It's ANZAC day

[loobylou]

Today , in Australia we celebrated ANZAC day. It's a day when we remember all the service personel who fought to keep our country free and safe. If you are interested in learning about this Aussie custom- here's a link

http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac_tradition.htm

I personally always make ANZAC biscuits on this day and talk to my kids about the sacrifices made by those who served in the forces to keep our country safe. I will add a recipe in a minute if you are interested
Sarah

ANZAC BISCUITS
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup plain flour
1 cup sugar
4oz butter
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarb soda
2 tablespoons boiling water


Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.
combine butter and golden syrup in a small bowl. melt over low heat ( I zap in microwave for a minute)
Mix bicarb with boiling water and add to melted butter mixture
stir into dry ingredients
spoon dessertspoonfuls onto greased oven trays- leave a gap between as they spread a lot!
bake in at 180C (about 325F) for 20 minutes.
allow to cool on the baking trays
Makes approx 3 dozen

[emmcee]

Always interested in learning something new! TFS.

[tesschap]

Well Sarah - Happy ANZAC day. I'm thinking that it's quite simular to our Veteran's Day. Are all government offices, etc. closed today in Australia?

Can't wait to see your recipe.

Have a great day.

[loobylou]

Just added a recipe. the ingredients are apparently what the soldiers had in their rations/care packages in the first world war. Not sure about the butter??? I beleive they put their rations together so it became an act of mateship to share
sarah

[directmailscrapper]

Sarah, thank you for sharing this with us! Very interesting. What is dessicated coconut? Is that what we call shredded coconut? Nancy

[inkinupstamps]

Sarah, I'm so happy you shared your recipe and the information about ANZAC with us. I saw it listed on my calendar but didn't know what the celebration was.

Jennifer :)

[loobylou]

dessicated coconut is finer than shredded coconut.
we use it on Lamington cakes
Sarah

[loobylou]

Here's some more info on ANZAC biscuits

The original Anzac biscuit was known as an Anzac wafer or tile and, along with beef bully, was part of the rations given to our soldiers during World War I. They were included instead of bread because they had a much longer shelf-life.

These biscuits were so hard they prompted a Lieutenant A L Dardel in 1915 to comment that "the man who can eat Gallipoli stodge (called bread) can eat anything... somebody will break his neck someday wandering round with his eyes shut and his teeth clenched on a biscuit trying to bite it through".
Many soldiers ground these biscuits into a type of porridge to make them more palatable.
The mothers, wives and girlfriends of Australian troops back home must've got wind of the terrible Anzac tiles and were reportedly concerned that their boys were not getting enough nutrients. Knowing that oats were a food of high nutritional value, these women used the recipe for Scottish oatcakes as a base and developed what we know of today as the Anzac biscuit.
Before being named Anzac biscuits, these biscuits were said to have been called soldier's biscuits.
Along with oats, the other ingredients - sugar, flour, coconut, butter, golden syrup and bi-carbonate of soda - were used because they would be able to withstand the long journey via ship that the biscuits had to make to reach the troops.
Eggs, a common binding agent in biscuits, were purposely not used because of the high likelihood that they would spoil before they reached Gallipoli or the Western Front.

[mydogstinks2]

well Happy ANZAC day to you and your family.

[Far North]

be the same as the biscuits? There is one bakery that makes anzac cookies in Seward, Alaska...a very plain, dry oatmeal, coconut cookie that I love with my coffee. Do you know of a different cookie recipe? I remember doing a web search last year after having some and wasn't too successful.
Do you do other special things to honor the day. Do you have parades? As a young girl here I remember marching in our Memorial Day parades with flowers to lay on the unknown soldiers graves. It was a time for family gatherings and picnics.
Thanks so much for sharing!...Jan