Masterchef

Well, I hate to admit it, but I have become a mad fan of the Australian version of Masterchef. Even my husband, who rarely sits down to watch TV, has embraced the program. We can barely believe it as the product placement advertising is really over the top, but it has been fascinating watching these so-called amateur cooks tackle challenges so well.

I personally don't think I'd enjoy a lot of the dishes they present and am getting a little over the restaurant presentation, especially the molecular gastronomy meals. They are utterly preposterous! I guess that has a lot to do with having been out of the mainstream restaurant scene for many years after living in the outback and not having access to city-style restaurants and bistros. We're just lucky if we can get a decent steak cooked well, with some relatively well-cooked veges, so I guess this is where our fascination with the program emanates.

But it has spurred my cooking efforts. I recently bought a Donna Hay cookbook (see how the advertising spin-off has got me) and am really inspired by its simple meals. Besides, I found I could actually buy many of the ingredients at our one and only supermarket. That's always my biggest consideration when cooking. There have been days when I haven't been able to get simple staples like potatoes or eggs. I know, it's unbelievable in what we consider to be a first-world country, but that's the tyranny of distance for you. And due to the fact the food delivery trucks only come on certain days of the week with certain items, if an item is sold out, we just have to wait. For example, since Sunday I have been wanting to cook my husband's favourite meal of Finnish meatballs, but there has been no pork mince in the shop. So we'll just wait.

I have however been baking up a storm with my new break maker. I have found that it's so much better to just let the machine knead the dough and store it until I can tip it out and fashion it into either savoury or sweet buns or loaves of bread. Our favourite are cinnamon buns - another craving of my husband's. Although of course I never make them quite like his Finnish mother used to. I have found, however, that the kids much prefer mum's freshly baked bread to the frozen offerings at the shop, and they even eat the crusts. My middle boy will even eat the bread without butter or any topping, crusts and all. For fussy eaters, this is a fabulous win for me. I couldn't be happier.

It's a far world away from the gastronomic feats of our Masterchef contestants, but it's inspiration anyway, and is another connection to another world, that we may join again one day. Oh, to be able to shop for fresh meat at a butcher, or stroll the aisles of a fresh-food market in a big city, or even find the basic ingredients for meatballs!

Food, Fun & Farm Life in East Africa

Ok, I just have come back after such a long time away and read a surprising comment from a wonderful fellow blogger. It was such a surprise that's it sparked me to add a few comments now, almost 12 months later. I can't believe it's now the middle of 2010!

I have just read that Lynda, the fellow blogger, has taken some time off her blog due to personal reasons and it's such a blow to me. She is an amazing woman and a couple of years ago she began blogging about her life on a farm in Tanzania . She started by posting twice a day. What an effort! She inspires me with her love of her new-found home in Tanzania and her cooking feats. Having lived in her part of the world, I understand what an effort is involved in sourcing many of the food items we take for granted here.

Today I want to send out some encouraging karma to her and hope that whatever it is that is troubling her life ends soon.

If you're interested her blog is Food, Fun & Farm life in East Africa.