Bananas, cheese and bacon on toast: Add a vegetable and all 5 food groups are represented

My mother and father used to make this for me when I was a kid and I'm sure i never really appreciated what a wonderful combination this really is.
These days though I like to add a drizzle of maple syrup on top.

Spectacular!

Pie Floater: Looks can be decieving

Now this is another love hate food from my local area. A big bowl of thick pea soup, an inverted (must be upside down or it's not authentic) meat (usually beef) pie and a good dollop of tomato sauce (ketchup).

These are usually sold as street food although there has been lately a move to reinvent this dish as fine dining.

Fritz: The child pacifier

Fritz is a type of manufactured meat product sold in Australia and New Zealand. It is usually served in a sandwich, often with tomato sauce and can also be fried in slices.

Typical commercial preparations list the major ingredient as "Meat including Pork". It is usually composed of several types of pork, basic spices, and a binder.

It is referred to as "Polony" in Western Australia, "Luncheon" in Queensland and northern areas of New Zealand, "Fritz" in South Australia and far western areas of New South Wales, "Belgium" or "Rokeby Roast" in Tasmania and southern New Zealand and "Devon" in Victoria and East New South Wales.

Fritz would be classed as "Luncheon Meat" in the UK. It is similar in appearance and taste to boloney. Originally known in some parts of Australia as "German sausage", this name fell out of favour during World War I when Australia was at war with Germany.

In Hungary, it is called "Párizsi" or rarely "Parizer", and can be bought sliced or in sticks. It is considered to be a cheap meat product.

Most children in South Australia grew up getting a slice of Fritz from the butcher when their parents went in to buy some meat.

Apple Pie and Cheese: What?

I heard about this from my Mother In Law who came to Australia from the US. You make an apple pie and put cheese on top and it's yummy!

Apparently any swiss type cheese is great but it is not unheard of to use cream style cheeses or even melted bries and camemberts although to be authentic, a great cheddar is required.

I dare say cheese wiz would work on some level too!

Vegemite: Is there really anything this food cant do?

Why start with this? Well as I'm an Aussie (and lets get this straight from the start....it's pronounced ozzy) I thought I'd start with a classic love hate food.

Vegemite is a dark brown Australian food paste made from yeast extract.

It is a spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits, and filling for pastries.

It is similar to British, New Zealand, and South African Marmite, Australian (US owned) Promite, and to Swiss Cenovis.

Vegemite is made from used brewers' yeast extract, a by-product of beer manufacturing, and various vegetable and spice additives. It is salty, slightly bitter, and umami or malty — similar to beef bouillon.

The texture is smooth and sticky. It is not as intensely flavoured as British Marmite and it is less sweet than the New Zealand version of Marmite.

Later I'll be posting some interesting combinations of this much loved and hated food.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegemite