Ugh Liese, but it does sound like a good seminar.

Our Tivo died, wah. I'm worried it's truly dead and not just resting, but oh well. Clearly it's time to get a new tivo.

It sounds like a useful workshop but not a lot of fun, Liese.

This weekend I'm proctoring the SATs on Saturday and there is a fundraiser at Noah's preschool on Sunday. It's a foods-of-the-world-by-continent potluck. I originally signed up for Asian, but had regrets when I realized 1/2 the kids in Noah's class are Korean. So I am the lone sign up for Australia instead. What is Australian food that can be made as a potluck dish? I'm thinking shepherds pie?

My neck and jaw are aching. It's all that biting my tongue at work.

Burrell, do you have an HD TiVo? Because I have a non-HD one I'm not using.

I'm thinking shepherds pie?

Isn't that British? You should grill some shrimp on the barbie.

Yeah. I figured it's British but that it's also generically people-with-ranch-land food.

No shrimp. No grilling. It has to be a dish easily shared.

Oh. I could do meat pies which would be easy enough. Or something with vegemite. Or ANZAC biscuits. But I need a main dish to share.

No shrimp. No grilling. It has to be a dish easily shared.

Vegemite sandwich?

This weekend, driving to Tennessee with my sister, who will (I love my sister dearly) talk nonstop for six days about the decisions we have already made, rehash them, ask me a million times what I think, not listen to my answers, and ultimately conclude that we should do what we already decided. Then she start over. This will continue until the papers are signed and the thing is done and there's nothing to discuss anymore. Then she'll start rethinking her decisions and seeking reassurance that what she did was okay. She bought a second house a few years ago here, she's enjoyed owning it and gotten a lot of good out of it, and she can easily afford the mortgage, and STILL she will say, well, I got screwed buying that house, I should have waited, I hope I didn't mess things up too much. Argh. I'm not looking forward to the painting and the packing and hauling, but I cold deal with all that if only she would make a decision, accept it, and stop talking about it. I swear she does this with EVERY decision, not just the major ones. What kind of floor she'll put in the kitchen has been a subject of anguished discussion for months now, and she always comes back to the same choice, which is a perfectly fine choice and it's what she wants and she can afford it, so - to quote Mal - Why we still talkin about this?

Wow, this is my week to unload on the board, isn't it? Sorry.

What is Australian food that can be made as a potluck dish?

That's a tough one. We don't really have much distinctive cuisine. Plenty of good eating here, but it tends to be dishes from other countries. Would a dessert be acceptable? You could make lamingtons: [link] Pavlova could also be an option, though I think cooking them can be fiddly. [link]

Failing that, a lamb dish could work. Or something with Macadamia nuts, they're about the only native Australian crop that's commercially grown. You could indeed grill shrimp on the barbie were you so inclined. Oh, and there's a South Australian thing called a meat pie floater, where you set a meat pie adrift in pea soup. If you decide you just want to scare the bejeesus out of them.

Babe, that's what we're here for! Next time I'm in C'ville, we'll do it in person. Over some nice brown liquid (coffee or bourbon or whatever).