On New Year’s day we cooked up the croc bbq pack we purchased at the Croc Park. There were meat kabobs, burger and sausage. All were great. The kids also loved it. Croc meat is a delicate white meat that is easily overcooked. It is supposed to be a good source of vitamin B12 and niacin so hopefully will be good for cholesterol too. Given that crocs have out-survived most everything else on the planet that we know of (even dinosaurs) it makes you think their meat can’t be bad for you. We once watched a documentary on some research being done with croc blood and our superbug bacteria. The croc’s blood kills it like it’s nothing.
We haven’t yet tried kangaroo and really want to do that. We also are still figuring out a lot of the seafood here and looking forward to learning how best to prepare it. We have heard there is a market down close to the pier where you can get the fresh stuff. We have to check that out soon. A couple weeks ago Paul got ¾ of a kilogram of a white fish at the store, called Ling. We assume it was ling cod. It was good. The kids cleaned their plates, ate some of ours and were still asking for more. Next on the list to try is barramundi.
We have been eating a lot of stir-fry dishes, with chicken, shrimp (prawns), and beef. The kids and I make our own pizza once in awhile. We just love the wholemeal flour. It’s a larger grain than wholewheat and sweeter. It works great in breads and doughs. You have to watch using it in cookies, though. It adds enough sweetness to affect the resulting taste. I tried it in our first batch of chocolate chip cookies and it didn’t really go. It probably would if I had reduced the amount of sugar.
Last night we tried quail and it was really good. It’s a lot like chicken, as you would expect – just not as much meat on the bones. We have also been enjoying all the fresh fruit. The whole family loves mango, of course. We even put it on top of cooked oatmeal. Star fruit is also a hit. We get a lot of our fruit and veggies at one of the outdoor weekend markets. It’s cheaper and feels good to give money to a local rather than a big corporation. It is also a great outing for the whole family. The kids all get a cold fruit smoothie (with typical and local fruits) and we walk around looking at lots of other vendors – food, clothing, musicians, flowers, jewelry, etc. It’s hot, but fun.
A couple weeks ago we took a drive to see some sights outside Darwin. On the way home we stopped at a town called Humpty Doo. With a name like that, you have to stop, don’t you? We decided to have an early dinner at the “world famous” Humpty Doo Hotel. Here's what the restaurant section looked like...
Paul and I got a buffalo burger “with the lot”. What we got was the most amazing burger I have ever had. Here’s what was between the bread…
- The usuals - burger meat, tomato, lettuce, cheese
- Fried egg
- Slice fried ham
- Couple slices of beet
- Couple slices of pineapple
What an amazing combo!
We’ve tried a few experiments since we came over here. One is doing without a microwave. I don’t know if it is healthy to use one or not and I guess that is the point. I am fortunate enough to be able to stay home with my kids so I have more time to prepare food. I started reducing the amount I used the microwave before we left Alaska. I didn’t really use it for much more than heating up coffee by the time we left. It was still there when I needed to reheat something in a pinch, though. Since we landed in AU I have not used a microwave once. And I haven’t missed it a bit. When we moved into our long-term rental house I told Paul I didn’t want to even buy one and we didn’t. Of course I don’t know if our decision will improve our health in the long run. I am pretty confident that it will not decrease the quality of our lives though.
The transition to microwave-free was also aided by our purchase of a Bialetti Moka espresso maker to make coffee. Our good friend, Maja, introduced us to this amazing little piece of cooking equipment on a camping trip in Canada last summer. In the morning we now make a pot of espresso. When we are ready for another cup of coffee we just boil some more plain water to add to the now cold espresso and voila! We have a perfect strength, fresh, perfect temperature cup of coffee.
The other experiment caused more stress for me. Before we left Alaska I happened up on a book called Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne. The book changed our lives. I started talking about it here…
http://barry-family-adventures.blogspot.com/2011/11/november-27-2011housing-slowing-down.html
In short, as parents we are the gate-keepers to our children’s lives. The theme of the book is our children get stressed when there is too much – too many choices, too many toys, too many books, too much stuff, too much stimulation of any sort. Their brains are maxed out, trying to process all the input. If you reduce the amount of “stuff” you reduce their stress and they are simply happier and healthier. I was floored. All this time kept bringing in more “stuff”, thinking I was doing good as long as it was educational and good quality. But too much is too much. We weeded and weeded. We still have more to do. We are also going to cycle our toys – keep at least ½ boxed up at a time.
So for Christmas this year we needed a different plan. Every year until now we went after the “Wow” factor. We wanted the kids to be thrilled when they walked down the stairs to the magic of the big pile of toys that were surrounding the tree. How to change that?!?! Santa had to bring something.
We decided the kids would each get one mid-sized toy. In their stockings would be a treat of chocolate, one little toy or two and some tickets to fun places we could go as a family. We are thinking maybe that would involve airplane travel another year. This year, having not yet unpacked from our move and having so much yet to explore here, we could not bring ourselves to think about jumping on an airplane.
As a mother, it would simply crush me if the kids walked downstairs Christmas morning and had a look of disappointment on their faces. So I told the kids…I do not want Santa to bring a bunch of toys anymore. We have too much…we have given away a lot and still have too much. We can pick somewhere you want to go and ask Santa to bring us tickets. Then we will ask for only one toy each. The kids seemed ok with it.
When Christmas Eve came I was nervous. I had bought a couple simple, little toys for the grandparents to give them, as I had promised. They were little digging shovels, and the like. They were the only wrapped presents under the tree. Santa then brought tickets, a chocolate treat and a couple little toys in their stocking. They each got a scooter.
Before we went to bed I looked at the little “pile” and really wondered what they kids were going to think when they came downstairs in the morning. I wasn’t sure. This was going to be their first Christmas without extended family, without snow, without a home, without our pets. I wasn’t sure if we were doing the right thing by changing the Santa thing too.
I shouldn’t have worried at all. Their response after opening and playing with their new things…”Mom, Santa still brought a lot of stuff!” They happily played with their new things. They didn’t get the typical Christmas morning “burn out” from opening too many presents. And neither did we. I am so happy we gave it a try. It just felt healthier. And we were all happier.
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