The Tingle Factor Box

Roy Creates Grandma's Yummy, Easy 'Leftovers' Sausage Rolls

This week, Roy had a hankering for a simple, old fashioned favourite. When I was little, Roy's Grandma was (and still is) a real whiz with leftovers. She always had a creative, yummy way to use them up, and some of her inventions were family favourites. One which we all loved, and which Roy wanted to share with his online friends was Grandma's Sausage Rolls. So he asked her for the recipe, only to discover that not only was there no recipe, she wasn't even sure she could remember how to make them! After some trial and error with Grandma though, Roy is ready to share these old fashioned favourites with you. So this week, Roy Creates Grandma's Yummy, Easy 'Leftovers' Sausage Rolls.

You Will Need:

• Thin sausages. Grandma used leftover sausages, but we didn't have any, so just cook your sausages in whatever your favourite way is (or have sausages for dinner and cater to have leftovers for tomorrow!) Our sausages were the right length for the pastry, but you might need to cut them in half to make them fit neatly.
• A packet of store bought puff pastry, thawed. You need enough pastry for however many sausages you have. You can make 4 sausage rolls from one sheet of pastry.
• A jar of store bought chutney. Grandma usually used fruit chutney, but whatever you like best is fine.
• A packet of grated cheese.
• Tomato sauce.

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celcius and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

• Cut a sheet of puff pastry into quarters, as Roy has done above.
• Spread each quarter with about a teaspoon of chutney.

• Sprinkle a small handfull of cheese down the centre of the piece of pastry (diagonally)
• Lay the sausage on top of the cheese.
• Drizzle with a little tomato sauce

• Wrap the pastry around the sausage, as Roy is doing above.
• Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until the pastry is cooked and the cheese, chutney and tomato sauce are bubbly.
• Enjoy with salad or vegetables and remember they are very hot when they first come out of the oven!

 

Is It Some Sort Of Watch? Coin Holder

Imagine, you are a gentleman living in the late 1800s in London. London is a busy place, with lots of people, lots of smoke and lots of smog. It is also a very easy place to loose your money. There are so many pickpockets around, and many of them can pick your pocket without you even realising it. Your wife knows you are nervous about the pickpockets when in town, and for your last birthday, she gave you a beautiful coin holder. It clips onto a fob chain and no pick pocket will be stealing your money without you knowing now!

Roaming Roy Finds A Fishy Rock - Berowra Waters Aboriginal History

This week, Roy was very busy, and didn't have a lot of time to go out and about, so we needed to find somewhere nearby which we could visit. One of the nearby places which has fascinated him for many years is Berowra Waters. Years ago, Roy was wandering along the beautiful, riverside walks when he realised that he was walking on, and through, thousands of years of history with the path cutting through extensive midden deposits. Over the years he has also discovered several of the Aboriginal carvings in the area. Being close by, Roy thought this would be the perfect place to visit for a quick, beautiful walk.

If you would like to visit the Aboriginal Sites in Berowra Waters, you will need to first drive through Berowra itself. To get there, take the Berowra exit on the F3, follow the Pacific Highway to the Berowra turn off, then follow Berowra Waters Road and the signs to Berowra Waters. You can also come from the Galston/Dural side and catch the vehicular ferry across. All of the sites which Roy visited are on the Eastern side of the Ferry. Roy has written more detailed descriptions of how to find the sites at the bottom of this post. Remember, these are protected cultural sites so look, but don't disturb them. While in Berowra Waters, why not catch the ferry to the other side of the 'river' (it's actually Berowra Creek), and stop for fish and chips or a play on the equipment. Perhaps you might even like to bring a picnic and your fishing line!

The Berowra area has a very long history dating to long before Europeans settled in the area. Some say that Aboriginals had been using the area along the creek for up to 47000 years (though Roy thinks this is very unlikely). The dating of the sites is somewhat controversial though, with many others, including Hornsby Council, saying Aboriginals have only been in the area for about 20000 years. Berowra Creek is a fascinating place, and was very important in the history of Aborigines. It seems that the valley through which Berowra Creek passes was not 'owned' by either the Ku-ring-gai or Dharug people, but instead marked the boundary between their territories. The Ku-ring-gai people lived to the West and the Dharug lived to the East. The Berowra Creek area was used by both tribes, and would have been a place where they came into contact. It may even have had ceremonial importance. Whatever the case, the massive shell middens which are found along the side of the creek shows that the Aboriginal people were using the area!

Soon after Europeans arrived though the Aboriginal population began to decline. The first contacts between Aborigines and Europeans in the area were friendly, but as they began to compete for resources, there were cases of Aborigines and Europeans being killed. More devastating to the Aborigines though were the diseases which were brought out with the Europeans. The Aborigines had no immunity against terrible diseases like smallpox and influenza and even against western 'childhood diseases' like measles and mumps. Soon they started to catch the diseases and to die. In fact, some of the early explorers to investigate Berowra Creek noted in their diaries seeing dead Aborigines along the banks of the creek. As the Aborigines disappeared from the area they left behind evidence of their habitation in middens, and carvings like the ones found at Berowra Waters. The last of the local full blooded Aborigines thought to have lived in Berowra was 'Granny Lewis'. She was in the area in the 1820s, and obtained a land-grant in the area in 1835. When she died, it is thought that no local Aborigines were left.  

To get to the large rock with the man, and the upright rock with the fish on it: facing the river, turn right and walk along the road until you reach the entry to the bush walk (The Great North Walk). The large, vertical rock with the man on it is on your right as you enter the walk. The vertical rock with fish on it is more difficult to find. Walk along the track until you see an overgrown area on your right with overhangs and caves. Turn around, walk back along the path and look for a triangular rock on the right. The fish are very eroded, but there are lots of them on the rock!

To get to the fish engravings and grinding grooves on the horizontal rocks (Washtub Gully): facing the river, turn left, climb the few steps and follow the path behind the old building. Continue along the path until you come to a little 'grotto' type of area, where there is often water flowing over the path. In this area you will find lots of engravings of fish (which may or may not be 'real' Aboriginal engravings) and also a number of Aboriginal grinding grooves. If you continue along the path for a little longer, you will find one of the most obvious midden sites along the path on your left.

Roy Creates Lime And Coconut Impossible Pie

This week, Roy decided it was time to share with his online friends an easy, incredible recipe. Roy loves old fashioned recipes which work every time, and which are easy to make, and thinks that they are often more flavoursome than modern, fiddly recipes. Best of all, they usually come together really quickly with minimal effort. One of his favourites is the aptly named 'impossible pie'. This lime and coconut impossible pie makes a delicious dessert, but looks like it will never work when you put it into the pie dish. Have no fear though, it creates a luscious dessert. So this week, Roy Creates Lime And Coconut Impossible Pie.

What If It Caught Fire? - Pokerwork Doily Holder

Imagine, it is the Great Depression and you are an artist. Things are tough, and you are trying everything you can to make extra money for your family. Recently you acquired a pyrography set. You have seen plenty of pokerwork in homes and for sale, and thought it might be a good artform to make and sell as it is so popular. Getting the hang of the technique is a bit tricky though. After all, burning designs into wood is something that, if you mess it up, you can't really fix. The results, when you do 'get it right' are fantastic though, and sell well!

Roaming Roy Rocks! Dunn's Swamp

This week, Roy was doing a little research, deciding on places he thought would be worth looking at for future trips. One of the things which Roy has been really interested in recently is geology, and so he was looking at places where he could see some interesting rock formations. He thought Pagoda rocks looked particularly interesting, and on seeing photos of them, he realised that he had seen them somewhere before, at Dunns Swamp. He has visited before (to read about his trip click here), but wanted to tell his online friends a little about these amazing rocks.

If you would like to visit Dunn’s Swamp, it is 30 kilometres from Rylstone in the Mudgee area and is located within the beautiful Wollemi National Park. To get there, find Narrango Road and follow the signs to Dunns Swamp. The road is sealed at first, but then becomes dirt, winding between the magnificent rock formations. The road is a good quality one though! If you like, you can camp at Dunns Swamp, or just take a walk around the magnificent area before heading towards another destination, like Mudgee. It's also a good place for boating and fishing.

Dunn’s Swamp, or Ganguddy as the Wiradjuri Aboriginal people who originally lived here called it, is not a natural swamp. The ‘swamp’ was created when the Cudgegong River had a weir built across it so that the Kandos Cement Company could use the water. The surrounding rock formations, including pagoda rocks, overhangs, cliffs and caves, however are all natural, and took millions of years to reach their current splendour. Like most of the rocks in the Wollemi National Park, and indeed in the Greater Sydney region, the pagodas, cliffs, caves and overhangs which are so awe inspiring are mainly made of humble sandstone. This sandstone was made up of sediments laid down up to 250 million years ago, when the area was a huge fertile area called a delta, formed as part of a river system, much like the Amazon or the Nile Delta. Over time, beds of sand, mud and organic material (like dead plants and animals) formed and were buried under more layers. As they were buried, the weight and heat of the layers on top made the lower layers into stone – mainly sandstone, though some of the organic material formed coal. Later (between 90 and 45 million years ago), some of these layers were lifted up by the earth’s forces, and made plateaus and mountains, like The Blue Mountains.

So, how did the sandstone turn into the amazing shapes we see today? Sandstone comes in different ‘grades’, using different minerals to hold the grains together. Some of these minerals make hard, tightly compacted sandstone but the sandstone at Dunn’s Swamp is quite weak, held together by salty clay and iron oxides. The iron oxides give the sandstone its red and yellow colours. The outside of the rock, where it looks grey is hardened, but the inside is quite soft. When the outside is broken, water gets in and erodes the inside rock. Eventually, this will mean that the rock becomes an overhang or a cave. The pagodas at Dunns Swamp, which are the amazing rounded rocks, formed differently. They have been formed as, grain by grain, sand rubs against the sandstone and weathers it away. It’s a bit like sandblasting, only it takes a very long time!

 

Roy Creates Coconut Rough Slice

Earlier this week, Roy and I were at the shops when we saw 'Coconut Roughs' for sale. These are an old fashioned treat which Roy has a soft spot for. I remembered that his Grandma had an old slice recipe which tastes just like this sweet, and suggested that instead of buying just one Coconut Rough we should see if Grandma still had the recipe. She did, and agreed to allow Roy to put it up online for his friends. So this week, Roy Creates Coconut Rough Slice.

You Will Need:

For the base:

• 125 grams of butter or margarine
• 1/2 a cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of golden syrup
• 1 cup of self raising flour
• 3/4 of a cup of coconut

For the filling:

• 1/2 a tin of condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon of butter
• 1 cup of icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon of cocoa
• 1 cup of coconut
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or essence

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a lamington tin or slice tin with baking paper

• To make the base, cream the butter and sugar together then add the golden syrup, coconut and self raising flour. Beat everything together.

• Press the base mix into the bottom of the lamington tin and bake for 20 minutes or until the base is golden.

• While the base is cooking, combine all of the filling ingredients in a heavy based saucepan. About five minutes before the base is cooked, melt everything over a medium heat, stirring all the time. You want the mix to thicken, but you don't want to boil the mix.

• Pour the hot filling mix over the hot base and allow the filling to spread out.
• Set the slice aside to cool and set.
• Cut into squares and enjoy.

Note: this slice is very rich so you only need a small piece. It keeps well in an airtight container.

Is It Part Of A Game? Rice Ball Cooker

Imagine, you are a mother living in China in the mid 1900s. Your family isn’t very wealthy, and you work in the fields every day with your husband to earn a living. Then, each night, you return home to cook a meal for your husband and son. It’s not a grand meal, but it is good and at least you have enough to make the meal filling. You have a little plot of land where you grow vegetables, and of course, there is always rice. You eat rice all the time, and it is such an important part of the diet. Filling, cheap, and it can be served in so many ways.

Roaming Roy Is All Trussed Up - Monkerai Bridge

This week, Roy decided he wanted to spend some time up around the Barrington Tops area. Of course, we didn't actually have time to make the trip, so he decided to take a trip down memory lane instead and look at the photos we took last time we were there. While he was looking at the photos, he remembered that he had not shown his friends the extraordinary bridge he discovered while he was in the area. Monkerai Bridge is an amazing old bridge, and while it is closed to traffic, it is well worth a look.

Roy Creates A Colourful Shuttlecock

Earlier this week, Roy was fascinated by the history of the shuttlecock. He did not realise that the humble ‘featherball’ had such a long history. Neither did he realise that the shuttlecock he is familiar with, the one used in badminton, is not the only type of shuttlecock, or indeed the original one. When he looked at photos of the earlier type of shuttlecock, he felt sure that he could make his own homemade version. With a little trial and error, Roy has worked out how to make a very successful shuttlecock and would like to share the instructions with you. So this week, Roy Creates A Colourful Shuttlecock.