Red Hill - Spring Hill - What did you expect?

It was definitely an urban run this last Sunday, but we Samford country yokels felt right at home with the hilly nature of the trail. It's not for nothing that the areas we ventured into are called Red Hill and Spring Hill.

The route included 3 footbridges...some of us had driven under a couple of these frequently without ever noticing them! And those runners who were looking forward to some stairs must surely have been satisfied....

The real estate and the city views provided many points of interest.

Le W*nk was exhausted after just doing the walk!

Part of the group that crowded onto a Petrie Terrace veranda after the walk/run - including one fourth of the dogs who walked the trail:

Some of us had done a catering job in the city earlier in the day, and there was a bit of cake left over:

Escargot's third slice of Victoria sponge:

It was good to welcome Superhacker back from the UK!

We're a bit closer to home this coming Sunday - at Everton Hills (can't get away from those hills, though, can we?)

Next run details

When: Sunday 2nd August, 4 pm

Where: Alfredson Park, Collins Road, Everton Hills (park on Collins Road). A map!

Hares: Le W*nk will set the trail; Potluck will cater (please bring something to share)

On, on!

"Give a dog a bone"

Legend has it that in the olde days snags and bread made up the standard Samford Hash diet and that every second run was from John Scott Park. Our hares this last Sunday brought us back to our roots on both counts. They took us on a trail that we haven't run for quite a long while, and they served up the traditional fare - minus the charcoal, and supplemented with cheesy starters, a classy salad, chocolate brownies, and yet more chocolate. Many thanks to Payback and Cash Converta!

It was good to catch up with old friends Groundsheet, Corn Cob and Little Squirt, and to welcome back Hornblower, whom we haven't seen on the trail for a while.

Dog-whisperer Shockjock had been having a yarn with his canine mates, and put forward their suggestion that we should add bones to the regular Hash menu. It's fair to say that this idea stirred up a bit of controversy. It was referred to a sub-committee of dog owners (to be known as the "Knick Knack Paddy Whack" committee....)

And - thanks to Hugandkiss, who distributed Chinese good-luck charms to everyone present - we can expect to have several Lotto winners amongst us over the next few weeks. Let's hope they're all as generous as she is!

It's an urban run next Sunday.

Next run details
When: Sunday 26th July, 4 pm
Where: Culture's cat-house in Petrie Terrace
Hares: Culture and Haughty

(Please email us if you need directions to this run)

On, on!

Winter westerlies

Winter westerlies bared their fangs this last Sunday, and our hares took compassion on us. They kindly allowed us to wipe our feet and our noses and to come indoors for a tasty and filling meal and the circle.

This followed a brilliant, enjoyable run/walk along completely unfamiliar tracks on the slopes of Mt. Coot-tha. The trail kicked off with a real heart-starter, heading straight up the easterly face of the peak. We established base camp at the first hold check, then made a traverse along a winding ridge - and thereafter seemed to go down and up innumerable times in every possible direction, We were lucky it was such a well-marked trail - we'd have been completely lost otherwise. Isn't it great to have competent and dedicated hares?

For some reason, Payback's penchant for table-dancing in his pyjamas came up in the conversation. You'll find the horrible proof here.

Look! The Hash is allowed indoors, in the warm!

It was very cold outside:

A visitor who's joined us a few times now, on and off. If he's not careful, running with us may turn into a bit of a habit:

Terrible things can happen to you at the Samford Show if you're not careful. Strangers on the trail must have found this a bit disconcerting too:

Next run details
When: Sunday 19th July, 4 pm
Where: Back to our roots at John Scott Park in the heart of Samford. Wrap up well!
Hares: Cash Converta and Payback

On, on!

Yankee Doodle Dumpling run

30 of us gathered to celebrate the 4th of July (as Radar pointed out, it may have been the 5th for us, but it was still the 4th in the US of A) with a very enjoyable jaunt around Southbank and beyond - and then some really memorable Japanese food. We loved it! The US team may have beaten the Japanese at soccer...but there's no competition between hotdogs and home-cooked Gyoza dumplings!

So without more ado, and with many thanks to In Your Dreams, here's her recipe for Gyoza:

Gyoza Wrappers come in packs of 30 and are available at most Asian Grocery stores. They are different from Chinese Dumpling Wrappers.  The stores I go to are:
http://www.genkimart.com.au/
http://www.dandajapan.com.au/

Ingredients 

(for 70-80 Gyoza - I usually buy 2 to 3 packs of wrappers.)
Pork mince - 500g
Onion - 1
Cabbage - Half
Ginger - about same amount as garlic
Garlic - 2 or 3 cloves
Salt, Pepper, Nutmeg - a  sprinkle

Method 

• Use a food processor to chop Onion, Cabbage, Ginger and Garlic, then mix all together with Pork mince (mix by hand.)
• Wrap the above in the wrappers.
• Put some oil (I usually use olive oil or sesame oil) on a pan, and place wrapped gyoza in the pan. Place a lid and cook with high heat.  If you put gyoza too close to each other they will stick to each other, so I usually leave some space between gyoza.
• After a few minutes, when the pan becomes hot and starts grilling the gyoza, pour a cup of hot water all over the gyoza, put the lid back and cook on mid-high for 5-8 min.
• Gyoza will be swollen with the water and steamed.
• When the bottoms of the gyoza start burning a little, the gyoza are done.

Notes:

• Chinese chives should be also be used in the standard gyoza mix, but since I cannot find the right ones in Australia, I leave them out.  
• You can put anything you like in the mix as long as you can wrap and grill it. Seafood gyoza, using prawn or crab, is good.
• Wrapping may require some practice.  I started wrapping gyoza when I was probably 4 or 5 yrs old.  It is a popular “family” food in Japan.

Yum!!

It was good to welcome 3 visitors, including Radar and Bedpan. It's hard to believe that they managed to get lost on the walk...but there you are. Here they are with our Japanese American hares.

Hash jeweller Jamesbondage had prepared Hash namelaces for new members Footsie and Groupie, and these were presented in the circle.

We bade farewell to Kermit again for a while. We sincerely hope she doesn't get eaten by a crocodile and we look forward to hearing of her adventures in the north.

More of the group:

Le W*nk, in his version of the Stars and Stripes, reveals the secrets of the universe to an enthralled audience:

Next run details
When: Sunday 12th July, 4 pm
Where: Meet in J C Slaughter Falls car park (about half way along). A map!
Hares: Gastrick and Miss Fit

On, on!