I know it is a little ridiculous to complain about the cold, cold winters we have here in Townsville. I know that our winters are similar to Tasmanian summers. I know that Canberra got to -5 in May this year. I know that I grew up in a place that regularly got to -20 in the winters, where our university emailed around "frost bite warnings" on the coldest of days, letting us all know that more than 5 minutes spent outside was detrimental to our health.
However. There is something to be said for acclimatising to the tropics. And the fact that our houses and buildings are not designed to be warm. And the paltry winter wardrobes that Andy and I (and most NQers) own. So although many of my friends are the opposite, revelling in this winter weather and complaining about the heat, I spend far more energy (and social media status-updates) whinging about the cold. 8 degrees last night is not my idea of "beautiful tropical weather".
The upside of being cold is having plenty of appetite, and being able to satisfy it with hearty, warm meals and desserts that are off-limits for most of the year in this place. So when I saw Kate's recipe for golden syrup dumplings on a cold day, I knew I had to make them. They were easy to do, though when I make them again I will use a bigger pan - they need a bit of space, I think, to get truly puffy-fluffy-delicious.
As I'd never had golden syrup dumplings before, I followed the recipe exactly, with my only flourish the topping of the dumplings with chai vanilla ice cream. But, when I make these again (and I will, since we're not yet halfway through winter), I think some strong boozy flavour in the syrup would add a certain something, cutting through the cloying sauce and adding to the warming sensation - scotch springs to mind, or perhaps some fruity liqueur.
9 comments:
I do relate to adjusting to temperatures and then finding it hard when they leave the zone you expect. Plus, I am convinced I'm colder in Perth's mild winters than in England's colder ones, because in England everywhere has central heating and you wear lots and lots of clothing!
On the dessert aspect of this post - yum! I have never had (or heard of) golden syrup dumplings either but these look really impressive.
Our house is FREEZING. It's QLDer style (so off the ground) and the only thing that's between us and the cold is some floorboards, with gaps in between some of them. I'm actually looking forward to the heat.
I love dumplings and those sound so good.
-6 now, thank you very much! ;) But it absolutely is relative; I remember going for a walk in 5 degrees (celsius) without my scarf in Asheville because it felt "positively balmy" :P Must admit golden syrup dumplings have always felt too stodgy for me; our family winter dessert is Indian Corn Pudding with maple syrup :)
I love dumplings, but normally it's savoury ones on top of stews. Those look criminally good!
Gosh, 8 degrees overnight is cold! We were amazed this time last year with the low temperatures in FNQ. We were trying to escape the Melbourne winter for a week and only had days of low 20s and barely saw the sun. Hope you have some warm clothes for your travels down south!
The dumplings look great too!
Yum they look great, I'm glad you tried them! And very good idea to put some alcohol in there :)
Those look great. I am enjoying making soups and stews for comfort on these colds days. And yes, it is too cold for a Canadian!
Hi Theresa,
Wow, those eats look delicious! I live in Toronto so I can relate to the cold winters...makes you wish summer would stay forever! Also love the post on your gardening operation. I enjoy gardening as well! I post similar things on my blog too: http://veggininthecity.blogspot.ca/ I'd be totally honoured if you could swing by! :) Keep warm!
Looks divine. Nothing like a sweet, carboy dessert in winter. It's definitely summer here. It was 102 today and believe it or not, we were too hot at the beach.
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