Barbie for (almost) Australia Day

"Australia Day is Australia's official national day, January 26. It commemorates the landing of the First Fleet in Sydney Cove on that day in 1788." Wikipedia. Click to find out more information.

There's a jokey TV ad on at the moment from the Australian Lamb Council or something, showing a man behind a desk, in stern State of The Nation address style, urging all proper good Australians to celebrate Australia day with a lamb chop grabbed from the bbq, a stubby of beer and a slice of pavlova. So, to prove my worthiness as a good Australian I took heed and fired up the barbie tonight to assist our lamb economy. Did you know that in New Zealand there are 3 sheep for every human? There's a bit of trivia for you! It's not so high here in Australia, but lamb is traditionally the great Aussie meat.
There's nothing more enjoyable or quintessentially Australian than standing in the golden evening over a smoking bbq with the sting of the sun still on your shoulders from an afternoon by the pool, with a beer in one hand, after another sunny 30+ degree day. Each evening the streets are filled with the scent of bbq-ing meat, most usually taken over by good Aussie blokes, but tonight I was wielding the tongs.
We had a huge zucchini from a friend of my nonna's that I sliced up and dressed with olive oil, salt, pepper, dried oregano and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Oh dear...that sounds a bit Un-Australian - Mr Lamb Council would be very underwhelmed! Actually, our zucchini might actually be extremely young, tender pumpkin, but we're not sure. It's butter soft and perfect for grilling, so great for the barbie! We had it with pork and leek sausages and great, honking pieces of lamb, so maybe we're redeemed. No pavlova tonight, but a great beer (Nastro Azzurro from Italy...ooops, again not very Australian) and some fresh, cold watermelon.
For those who want to writhe in envy (or shrug in sympathy) here's the weather forecast for the next few days (in celsius, naturally!): Tue 35, Wed 37, Thu 29, Fri 32...gotta feel sorry for those kids starting a new school year thsi week; traditionally the weather here always turns perfectly hot just as the kids go back to school.