The Cane Toad invasion grows in strengh, they are going to take over Tampa!

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High Drama here in Tampa. The cane toads have discovered the food I put out for the feral cats and are eating it all. Not only are my precious feral kitties being robbed of their dinner, the hideous toads are growing fatter and bigger from their stolen fare.

I don't mind the Opossums having some, am quite happy when Dame Judi Dench the racoon pops over for a spot of tucker on the front porch. They are all God's creatures, great and small as James Herriot would say. One must make clear though, that the hand of friendship does not extend to the evil cane toad

.My evening was spent out the front chasing the bigger one and three smaller ones away from the kitty food with a broom, looking like a lunatic. I wacked one pretty hard, managed to squish another. It's a really awful business, but I simply will not allow them to make Robert Mugabe go hungry, or his urchin mate, Danny Quinn.

Die Cane Toads, DIE!
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When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading

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Yesterday I rebelled at having been too long deprived of some classic Aussie tucker and set about making a meat pie. The trouble is, one cannot buy shortcrust pastry here in the US. Why? Such a simple and common food item, it seems strange that it is not readily available.

Pastry making is a chore best avoided, thank heavens for the ready-made sheets of short crust and puff pastry in the freezer at any supermarket in Australia.

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A recipe was sought for the flaky delight. Nigella Lawson has always provided excellent recipes that convert into delicious and popular treats. This time the results were not so pleasing. Oh dear, it was very buttery and not at all suitable, back to the books to find another. Nigella, how could you let me down like that? I thought we were friends?

Puff pastry sheets are impossible to get, but I did manage to find long rectangles of it which were combined to make one flat sheet.

The flavoursome filling as it cooked.

The pie turned out really well and is heartily recommended for my fellow Aussies, expats and anyone who just likes to eat yummy things.

Meat Pie

short crust pastry (store bought for the lucky ones)

2 tablespoons olive oil

400g chuck or blade steak, diced

1 onion, sliced

150g button mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 teaspoon Vegemite

1 tablespoons plain flour

1tablespoon bisto

200 mls red wine

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 cup (250 mls) beef stock

1 tablespoon chopped rosemary

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

sea salt and pepper

1 sheet puff pastry

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten


Preheat oven to 200°C/400F Lightly spray a pie pan, lay sheet of pastry in with enough to cover the edges. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes to chill. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

Not the prettiest looking pie, but a scrumptious one.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium saucepan over a high heat. Brown meat in batches. Add remaining oil to pan and reduce temperature to medium, add vegetables and cook for 1 minute. Return meat to the pan and stir through the flour and Bisto. Cook for one minute then add the wine, tomato paste, vegemite stock and rosemary. Stir and cook for 50 mins- 1 hour or until tender. Season to taste and stir through parsley. Set aside to cool.

Spoon beef mixture into pastry case. Place on the top of the pie and press edges with a fork. Brush generously with egg wash, pierce the top and bake for 12- 15 minutes or until golden.

Some may say a pie is a tad on the fattening side. Let that not get in the way of a hearty home cooked treat, 'Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved off the dessert cart." Erma Bombeck

Title quote by Henry Youngman.