We will be driving up to Fraser Island soon for a family holiday.  I am planning what food and snacks to get for the kids and me.  It will be a 2 day drive and we will be spending a week on the island.  What to do!?  What to do!? I really do not know where to start.  Headache… 

Chips, chocolate bars, lollies and soft drinks…  Kids favourite.  How much should I buy and how long will these snacks last?

Maybe I should get some carrots for the kids to chew on when they are peckish?

Maybe there shouldn’t be any junk food at all for this trip?

Not mention about the sleeping and cooking stuff, meat and vegetables, clothes, toys, medicine, fishing gears and lots of other things that I am still not aware of…  What other things do I need to pack or buy?  I am going crazy here.

Its not easy being a dad.  However when I see my sons enjoying themselves and the smiles on their faces, its all worth it!

OK.  Back to planning…

Cheers.

It must a common issue as one of the big supermarkets has been advertising easy recipes to entice kids to eat their greens.

Variety is the spice of life. Start early and offer your kids different kind of food. Kids are curious and adventurous, they will eat new and weird looking things as long as we do the same . As parents, we just have to make sure that a variety of food, especially vegetables and fruits are available 24 X 7, 365 days a year. The less processed the food is, the better it is.

Fast food might be quick and easy, but they are not nutritional. Visit the golden arches as treats and having it once a while doesn’t hurt.

Nothing beats a home cooked meal. Go to the local markets, buy fresh seasonal produce and kids will love the ever changing fruits and vegetables. Fresh vegetables such as celery, carrots and cucumbers by themselves are delicious and nutritious. No cooking is needed, how easy can it be?  While at the market, grab some meat and seafood at a cheaper price compared to the supermarkets. Smart shopping can save a fair bit of money.

Parents have to lead by examples too. You eat, they eat, simple as ABC.  Be disciplined and happy cooking with the next recipe. No need to be fancy, simple recipe and fresh food is the way to go.

By the way, Happy April Fool’s day.

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is starting today 12-March to 23-March.  Visit this website for more information.

During this special time in Victoria, visitors will be spoilt with fresh and delicious food from all cuisines and styles.  We can also expect to drink the finest drops of fermented grape juice from around Australia.

My pick will be the Heat Beads ® Hawkers’ Market, from 15-17 March, 6pm and 8pm session.  It is cheaper to book a ticket online with Ticketmaster.  At this event, a range of hawkers’ dishes will be available for hungry munchers.  Dishes such as gado gado, chicken laksa, Vietnamese beef noodles, ikan panggang (fried fish), dumplings, Japanese cooked tuna hand roll and many more will sure brighten up the fussiest taste buds.

I always have a soft spot for hawker food.  When I was growing up in Singapore and Malaysia, there were hawker centres everywhere.  The food was yummy, cheap, convenient and plentiful.  Who can say no to hawker food?

My cousin just came back from Taiwan and she took a picture of a hawker selling pig’s blood cake.  Hmmm…  Who wants a piece? 
I would like to try all sort of exotic food if I can in my life time.  Afterall, we only live once. 

Australians are quite conservative and uninteresting when it comes to weird and exotic food.  Where can I find stinky tofu (Hong Kong), fried bugs (Thailand), fried spiders (Cambodia), haggis (Scotland) and fresh pungent durian? Hahaha…

Thinking about all the delicious food makes me hungry.  Alright, off to lunch now…

Raw Pizza.

15 mins later

I also cooked curry chicken from my most trusted A1 brand.

It is quite embarassing for a curry lover like me who can’t cook nice curry. My new found neighbour gave me the packet last Wednesday & told me with that, everyone can cook yummy curry.

I added extra onion, garlic & ginger (blended) & also potatoes. We had some left over for lunch today & it taste even better.

We will be having Tang Yuan (dumplings) for afternoon tea today. Eating dumplings on this special day means Tuan Yuan (reunion in Chinese). We got the forzen packet from the Asia Grocery shop in North Bridge & will add that to Black Sesame paste – yummy. Somethings are easier to get the ready made ones

Kids were getting bored with rice and pasta. What next? Potatoes of course. My plan was :
Steak strips with black bean sauce on mash potato

On the way home, I dropped by the local supermarket and bought a bag of potatoes, 2 pieces of rump steak(on special), 2 green capcicums and an onion. $13 all up.

Now the fun part.

1. Boil half a pot of water. Peel enough potatoes for 6 people. Cut them into smaller pieces as it takes a shorter for them to cook – 15 mins.
2. While waiting for the potatoes to cook, cut the capcicums and onions into thin strips. Trim off any fat from the steak. My rump steak has a quite a bit of fat. Personal preference, you don’t have to do it.
3. When the potatoes are ready, drain them and put the pot back on the stove. Put a bit of oil and butter in the pot, salt and pepper to your taste. Put the drained potatoes back in. Start mashing and add half to 1 cup of milk until it reached a smooth consistency. Leave pot aside.
4. Season the steak lightly with salt and pepper and cook the steak on a pan. I like mine medium to well done so 3 mins each side. When the steak is done, take them out let them rest on a plate.
5. Almost done, now the vege. Heat the wok with 2 tablespoons of oil. Toss in the onion and a tablespoon of black bean sauce – Lee Kum Kee brand (not my name ) Then in with the capcicums. 3 mins later, thicken the sauce with corn starch and turn off all the stove.
6. Cut the steak into strips and I was ready to serve.

Kids and missus suggested the steak wasn’t seasoned enough. Oh well, practise makes perfect. Next time, I will do better.