THURSDAY 28 APRIL     PUNGALINA

Up early to set out the breakfast basics on the outside table.

This morning the men wanted bacon and eggs, so I cooked that as well.

In amongst the breakfast organizing, I put the makings for a loaf into the bread maker. It was clear that, when we had larger numbers, bread would be an issue. I was thinking I would have to get some in from outside and freeze it – although space in the freezers at the house would be too limited for much. Suspect I might also have to resort to hand making my own bread, in amongst all else!

The men were going out with O for the day, fishing on the Bluff water hole. So packed lunch was in order – cold zucchini slice, salads (leftovers), cold slices of apple pie. There were Anzac biscuits for smoko. I sent out chillers of cold water, cans of beer and soft drinks in the eskies.

Once they were gone, it was to work. I made French bread sticks, using my basic bread recipe.

O had supplied steak to defrost for a BBQ tonight – to be cooked on a hotplate over the open fire. I asked him for good quality steak – but was worried about that!

Serviced the tents, cleaned the amenities. Did the water jugs. Showered.

I cut up the vegetables that would stew on top of the stove to make a version of ratatouille for tonight. Sliced onions for the BBQ. Prepared potato and kumara diced to be baked in the oven to be “chippies” for the meal. Made up a fruit platter – watermelon, paw paw, rock melon. It was so good to have some fresh produce to work with! Prepped my French sticks – which had turned out well – to be garlic bread.

The fishing party came back with another barra. Also a Long Tom. It was so pleasing that they would now have a frozen barra to take away with them as a trophy.

After the men had cleaned up – and O likewise, back at his house – O came back and collected the men to take them to the Escarpment, on the other side of the river. to watch the sunset. I had prepared nibbles to go – salted peanuts, Chilly Philly with crackers and celery sticks, and a small tray of semi dried tomatoes, fried eggplant, salami cucumber slice rollups. Also packed were stubby coolers, plenty of drink in the esky, paper napkins.

The evening meal was somewhat later, waiting upon the return from the Escarpment. John had the fire going, ready to do the BBQ. The meal of garlic bread, BBQ steak with onions, ratatouille, chippies, then the fruit platter, went down very well, except that the steak was very chewy. So much for O’s “fillet steak”!

Now that the men were staying another day, I had to plan meals for that. The information also came in today, to O, that there would also be a couple flying in tomorrow, probably for two nights. They had heard about us whilst at Adels Grove, where they would be coming from. Eeek! Into some heavy food planning……

O said he had some mince frozen, so I asked him to put that out to defrost. Hoped he remembered, this time! I would turn it into the old standby of spag bol – sufficiently different from the preceding meals. I thought it was a meal that would be appreciated by A and K, though it was probably not the greatest of welcoming meals for new guests! So be it.