Nothing Says Saturday Afternoon More Than The Aroma Of Curry Wafting Through The House.

Traditions and comforts.

Bob drove to Deutsch Schützen to get more pellets and the ubiquitous milk, bread and butter with the wifely hint of having a look at the meat on offer.

Pot luck indeed. The village shop had some nice pieces of beef which in itself seems to be a rarity in Burgenland as pork is the meat of choice. Often a half and half mince can be bought but I haven't gotten used to pork mince yet. Healthier in any case to have a more sporadic consumption of meat.

My all time favourite curry meat, lamb or mutton, is even harder to come by. Well, from a shop that is. Most Burgenlander's aren't fond of lamb. There is an organic sheep farm not far from here but it would require a lot of planning ahead and freezer space. In time perhaps.

Over our years together we've settled on four in the afternoon being the best time to start the curry. Enough time for it to simmer merrily away and acquire the essence of it. A client once told me the secret ( well her's ) of making a fabulous curry and it is a can of diced tomatoes...

Both of us in our own way have a liturgy of curry combinations floating through our minds the minute we get reacquainted with the aromas of a curry on the stove. Bob's picturing a nice portion of Bunny Chow, or curry pie whereas I picture the colours of sambals, chutney and bananas circling on my plate. Most of the above are figments of our imagination as the much loved Mrs Balls Chutney isn't available in our area. Just as well though, as we'd be smothering our cheese sandwiches in it...

Traditions are wonderful. They give a sense of belonging and togetherness, well at least for me. Living life with newly established roots makes it even more special to have traditions on hand every now and then.

Biggi