New Cooking: kidspot

Black's Beach, Mackay

I love a good road trip, don't you? I grew up in a road tripping family and I have so many wonderful memories of travelling together for hours, days, weeks, even months - around half of Australia, the USA, down into Mexico, up into Canada...

As teenagers, we were packed into the car like sardines, suitcases bumping the backs of our heads as we bounced along, a banjo and a guitar sandwiched between us in the back seat, portable electric typewriter on my lap so I could type out my school assignments as we drove. Endless roads, new friends everywhere we went, beautiful scenery, singing together and telling stories, cooking Australian treats like pavlova for our American friends and trying their foods, and taking photos of wildflowers and canyons and lakes and snow. Once road tripping is in your blood you just can't get rid of the addiction. I dream of spending a whole year travelling around Australia with my family, showing the kids this amazing country of ours.

Sadly, my husband does NOT have any desire to pack up all our earthly goods and set off into the sunrise, living the gyspy life on the road. He's totally not interested in packing four noisy kids into the car with a bunch of luggage and food and a Thermomix, and driving endlessly just to see what we can see. He's so practical. I'm a bit of dreamer. Like my dad. But I DID manage to get him to agree to a one week road trip to Mackay and Townsville in the second week of the school holidays, and I think he actually enjoyed it! Well, most of it. Maybe not the bit where I got really sick with a tummy bug and he had to cook and look after the kids who were constantly wanting to go to the beach when he just wanted to sit inside with a book. But hey, I didn't enjoy that bit either.

Okay, so in case you're wondering, here's how I convinced my husband to do this whole road trip thing. Ford picked me (along with 19 other Voices of 2013 bloggers) to take part in their "Choose Your Own Adventure Challenge," test driving their newest, sparkliest, most top of the range Territory Titanium! (Yeah, I know, awesome huh!!) We've been given this brand-spanking-new car for 6 weeks, and it even came with $400 worth of fuel vouchers and a full tank of fuel! Well that just shouted 'road trip' to me, and hubby had to give in to the pressure.

Picking up 'my' car! Woo hooooo...

I have to say, my 'totally not interested in cars or road trips' husband is now as much in love with this car as I am. After driving it for two weeks, including a 10 hour drive in one day, we are completely smitten. As we're driving along, hubby will turn to me and say, 'I love how the electric windows can still be rolled up after the motor is turned off - make sure you mention that on your blog!' and 'It's so comfortable, and so smooth to drive' and 'The POWER!!!'... ha ha! I think we're both loving the quiet, smooth, panther-like power the best - we've never driven a V6 turbo diesel before, it's awesome!

My front seat office!

We've never had such an easy road trip with our four kids as this one was. It was so quiet I could write, and chat with hubby while we drove. The GPS kept us on track, the kids were comfortable, no one felt squashed or cramped, and the built in DVD player kept them distracted for the 10 hour drive. We only stopped twice. This does not usually happen!! Big win for the Ford.

Morning tea break...

...and a tailgate lunch.

I brought some homemade roast beef, some spelt bread rolls that I baked quickly before we left in the morning, a jar of my homemade tomato sauce, and some salad, and we made lunch in our makeshift 'kitchen' by the road. I also took fruit, chia puddings in jars, and a homemade trailmix. Easy, and lots cheaper and yummier than buying greasy roadhouse food!

The only negative was all the road works we encountered on the drive. No, that is not some strange kind of tattoo, that's my hubby keeping track of how many road works we'd passed through. Ha ha!

We really enjoyed catching up with old friends in Mackay, and I had fun cooking with the Thermomix girls there. (A big thanks to my lovely friend and recipe testing guru, Lauren, who invited us all to her house.) I made them a few recipes that will be in my book to see what they thought, and everything got the thumbs up - woo hoo! I have sworn them to secrecy, so don’t try and get the recipes out of them, Mackay peeps!

Some of the Mackay Thermomix ladies

And this is where things went a bit pear shaped. I got really sick with a tummy bug. Maybe because I'd been a bit careless with my eating when visiting old friends, and it got me all out of whack, I don't know (no one else in the family got it), but after a day or so in bed I managed to get back on my feet and the holiday continued. I had to take it pretty slow, and we didn't do all the 'stuff' we'd planned to do. But that's okay. Just being able to rest and relax was probably exactly what I needed. Sometimes when you won't stop, your body MAKES you stop. Right?

I think my body was telling me it was time to slow down...

I spent some time resting, walking on the beach, and preparing myself for the next leg of the trip, which I knew would be very busy. I find I can handle the crazy, hectic times as long as I intersperse them with quiet, rest times. And it really helps to have some alone time now and then, too. It's all about finding the balance between stop and go.

"Cultivate Solitude." It's good for the soul.

So after a rest, it was on to Townsville. I spent Friday afternoon at Sprout, prepping the food for my cooking demonstrations the next day. (That was pretty cool, being given free rein to use anything in the store, as Sprout were the sponsors for my demos. Love that shop.) Then Saturday it was off to the Townsville Plant & Garden Expo to do some Quirky Cooking demos. It all got a bit chaotic, trying to set up and cook and speak and pack up and wash up with a make shift camping sink, then start all over again after an hour or so break, but with the help of my good friend Bron and a couple of others who pitched in, we managed it. Thanks to those of you who came to watch and chat, and especially to those who helped out with the serving and cleaning up when we were running out of time - you're awesome!! :)

Here's a little snippet of my demo, taken by my friend Felicity...

A few of you have asked for the recipes from the demos - so here they are:

Coconut milk: as made in this recipe.

Chicken & Veges with Coconut Rice and Macadamia Satay Sauce: similar to Chicken & Cashews, but with macadamias replacing the cashews, and the addition of the juice of half a lime to the sauce. Also used long grain brown rice which was soaked overnight, making the cooking time 30 mins.

Beetroot Salad: same as the one in the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook, served on a bed of baby spinach and sprinkled with crumbled sheep's feta.

Tangello Sorbet: Tangello zest blended up with 100g coconut sugar, 10 sec/speed 9; add 350g ice and blend 10 sec/speed 9; add another 350g ice and blend 10 sec/speed 9; add the peeled tangello (I froze the portions, didn't remove seeds) and an egg white, blend 30 sec/speed 9, using spatula to help mix. Top servings with 'ice magic'.

Ice magic: 100g dark chocolate, grated 10 sec/speed 8, plus 50g coconut oil, cooked 2 mins/50C/speed 2.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse: made with frozen avocado to make it thicker like an ice cream.

Macadamia Satay Chicken & Rice with Beetroot Salad

Tangello Sorbet with 'Ice Magic'

Now we're back from our epic road trip and the holidays are over. Today I started back with the homeschooling and book writing and house work and everyday life, so things are back to normal here, except for the shiny car in my driveway... Hopefully I'll be able to sneak off on a few mini road trips to make the most of 'my' car before I have to give it back. Hey, do you think Ford would notice if I disappeared into the sunset with the Territory for an 'around Australia road trip'?

Well last week was pretty exciting. I was whisked off to Sydney at very short notice to attend the Kidspot Voices of 2013 bloggers masterclass and competition launch party... and I had a ball!

My blog was selected from almost 700 other nominated Australian blogs to be amongst the top 25 Food & Wellbeing blogs in Australia! Wow. I was pretty excited. Next followed an invite in the mail to attend the launch party in Sydney. I really, really wanted to go, but I didn't think that it would work out... Sydney is a world away from my little country town in the mountains west of Cairns, in Far North Queensland. I was busy with homeschooling and running a business from home, and I'd only recently gotten back from a trip to Daydream Island for a Thermomix seminar and holiday. And my husband and youngest daughter were just about to leave for a trip to Perth to visit family. It was all a bit too hard.

Excited to be in such good company!

But even though my head was saying 'you won't be able to go, be sensible,' something else was telling me 'don't book anything into those dates, you'll be in Sydney.' So I kept the dates free. (Which is no mean task with my crazy life!)

A few days before the RSVP date, an email came saying, 'You haven't booked in! We want you to come. Tell us in 30 words or less what YOU could bring to the launch party, and Ford (the sponsor) will consider flying you down for free.' Here was my chance. I went into my room to escape my noisy kids and skeptical husband, sat down on my bed, and excitedly dashed off an answer. It was pretty silly. I said, 'I'll bring my biggest smile, my quirky sense of humour, and I'll be wearing my crowd-stopping chocolate perfume.' Ha ha!! (Yes, I really do wear chocolate perfume. I'm kind of addicted to chocolate, if you haven't noticed.)

I didn't think my silly answer would win me a free trip. But I still kept the dates free, just in case.

And guess what? I won the trip!! Free flights, accommodation and transfers. And all thanks to my chocolate perfume... the judges must be chocoholics too. ;)

Surrounded by bloggers, loving every minute!

So what did I learn in my time away? Well, I gleaned lots of blogging tips from many successful bloggers; nuggets of wisdom that also apply to life in general. And when I say 'successful bloggers,' I don't necessarily mean bloggers who make a lot of money from their blogs, or are world famous. I mean bloggers that make us laugh and cry. That win our affection by their openness and vulnerability. That open our eyes to the beauty around us. That give of themselves, writing with enthusiasm and joy. That share their thoughts, inspirations, ideas and passions, and each make a difference in their own small (or big) way.

Let me share some of these nuggets of wisdom about blogging (and life) with you...

{from various bloggers, plus some of my own tips}

Do what you love, and love what you do. If you don't love it, chances are no one else will either.

Stop watching what everyone else is doing and be yourself. Stay true to yourself, your ideals, and your personality.

Don't be afraid to have an opinion, and own it! Opinion-less people are boring. (But at the same time, don't be rude or sarcastic about anyone else's opinion. There's enough of that in the world.)

Be your own critic. Step back and look at what you've done and ask yourself, 'Does it look good? Do I love it? Will I regret what I've said/done in five hours? In five years? In ten years?' Don't forget, the internet is 'forever'.

You have a unique opportunity to connect. Don't just sit and wait for people to come to you, go to them. Be open and friendly and ready to share yourself. Make it easy for people to get to know you.

Use spellcheck.

Keep it simple. Don't get so 'clever' with the way you say things that no one knows what you're talking about.

Take lots of photos with a good camera. Jot down your thoughts. Be alive to what's going on around you, every day.

Don't stress about SEO and other means of 'getting noticed'. If you're genuinely passionate about what you do, and you're good at it, you'll be noticed. Be less interested in statistics and more interested in people.

Be picky about who you are affiliated with. Go with your gut. If it feels 'icky,' don't do it. Integrity is so important.

Perservere. Be persistant. Don't give up when you hit a bump in the road - climb over it and keep going. Build good relationships with other bloggers and build up a buddy system to help each other along.

When you doubt yourself (which we all do at times), think back to your motivation for starting in the first place. Keep that in mind. Write about what you love.

Stay humble. Without your readers you would be nothing.

And above all, don't take yourself too seriously! Blogging is supposed to be fun. If it's not fun anymore, stop blogging. :)

And we sure did have fun...

Recognize anyone?

{Clockwise, left to right} Maddie of 'Colour Me There'; Lauren of 'Potpourri'; Kate of 'Finger, Fork, Knife'; Ally of 'The Vintage Valley'; me and Alexx of 'Alexx Stuart. Real Food. Low Tox Living.'; Claire of 'Checks and Spots'; and Lexi of 'Pottymouth Mama'.

Interviews...

Sore feet, but lots of goodies to take home!

While I had the chance, I spent a couple of days roaming the big city on my own, taking photos, getting lost in the city streets (and loving that I had nowhere I needed to be), sitting in sunny courtyards listening to street musicians and just enjoying some time alone... Because we all need some time out now and then to let our souls catch up to our bodies.