Dumplings

Woke early to the sounds of the Anzac Day parade. Watched from the window while eating hot buttered toast with German strawberry jam (it has just a hint of vanilla) and drinking a steaming cup of fresh coffee.

In 1915, my country said, "Son,
It's time you stopped ramblin', there's work to be done."
So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun,
And they marched me away to the war.

And the band played "Waltzing Matilda,"
As the ship pulled away from the quay,
And amidst all the cheers, the flag waving, and tears,
We sailed off for Gallipoli.

D. and I walked into Chinatown, to get some fresh clams for tonight's dinner. Unfortunately there weren't any to be found, so I got half-a-kilo of tiger prawn flesh instead. The pasta I wanted to make also needs white wine for the sauce, but, as the bottle shops are closed today, we decided to make the pasta tomorrow. So we picked up some pork dumplings, pork belly, Chinese cabbage and "morning glory" instead.

At home, D. stir-fried the "morning glory" in preserved soybean, and made a soup of the dumplings, pork belly and Chinese cabbage. With a dipping sauce of soy sauce and cut chilli (for the tender pork belly and the cabbage) and a dash of garlic oil in the soup, this hearty meal had us rubbing our bellies with satisfaction.

After eating, it was back to working on my entry for the "One Key" comp., while D. was more than satisfied to catch up on her "Desperate Housewives".