My Kitchen Rules

Happily, my judges always give me two thumbs up.

We've really enjoyed an Aussie show over the past few weeks,  My Kitchen Rules http://au.tv.yahoo.com/my-kitchen-rules/.  Not only is it entertaining, but it's inspired me to try lots of new ideas in the kitchen.  Since I have the time, and Australia is full of beautiful produce, I've been experimenting with new dishes and baked goods - all gluten free of course.

So, for example, this weeks dinners have included sushi with smoked Tasmanian salmon and fresh prawns, tacos with fresh salsa and guacamole, beef kofta with a Mediterranean quinoa salad, baked chicken drumsticks with a parmesan crust and garlic mashed potatoes and, in honour of Saint Patrick's Day, Guiness, crab, asparagus and cheddar soup (my version soup I've had at he the Saint James Gate Pub in Banff), Irish Boxties (potato pancakes) with fresh basil, gluten-free  cheddar biscuits and bacon.
I don't have the pressure that the teams on the show do, but I do like to throw in the words "caramelize" and "reduce" as much as they do.  Check out the show and you'll know what I mean.

Of course that's a Guiness to go with the meal!

In other news, Oliver fell on a snake this week.  Really!  It was a little tree snake that had somehow gotten itself into the skateboard ramp where the kids like to play.  Oli jumped into off the ledge and landed on the poor thing.  It couldn't get up the lip and was basically trapped.  I watched it try to get out for a while, and then I, the girl who is petrified of snakes, got a branch that was lying nearby and helped it out.  Once it had the the branch to use it slithered its way up quickly - so quickly that I pretty well threw the branch into the grass before it got to the top.  Then we got the heck out of there, all the while thinking that I would never even notice if that snake were in the grass because it was so small and green.  Hmmm....

http://www.snakecatcher.com/greentreesnake.htm

Today, at the Koala Sanctuary, we all got to touch a 3 metre long Olive Python (it's about 1/2 grown).  It was really soft.  Adam said it felt like a nice pair of boots.  Is that the kind of thing you should say at a wildlife conservation place? After, Evan and Oli were stroking my skin and said that I was as soft as the python.  Is that a compliment:  Your skin is a silky as a snake?? Try that one out on your loved one and let us know what kind of reaction you get.

http://herpindiego.com/OlivePython.html