HP games & merchandise, odd skills & hobbies, Oz cuisine

[Tabouli]

Heidi:
> I do, for PoA, want stuffed Animagi dolls that turn inside out- wizard on one side, animal on the other, and a set of MWPP nesting dolls.

Yes yes yes!  I've been agitating for these for months.  Revive that 80s Transformer concept, I say, and let's have a Scabbers toy with a slit in his stomach out of which Peter Pettigrew can be pulled...

On the subject of celebrity chefs, I was charmed by the concept of The Surreal Gourmet and sequels.  Very quirky, recipes interlaced with food-themed surreal artwork, suggestions for theme parties (all black food with a soundtrack comprising only songs with 'black' in the title!).  One day, on a whim, I came upon the author's email address and sent him a message.  He actually replied, but our correspondence never went anywhere interesting and died after a couple of posts.

As for HP themed games, tarot sets and the like, I am formally restraining myself until the entire series is out (if I survive that long, she says despairingly, sending "HURRY UP!" vibes to JKR).  I mean, we have three as yet unpublished books full of trivia and places and people to go... surely it's a bit premature to be releasing that sort of stuff!  Of course, that doesn't mean we shouldn't start planning our merchandise now...

Rachel:
> HAHAHAAA!  "Go to Azkaban.  Go directly to Azkaban.  Do not 
pass Go.  Do not collect 200 galleons."

(Tabouli joins in Rachel's HAHAHAAA!)

> What would be Park Place and Boardwalk?

Malfoy Manor and Godric's Hollow?  Though in the movie the supposedly lavishly rich Potters were living in a fairly nondescript sort of a place rather than a mansion.  I suppose this was their hideout: surely, if the Potters are rolling about in riches, there could be some as yet undisclosed Potter Palace in ruins somewhere...

David:
> Community Chest = Gringotts. Chance?

The Sorting Hat?  Ludo's Casino?  Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?  No brilliant inspirations there, but making up the cards would be fun.  "You have won the Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw!  Collect 500 Galleons."  "You have been awarded second prize in Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile of the Year Award!  Mortgage your most expensive property to hire a modelling agent. "  "You stammer while taking Floo Powder.  Go directly to Knockturn Alley."  "You get caught flying an illegal magic car.  Pay a fine of 1000 Galleons"  "You encounter a Dementor and faint from depression.  Miss three turns"...

> Jail is Azkaban, of course; what is Free Parking?

The Owlery, maybe? (and how about our animal representatives in the tokens, eh?  demands Tabouli, who always but always went for the little dog.  Why not a hippogriff, or an owl, or even a Horntail?)  Maybe the Ministry for Magic should be the income tax one (ahh, now, we don't know about taxation in the Wizarding World, do we?)

(Speaking of money, I have now officially confirmed that yes, against all of my better financial judgment, I *will* be going to the St Louis conference in late June!  American listmembers, you have been warned...)

Amy Z:
> Andrew, whose resume must be fascinating (math, chess, raptors . . . )

Drieux:
> Chess and falconry are both delights, but not on the CV {grin}.  For the record, the licensed falconer is
my lady.  As to the math, if you'd like, I'll be more than happy to send along a draft of my current paper.<

Hmm, most interesting.   This calls for some more clean-coming, I feel.  What other unique and eccentric skills and hobbies lurk among the OT pantheon?  Let's hear 'em! (I suspect that generating long acronyms for Harry Potter lists has to be up there: I've got some very odd looks when I've tried to explain this pastime of mine to RL people...)

Rita:
> And some half-way decent jewelry, silver necklace pendent, seal ring 
(in men's sizes: I have fat fingers), scarf pin of Ravenclaw arms...

On a vaguely related theme, I've long craved a natty silver Celtic belt buckle, possibly set with some tasteful stones.  Any tips?
(doesn't need to be too readily available to me at the moment: I seldom wear belts in this era of hipster jeans and untucked tops, but might reconsider if the right belt buckle came into my life...)

Mary Ann:
> Well this term we're focusing on Rainbows around the world and decided that Australia is 
one of the countries we'll be focusing on.  Only thing is, we want to 
have a national/traditional dish (just something simple) for our 
girls to try, but when it came to thinking up an Aussie national dish 
we were stumped.  Please pardon the stereotype, but the only thing we 
could think of was a BBQ, which would be all and well on camp, but my 
guess is that indoor BBQs would (1) not be covered by the buildings 
insurance; (2) really piss off the owners of the hall we rent; (3) 
send 15 under-7's home without any eyebrows.<

Ahhh.  Well.  Let me see.  Australia, being youthful in the European-discovered stakes, doesn't really have much in the way of historically established dishes.  We inherited our cuisine from the British and adapted it to local conditions (hence BBQs, due to sunnier climate and cheaper meat), but since the 1960s have been blessed with waves of immigrants bearing all manner of cosmopolitan dishes, so we now have access to all manner of other country's cuisines (says Tabouli, who finds this one of the most appealing features of her home country).  At the average cafe or restaurant in the large capital cities, you can read down the menu and find dishes originating from all over the place.

That said, there are a few classic "Australian" dishes.  Sean's mentioned pavlova, which is great (apparently invented for and named after a Russian ballerina), but can be perilous, as it's obscenely sweet and rich and could lead to grief if the Rainbows eat too much of it!  Here you can get 'em ready made (just add cream and summer fruits for token gesture in direction of nutritional value): I'm not sure how tricky all that meringue business would be from first principles, but presumably not too bad.  Another option is the lamington, which is basically a 2-3 inch cube of sponge cake split in half for a thin layer of jam, then dipped first in melted chocolate and then in dessicated coconut.  If you like I can find a recipe (e.g. I'm not sure if it's pure chocolate or chocolatey icing), but for the cake any light sponge recipe should do: bake in large square or rectagular tin to facilitate cubing and voila!  If you want to go even easier and cheaper, and can get hold of Caramello Koalas in the UK, you could do a joke variation on frog in a pond and set a Koala in some green jelly (US=jello?) and call it koala in a billabong!

Then there's the infamous Vegemite, a taste acquired in early childhood in Australia which is so unpalatable to the foreign tongue I've heard American college students include it in college initiation/torture rites.  It's a sinister, salty black spread of yeast-like extraction (and before you protest, no, it's *not* the same as the British Marmite and Promite: pallid imitations at best) which should be used *sparingly*, with lots of butter, on toast and dry biscuits (US=crackers?).  If you were in the US, it might be worth slipping some thickly spread dry biscuits in for the amusing EW! factor, but I suspect English children have been initiated with Marmite, thus ruining the fun.

Let me think about the main course issue.  Hmm.  A lot of the other Australian food you can get here probably isn't available in the UK, or at least, not available at anything like a reasonable price or in a form which would be appreciated by under sevens.  For example, kangaroo meat is nice, but something tells me the London Zoo won't be butchering their exhibits for the British Guide Association (and it's expensive even here).  There's all manner of "bush tucker", jams and stews and so forth made from Australian native flora and fauna, but same problem there.  The good ol' Aussie "meat" (read: gravy with lumps, though it still tastes good) pie with tomato sauce has possibilities, but I'm pretty sure it's based on an English dish anyway, and may not be available in the UK outside expensive shops catering to homesick Australian expats.  You could go the unspeakable South Australian version on this if you could get a box of smaller "party" pies, and drop them in a bowl of green pea soup with tomato sauce on top!  (called a "pie floater"... a gastronomic abomination which gives adults nightmares but might well appeal to a young and adventurous audience)

I'll ask a few culinary friends: they may have some other inspirations, but so far as I've wracked my Australian born and bred brains, the BBQ (stereotype tho' it be) is still probably the closest thing we Aussies have to a national main course dish (though I hope there aren't too many junior vegetarians: most vegie burgers are pretty grim).   What's the price of lamb in the UK, with all the foot and mouth and winter and whatnot?  You could go the Australia=sheep joke and grill (rather than BBQ) some lamb chops or other lamb dish for them and serve with Australian style potato and other salads.  My primary school ran an annual "Sausage Sizzle" for fund raising purposes, where we'd queue up in front of the BBQ, and buy freshly BBQed sausages, placed diagonally on a slice of white bread, doused with sauce, and rolled up to eat on a paper plate.  If only it were summer and a camp, you couldn't go wrong with a few rousing strains of "Waltzing Matilda" and "Bound for Botany Bay" around the campfire (I have musical scores and lyrics for these and other rollicking Australian bush songs if you're interested), on which you could boil billy tea in a tin with coathanger wire handle and toast marshmallows on sticks, and in the ashes of which you could roast potatoes and cook damper (a basic bread, for which recipes are also widely available), to be eaten hot with butter and spread of choice.  (I don't suppose you have a handy open fireplace in the building you're going to use, do you?)

Tabouli (reminiscing about meals from her primary school days...)


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