odds of being on an airline flight which results in at least one fatality	Odds of being killed on a single airline flight
78 major world airlines 1 in 3.4 million	78 major world airlines 1 in 4.7 million
Top 39 airlines with the best accident rates   1 in 10.0 million	Top 39 airlines with the best accident rates   1 in 19.8 million
Bottom 39 with the worst accident rates   1 in 1.5 million	Bottom 39 with the worst accident rates   1 in 2.0 million

Source: OAG Aviation & PlaneCrashInfo.com accident database, 20 years of data (1993 - 2012) 

So now I really need to change my perception of flying based on the reality of how safe it really is. Perhaps if I can get over my fear of heights and claustrophobia I may be alright. Yeah...right.

While we were in Hawaii, my daughters had Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast a few times and loved them. I rarely see Cinnamon Rolls in Australia so I thought I'd try making them at home and sharing the recipe with you. I must say that is not an everyday recipe because they are time consuming to make. They took me about 2 hours to make from start to finish. That was because I had to let the yeast rise. No effort there, just waiting time. If you can find rapid rise yeast, you can make these in 1 hour. They are absolutely delicious, decadent and worth the effort. I was trying to be healthy after returning from vacation but I couldn't resist these buns; they are worth every calorie and so good with a coffee or tea. This is a really fun recipe to make with kids. 

Cinnamon Rolls

adapted from Gimme Some Oven blog

Dough Ingredients:
1 cup milk 
1/4 cup/55grams cup butter
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 envelope instant  yeast (approx. 2 1/4 tsp)
1 egg

Cinnamon-Sugar Filing Ingredients:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
4 Tbsp. butter

Icing Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp. milk

1) Pre heat oven to 160C or 350F 

2) Combine milk and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high for 1 minute, then remove and stir. Continue heating in 20 second intervals, pausing after each to stir, until the butter is melted and the milk is warm to the touch but not hot. If needed, let the milk mixture sit for a few minutes until it is warm but not hot. * It is very important that the mixture is just warm and not hot. If it is too hot, it'll kill the yeast.*

3) In a separate bowl, whisk together 3 cups flour (not all of the flour), sugar and salt until combined.

4) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add yeast and lukewarm milk mixture and stir by hand to combine. Add the flour mixture and egg, and beat on medium-low speed until combined. If the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl, add the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough begins to form a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Continue beating for 5 minutes on medium-low speed. Remove the dough hook and cover the bowl with a warm damp towel and let rest for 60 minutes until it doubles in size.(Note: if you have rapid rise yeast, let dough rest for 1/2 the time or 30 minutes)

5) Meanwhile, make your filling by whisking together sugars and cinnamon in a bowl until combined.

6) When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured work surface. Then use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 14 x 9 inches in size. (If you want all edges to be even, you can use a pizza slicer to cut the dough into a perfect rectangle.) Use a knife or pastry spatula to spread the softened 1/2 cup of butter out evenly over the entire surface of the dough. Then sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. THIS IS REALLY FUN FOR KIDS TO HELP WITH.

7) Using a pizza cutter or dental floss (unused of course), cut dough into long strips. Roll up dough pieces tight and place in well greased pan (I should have used a larger pan the the one in this photo as there were too many cinnamon rolls and they didn't rise as well as they could have, although they still tasted great). Bake at 160C or 350F for 30 minutes. 

8) While the cinnamon rolls are cooking, make the icing by stirring together melted butter, vanilla and powdered sugar until combined. If the icing is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of milk to thin. If the icing is too thin, add a tablespoon or two of powdered sugar to thicken. (Sorry no photo)

9) Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

10) Smooth icing on top and enjoy! They wouldn't last long.

Sharks Alive....or Dead?....Garlic Prawns (formerly known as Shrimp Scampi)

One of the best parts of my life in Australia is living on the coast. When I say I live on the coast, I mean I'm 43 steps down to the street, 1 crossover and walk down the lane and then 30 steps down to a trail then a short climb down to a semi-private harbour beach, which all in all is about 7 minutes away. The beach is our playground and free entertainment. My family swims, snorkels, boogie boards, powerboats and occasionally sails. We can't get enough of the view out our window nor deciding which local beach to go to on a sunny day. This is a welcome change from Santa Cruz, California where we use to frequent when we lived in the US. It was a 45 minute drive from our house in Silicon Valley, the drive was over the mountains and the road was a challenging drive, the weather was often unpredictably foggy, and the ocean was freezing cold all year long. We didn't know any better and loved to go to Santa Cruz whenever we could. In fact, we almost moved there but didn't and here I am on the other side of the world which is bizarre to me when I think about it sometimes.


The view out my window. (Source: my Sony mobile phone)

I am not alone living on the coast of Australia. According to the CSRIO, 85% of Australians live within 50 kilometres (31 miles) of the coast. In fact seven of the eight capital cities of the country are on the coast. I suspect these cities grew up along the coast because they need to be near the ports for trade, people love living near the ocean and the rest of this huge island is quite arid.

Anyone living in Australia, whether on the coast or inland has to beware of the dangerous animals living down under. Australia has its fair share of some of the world's dangerous creatures. There are small deadly spiders and 6 of the world's top 10 deadliest snakes here. Even the cute and mysterious platypus produces a dangerous venom if threatened. On Australia's Top Ten Most Dangerous Animals, the Great White Shark is #9. The Great White and many other varieties of sharks are alive and well in Australia.  Living here, you learn which are the harmless sharks - many, and which are the dangerous ones - Great White, Tiger, Bull. You're taught to - not swim at dawn nor dusk, keep out of murky water, stay out of the water if you are bleeding and don't urinate, although I think on a big public beach with kids, you can't avoid the urine unfortunately. Our local big beaches are patrolled by professional lifeguards and you are suppose to swim in between the flags, where they patrol and watch swimmers and water conditions. If there is a shark sighting, a sign goes up on the beach. Many beaches also have shark nets to protect swimmers. On the weekends, there is often a helicopter that goes up and down the coast looking for sharks and alerts the beaches if there is one/some sighted near shore.

shark patrol helicopter (source: smh.com.au)

(Source: my mobile phone)

Manly Cove beach with shark net, (Source: weekendnotes.com)

Sharks were not a concern growing up inland in upstate New York. My family occasionally went to Cape Cod or the Jersey shore for a summer holiday but sharks weren't on our mind. Even in Santa Cruz, I didn't give it a second thought as I was only in the water for about 10 minutes before my calves started aching from the freezing water. Living in Sydney, it is in the back of my mind often, especially when I go snorkelling. Snorkelling is my form of meditation and I try and go when the weather is warm and the visibility is clear, which I can actually see from my patio.  I have met up with small harmless sharks a couple of times while snorkelling right off the beach. While they aren't much bigger than large fish, they still scare the hell out of me and cause me to hyperventilate and flee the water as soon as possible. What is it about sharks that scares the hell out of people?! I will forever blame the movie maker Steven Spielberg for his movie "Jaws." I think he has inadvertently really screwed the shark over. Bad Steven...

I've found that discussing sharks in Sydney is like discussing politics in America - controversial. They trigger such emotional responses. Sharks are loved, hated, respected and feared. Some people's fear borders on a paranoid, delusional, irrational, primal fear. This fear isn't just an Australian native versus a foreign ex-pat shark fear. Sharks elicit strong mixed feelings no matter where you came from. I find it interesting because when you look at the data, the empirical facts there should be little fear nor hysteria at all. 

According to an article published in Australian Geographic  just last month, there have been 892 shark attacks in Australia since record keeping began in 1791. 217 of the attacks have been fatal. So in 223 years, there have been 217 deaths which is about 1 death per year. Compared to fatalities from other forms of water related activity, the number of fatal shark attacks in Australia is extremely low. To put the risk of being killed by a shark into perspective, there are an average of 121 deaths per year from people drowning at Australian beaches, harbours and rivers. During the period 1969-2000, in the state of New South Wales (NSW) where I live, 218 rock fishermen were swept off the rocks and drowned. In that same period 40 shark encounters were recorded in NSW with only two fatalities reported. (Australian Shark Attack File, Taronga Zoo)

A six hour flight west, in the state of Western Australia (WA), there have been 7 fatal shark attacks since 2010, 4 of them in the past year. The attacks have been on surfers and divers who are out on the coast, away from the protection of the life guards and shark helicopters. Because of this the WA government has announced "shark mitigation strategies." Money has been allocated from the Department of Fisheries to cull great white, tiger, and bull sharks larger than 3 metres, while smaller sharks are to be released. The term "culling" is a nice more scientific way of saying "killing." According to Wikipedia, "culling" is the process of removing breeding animals from a group based on specific criteria. This is done either to reinforce certain desirable characteristics or to remove certain undesirable characteristics from the group. For livestock and wildlife alike, culling usually implies the killing of the removed animals.

For the past 1.5 months, protests have been held in at least 10 locations across Australia, from NSW to Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart and Cottesloe, Broome and Perth in WA. Protests were also held in New Zealand and South Africa. Activists argue that no scientific evidence suggests killing individual animals would reduce the already very low risk of shark attack. Baited hooks used to kill sharks will also kill other marine life including turtles, dolphins and other non-target sharks. Others argue that the money that has been dedicated to shark culling should be spent on science by using satellite tags to track the elusive sharks so their behaviours can be better understood.

Comedian Ricky Gervais and Virgin CEO Richard Branson have been vocal in their opposition to the cull  (source:dailytelegraph.com.au)

Protest at Manly, one of my local beaches (source:smh.com.au)

Protest sign (Source: www.abc.net.au)

At time of typing this blog, despite all the protests, the WA shark culling is still in effect. While some people support this action, newspapers report that 80% of people do not. It'll be interesting to see what develops over the coming months.

When we talk about sharks and the ocean, I need to share a shrimp recipe. Shrimp is my favourite type of seafood. They are so light yet filling. I tend to hover around the shrimp cocktail tray at parties and stuff my face when no one is watching and I'll usually order shrimp if it is on a menu while eating out. There are all different shrimp sold in Sydney (called prawns in Australia) - Green Prawns, Banana Prawns, Jumbo Prawns and others. You can easily buy them frozen or from the fishmonger (yes that's his name). This recipe is easy, delicious and can be served as a weeknight dinner or for guests. It goes great with a nice light white wine. The only negative is that your house may smell like garlic but it is worth it. This is another recipe that I have adapted from Cooks' Illustrated magazine and have been making it for years. Enjoy!

Garlic Prawns

(aka Shrimp Scampi)

adapted from Cooks' Illustrated

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons butter

4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine 

750 grams or 1.5 pounds of prawns/shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lemon, juiced*

1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh parsley*
Salt and pepper
Chilli flakes (optional)

Grated parmesan or pana grandano cheese (optional)

I box/bag, Angel Hair Pasta or Spaghetti


(*use fresh lemons and fresh parsley. Bottled lemon juice and dried parsley will not work)

1) Fill a large pot with water and start heating it to cook pasta. While water is heating, prep ingredients - wash and take tails off prawns/shrimp (if necessary), mince garlic, juice & cut up lemons, chop parsley.

2) Once all food is prepped, heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet.  When butter is all melted add garlic and quickly cook, being careful not to burn it.  Add white wine and let it cook for a minute to burn some of the alcohol off.

3. Cook angel hair pasta according to the box. Note, this recipe tastes best with angel hair or a thin spaghetti. Pasta shapes do not absorb the broth/sauce like angel hair or spaghetti do.

4. Add prawns/shrimp and lemon juice to the skillet and stir prawns/shrimp so it cooks and the prawn/shrimp becomes opaque. Add chilli flakes if using.

5. Add chopped parsley. Yes, this looks gross but the parsley and lemon counter balance the garlic and create a great flavour.

6. Place now cooked angel hair pasta in a bowl and spoon garlic prawns/shrimp scampi over it. Season with salt and pepper as necessary and grate cheese over the top if using. Serve with a salad, crusty bread and a glass of white wine used.

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and Don't be Crabby Quiche

Happy New Year! Did 2013 fly by for you as fast as it did for me?! I am behind on my blogging; it has been about one month since I have written anything. The past month can best be described by the famous Charles Dickens' line, 'it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' I think most ex-pats would agree that the holiday season is the worst time of the year for homesickness, loneliness and feeling isolated. For me, it is a time of mixed emotions. It is the best of times because I love the holiday season - festive events, holiday parties, shopping for gifts and seeing Christmas through my daughters' eyes. It is also the end of the school year here and my daughters will be home for the next 7 weeks which means a more relaxed schedule and more time at the beach. It is the worst of times because we are so far away from our US families, Christmas traditions are a bit different here and the weather can be pretty stinking hot since it is summer. Growing up and having spent most of my life in the northern hemisphere, Christmas meant cold weather and sometimes even snow and a white Christmas. Heat, humidity and swimming in the ocean are very different than the nostalgic memories I have of Christmas. While waiting in the long line to buy our seafood for our Christmas dinner, I heard Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby crooning away their holiday songs about being home for Christmas, chestnuts roasting on a fire, etc. I was about to get teary but then laughed out loud in the seafood shop. I looked around and felt like I was in a mirage -  90 humid degrees outside, a crowded smelly seafood shop, people dressed in summer clothing and a busy beach down the street. There was no snow, snowmen, nor chestnuts roasting (does anyone really eat chestnuts?), and my extended family was no where to be seen. They were in the US, a very expensive 20-hr flight away. It was one of those moments that made me snap back into reality and remember that when you are in Rome, be a Roman. The decorations are still up in our house but I am glad Christmas is now over and a new year has begun.

The day after Christmas, December 26, is Boxing Day, a public holiday here in Australia and most Commonwealth countries. It is also the start of the Sydney to Hobart sailing race, one of the world's most watched and most difficult sailing events. In terms of sporting events, it is as big and popular as the Melbourne Cup horse race, the Australian Open tennis and the cricket tests between Australia and England. The race starts in Sydney and finishes in Hobart, Tasmania. The course covers a distance of 628 nautical miles from Sydney Harbour, down the east coast of Australia, across the Bass Strait, along the east coast of Tasmania and finishes up in Hobart, Tasmania. It is considered a difficult event due to the high winds and rough seas of the Bass Strait. In 1998, there was a huge storm in which 5 boats sank and 6 people died. Of the 115 boats that started the race that year, only 44 completed it.



The Sydney to Hobart race has been going since 1945 and this year, 94 boats from all over the world competed. It's an egalitarian event, with sailboats as small as 30 feet and as big as 98-feet. The sailboat crews also range from weekend hobby sailors to professionals from the America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race circuits. For most sailors who live in Sydney, it's a dream that they may some day be on one of the boats for this race. My husband is one of them and he hopes he'll get that golden opportunity one day. As with any race, the focus is generally on which yacht crosses the finish line first. Surprisingly, this boat is often not the overall winner. It is a handicap race where a sailboat's finish time is adjusted based on several factors set down in the prevailing rules. So, the fastest boat may not be the overall winner. There are several awards based on finishing times and handicaps. For 2013, Wild Oats XI was the line winner and Victorie was the overall winner. All but 10 boats finished the race.



I'd heard of this race while living in the US because my husband loves to sail. It's a big event in Sydney on Boxing Day with local residents rushing to the many coastline vistas to watch the start of the race and watch as the boats leave Sydney Harbour. News helicopters are on hand and all types of boats wait in a what appears to be an orchestrated aisle in the harbour to see the boats race out to sea. My neighbourhood park is a popular venue with people arriving at the park early in the morning to get a good view for when the race starts at 1pm. I arrived at 12:45 but still had a decent view. Yes, all those "dots" on the water are boats.

In line with the ocean, the summer and sailing, this blog's recipe is Crab Quiche. I love dairy products so it is no surprise that I like a quiche since it combines eggs, cheese and cream into a savoury custard pie. I've found the dairy products here to be excellent. The eggs have a bright yellow/orange yolk, the milk tastes much creamier and I use 1/2 the amount of sour cream I use when I bake because the sour cream is very rich.

Quiche is popular at the cafes and restaurants here. It's very versatile - you can eat quiche alone or make a lunch or dinner out of it with fruit or salad. For dinner, it is nice with a salad, crusty bread and a glass of white wine. It also can be made with many meat and/or vegetable combinations. I have not seen crab quiche since I moved here so I thought I'd share this recipe.

CRAB QUICHE

adapted from Gourmet magazine recipe

*please see cooking notes at bottom of blog*

1 Pie Crust (frozen or fresh, see easy pie crust recipe from  last blog)

1 small White Onion, chopped fine

1 clove Garlic, chopped fine

3 tbsp Dry Sherry (optional)

4 large Eggs

1 cup Heavy Cream

1 1/4 cups Swiss Cheese, grated

1/2 tsp each, Salt and Paprika

1/4 tsp each, Black Pepper, Dry Mustard, and Nutmeg

1 cup of lump Crab meat, packed

1) Preheat oven to 190 C/ 375 F. Poke pie crust bottom with the fork several times and put in the oven for 15 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, brown onions in a skillet until translucent. Then add garlic and sherry (if using) and stir for 1-2 minutes more. (Be careful; garlic burns easily.) Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

3) Remove pie crust from oven. While cooling, grate cheese.

4) In a medium bowl, mix eggs, cream, cheese, seasonings/spices and onion mixtures together well.

5) Add crab meat and stir thorough.The mixture will be very thick.

6) Pour into cooled pie crust.

7) Cook for 45-60 minutes. Quiche should be set and not "jiggly" in the middle.

NOTES:

• CRAB - if you like crab, you'll love this quiche! The synergy of the crab, cheese and spices is delicious. This recipe is very thick with crab. If you'd like smoother texture and less crab, I'd use only 1/2-3/4 cup crab and add 1 additional egg. I also could not find canned crab meat in my local store and had to buy crab meat from my seafood shop. It was $ but delicious.

• SEASONINGS - it is important to use seasonings for this quiche as Crab and Swiss cheese can be bland. I did not have Old Bay nor Seafood Seasoning on hand but was happy with the spices I did use. The sherry adds a nice touch if you already have it.

• OPTIONS - you can add some julienned sun dried tomatoes and/or red capsicum/pepper to the quiche. Just cook them with onions and remove any excess liquid. You can also add herbs - a little chopped parsley, some basil/coriander, a squirt of lemon juice. It can also be spiced up with red chili flakes or a little minced red chili (jar)

Photo and information credits from this blog- wikipedia.org, rolexsydneyhobart.com, theduncanadventures.blogspot.com, silver-mg.com, sailingtrivia.com, henrythorton.com