Under the Southern Cross might be a nice change. If we’re sweltering in the Summer heat, it means that they’re having Winter in Australia. Maybe we could cool off a little.

Today I returned to the Land Down Under, if only via a laptop screen — and my latest culinary experiment: Kooky Kookaburra!

I used kidney beans for this; so I wanted a name with “K”. I immediately thought of koala, or kangaroo; but neither one seemed right with the adjectives I thought of. Suddenly I remembered having seen mention of a song about a kookaburra bird. Then, I had it!

Today, when I cooked the soaked-and-frozen kidney beans, I saw that they get done faster than black beans. In fact, they got cooked just short of too soft! It’s lucky I checked for doneness about 10 minutes before the timer rang.

After that, draining the cooked beans and assembling the final dish was quick work. It really helps to chop the vegetables; drain the can of tomatoes; grate the cheese; and cook the rice the day before. On the downside, that method means I have five containers to wash up!

That, however, is preferable to going dizzy while trying to juggle two pots on the stove with chopping stuff on the opposite side of the kitchen. It means that the final dish is cool, unless I take time to warm it a little.

I don’t mind if it’s cool, though. In fact, it ought to be quite transportable, for a picnic under the Southern Cross.