Tantrum Tuesday: iTunes Australia

So recently I committed to trying to buy as much media as I can (particularly things that I'm going to watch or read or listen to more than once) to try and cut down on the piracy levels in our household. For some strange reason recently I started singing the song 'Prince Ali' from Aladdin to the kid on a regular basis, so I thought hey I might go on iTunes and buy the Aladdin soundtrack so I can play him the proper song a few times because I can't actually remember all the words. Did they have it? Of course not. Then silly me thought oh it's clearly too old to be in iTunes but oh no there it is just sitting in the US iTunes store. That really burns me up - what is the problem? Why is it not in both?  It can't be a licensing thing as they have the movie in both.

One of the sucky things about living in Australia is media availability. I try and try and try to be good and purchase things or watch them on TV but they just make it so hard! I firmly believe that most people when given a choice between buying something and downloading it illegally will choose the easy option - which given the way Apple has set iTunes up for me is buying the thing. But what choice do I have when I can't buy it? I could buy a CD and rip it but thats also illegal under copyright laws so what am I to do?

Even Malcolm Turnbull is admitting we have a content availability issue in Australia and he's supposed to be a key figure in cracking down on piracy!

"a part of the solution is making content available in Australia at the same time, or very shortly after, it is released overseas and at a comparable price. "

taken from http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/media/copyright-the-internet-and-piracy 

so where does the buck stop? The solution to my problem ended up being finding someone who had put the song on Youtube - but that isn't always going to be the way. Something has to give and hopefully George Brandis won't be pigheaded enough to shove his changes through without considering the circumstances.  There will always be pirates but most people are interested in doing things the right way, if we are able to.

Foodie Friday: Whovian Fish Fingers and Custard

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a fairly avid Whovian, having watched the show since I was kid, devoured the books, listened to the audio plays - forget a bit, I'm a LOT of a nerd.  I've put up with a lot of teasing from people over the years for loving what is essentially a show aimed at children, but I'm loving this Renaissance where Doctor Who, like bow ties, has become 'cool' - among a certain class of people anyway.

I'll be waking up at 5AM on Sunday to watch the 50th Anniversary Sunday, so I'll probably not be imbibing this much sugar so early, it's a good dessert to watch the replay that night.

I've adapted this recipe here as it included a few American things like graham crackers that we don't have in Oz.

What are we waiting for?

Ingredients

Good quality vanilla bean custard (I'm a lazy so and so so I bought mine - Paul's vanilla bean custard is the bomb)

FOR THE BISCUITS

1 1/3 cups plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons, icing sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR THE “BREADING”

5 scotch finger biscuits

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Method

To make the biscuits:

Line a tray with baking paper.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until thoroughly combined and fluffy. Stir in the egg and extract(s) until combined. Sprinkle half of the flour mixture into the bowl and mix until just combined. Add the remaining flour, mixing until until thoroughly combined.

Cover and chill for 20 to 30 minutes.

To make the “breading”:

In a medium bowl, or the bowl of a food processor, crush the scotch fingers until they look like dry sand. Stir in the sugar. Add the melted butter and combine the mixture until it resembles wet sand; set aside.

Shape the cookies: Preheat oven to 165 C.

Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and shape one tablespoon portions of dough into 3- to 4-inch fish fingers. Roll each fish finger in the breading, completely coating them, and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 20 to 23 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before serving.

Serve with custard to dip

This gif is here because,  well because it's awesome and I couldn't find anywhere else for it.

TAKE THAT MOFFAT PEWPEWPEW!!!

Ahem, back on topic some other easy Doctor Who related treats could include:

Tea  

Jelly Babies

Celery

Bananas

Jammy Dodgers

Enjoy the anniversary - I certainly will be!

Foodie Friday: Leftovers Pesto

In the interest of nospendnovember, I thought I'd post one of my favourite recipes for reducing wastage- Martha Stewart's Leftover Herb Pesto.

It's the bomb.  Basically you take whatever herbs you have in your crisper and bung them in a food processor with some other stuff and  (I'm so sorry but I have to) hey pesto!

hehehehehe

Anyway, back to more serious matters:

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon minced garlic (or a chopped up clove)
1/4 cup  nuts (Martha says to toast them, but I never bother)
3 cups herbs
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated dry hard cheese (traditionally it's parmesan, but being a vegie I generally use cheddar)
salt and pepper

Method:
Put in a food processor and blend til it looks like pesto.


Tastes awesome.  Some combos I've made before
- Walnut, basil, mint
- spinach, pine nut, rocket
- dill, mint, almond
- basil, parsley, macadamia
- rosemary, coriander, cashew


Basically anything seems to work though, I've never actually made a bad batch of this stuff. Even the time I accidentally put in ginger instead of garlic.  Martha says it keeps for two days, but I've kept it for over a week and been able to eat it. What's your favourite pesto combination?