A FEW CONFESSIONS

from the shack....

Everyone who knows me (which is few) or reads this this blog (which is more, I hope) realises I am devoted to home-grown vegetables, local and organic ingredients and treading lightly on the earth in all aspects of our lives.

However, I must confess to a few anomalies and here declare my enjoyment of a few processed goods containing more than 1 ingredient (sorry Pattie!). All are, thankfully, at least made in Australia, some are icons of Adelaide, even. Christmas and summer seem to expose all of them at once and that is why I have thought of them now, as I sit here with 1 in my hand and 1 on the table in front of me! (If you can't be naughty when you are on holidays, it's a sad world).

First and by far the the leader is Farmers Union Iced Coffee. Totally South Australian and, as the ads have been telling us for at least 20 years, "It's Farmers Union Iced Coffee or it's nothing". Here is Hugh on top of Mt Hotham with one of them that we took all the way from home. Moreover, its the 375ml carton I must have - not the 600ml (1pint) - irrespective of those specials at petrol stations. I won't be lured into being greedy and I won't share! I want my own, in cardboard, without a straw (unless I'm driving). This I am drinking now.

Second, Haigh's dark chocolate - not milk, not blend only dark. A true Adelaide icon - the only chocolate made in Australia from the cocoa bean - ie they do all the processing there on Greenhill Road at the factory.Favourites of mine are the dark chocolate coated almonds, the apricot chocolates and the peppermint crunch slab. At Christmas I buy us all some each - no-one has to share and mine are on the table in front of me now. (I couldn't get a photo off the web - all copyright !)

Third, Ambra Limoncello - a sharp, strong lemon liqueur made in Adelaide from SA lemons. I don't like wine much at all. At the end of a hot day, watching the sunset while sitting outside the shack, sipping Limoncello poured over ice is so good I am surprised there isn't a law against it. 2 glasses is perfect (of course it depends on the size of the glasses!), 3 is OK on a slow sunset day. (Have you noticed that sometimes the sun slips down ever so fast and at other times it goes so slow I think it doesn't want to end the day?) Maybe that is too much Limoncello...

Fourth, Dick Smith's Super Crunchy Peanut Paste. Sure you can make it or buy it unsalted, organic etc but when I dig a knife deep into this jar, pull out a big, juicy dollop and put the whole lot in my mouth I get all the salt, sugar and fat in one delicious mouthful ! This is great when I don't want to stop gardening to have lunch or I forget to have breakfast before I go out. A couple of dollops of this keeps me going for hours and Dick Smith is a great Aussie bloke. When son Hugh was sailing 4 hours on 4 hours off for weeks at a time, this peanut paste kept him energised between meals. In fact he kept a jar under his pillow! Roger is the only one in the family not to enjoy this secret snack.

That's it. Not that bad but it had to be said. Try as I might I can't think of much else that I must confess to .