I grew up watching Eurovision with mum. I vividly remember that time a woman came out of a piano (although I remember nothing else about the performance so have never been able to find a video) and my brother and I talked about it for days. The year I moved out of home, I watched the final in my strange on-campus share-house and it was the only thing that me and my housemates ever bonded over. In 2012, my friends and I accidentally devoted three full days to Eurovision, becoming so invested that we even bought the compilation CD that year. That was when Waterline was Ireland’s entry and is the origin of my ongoing (and ever more passionate) love for Jedward. In 2014, after moving interstate I was lonely and sad and desperately missed my Eurovision pals. Conchita’s win felt like a light in the darkness – proof that anything was possible. Eurovision is an important part of so many of my friendships. It is happiness and love. It is frivolous glitter in an often dark world.
Also it is a pretty solid excuse to devote way too much time and energy to overambitious regionally based cooking experiments.
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Photo by Rolf Klatt for SBS via here. |
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Photo by Rolf Klatt for SBS via here. |
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Photo by Rolf Klatt for SBS via here. |
I made pav because, let’s be honest, Dami’s song was objectively the best one this year so I had to make something patriotic. Our country might be going to hell in a hand basket but at least we did ourselves proud at Eurovision. I made DIY pav so there was both vegan and non-vegan options. My first attempt at vegan meringue (which you make with the liquid from a tin of chickpeas in place of eggs) was… ok. They turned out very flat and sticky but they tasted alright. The non-vegan ones were obviously delicious because pav.