4/20/2004
Good afternoon!
This week's recipe is in honor of Anzac Day, which is celebrated in Australia and New Zealand. Here is some information on Anzac Day:
On 25 April every year Australians commemorate Anzac Day. It is Australia's
sacred day. The day has the same significance in New Zealand, Australia's
counterpart in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (the ANZACs) at Gallipoli.
What is it Australians commemorate on Anzac Day?
Australia and New Zealand at war
On 25 April 1915 Australia and New Zealand were at war. Along with the Allies
(the major Allied Powers were the British Empire [Britain and her colonies
and dominions], France and the Russian Empire), the ANZACs were fighting against
the Central Powers (Germany, Turkey [then known as the Ottoman Empire], and
Austria-Hungary).
In response to a request for help from Russia, which was being battered by
the Turks in the Caucasus, the Allies decided to begin a campaign which they
hoped would distract Turkey from their attack on Russia.
The plan was for the Allies to attack and take the Gallipoli Peninsula, on
Turkey's Aegean coast, from which point the Allies believed they could take
control of the Dardanelles - a 67 kilometre (42 mile) strait which connects
the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara - and lay siege to Turkey's main city,
Istanbul (then Constantinople).
Landing at Gallipoli
As part of the larger British Empire contingent the ANZACs were brought in
from training in Egypt to participate. The ANZACs comprised the 1st Australian
Division and the composite New Zealand and Australian Division. On 25 April
1915, the ANZACs landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
Instead of finding the flat beach they expected, they found they had been
landed at an incorrect position and faced steep cliffs and constant barrages
of enemy fire and shelling. Around 20,000 soldiers landed on the beach over
the next two days to face a well organised, well armed, large Turkish force
determined to defend their country - and led by Mustafa Kemal, who later became
Atatürk, the leader of modern Turkey. Thousands of Australian and New
Zealand men died in the hours and days that followed the landing at that beach.
The beach would eventually come to be known as Anzac Cove.
What followed the landing at Gallipoli is a story of courage and endurance,
of death, and despair, of poor leadership from London, and unsuccessful strategies.
The ANZACs and the Turks dug in - literally - digging kilometres of trenches,
and pinned down each other's forces with sniper fire and shelling. Pinned
down with their backs to the water the ANZACs were unable to make much headway
against the home-country force.
A lack of success
In Britain, the lack of success of the campaign was creating arguments amongst
the leaders of the time about whether the campaign should be continued.
While political leaders argued, the Australian and New Zealand soldiers died
in battle, from sniper fire and shelling, and those that lived suffered from
a range of ailments due to their dreadful living conditions - typhus, lice,
gangrene, lack of fresh water, poor quality food, and poor sanitary conditions
all took their toll.
That is surely at the heart of the Anzac story, the Australian legend which
emerged from the war. It is a legend not of sweeping military victories so
much as triumphs against the odds, of courage and ingenuity in adversity.
It is a legend of free and independent spirits whose discipline derived less
from military formalities and customs than from the bonds of mateship and
the demands of necessity.
Former Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Mr Paul Keating, at the Entombment
of the Unknown Soldier at the Australian War Memorial 1993
The withdrawal
Eventually it was decided that the Allied troops would be withdrawn from the
Peninsula; the attempt to control the Dardanelles had failed. The ANZACs were
evacuated and returned to the Middle East and the Western Front where they
were involved in other battles.
The Gallipoli campaign was an enormous failure, a failure bought at the cost
of an enormous number of lives, and the failure led to the resignation of
senior politicians in London. Thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers
had died, and thousands of other Allied troops from France and Britain also
died.
An Anzac commemorative location has been built at Gallipoli in conjunction
with the New Zealand government and with the approval of the Turkish government.
http://www.acn.net.au/articles/anzac/
Hope you have a great Anzac day! (This upcoming Sunday....) And remember, in Australia and New Zealand, cookies are called biscuits!
Happy Eating!
The Diversity Committee
Anzac Biscuits I
Traditional recipe from Australia and New Zealand.
Associated with the joint public holiday (ANZAC Day) to
commemorate the Gallipoli landings during WW1. Makes 2 dozen (12
servings).
Printed from Allrecipes, Submitted by Sharon McAllister
1 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup flaked coconut
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon golden syrup
2 tablespoons boiling water
Directions
1 Mix oats, flour, sugar and coconut together.
2 In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the syrup and
butter together. Mix the soda and the boiling water and add
to the melted butter and syrup.
3 Add butter mixture to the dry ingredients. Drop by
teaspoons on greased cookie sheets (or baking paper).
4 Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 18 to 20 minutes.
Nutrition Info
Servings Per Recipe: 12
Calories: 223 Total Fat: 9.7g Cholesterol: 21mg Sodium: 198mg Total Carbohydrates: 32.6g Dietary Fiber: 1.2g Protein: 2.4g
Easy Pavlova
To keep your meringue from being flat and grainy, try
beating egg whites until stiff but not dry. Overbeaten egg
whites lose volume and deflate when folded into other
ingredients. Also, when beating in sugar, beat in about 1
tablespoon at a time, beating well between each addition. Then
beat until meringue is thick, white and glossy. Be
absolutely sure not a particle of grease or egg yolk gets into
the whites. Makes 1 pavlova (8 servings).
Printed from Allrecipes, Submitted by Rosina
4 egg whites
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pint heavy cream
6 kiwi, peeled and sliced
Directions
1 Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a
baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw a 9 inch circle on
the parchment paper.
2 In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not
dry. Gradually add in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time,
beating well after each addition. Beat until thick and glossy.
Overbeaten egg whites lose volume and deflate when
folded into other ingredients. Be absolutely sure not a
particle of grease or egg yolk gets into the whites. Gently
fold in vanilla extract, lemon juice and cornstarch.
3 Spoon mixture inside the circle drawn on the parchment
paper. Working from the center, spread mixture toward the
outside edge, building edge slightly. This should leave a
slight depression in the center.
4 Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack.
5 Remove the paper, and place meringue on a flat serving
plate. Fill the center of the meringue with whipped cream,
sweetened if desired. Top whipped cream with kiwifruit slices.
Nutrition Info
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Calories: 373 Total Fat: 22.3g Cholesterol: 82mg Sodium: 53mg Total Carbohydrates:
42.3g Dietary Fiber: 1.9g Protein: 3.5g
Copyright © 2009 by the University of Kansas
