Pop on over...

I've posted on this general topic before, but still had to share this funny commercial...

"Hangi to Go"

I think fast food has truly conquered the last frontiers of cuisine when you can get a Hangi "to Go"!

Hāngi means "earth oven" and is a traditional method of cooking practised by Māori (as well as other Pacific, Polynesian and Asian cultures) where food is buried alongside hot rocks in an underground chamber. In areas with lots of geothermal activity, such as Rotorua in the central North Island, they didn't even have to heat the rocks. They simply placed the food in the steaming thermal crevices, or buried it underground closer to the heat sources. To prevent burning, food was usually wrapped and bundled in leaves.

Geothermal cooking can also be done using the boiling water in steaming mineral pools. This technique is used to cook corn for tourists at Te Puia in Rotorua. As I recall, my Mom was suspicious of this cooking method when she was here earlier this year. To be fair, the strong smell of sulphur in the air is not exactly appetising!

This photo comes from NoEnz, and shows the kete (woven baskets) used to hold the corn submerged in the boiling pools

Traditional hāngi food is pork, mutton or lamb, and chicken, with generous portions of root vegetables such as kumara (sweet potato), pumpkin, carrot, potato, onions and cabbage. The cooking process can take a few hours, depending on how it's done and how much food is in there. Hāngi are still common today, with opportunities to partake in such feasts at many tourist spots around the country.

However, if you can't come visit and would still like to do your own hāngi , check out this web page for a complete how-to guide

Editorial note

There seems to be some concern that on my last post, I made up those billboards featuring President Bush. While I am talented at Photoshop, and my leftist tendencies would certainly make me appear guilty, I'm not clever enough to have come up with them. I promise they were real.

Here are some articles/web pages about the billboards:
Media Matters - Bush Hell Pizza Billboard (9 Aug 2005)

American Psycho billboard - Inspiration Room
American Psycho print ad - Inspiration Room
Both done by Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand

It would be going too far to say they were truly controversial here in NZ, but they did cause a stir. Generally I think people regarded them as a joke and did not read too much into it. Bush is easy subject matter for them to skewer - everyone here loves to hate him.

Unfortunately, the taint of his actions in office is all over every American living abroad (including us). If I had a dollar for every time I've been asked about "How could you people let him become the President?" and "What was America thinking?"... by people who really don't understand the U.S. electoral system, or how big and diverse the country is. They assume all Americans are the same - conservative, religious and supporters of Bush. Believe me, it's trying after a while.

Casting two ballots

It's a weird thing, but this year we get to vote in two national elections! What a privilege. Seriously. Just look at the horrors people are put through in places like Africa and China and it makes you appreciate the freedoms we have.

I was thinking that some of you might be interested in the differences between the New Zealand government and the U.S. government. Then, I started trying to write a bit about it and promptly decided that you probably did not care. And, I did not feel like writing about it.

So, instead we'll just give you some nice photos of candidates from both countries. As a public servant working for the NZ government, I am bound by certain rules when it comes to online political rants. So, below are the two candidates for NZ Prime Minister, shown in in alphabetical order by last name - so as not to imply any preference:

The Right Honourable Helen Clark, MP, Prime Minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party.

John Phillip Key, 12th Leader of the National Party (the Opposition) and member of Parliament

If you would like to read more about the NZ election, check out the article in this month's South Pacific issue of TIME.

Before moving on to the U.S. candidates, perhaps it's worth stopping for a moment to reflect on just what New Zealanders think of our last Commander in Chief, as evidenced by some of their advertising billboards in recent years...



Yes, that Bush - he's a popular guy! New Zealanders just love him. Imagine what the billboards in Venezuela must be like. I bet Chavez has painted him red and put demon horns on him. Nothing like one devil poking fun at another one, eh?

Unlike with New Zealand, no rules prevent me from speaking my mind about the U.S. election.

I won't bore you with a rant, though. I'll just beg you: PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't put another Republican in office!!!

The United States is probably on its swan song at this point anyway. I give it another 50 years, maybe not even that long if oil runs dry before then, before the U.S. fades into obscurity, and that's under the best of circumstances. Put John McCain and the idiot Palin into office, and I don't give it another 10 years before it collapses under the weight of trillions in new war debt (they don't call him the "Old War Horse" for nothing, you know), a devastated economy, a world that hates and covets what you have, and enemies who no longer fear you.

Instead of two photos, here's one - and a name - of the person to vote for. Please do me proud.

Senator Barack Obama, Junior Senator from my home State of Illinois
and (hopefully) the next President of the United States of America

www.barackobama.com

Brisbane, Australia

Brisbane's skyline and the Story Bridge

We just returned from a week in "Oz" exploring Brisbane and areas around the Sunshine Coast just north of the city. It was a much-needed holiday, and although it was too short for our tastes was still very welcome. The trip marks the first time that Stacey has been out of New Zealand since our arrival two years ago (and my second, having traveled to Sydney last year).

This post is a simplified version of events, since it would take too long to recount everything, but it does give a general sense of the places we visited.

Brisbane (sometimes just called 'Brissie', pronounced brizzy) is located in the northeast corner of Australia in the state of Queensland. It's also the capital of the state, and Australia's third largest city behind Sydney and Melbourne (at around 1.8 million people). Queensland boasts some of Australia's most spectactular natural landscapes, including stunning coasts, vast deserts, lush tropical forests and the world-famous Great Barrier Reef. Queensland's economy is dominated by the tourist, natural resource and agricultural sectors. In fact, the people of Queensland are colloquially known as "Banana Benders" in reference to the large banana plantations located there.

Our itinerary had us arriving in Brisbane last Monday, and we spent the first two days in the city. One thing we noticed immediately was the temperature difference - it was warm there - and it felt like being in Atlanta again. The average temperature during our stay was 28 Celsius (84 F). To understand why this was so noticeable, remember that even at the height of summer Wellington rarely exceeds 18 C (65 F). Without delay, we were in shorts and t-shirts and looking for iced coffees!

Between the warmth and the hot donuts,
it was almost like being back in Atlanta

We strolled down the city waterfront, then over to the central business district and the touristy areas around downtown's Queen Street. There was an OMG ("Oh My God") moment when we spotted the Krispy Kreme donut shop, with the 'hot donuts now' neon sign blazing in the window. KK is an Atlanta icon, so it's very strange to see it in Australia. Of course, I had to have one of those hot glazed donuts! To our surprise, they were giving the hot donuts away for free. We even tried to pay them and they wouldn't take the money. I compared it to drug dealers giving away the first dose of cocaine in order to start an addiction.

We planned to visit many parks and reserves later in the trip where we might see Australian wildlife, but didn't want to take any chances. So, the next day we traveled to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in search of the little fuzzy guys. We were not disappointed. LPKS has over 130 koalas in the sanctuary, and they are every bit as cute and cuddly as you might imagine.

Koalas are adorable even when sleeping,
which is good since they sleep a lot!

This one was wide awake and hungry!

Although they may look like a teddy bear, Koalas aren't bears at all. They're a marsupial, a subclass of mammals that are characterised by the distinctive pouch that the mothers use to carry their young. Australia is known for its marsupial critters which include kangaroos, wallabies, platypus, wombats, possum and Tasmanian devil.

Koala are fussy eaters, dining only on leaves and bark from certain species of Eucalyptus trees, which is one of the reasons they are having such a hard time. More and more of their habitat has been lost as urban areas expand into their natural range.

Feeding a red-legged pademelon (pronounced "Paddy Melon") - a type of wallaby

The park also has a large enclosure where you can feed the kangaroos and wallabies. Not something we'd normally do but it was great fun, I have to admit. The roos reminded us of the Romans, as they lounged about waiting to be fed. The brochures billed them as "friendly" kangaroos, which was a relief considering you were occasionally surrounded by a horde of them. Very funny.

This big guy was off to the side all by himself,
so we stopped by with a bag of food. He was huge!

Kangaroos can hurt you if they want to.
That clawed hand was almost as big as mine!

Stacey feeding the roos. She had one who was greedy and growled at the others whenever they came too close.

Surrounded!

We also saw some Wombat at Lone Pine Reserve. Feisty critters - the keeper showed us a huge scar on her leg where this guy had taken a bite out of her during a cleaning. Ouch.

William, Stacey and Aunt Rosemarie

Next, we headed north for a few days on the Sunshine Coast, stopping along the way to go to the Eumundi Markets. It was a massive event, rivaling any flea market I have seen in the U.S. We did some souvenir shopping there, had a nice lunch, and also attempted to learn how to play the didjeridu.

Stacey's cousin David kindly offered to let us stay at his place in Mooloolaba while he was out of town (Thanks David!!!). While there, I finally had the chance to meet Stacey's aunt Rosemarie. We enjoyed a nice dinner out at a riverside restaurant, where we had fish & chips and enjoyed the view.

Our visit to the Sunshine Coast included a trip to Noosa National Park where we did several day-hikes. The walks are easy and well worth a visit. The coastal views are spectactular, as you can see from the photos. White sandy beaches and aquamarine blue waters were around every corner. Wildlife was elusive, but we did manage to spot goanna, frilled lizards, kookaburra (as well as many other birds I didn't know the names of) and even koala. In the late afternoon, we enjoyed a swim at Tea Tree Bay and managed to get some time for relaxation in the sun.

Stacey overlooking Alexandria Bay in Noosa National Park. We came to 'discover' upon arriving at the beach that it's an informal nudist spot.

The view from my rock on the beach.
It was so nice, I didn't want to leave.

We spent a very short amount of time in Great Sandy National Park where we enjoyed (I am being sarcastic) a canoe ride on Lake Cootharaba. It was so windy, we had the hardest time steering. There were also flashbacks to our kayaking fiasco at Abel Tasman NP in N.Z. We didn't have time to see the real wonders of Great Sandy, such as the sand blows and painted sands, nor did we have time to go to Fraser Island, but hopefully there will be an opportunity in the future. One highlight of the GSNP visit, however, was that we saw kangaroos in the wild. This was gratifying only because we didn't want the only kangaroos that we saw to be those in captivity.

Our visit to the Sunshine Coast was much too short, as the time came to head back to Brisbane. But first we to took a short detour to visit Glass House Mountains National Park. These craggy mountains are remnants of ancient volcanoes, eroded to just a pale shadow of their former selves but still impressive nonetheless. The peaks dominate the landscape of the interior sunshine coast. Not surprisingly, these mountains also had special significance to Aboriginal peoples, and were used a special places for ceremony, meeting and trade. We climbed to the top of Mount Ngungun, a challenging ascent that requires a bit of scrambling and exertion but is worth it for the view.

The view from Ngungun.
In the distance can be seen Mt. Coonowrin
(the thin spired peak) and Mt. Beerwah beyond.

Hot and sweaty but we made it!

OK, it's getting late so super-condensing this last bit...back to Brisbane we then went. Toured Chinatown and the Valley Markets weekend festival. Live music was on offer, as well as tons of food and assorted junk. Stacey even got a chair massage.

Brisbane's Chinatown entrance

Andrew Kennedy and his bandmates put on a good show.
Check them out at his MySpace page.

We did heaps of other stuff in Brisbane, too much to put down here. But one thing I wanted to mention for any others who may be thinking of going there...be sure to take a ride on one of the CityCat ferries. It's an inexpensive way to see the sights from the water and is also a very useful tool for exploring the city.

A gorgeous sunset in Brisbane.

No Opportunity Wasted

Finally something interesting happened to post about!

Yes, I know, we're living our lifetime dream abroad on the shores of New Zealand and every day is filled with excitement and wonder...so what am I talking about??? Of course day-to-day life is much like anywhere else...go to work, go grocery shopping, go to sleep, etc, etc. But there was a break in the routine this week when we had the opportunity to meet Phil Keoghan, host of the one of our favourite shows "Amazing Race" and an inspiring person in his own right.

Stacey looks particularly happy, don't you think?

Many people probably don't realise that Phil is actually a New Zealander by birth, born in the South Island town of Lincoln. Although he's successfully adopted an Americanised accent, you can still detect hints of Kiwi in his voice every so often. In a 2005 interview with Upfront, Phil confirmed that he was in the running to host Survivor but was not chosen partially due to his accent, which at the time was undesirable for hosts of American TV shows. That setback was minor though. His career has skyrocketed with the success of Amazing Race. He's earned five Emmy Awards and travelled to over 100 countries in pursuit of 'great TV'.

At 19 years of age, while filming an underwater dive in a shipwreck in the Marlborough Sounds, Phil had a near-death experience that shaped his life forever. The event drove him to create a "life list" of the things he wanted to do before he died. Obviously he's managed to tick a lot of those boxes, having done everything from feeding live sharks to eating dinner on a volcano.

A photo from one of Phil's many adventures

The concept was also the inspiration for his book and a television show No Opportunity Wasted: Creating a Life List, This was also the theme of the day for his speaking engagement in Wellington this week. His talk was about inspiring people to not be afraid, and to get out there live life to the fullest with no regrets. There were lots of younger people in the audience--they were the target audience for the event, not us old folks--and I hope they were paying attention. He certainly reminded me to get of my ass on a few of my own pursuits.

When Stacey introduced herself, she told Phil that our 'no opportunity wasted' was moving to New Zealand from the United States. How true that statement was. The look on his face was interesting...slight amusement, a bit of surprise perhaps? Maybe. But I'd like to think there was a little bit of pride in his reaction, both in New Zealand. and in us wayward travellers. Of course, you never know what a celebrity is really like without spending time with them, but you get the sense that Phil is a really cool guy and an authentic person. That's why I don't mind plugging his book.

And speaking of our relocation, the end of August will mark two years since our arrival. I will be writing an extended entry, a sort of situation report, in a couple of weeks. Until then, I hope everyone out there gets their pen & paper out and starts (or resumes) those lists!

Eight-legged Aussie

Tonight I found an unwelcome little guest running across the floor--an Australian Whitetip Spider. These creepy crawlies are much-maligned as the apparently can give a nasty bite, and there are urban legends that their venom is necrotic and can cause severe skin ulcerations. Apparently this is not accurate. Still, I don't like the idea of them hiding out in my shoes. As most of you know, I am the type of person who carefully escorts most critters out of the house without harm, but in this case I made an exception.

Finally...

an anthem for all us everyday normal guys...

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

I think my favourite part is when he says he makes pretty good spaghetti sauce. OMG.

Report from Down Under

It's been a while since my last post! You might be wondering what the hold up has been? Well, nothing in particular really. We have been pretty busy lately. It seems like something is always going on every weekend.

I guess the first place to start is back in May for the 48 Hour Film extravaganza...

Once again, I participated in this crazy event which sets teams off acrossthe city with the goal of producing a short film (5-7 mins) from scratch in just 48 hours. Jenni's Angels was my team, a great bunch of people who are a mix of newbies (like me), film enthusiasts and even a few professionals (and aspiring professionals). The team has actually been together for several years now (I think this is their 4th 48 Hour event).

One thing that I like about Jenni's Angels is that many of them are SF/Fantasy/Gaming fans like myself. Our film from last year was Destination Earth -- click the link to watch it on YouTube. Since genres are chosen randomly from an assortment that includes everything from musical to horror film, once again we got pretty lucky with the assignment: "Super Hero / Fairy Tale". Here's what we came up with:



As you can see, we took a humorous approach to the subject matter. Remember that this is a competition, after all, and laughs get votes (although in this case apparently not because we didn't win anything! Boo!). And, as anyone who has been to a science fiction convention and watched a 'serious' costume skit can attest, doing a super hero story with a serious approach is risky business. I was pleased that our take, tough hardly a laugh riot, is fun to watch and even includes a decent number of cool SFX shots. We had a good team of writers on board, and it never ceases to amaze me how the editing and technical side gets done so well.

Stacey was also involved in 48, but this time it was in an official capacity as a representative of Film Wellington. They assist filmmakers both large and small on everything from location scouting and permits to coordinating city-related services. Her role involved assisting the event organisers and the teams leading up to and all throughout the weekend. This included a couple of phone calls in the middle of the night from teams asking for help. From the moment the starting gun goes off on Friday night until Sunday, it's a mad dash and many teams don't get a wink of sleep. The deadline is taken very seriously, and many teams don't make it. Our film was raced in with just 4 seconds (yes) to spare.

What else to talk about...? Hmmm. Well, I've taken up some new hobbies. Bicycling you already know about from the last post. It's going well, though winter is an extremely trying time to be attempting it. Up until this past week (when weather from hell rolled in and has not left) I was managing to bike to work about 3-4 times a week, which is pretty good IMHO.

We've also started a worm farm! Yes, I know you're asking "why...?" Well, we're not sure ourselves. It seemed like a clever way to get rid of some of our kitchen veggie scraps? Seriously, though, it's just something we wanted to try. The truth is that the benefits of worm culturing are really better utilised in a proper garden (which we don't have) but it's still fun and good practice for the day when we do. We bought the device off of TradeMe, which consists of a three circular trays on legs, with a spout at the bottom. This is for draining off the precious worm juice which apparently plants really like. It's about 2.5 feet in diameter, so takes up very little space on the back patio.

You're probably wondering where you get worms for it? We got our worms from Commonsense Organics, a local organics market. Imagine my horror when I went to pick them up, expecting a little plastic bag of worms, only to discover it was a giant box of dirt with all sorts of creepy crawlies in it! This I had to carry home on the bus. The lady city next to me was not happy...you could see all sorts of little critters crawling out of the box. Well, despite the daggers her eyes were throwing, I managed to get home and put the worms in the trays along with some newspaper and a few carrot shavings to get them started. It can take a while to get the process going, but so far ours seems to be working pretty well. We add scraps to it about once a week, along with some occasional lime. Eventually, I will take some of the worms out and add them to the main compost bin so they can speed that up as well.

Want to start our own worm farm? Check out this page.

In October, I am enrolled to take a sustainable households course through Wellington High School. I am very much looking forward to it. This is subject matter that I'm interested in regardless, but in particular lately have been thinking a lot about. We are slowly starting to think about buying a house here in New Zealand, and would like to incorporate some 'green' technology in it. I would be thrilled to have solar power and gray water reticulation systems. New Zealand homes are notoriously poorly insulated (essentially just wood boxes with no insulation at all), so energy use for heating is also an issue. Lastly, of course, I really want a proper space for a vegetable garden and areas to practice some urban agriculture. And we have more traditional criteria for a home that must be met as well, such as the kitchen size and number of bedrooms, etc. Finding something that meets our expectations and is affordable is going to be really, really hard. I'll keep you posted on that as it develops...

Well, in closing... part of our goal in coming to New Zealand was just to 'try new things'. In that spirit, this is the Feijoa, a wonderful, tart little fruit that I have grown to love. Sadly, it's just now gone out of season here and is starting to become rare in the grocery stores. (Remember what I said before about seasonal produce in NZ? Yep.) It's got a strange flavour that's almost medicinal, tangy and sweet at the same time. I don't think I had ever seen one before coming to NZ, however apparently they are grown in the U.S., so some of you back home might like to seek them out at the local farmer's market. Enjoy!

Going for a Ride

OK, so the latest mid-life crisis hobby has manifested itself. I bought a bicycle and have started commuting to work.

Here in New Zealand, they are also known as push-bikes. Prior to this, the last time I was on a bike was around my Sophomore year of high school (age 15). But, it is true what they say and I got back into it very quickly. I'm not terribly speedy yet, but that will hopefully come as my long-unused leg and butt muscles get more use! The bike is a hybrid bicycle which is a cross between a road bike and a dirt bike. Road bikes are designed for speed, but what I wanted was a bit more utilitarian. This bike is ideal for commuting, and I've even added a rack at the back for mounting saddle bags.

There I am, looking dorky and posing on the bike near Evans Bay Parade. That bike is sharp though, eh? In keeping with tradition, this latest vehicle is Darth Vader Black.

This is a map of the route I take, marked in blue. The total distance: (approximately) for my bike route is 9 kms (5.5 miles). It takes me about 30 minutes to get to work. My employer kindly offers a bike locker and shower facilities, too.

Wellingtonians who travel from the southeastern suburbs often refer to two different ways to travel into the central city. They might go Around the Bays (my bicycling route) or Through the Tunnel (which refers to going through the Mount Victoria tunnel). If I go through the tunnel, the route is shorter by about 2K but involves a lot more traffic to navigate and breathing car fumes. Yuck. The coastal route is much prettier, as you can see below.

Stacey took this action shot.

I really should point out that the above photo is very misleading. I can assure you that most of my commutes are not this idealic, nor do I look so happy. I often wonder if vehicle passengers that pass me laugh as I'm grunting, huffing and puffing slowly down the road. By the time I leave work it's dark and sometimes raining and windy. Until now, I did not really comprehend the distinctions between Northerly and Southerly prevailing winds, nor the Beaufort Scale. The other night I experienced a squall (yes, really!) when I turned the corner around Oriental Bay--torrential rain and sudden gusts of wind! It sounds terrible, and it kinda was, but I was also laughing uncontrollably. It was so ugly that I just had to.

Even so, I honestly can say that I love it and feel great doing it. Saving money, saving petrol and getting some exercise. Yeah, it's work and a bit of hassle, and the winter weather makes it harder. But I am having a good time and really looking forward to the summer when the riding will be fantastic. Winter will be a good test of my resilience and dedication in the meantime.

ANZAC Day

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The Wellington Cenotaph during the early morning hours of Friday, 24 April 2008. Over 1,000 people crowded around the memorial for the Dawn Service in recognition of ANZAC Day which commences with the firing of a Herald Gun mounted by 16th Field Regiment.

The three flags are those of New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Australia (left to right

This past Friday marked the 93rd anniversary of ANZAC Day, commemorating the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces in the First World War. The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose soldiers were known as Anzacs. The pride they took in that name endures to this day, and Anzac Day remains a very important annual commemoration for both countries. Today, ANZAC has come to stand not just for the troops in World War I, but for Australian and New Zealand soldiers in times of war.

As new Kiwis, we were really looking forward to learning more about ANZAC day. This was our first time attending the services and giving this subject the time it deserved, and we were rewarded with an educational and moving experience. As a devout pacifist, I am always torn by my emotions when it comes to war memorials. On the one hand, I hate that they ever needed to be built. But there is no denying their importance as both a reminder of sacrifice and bravery, and the desperate need for our species to move beyond violence as a tool for solving our problems. Around 500 war memorials are to be found across New Zealand.

Atatürk Memorial is situated on a ridge above Tarakina Bay, Wellington. The Memorial looks out over Cook Strait and the site was chosen for its remarkable likeness to Anzac Cove in Gallipoli. This memorial can be seen on the Eastern Walkway which also delivers spectacular views of the coastline. For a more detailed look visit the Dawes Family site.

The Battle of Gallipoli took place on April 25, 1915, when Allied forces were tasked with the invasion of Ottoman Turkey, a campaign that is now regarded as disastrous and extremely costly in terms of lives lost. In fact around 21,000 British died, 10,000 French, 8,700 Australians, 2,721 New Zealanders along with 1,370 Indians. On the Turkish side, losses amounted to around 85,000. This represents the highest percentage of casualties of any First World War campaign in which New Zealanders fought. Many more would be killed in other hot spots, with 12,483 lost on the Western Front. The landing site is referred to now as "Anzac Cove", officially renamed by the Turkish government on Anzac Day in 1985. Many thousands of Kiwis have made pilgrimages to Anzac Cove to pay their respects.

The National War Memorial, also the site of the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior

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A Dawn-to-Dusk Vigil is held at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior by a Tri-Service Guard on ANZAC Day.



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There is a changing of the Guard every 15 minutes. Here, a New Zealand Air Force officer relieves a member of the Army Corps.

The Tomb is inscribed with a karanga that calls the warrior home, the journey guided by the stars of the Southern Cross Constellation.

Stacey's ANZAC biscuits were very tasty.

Stacey, now shares a bit about these special cookies... I mean, biscuits...

Shortly after we moved to NZ, William and I tried a funny looking cookie from a cafe on Cuba Street. According to the barista, they were ANZAC biscuits. I had no idea what she was talking about and asked about the ingredients which do not include nuts, so we gave them a try. Delicious! Ever since that day, I have been obsessed with baking the perfect ANZAC biscuits myself. The problem is there are zillions of recipes out there. Some make very thin, chewy cookies. Some are thicker and crunchier. hmmm. I tried many different variations on the recipe, but was never truly happy with the results. (This did not stop us from eating all of them, unfortunately.) Until I made the cookies (above) this year. It is fitting that the best recipe came from the MāoriTV channel's coverage of the ANZAC holiday last year. What I have learned from my experimentation is that the Aussie version of the cookie is the thin, chewy one. The Kiwi version is the thicker, crunchier one which I like.

History of the ANZAC biscuit: Supposedly, the recipe for the biscuits was developed during the first World War. Naturally, Australia AND New Zealand each claim to have invented them. The cookies were made by women in both countries and shipped to soldiers in Europe. They were a long-keeping biscuit that could survive the passage by sea and still remain edible. During WWI, they were called 'soldier's biscuits.' After the Gallipoli landings, they became known as ANZAC biscuits. Most versions of the recipe feature oats, coconut, butter, and golden syrup. The recipes do not contain eggs probably because eggs were in short supply during WWI.

William says I should post the recipe, so here it is:

1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Flour
1 Cup Coconut
1 Cup Rolled Oats
pinch salt

100 grams Butter (1 stick)
2T Golden Syrup
1t Baking Soda
2T Boiling Water

• Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
  
• Melt the butter and golden syrup together in a small pot over low heat.
  
• In a small bowl, combine the water and baking soda and mix in with butter & golden syrup.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.
• Roll dough into walnut size balls and place on cookie sheet--do not smush!
  
• Bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for 15 minutes.