1999, a year before the Summer Olympics took place in Sydney. Mr J and myself were both working in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We had our wedding date set for May and planned to visit the US for two months, to drive around the country before moving back to Holland to settle down.
It was fate that has led us to a different route. It was an ordinary Saturday afternoon, we went to visit my grandma who lived with my uncle in Subang. I was flipping through a Saturday newspaper and Mr J was drinking a beer while chilling out.
It started as a joke. I saw an ad by a recruitment agency based in Hong Kong. The job fitted Mr J's profile. I handed over the paper to Mr J and the rest is history.
After a few emails, phone calls and one interview, he got a job offer. They initially wanted him to be based in either Taiwan, Hong Kong or Singapore. But we didn't want to relocate to another Asian country as we had done lots of business travelling to these countries already. So, they asked him where he would like to work. Out of the blue, he said: "How about Australia?", purely because we hadn't been to Australia yet.
They told him it would be possible and we were given three locations - Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne. We picked Sydney because we wanted to be in the city where the Summer Olympics would be held.
The coming months were busy. A formal wedding in Holland followed by a reception in Malaysia in May. We finished our last day of work in Malaysia in July, sold our cars and packed our bags. Flew back to Holland in August and spent a few weeks with our family and friends. We stepped foot in Australia on 1st of September 1999.
We didn't fly directly to Sydney. We had decided to embark on a road trip from Darwin to Alice Springs. So we flew to Darwin, hopped on our rented motorhome and 4,500 km and 15 days later we ended up in Alice Springs and then flew to Sydney to start our new life.
We drove, cooked, slept in this motorhome for the entire journey.
We are glad we did the road trip. We always believe that to know a country is to see it, to experience it and to fall in love with it.
We have seen some of the most amazing sunsets and sunrises.
Clockwise from left top: Katherine Gorge, Yellow Water Billabong at Kakadu National Park, Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) and Mindil Market at Darwin
We have encountered some of the most stunning landscapes.
Uluru (Ayers Rock)
Mostly though, it's a long road leading to nowhere. We had Bruce Springsteen's and Shania Twain's songs blasting for hours and hours.
The Australian Outback
And to realise how little and insignificant we are.
Devil's Marbles. Can you spot Mr J and me?
Food in the Northern Territory is unmemorable. Let's be honest. We are not true foodies. We don't plan our holidays around food. During this roadtrip, we experienced the driest roast chicken at a road house, countless meat pies and sausage rolls at gas stations and some funky buffalo sausages and crocodile, emu, kangaroo skewers. Cooking in 40C heat in the tiny kitchen of the motorhome was always instant pasta with sauce from the jar.
I can not remember exactly where, but I think it's from the tiny supermarket at the tourist town off Uluru (Ayers Rock), I picked up my first copy of an Australian cookbook. A free in store copy.
Sadly, I had not cooked any dish from it until I spotted this book while clearing my bookshelf a few weeks ago. I decided to make this Kartoffelpuffer (German Potato Pancakes) and share this amazing journey with you.
Kartoffelpuffer (German Potato Pancakes) Recipe
(Adapted from Foodtown Supermarkets Magazine)
Serves 12
Ingredients
1 kg potatoes
1 onion
1 egg
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Salt
Oil
Method
- Peel and grate raw potatoes and onion.
- Combine potatoes and onion in a large bowl, drain excess moisture.
- Using wooden spoon, mix in egg, flour and breadcrumbs to make an even dough.
- Heat oil in a fry pan and place tablespoons of mixture in a hot pan, flatten with spoon and fry both sides to a golden brown.
- Place on paper towel to drain excess oil and serve hot with salad or with a savoury topping such as tomato relish.
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47 comments:
You know this post made me feel so... I don't know. It has a sentimental value.. all of this.
ohhhh your pictures from your trip are stunning.
the pancakes look delicious tooo
The photos looks amazing!! I've never really travelled anywhere past NSW =S haha.....The road trip sounds like heaps of fun!! The pancakes look delicious!! I love potatoes =) And pancakes =)
Journey seems to be wonderful. Amazing Potato pancakes too. Nice write up .
I n my husband are also planning a similar trip covering a few national parks of the US but with the li'l one we're having second thoughts if we should do it or not. But after reading your post I realized that whatever adventure/challenges you face during these trips but you always come back with the most wonderful memories that you can always cherish.
Thanks for sharing your much cherished memories with all of us!
Oooh, the idea of tomato relish with potato pancakes sounds fantastic! And your pictures from the trip are lovely.
What a nice story Ellie! It's really funny how something small and a "joke" can turn into something so special. Am glad that you found that article to share with Mr. J! And thanks for sharing the German Potato pancake recipe and pictures with us.
Hi Ellie, I am German and we eat them with lots of homemade apple sauce. Delicious. They are my moms favorite. Thanks for the reminder. I haven't made Kartoffelpuffer in a long time.
Thanks. Kirsten
The pancakes looks delicious, good for breakfast or tea break. I am enjoying looking at all the photos, hope I can be there too!
What an amazing story! The pictures are wonderful and I like road trips! I've been a big fan of your food blog for a long time. I recently started one and hope to post yummy recipes soon.
Wow, Ellie, you've been taking amazing photos for a long time now! I loved this post. Hubs and I did a road trip, camping from place to place when we first got to OZ, we went from Wagga, down south to Melbourne then down to Lorne, then up to Canberra and finally to Sydney. Still haven't made it to the Top End yet but plannign a trip next year. Oh and great pancakes :)
What a lovely story! It brings back memories for me because kartoffelpuffer was one of the first things I cooked when I was learning German in high school as part of the cultural backgroud and your recipe is pretty much the standard way of doing it, I haven't made it for such a long time I think it's due for a revival!
Talk about a Sliding Doors moment! How strange how serendipity can change your life so dramatically.
So glad you ended up in Sydney, and those potato pancakes look delicious. Something about pan-fried potato that always makes me go a little weak in the knees!
Mister and I love road trips. This post has made me want to look at our old photos and all our adventures together.
Thanks for sharing :)
Wonderful story to go with a recipe! And lovely pictures too!
I envy your amount of travel, but I'm still young though =)
Hello, it's not only german dish. I'm Polish, and in our country we eat those pancakes all the time. We call it 'placki ziemniaczane'. which means potato pancakes exactly.
Best, Retrose
Ellie, reading your stories always remind me of Coelho's The Alchemist... When you are moving along the path towards your destiny, all forces will come along and help you along. All I can say is, it is meant to be and that is why things fall together so beautifully for you...
What an awesome journey! Those potato pancakes look wonderful.
Cheers,
Rosa
Wow Ellie! I can't believe you were so adventurous! And that's how you came to Australia! Amazing!! Such an interesting story.
These look very good. I think my mother used to cook these for me as a child and called them Potato fritters.
I haven't done the great Australian road trip. I should put it on my must do list.
Beautiful, touching post. Why do so many people love your blog? It's easy to see why.
Whayt a lovely & great post!
What a grand & great roas trip you two made!! Yeah!
Great pictures too!
thes epotato cakes look delightful!
Try to eat them with sour cream or butter or mushroom sauce or hungarian goulash.
Looks like quite the road trip! I've always wanted to drive cross country (any country really), but have never had the chance. Maybe someday :)
that's pretty romantic, taking a spontaneous road trip like that ... going where the road takes you! Love the pics .. thks for sharing :)
Beautiful photos and a great recipe. I would love to visit Australia some day.
The patties look really delicious and so does the pictures of Alice Spring. Hopefully get to visit there one day.
This post made me smile. I'm glad you came!
The colours in that part of Australia are so stunning. Haven't been myself but will definitely make the effort one day.
Tasty looking pancakes too!
How timely! I'm about to take off on my own trip (to Prague) and last night I made bramboraky (potato pancakes) to celebrate! They're waiting for me right now in the fridge. Czech potato pancakes are generally HUGE - think dinner plate sized - and are often stuffed with cheese (bramboraky v syr). The ones my Polish mom makes are usually smaller and served as a side dish, with healthy dollops of sour cream and applesauce. It's a food that reminds me of traveling and home, all at once.
What a fabulous adventure, Ellie! :-) I love how brave and fun you guys are. :-) I would love to do a trip like this after reading Bryson's "A Sunburned Country" - but I'll be sure to bring LOTS of books on CD to entertain me through the long, barren stretches. :-)
What a blast from the past, we visited Sydney right before the Olympic games and travelled to Cairns, Great Barrier Reef and Uluru (Ayers Rock). The latter purely because I had done a project on the Australian outback in the 6th grade, and had seen pictures of that strange red rock and always wondered if I would get a chance to see it for myself. Its sucha treat to see your pics from about the same time, I have almost the same ones of Uluru and Kjata Tuta in my collection too!
Fate? Nice to hear that it all worked out so well! Beautiful post.
Such a lovely post Ellie. Everyone who comes to Australia has a story to tell I believe :)
Such perfect crisping of the cakes.. the brown is so inviting!!
Beautiful post! I have to admit that my boyfriend and I are not true foodies either. We don't mind eating off food carts or indulging (?) in fast food every once in awhile especially while on road trips. But there's more to life than food and it seem as if you've certainly experienced that!
What a nice story- it's always interesting to me to learn how people wind up in the places they do. Your photos from your road trip are lovely- such amazing landscapes! The kartoffelpuffer (I just love the name!) looks delicious!
That's a great story. I've always wanted to travel around Australia's outback in a motorhome too. Your photos make Australia look so beautiful!
Hmm I think my German other half would love these! I wish I will one day have a trip like yours, the photos look beautiful!
Ellie, what an adventurous trip in a caravan you made. I also drove one with my family and made a trip, not in Australia, but in New Zealand, from South Island to North Island. It's very memorable.
I can feel your sense of achievement through this blog. Thanks so much for sharing your lovely story.
Ellie, thanks for sharing your memories with us. Beautiful photos and I guess you had a wonderful time travelling from Darwin to Alice Spring :) and the pancakes look delicious !
Beautiful photos and, more importantly, a record of your journey. The free cookbook is a memento from that journey, even if this is the first time you've ever cooked from it!
the photos were gorgeous... i never develop photos anymore.. but maybe i should!
Your amazing photos make me miss Australia, what a wonderful journey and story! And those potato pancakes look so tasty!
Loved your road trip photos, especially the ones of the endless roads and the Devil's Marbles. At first glance, I didn't realise you were in the photos until I read the captions underneath.
What a great story about your journey here. With the last few posts I really feel like we're getting a glimpse into you & your family.
Ah, thank you for the recipe! I've been having a couple of these for breakfast now, with a fried egg and some tomato sauce. It's such a nice was to begin the day~
ah! you gotta come back to Darwin as the cuisine has evolved quite a lot now :). lots of asian fusion! :D
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