Prawns on the Barbie

You know the saying, “throw another shrimp on the barbie”. Funnily enough the quote first became known when Paul Hogan (aka Crocodile Dundee) appeared in several Australian tourism commercials in the mid eighties to early nineties. Originally geared towards the American market, this saying has become globally recognized. The funny thing is that it just doesn’t make sense here in Australia. I never really thought about it. You see, the word shrimp is not used here. Australians say “prawns”.  I guess “throw another prawn on the barbie” doesn’t have the same ring. 

Paul Hogan in advertisement, image courtesy of wikipedia

Well I cannot say that I have had the opportunity to enjoy prawns on the barbie—yet—but I am happy to report that our new barbie is in full operation, following some minor drama or just plain stupidity on our part, which is probably a better way of describing it. When we bought our bbq, we also purchased a gas tank to accompany it (obviously gas plays a crucial role in lighting the barbie). We were so excited with our new purchase that we even bought meat on our way home from Barbeques Galore. We should have known that something would go wrong (drama seems to follow me). 

The Weber 100 at Barbecues Galore

We got home, followed all of the directions to set it up, connected the gas tank, and pressed the button... but no fire appeared. We continued to try lighting it for about an hour until finally giving up with much disappointment and frustration. After several calls to the store and to Weber (the company that manufactures the bbq), it was determined that the attachment to the gas tank must be the issue. When the new one came, a week or so later, we quickly set it up, excited and eager to get our first bbq going. It still did not work. I was steaming with anger. This is where the Australian patience factor (which I am still learning) comes into play. What do we do now?

I knew that Bill (Kate’s dad) would have an answer to the problem, and sure enough he did. He started turning all of the nozzles, clicking all of the buttons and then looked up at Kate and I and asked, “is there gas in the tank?” Ummm... Really? Oops. To our surprise there was NO gas in the tank. OK, I will admit that I do feel stupid and slightly embarrassed for exploding on the phone to Weber but to defend myself a bit, I didn’t realize that $40 only got you an empty tank. Now I know. Once we realized this mistake we quickly ran to the closest swap and go where we were able to trade (with payment of course) our empty tank for a new one (I still don’t really get it). As they say on the swap and go website, “Aussies love a BBQ but running out of gas in the middle is just Un-Australian”. Oh well...

The swap and go

Now that the drama has subsided, I can’t express how exciting it is to come home after a long day and throw a little marinated meat and veggies on the barbie, sprinkled with some of our fresh herbs growing in our own urban herb garden. It makes me very happy. It is one of the true joys of living Down Under. So far we have cooked some Australian lamb with mint and rosemary, roasted a whole chicken and veggies, and made chicken tikka kebabs with a yogurt sauce. We are actually considering cooking our Thanksgiving turkey on the barbie. A little American-Australian fusion. Probably not a good idea...

Australian lamb with mint and rosemary

Roast chicken and veggies

Chicken tikka kebabs with a yogurt sauce

Jonathan + Marni + Josh over for some bbq

From left: home sweet home, the view, and of course the cocktails (mojitos)