THE WALLABY TRACK WITH LIONEL MUSSELL
TAKE THE PRESSURE DOWN
A PRESSURE COOKER FROM THE 1970S? SURE, THAT’LL STILL WORK!
Regular readers would know I’ve been waiting
for a sticker to arrive from Mercedes Benz in
Germany following repairs to Yemmy. It has
finally arrived and I've stuck it on as requested,
and I'm sure Yemmy will run much better with
this in place under his bonnet!
Taking the scenic – and longer – way home
from Ararat, Vic, the other day I couldn't resist
stopping at the top of a hill and capturing the
view of the distant Grampians. The whole road
from Ararat to Pomonal abounds with great
views and a couple of peaceful little villages.
While travelling further along this road I
came across a road sign that pointed to a
caravan park intriguingly called ‘Grampians
Paradise’. Its full title is ‘Grampians Paradise
Camping and Caravan Parkland’, and of
course I was intrigued and had to brave the
few kilometres of gravel and, in some parts,
severe corrugations to have a look at what
was on offer.
I found a very large and peaceful campsite
with huge sites and adequate, if not modern,
amenities. There were not too many visiting
campers when I called but host Aiden
told me they are often booked out
for holidays, including their vintage
on-site caravans.
MURPHY HELPS WITH THE COOKING
I recently came by a lovely new pressure
cooker – at least, it was new when it was
bought in 1970. It looked as though it had never
been used and was in its original box complete
with the five-year warranty card.
I tried it out and it burnt dry! When I looked
closely I found that the safety valve had let all
the steam out without it ever getting to jiggle
the weight. It was worth getting a new safety
valve and, surprise, surprise, they still make
and sell Hawkins cookers, and I soon had a
new valve installed. This time I tried it with just
water and it worked a treat.
Inspired by this I chopped up some lamb
for a fricassee – ooh I do use some big words.
The recipe called for some flour and stock,
so I mixed the flour with the stock. Big mistake!
The flour should have been used to coat the
lamb before browning it but it must have made
a paste when the contents got hot, so there
was no liquid left and once again it boiled dry
and the safety valve again needs renewing.
Nice one, Murphy!
A true Grampians paradise!
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