ANZAC SPIRIT IS IN US ALL

Hi there

I'm passing on an extract from an article written by a friend, Eda Utka. To me, it epitomises the spirit of Australia, including our new residents from other lands.  Thanks Eda

LEST WE FORGET 
Claire

This Saturday is a special day here in Australia. It’s a day of remembrance for the men who sacrificed their lives to fight battles in faraway lands. One of those distant lands where Australians and New Zealanders fought was Turkey, my homeland.

This year, I baked ANZAC Biscuits. These biscuits are symbolic of a mother’s love and the innovative spirit of the ANZACs. The mothers of the ANZAC soldiers developed a recipe made from non-perishable ingredients to last the long journey to Turkey and this biscuit made of flour, rolled oats, coconut flakes, golden syrup and butter was born.

So this ANZAC spirit that we talk about, mateship, humour, ingenuity, courage and endurance, it is not only in the men who served overseas, but in the women who were left behind to raise their children to provide moral support, bake and ship off ANZAC biscuits as a symbol of their love. These days I see ANZAC spirit in people who leave behind their homes to come to Australia to study or start new lives here with their families.

I see it in people like Christabelle, who first offered me ANZAC biscuits despite being Indonesian. I see it in anyone who’s left all they know to start a new life after battling an illness, breakdown of a relationship, becoming a mother for the first time, decided to write a book, left a job that was comfortable for a new challenge. In short, we all embody the ANZAC spirit. It is the human spirit. Eda

You can read this article in full at https://www.writepublishgrow.com/lest-we-forget-that-anzac-spirit-is-in-all-of-us/

ANZAC biscuits - an ideal treat for picnics

The wives and mothers of Australian soldiers first came up with the recipe for these biscuits during World War 1. The original ingredients were chosen because they didn’t spoil and didn’t need refrigeration: this means the biscuits are particularly good for picnics.

1½ cups traditional rolled oats, 1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour, 2/3 cup brown sugar, ¾ cup desiccated coconut, 1 cup golden syrup, 125g   butter, 1 tsp bicarbonate of (baking) soda, 2 tbsp boiling water.
Preheat oven to 160°C.

Place the oats, flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl and mix to combine. Place the golden syrup and butter in a saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring, until melted. Combine the bicarbonate of soda with the water and add to the butter mixture. Pour into the oat mixture and mix well to combine.

Place tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper and flatten to 7cm rounds, allowing room to spread. Bake for 8–10 minutes or until deep golden. Allow to cool on baking trays for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

ANZAC DAY 

ANZAC Day Dawn Service, Sydney

April 25th marks the day on which Australians come together to commemorate all men and women who fought for the country since the First World War –  it is the anniversary of the landing of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli in 1915. This year also marks 102 years since the first Sydney commemoration of ANZAC.