Food, Glorious Food

Last night we celebrated my dad’s birthday. So what better way to do this than share a meal.

I’m sure many have heard of slow cooking or slow food … in an era of fast food, takeaway, prepacked or microwave meals all too often we skip the traditional methods of first principles cooking.

The Sunday Roast

It used to be, certainly in English households, that the mum cooked up the Sunday roast, a nice leg of lamb, sometimes pork, or from what I’ve heard is the preference for the US, a roast beef.

Last night, albeit a Saturday, I cooked up a roast lamb. Two and a bit hours of cooking time devoured in less than 20 minutes!

But there’s something about a slow cooked meal, roasted vegetables, topped with dollops of gravy. Mouth watering, it’s the smells, the aroma that wafts through the house, something you can’t get from a microwave meal.

To sit with a nice glass (or two) of red and share a meal with family or friends truly has to be one of the best ways to spend time.

Slow Food Revolution

I hope that others are caught in the slow food revolution. It’s so worthwhile to eat a well prepared meal. To take time and enjoy a meal at the table with the family, with friends.

For me it’s definitely a roast lamb that does it, even pork with crackling comes a close second – but I can’t quite get around the roast beef … much prefer an eye fillet!

The Maca’s Phenomenom

Why is it that McDonalds is so appealing to kids?

The colours? The food? Toys? Well it’s all that plus the experience.

We all love eating out

I was watching my kids devour burgers/nuggets and chips like they hadn’t eaten since Christmas! While a home cooked meal meets the chorus of “I don’t like it”.

I guess us adults have similar views of going out to a nice restaurant, cooked by someone else, then cleaned by someone else!

I’m not a huge fan of Maca’s but got to give it to them for creating an experience that appeals to kids, and a safe haven for parents.

Love them or hate them – they are good at what they do.

No More Big Banana

Australia is home to the Big Banana, it’s the staple of every shopping trolley and features in lunch packs of children throughout the nation. In fact Australians love their bananas so much they compete with Coca Cola for the number 1 product sold by supermarkets week in week out.

Well that was the case until flaming bananas skyrocketed to $14.00 plus per kg. For the American audience that’s around US$30 per pound.

Prices per banana, one single banana, now range upwards of $2.00 each – well that settles the daily lunches. Better start enjoying a good red delicious apple at $2.49 per kilo!

Going Bananas

I know this is a bit of a rant, but food prices are absolutely going through the roof. It’s not just bananas, it’s the overall food bill – to eat fresh produce is incredibly expensive.

For the same $2 it costs to get a banana I can purchase the Double Beef ‘n’ Cheese hamburger at McDonalds. Surely this is a much more preferred option for our children’s lunch boxes!

Ridiculous statement I know, but you get the point. Total fat in a banana – a whopping 1 gram, in the McDonalds Double Beef n Cheese hamburger – a modest 23.4 grams. But it’s 5 cents cheaper than the average banana!

While bananas get smaller we’re getting bigger.

The Case of the Missing Bananas

Quite obviously the plight of Australian bananas has been subject to Cyclone Yasi: the crops were wiped out, limited supply – same demand – increased price. Simple economics

Yet who is the recipient of these huge margins, the bananas that are left certainly didn’t cost more to produce, they didn’t cost more to transport, nor to pack or store. So where is the additional $9 – 11 per kilo going?

Oh to be altruistic and suggest the additional costs are going back into the rural communities that were destroyed. That cockey’s are getting together to rebuild their farms on the back of the generosity of the major supermarkets. That the Country Women’s Association are receiving sizable grants in support.

Call me skeptical, call me naive, but I’m guessing there hasn’t been much of a boost in the donations to CWA.

Well they say it only takes a few weeks to form a habit. How long can these prices sustain? I can only imaging the wastage that’s occurring – very few people are putting bananas in their trolley now.

Some Banana Facts

So farewell to our bananas, the love of our nation, the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour, the wonderful herb growing plants that produce this golden, sometimes purple fruit!

Did you know …

• Banana plants are the largest plants on Earth without a woody stem. Belong to the same family as orchids and lillies.
• India is the largest producer of Bananas in the world
• There are over 500 varieties of bananas including purple ones
• They grow bananas in Iceland … seriously, Google it!
• Fidel Castro’s dad was a banana plantation owner.

All in all I’m not going bananas anymore! I’m moving onto oranges, at least in Australia they are now in season.