Archive for News

Oh the places you’ll go…

August 2, 2012 · Filed under News · Tagged

Parenting bliss, for a fleeting moment

Life. Tricky.

I love to watch “oh the places you’ll go” read by the crazy folks at the burning man festival. It’s so refreshing to watch grown ups being silly and having fun. One day I’ll take the kids there – but not yet – we’ve got a few more ‘where did i come from’ and ‘is that a lady or a man’ talks to get through first. When they’re teens, this festival would be a nice pinnacle of weird parenting – a fabulous entree into a world that doesn’t always make sense and isn’t always straightforward.

This week I’m worn down in the ‘blahs’, taking a food break and revisiting some of my parenting moments. Really it’s just my community service announcement about what not to do that will make you all feel like fantastic parents in comparison…

BAD MUMMY One time, when he was still a toddler, I showed Mr Meat&Potatoes porn (accidently of course).

BAD MUMMY Do you yell at your kids? I’ve always been upfront about my inability to control my temper with my kids.

BAD MUMMY Then there was the time I flicked the bird (in front of the kids of course) and suffered remorse.

AAAHHHHH GOOD MUMMY But at the end of the day, love will win out, Hollywood-style and we can all remember that it’s the little moments of perfection that enrich our lives.

Back next week with food.

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Stronger, faster, higher, sillier

July 30, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Fish, News · Tagged , , , , ,

Are you catching much of the Olympics? We’re watching it constantly and I’m not sure if the kids have developed a new-found love of sport or are more excited about unrestricted access to the telly.

I enjoy the whole spectacle of it. I don’t really follow sport much at any other time, but I do like to use the games as a benchmark of where I am in life. I remember during Beijing in 2008, looking at my baby and my preschooler and thinking “WOW, by London, you guys will be BIG”, and here we are already. And big (and backchatting) they are.

Amazing how you can sit and watch nearly any sport or activity in the world if it’s being performed by the world’s best. The skill and dedication is awe-inspiring. But really, I wish the coverage would just leave it at that and not spoil it by interviewing the athletes. Not that they’re not fascinating, but you know… sometimes I don’t think we need overthink it too much. Like asking a swimmer about their race strategy. I’m guessing that they’re going to go as fast as they can for as long as they can, until the race is over and hopefully they’ve gone faster than everybody else. Usually there’s some excruciating chat full of clichés about going ‘harder, faster, performing on the night ‘or acknowledging the other competitors who also had intricate race plans that included going fast, all the way until the race was over.

For the next couple of weeks you might want to plan some make ahead dinners, so that you can drop everything to dash to the TV in time to catch that really crucial handball final, or to see the replay of the white water rafting capsize (which you can knowledgably comment on). Maybe try out this salmon mornay recipe. You can make it up at any stage during the day, refrigerate it then pop it in the oven whenever you’re ready.

Truly – salmon mornay. With a bit of paprika – delicious.



Salmon mornay

1 carrot, peeled, grated or diced finely (whatever suits your family)
1 zucchini, grated
1 ½ cups cauliflower (diced as finely as you need for your kids to not notice it)
125g can corn kernels, drained
415g can red salmon (red is much nicer than pink in this dish)
¾ cup frozen peas
Chopped chives (optional)
Pepper
Juice of half a lemon
40g butter
2 ½ tbsp plain flour
½ tsp sweet paprika
1 cup milk, warmed (I just chuck mine in the microwave on medium/high for a minute or so)
1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese
½ cup dried breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 180C. Dig out 4 oven proof bowls or gratin dishes (one large dish will also work but doesn’t look as pretty).

If your carrot is in chunks, pop it in a bowl, add a splash of water, cover and microwave until 90% tender. Drain and add to a large mixing bowl. Repeat with the cauliflower.

Add in the rest of the vegies and the salmon – breaking up into chunks and squishing the bones (keep them in though, for the calcium hit). Season with pepper, squeeze over the juice and mix well.

Place the butter in a medium non-stick saucepan over medium heat. When starting to bubble add in the flour and paprika and stir well with a wooden spoon. Cook this mix until the smell changes from acrid to biscuity and delicious (1-2 minutes). Gradually drizzle in the warm milk, stirring briskly and constantly. At first the mixture will thicken up then it will smooth out into a sauce that coats the back of a spoon.

Remove from the heat and stir in 3/4 cup of the cheese until melted. Pour this sauce over the vegies and combine really well. Divide out into your oven dishes.

Combine the remaining cheese with the breadcrumbs, sprinkle over the top of each and bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbling and golden.

Serve with salad and crusty bread.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

NOTE – allow plenty of cooling time before letting the kids tuck in.

freeshipping

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Can’t help myself… bad habits

July 26, 2012 · Filed under News, Vegetarian · Tagged , , ,

My life saved by a stamp, contact and some blu-tack

Inevitably, with modern life being the tricky thing that it is, parts of our lives fall into ruts and nasty little habits emerge. They evolve slowly and sometimes it can take a while before we notice that they’re there.

Sometimes I think it would be nice to have a little ‘perspective’ fairy hovering in the background, ready to tap me on the shoulder and give me a bit of rude truth from time to time. She could let me know how many nights I’ve missed readers this week, point out that there’s a pile of unopened mail under the kitchen table and possibly even let me know if my current love of leggings is unsuitable for a lady of my age.

Tough gig though, being a perspective fairy. No one likes to realise they’ve been doing a bad job of anything. She’d need to be a fast flier to avoid the swats and insect knock down spray.

So it takes a little courage to take a step back from time to time and reassess how life is going – and look for the little (or big) signs that are telling you when it’s time to have a think and take steps to make adjustments and repairs wherever needed in order to obtain better outcomes.

For me recently, I’ve needed a big overhaul of my discipline system to accommodate my growing kids. Old parenting techniques weren’t working and most days I was just being the house shrew. “Gee your throat must be sore after all that yelling” said Mr Meat & Potatoes (AKA the perspective fairy).

So I’ve pulled my socks up and we’ve got a new star chart in place. Elegantly executed by the ever industrious Miss F (who individually contacted 40 star stamped pieces of paper), we’ve got a new system where stars are pretty easy to earn and can be transferred into either 5 minutes of iPad time or 25c. Took a bit of effort to get it going but it has totally turned the dynamics around from me yelling and them ignoring, to them looking for ways to be good.

On the food front I noticed that my own breakfast routine had come unstuck. I used to be a muesli girl, but I’d tired of my favourite brands and started buying other cereals that are on the healthy scale, but are still outrageously sweet.

My second perspective fairy was Rosemary Stanton (she specialises in Rude Truth, doesn’t she?!). I’m reading her “Choice Guide to Food” (which is really practical and great) and she pointed out that even those of us who read the product labels are possibly being duped. Instead of admitting to a cereal being 50% sugar, many manufacturers use two or three sources of sugar, so that each percentage is lower and they can appear further down the ingredient list. She offered such an easy fix that I feel stupid for being lazy and buying the boxed stuff. MAKE YOUR OWN. It’s cheaper. Yummier. Healthier.

This morning I tucked into my homemade muesli and it was so yum, that the extra 10 minutes it took to make the huge batch seemed entirely worthwhile.

Toast some bits (like nuts, oats & coconut) to increase the flavour and it’s delicious.


Toasted muesli

Use whatever grain, seeds, nuts and dried fruits you like.

Rolled oats
Flaked almonds
Pecans, roughly chopped
Shredded coconut
Pumpkin seeds
Oat bran
All bran
Currants

Spread the oats on a tray and bake at 180C – stir once or twice until golden.

Repeat with the almonds, pecans and coconut (stay near – they burn quickly). Toss together in a container with the other ingredients and you’re done.

PS. Did you know that most cereal serving sizes are ½ cup? Might be worth measuring your cereal out into a bowl to see just how much that is – I’ve been having waaaaaay more.

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How to get fussy kids to try new foods

July 21, 2012 · Filed under Food experiences, News, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged , , , ,

Kendo Kai enjoys ‘go’ foods.

A while back I posted ‘Please help Vegie Smugglers, my child only eats…’ which included the line “not trying is NEVER an option – our deal is TWO big bites”. Ever since I’ve had a string of emails…’but how do you get your kids to TRY new things?’

Like all parenting advice, different tactics work for different kids and this post just covers how I approach it. Who knows, maybe there will be an idea or two that you can apply at your place.

Firstly, work out if you child’s fussing at mealtimes is behavioural or medical. It’s normal for kids (starting about 18 months) to exercise a bit of self-determination and provide you with some pretty frustrating feeding moments. BUT, other kids may have genuine medical problems that you will need to seek professional help to overcome.

Most kids on the autism spectrum are fussy feeders. They need special consideration. If your diagnosis is recent or you’ve just been so overwhelmed dealing with everything else and have only just started to tackle food issues, then visit here for some excellent information that may help you.

If you child gags or vomits at mealtimes, they might have motor skills delays or a hypersensitive gag reflex. There’s information about that here.

Other kids may have digestion problems that cause discomfort and indigestion – pretty hard for a 2 year old to convey. Again, you’ll need medical advice to help you with these issues.

But if none of these apply to you and your child is still being a dinnertime MONSTER, you might want to follow some of these strategies…

1. Relax

Smile. Don’t get worked up. Keep everything positive. Freaking out about this entire subject only increases mealtime tension and won’t get you anywhere. Try to focus on feeding the entire family well, rather than fixating on what one child is/isn’t eating. Don’t let a frustrating toddler hold you to ransom. But at the same time…

2. Make a list of the foods your child does eat

You may be pleasantly surprised to realise that they do actually eat more than you thought. If the number of items is less than 20 then definitely have a chat to your GP about it next time you’re there.

3. Change your (& their) expectations & behaviour

There’s a good PDF download here about setting and meeting expectations and changing behaviour. Just change ‘employee’ to ‘child’ as you read and you’ll have a few interesting things to think about. Basically, you’ve got to put a behavior system in place around mealtimes. Let your child know what is expected of them. Reward them (with positive reinforcement) when they meet these expectations.

In my house, it is expected that my kids will come to dinner happily, with an open mind. They will be appreciative of the person who’s cooked their dinner and thank them by taking two big bites.

Why two? The first bite of something new is often unwelcome. Keep in mind that humans are programmed to be suspicious of new foods. It’s how we’ve survived for centuries without being poisoned to extinction. So the first bite is the ‘shock’ bite and it’s the second bite that allows them to relax and actually taste.

Over time my kids have come to trust that I’ve tried to cook something that they are quite likely to enjoy. Often, this basic deal is all it will take. A couple of bites into a tasty dinner and they might be happy to continue on. Great!

BUT. Sometimes they won’t like dinner. If they’ve genuinely tried it and don’t like it then they can have something else and I won’t fuss. I don’t cook twice but just let them have buttered bread, cheese, yoghurt, banana – something simple but filling.

If I’m trialing a new dish that I know is a fair way out of their comfort zones, then I make sure I’ve got fresh bread on hand as a backup. I find my success rate is about 50/50. But I would urge you to try the occasional ‘leap’ – I’ve been pleasantly shocked to see my kids happily tucking into (and enjoying) some pretty challenging dinners.

In the early days of this system, my kids would sometimes refuse to eat their two bites. Which meant they ate nothing. That’s their choice. I would let them go hungry rather than resort to unhealthy food. Hold firm – they won’t starve themselves to death. Even the fussiest first world children are extremely well nourished. You may just find that they are much more compliant tomorrow once genuine hunger has set in.

At this point it may be worth noting that I don’t reward my kids for eating. Research has shown that rewarding kids for eating food is ineffective in the long term. And never EVER force them to eat or force them to overeat. Children often need far less food than we think.

Now, getting back to that list of ingredients that they do eat….

4. Give yourself the best chance of success

Make dinners based around ingredients they do like. They like meat? Give them a hamburger with smuggled chickpeas, smothered with beetroot dip. They like cheese? Try cheesy pots with grated or blitzed vegies. Make dinners that they ought to enjoy. Build up the trust that you’re going to present them with yummy stuff. Find a few standard meals and then keep pushing them gradually further and further out of their comfort zones. It’s really important to keep up variety so that new becomes normal and they stop fussing every time they don’t recognize something. And keep in mind that you need your kids to be hungry at dinner. Try cutting out snacks in the afternoon and make dinnertime earlier.

5. Teach them why they eat

I love the concept of ‘go’ foods and ‘slow’ foods rather than ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods. My kids understand that certain foods provide the nourishment we need to live happy, energetic lives. They understand that dinner is a great opportunity to enjoy a stack of ‘go’ foods to fuel them up for tomorrow.

The other side of this is that I also don’t make ‘slow’ foods taboo. Enjoy treats without guilt. All food is ok, just educate kids about how often they should eat different things. You’d be surprised by some of the crap we eat in our house. It’s not a big deal. We enjoy pizza, especially since we don’t have it very often. We do sometimes note though, how sluggish we feel after this ‘slow’ food.

Share with them a love of good food and of the social side of sharing a meal with people you love.

6. Life & food education

Once you’re past the panic stage and your child is accepting more foods, keep the variety coming and start into a new phase of food education, including shopping together (teach them how to choose good produce and get them to do it) cooking together (start with fun recipes like these pancakes), eating together (even if it’s just Sunday brunch and one or two nights a week) and gardening (show them where food comes from). Give them a couple of choices for dinner and get them to practice decision-making.

Model good behavior and healthy choices. Exercise together. Don’t diet or fuss about your weight in front of your child. Keep mealtimes happy (it’s a great chance for communication).

And remember, be consistent. Like all aspects of parenting, the second you waiver, your child will pounce. They’re canny like that.

Phew! What a long post! Thanks for sticking with me – I hope there are some ideas here to help you.

Some of my standard dinners for really fussy toddlers….

Chicken & lentil sausage rolls
Cheesy Pots
Lamb meatballs
Salmon pikelets
Tuna bites
Ravioli with orange sauce
Bolognaise
Okonomyaki

vs-promo-1

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How do you raise ‘kick-ass’ girls?

July 12, 2012 · Filed under News · Tagged

My feminist nightmare.

I’ve always been a proud ‘feminist’. My husband is too. Our initial partnership was extremely 50/50. We earned the same. I could make Asian broths. He made a mean green peppercorn sauce. We both cleaned the bathroom.

But then we had kids. And everything changed.

Soon afterwards, I found myself at home, enslaved to household chores and watching my career drift off to Nowheresville while my husband steadily climbed the corporate ladder.

My part-time job was unfulfilling. Somehow if I worked 5 days a week I could be awesome, but 3 days a week, I was only suited to junior jobs and zero responsibility. There seems to be some sexist notion that unless you can commit to the full 40-hour-per-week game, you are effectively OUT of the game, and forced to spend much of your career on the sidelines, watching.

After a few years of juggling everything, I got overwhelmed and overburdened. I chucked a wobbly and quit work. So there I was. At home. Full time. Doing ALL the chores. Financially dependent on my spouse.

It’s a common tale I think.

Since then, I’ve been working on Vegie Smugglers. It’s done well and I’m proud. And while the label ‘mumpreneur’ irks me a bit, I’m happy to be aligned with a generation of women who are utilising technology in an attempt to combine nurturing their family with pursuing their own personal potential.

But recently for homework, Miss F had to interview someone about their job. I offered to help but she looked at me, genuinely confused. “But you don’t work!” she cried!

No? Just two cookbooks, two e-books, 200 blog posts, 7500 facebookers, plus the entire management of the household and our family for the past 3 years. I don’t need to tell you guys how hard I work.

Soon after, I was offered two days a week of traditional work, outside the home and I took it. The extra money is handy and more importantly, I’m showing Miss F a role model of a ‘working’ woman. Her attitude to me has noticeably changed. She’s not taking me for granted. She seems ‘prouder’ that her mum is now like the other mums (ie, more unavailable and consistently stressed).

The feminist debate that’s had me thinking about all this is the recent call by Anne-Marie Slaughter for the world to shift and for women to no longer be forced into the male structure in order to find success. Because it’s true. How on earth can women have it all with just 24 hours in a day?

And with Slaughter’s opinion that balancing career and family is impossible, just what are we supposed to be telling our daughters? What examples are we supposed to be setting? What kind of women do we want our daughters to be?

Miss F turns 8 soon and I want to know how to guide her to be a ‘kick ass’, strong, woman. I thought that I’d been raising her to be a good feminist. But actually, all she’s seen is a woman at home in the traditional role that feminism has fought to free us from.

I want a kick ass daughter. But what does that even mean? And how do I do it?

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A nutritionist is ordering us to eat more chocolate

July 1, 2012 · Filed under News · Tagged , ,

The kids can’t believe their luck!

A few weeks back I had a fantastic chat with nutritionist Anna Lynch. I have a bit of a girl crush on her. She’s an awesome combination of approachable, passionate and knowledgeable. Unlike me, who is full of opinions that are backed up by… well, nothing really, Anna has opinions based on, you know, facts and science-y knowledge.

I asked her if she’d mind giving me a list of ‘5 foods that nutritionists want us to eat more’. And not only did she oblige me, but she sent through such a great article explaining why, that I’d be doing her an injustice to cut it down to a blog post length. So I’ve prettied the entire article up into a PDF download instead. It’s really great reading, with recipe links for each section.

The best news is that last on the list is CHOCOLATE! Yay, more proof why I think she’s so great – she matches my philosophy that a little of everything in life is good for you.

Which I wish I’d reminded myself of last night, before my fifth glass of Prosecco.

Download Anna’s article here.

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Yule be right – the shortest day is almost done

June 20, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, News, Sweets & treats · Tagged , , , , ,

About 15 years ago I got really interested in Wicca. I was living in London and watching the seasons swing by. It was pretty fascinating to visit some pagan sites and become a bit in tune with nature. It made SENSE to me in a way that Christianity never has.

Of course this crazy new concept called the internet was in its infancy, so I did heaps of my research in BOOKS, with helpful chapters like “How to find a coven” and “Why were witches persecuted?”. Needless to say I never did find a coven and coming back to Australia, with the opposing seasons, it all got a bit confusing and topsy turvy.

Northern Hemisphere paganism definitely fits more nicely into the calendar year. In June, when sunk in the depths of winter depression, I always think how nice an upcoming Christmas (or ‘yule’ if you’re a witch) celebration would be. I could really use something cheery, with presents and family and food. There’s not really any need for it here in December – such an overload of good times!

For me, reaching the winter solstice is an annual milestone. I like to quietly note it. I’m thinking of including the kids in a little candle lighting ceremony this year. The tradition is to spend a minute or so in the dark, contemplating the darkest day of the year. Then light just one candle, to symbolise life being reborn (sorry, does that sound too witchy?).

At the moment week 8 tiredness has combined with winter illness to transform my children into feral creatures, so it’ll be nice to force them into stillness. Although I strongly suspect my meaningful moment will be interspersed with Mr M&P doing a fart noise, then Miss F setting half the kitchen on fire. They’re just a bit crazy like that right now.

But if we make it through, I’ll finish off with a simple dinner of celebration. You might want to too. Turkey, pork and traditional ‘Christmas’ foods are good. And finish with a dessert that pays tribute to the simple seasonality of life, like these baked apples.

Symbolic, easy and most importantly, delicious.

Baked apples

For each small/medium apple, you will need…

1 tbsp currants
6 hazelnuts (or 2 tsp hazelnut meal)
2 walnuts
1/4 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp Amaretto liqueur or brandy would also be nice (you may want to leave this out of the kid’s ones)
1 tsp treacle

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Core the apple. Slice around the circumference to avoid it bursting during cooking. Place it in a baking tray (I use a loaf tin lined with baking paper).

Mix all of the other ingredients together and fill up the empty centres. Drizzle some water (about a 1/4 cup should do) in the tray to help them cook.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until soft. Serve with icecream.

MAKES 1.

PS My husband is constantly telling me that if I want my biz & blog to be more successful, then I need to self promote more. He says I need photos of myself everywhere. But I HATE having my photo taken. So I’m compromising with my Winter-solstice, self-portrait.

Self portrait (before I light the candle).

Happy solstice to all!
x

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Over-run with ninjas and a prodigy cat.

June 17, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, Ham/pork, News, Sweets & treats · Tagged ,

Exhibit A (by boy)

I’m thinking that I should contact the Guiness Book of Records to see if my pet might just qualify for the ‘most prolific use of a texta by a feline’ category. He’s been busy, my cat. Diligently studying the penmanship of Mr Meat&Potatoes, he’s now able to replicate my boy’s ninja drawings with spooky accuracy. They’re everywhere. On the outside of any available cardboard box, littered throughout my ream of office paper and also on the wall right next to Mr M&P’s pillow on his new bunk bed. It’s uncanny.

Exhibit B (by boy)

I was complimenting the cat, noting the intricate line work and attention to detail when Mr M&P decided to set me straight. He disputes that Oscar the golden tabby is quite so clever. He says that whilst the cat shows an amazing amount of talent, most of the pictures are actually his. In fact, ONLY the ones drawn directly on the wall were done by the cat. So perhaps my call to the Guiness book folks will be to find out if there’s a category for ‘best duplication of ninja drawings (in biro) by a rescue pet’.

Exhibit C (by boy)

I’ll keep you posted on what they say.

Exhibit D (by cat)

Perfect for light fingered ninjas, these low-mess meals can easily be gobbled by kids on the run (from the truth)…

Tuna bites recipes smuggles zucchini

A perfectly mouth sized dinner.

Vegie Smuggling chicken sausage rolls

Known to be a ninja favourite.

Okonomiyaki recipe

And they’re bound to love these.

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Supermarket fun

June 10, 2012 · Filed under News · Tagged ,

The fabulous Parent’s Jury got in touch recently, asking me to take part in an upcoming #KidsSuperSnaps campaign. From July 18-24 you’re invited to hand your camera to the kids and let them snap what they see at their local supermarket. Then you can tweet (hashtag #kidssupersnaps) or upload your images at the Parent’s Jury website. It’s part of their initiative to encourage supermarkets to make 50% of checkouts lolly-free zones and also to start a general discussion about how supermarkets target the kids.

Mr M&P recently reported that he wants to be a photographer when he grows up, so he was SUPER excited when I handed him my phone and told him he could go crazy. It was REALLY interesting. I have to say, he was just as happy shooting the fruit & veg (since that’s where we started) as the junk, and being a meat man he veered off quickly to his beloved butchery section and took most of his shots there.

At my supermarket right next door to the meat is the confectionery section and all those shiny wrappers proved irresistable to my budding artist. But by the end of that aisle he was bored and gave the camera back to me. Hmmmmmm.

Ever wonder why it is that supermarket aisles are placed the way they are? There’s a fantastic article all about it here. Who knew that “Counter-clockwise shoppers spend, on average, $2 more per trip, than do clockwise shoppers”. Perhaps we’re dizzier travelling that way? And all this time I thought I was a ‘smart’ shopper who zipped around the edges of the supermarket, darting down aisles to grab stuff, but actually, I’m entirely regular – that’s actually how the bulk of us shop. I’m gonna start watching folks more in the future to see if this is all true.

Anyway, it was a fun thing to do and the most peaceful trip in a while. Of course I only had one child with me, so there was no squabbling for the camera.

For me, this exercise emphasised a couple of points…

1. Kids look at whatever you’re looking at. So while we walk down the confectionery aisle (the breakfast cereal is on the other side), my kids don’t fixate on the lollies since they know that I’m not going to be buying any.

2. Supermarkets are full of all sorts of stuff and teaching the kids how to negotiate through good and bad food choices is essential if you want to raise healthy adults.

3. Kids have a short attention spans. Strategic shopping is best when you’ve got the kids with you. But you all already know this and I’m sure, like me, whenever possible, you leave the kids elsewhere when you need to do a large shop.

But if you do have to take them with you, then I reckon a visit with the camera is a pretty fun idea.

Here’s how we went…

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Dad is fun. Mum is mad.

June 4, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, News, Red meat · Tagged , , , , ,

I’ve become the ‘writing lady’ at my kindy reading groups. Each week, armed with white boards, markers and plenty of patience (I stay firmly focused on getting home afterwards to a cup of tea and a sit down) I teach rotating groups of 5 year olds (the groups rotate, not the children) how to write beautiful sentences. Unlike my verbose writing style, I’m finding at this stage that their sentences are much more statement-like. Stating truths and myths from life as a kindy kid. It’s pretty interesting. Fact.

Today they had laminated sentence starters that they had to copy down and then they got to finish off with whatever words they liked. Conversation starters like, “I can…”, “I went…”, “My family…”. And of course “Dad is…”, and “Mum is…”.

Without fail, Dad was fun. Every time. Sometimes fun. One was funy. Another funne. One other funee. But always upbeat, jovial, joking, FUN.

Generally, Mum was mad. One mum was nortee (naughty). One mum was sad.

Now, I’ve noted in my own life, that dad is fun and mum is mad. So perhaps it is a universal truth. What do you think, is this the case at your house? Or maybe the genders aren’t important and actually it’s the primary caregiver that has the shits most of the time and whichever parent arrives home in time to read a book and have a cuddle at bedtime finds it much easier to remain AWESOME.

Or perhaps it was just a morning for clichés. Even without overhearing each other, the same word patterns got repeated again and again. Pretty much all the kids had also apparently been shopping or to the zoo on the weekend (“I went…sopig”), and they all like treats (“I like… pinc cak”).

Which seems like a perfect segue into food clichés, except we don’t cast such a negative connotation on them if we call them ‘classics’, which is what this beef stew is. It’s a slow-cooker classic, bubbling away for 8 hours in its glorious simplicity. I’ve been trialing a bunch of fairly similar ‘casseroles’ and this is my current favourite. This version (based on a Women’s Weekly recipe) is gluten free, but if you prefer to toss the meat in flour before you brown it, feel free – you’ll end up with a thicker gravy. If you don’t, make sure you pat the meat with paper towel to dry it off before you chuck it in the pan.

slow cooker beef stew casserole

Before I could photograph it, it was eaten or frozen…

Beef & vegie slow cooker casserole.

1.5kg chuck steak, cut into large chunks
Olive oil for frying
2 large brown onions, cut roughly
2 large (or 3 smaller) carrots, peeled, chopped into thick rounds
3 stalks celery, chopped thickly
2 medium parsnips, peeled, chopped into chunks
1 swede, peeled, chopped into chunks
4 cloves garlic, crushed (use fresh garlic)
¼ cup tomato paste
400g can diced or crushed tomatoes
1½ cups beef stock (Massel brand is gluten free)
2 Bay leaves
Half a bunch of thyme
1 zucchini, sliced into rounds (optional)
8-10 button mushrooms, sliced (optional)

Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium/high heat. Once hot, brown your meat in batches, turning to seal all sides (yes, this may take 20 minutes or so to get through all of the meat, but the flavour will be AWESOME, and you can chop up the vegies while you’re doing it). Tip each batch into a 5.5ish litre slow cooker after it’s done.

Add more oil then fry off the onions, carrot and celery for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic for another minute (add it later so it doesn’t burn). Tip into the cooker.

Add more oil and fry off the parsnips & swede for 2 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, splash in a bit of stock to loosen all the yummy stuff stuck on the pan and and also tip this into the cooker, along with the rest of the stock, tomato paste & tin of tomatoes plus the herbs. Mix everything in, set the cooker to ‘low’ and leave for 8 hours.

If you’re out all day, then don’t worry about adding in the zucchini & mushrooms, but if you’re home after 6 hours, add these in, give everything a mix and leave it for another 2 ¼ hours (this extra cooking time makes up for you lifting the lid).

MAKES ENOUGH FOR 4 ADULTS & 6 KIDS

Have you got a link to a slow cooker recipe? Add it below – I’m going crazy with mine at the moment and am on the lookout for some tried and tested awesomeness.

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