Two little cooks? Or just right?

So where do you stand on Junior MasterChef?
I'm unsure whether it's a good thing to be featured on national television, which results in all the participants - and their families - getting the kind of attention reality TV contestants attract.
As an example, here is a selection of comments that were tweeted during and after the second episode. Most are positive and/or funny, but there are some nasty tweets out there too.
Which is one thing for adults to cop, but pretty hard on kids. Yes, I know, the kids shouldn't be on twitter, but I'm pretty sure they will find out about it at some time, even if it's when they're back at school.

• Every kid on Junior MasterChef gets good reviews, the judges must have disliked at least ONE?
• Junior Masterchef is just a way to exploit children for television ratings
• Some douchbag kid made a sandwich on junior masterchef
• Not enough kids dropping things and throwing tantrums on junior masterchef. Not a good portrayal of that age group at all!
• Whenever i watch junior masterchef i feel bad for not being able to cook as good as them The kids on Junior Masterchef should be put straight into Australia's leading kitchens. Only If they can reach over the bench.
• After watching Junior MasterChef, I think it may also be time for Junior Biggest Loser
• Also, if you want to feel incompetent as a cook... watch Junior Masterchef Australia. 8-12 year olds put ya to shame.

See what I mean? Some comments are great, but there are some nasty meanie pooheads out there picking on our junior chefs.

Anyway.

What I do love about Junior MasterChef is that it showcases what kids can do if they are given the right tools and encouragement.

These kids are so composed, and clever, and honest, and brave ... they are a credit to their parents. And yeah, one of two of them might think they're pretty good, but maybe that's because they are!

I love that the judges are encouraging and funny and caring. Yes, so they don't put the kids down and they find positive things to say about each of them. But that is because it is the right thing to do. These are kids after all!

Child psychologists are on hand for the kids, families, judges and whoever to talk to and seek guidance where necessary. So I think the producers have taken a responsible approach. And if Junior MasterChef gets more kids in the kitchen, creating and eating good food rather than craving takeaway and junk food, that can only be a good thing.

Junior MasterChef should be watched by all education professionals because it shows what children can achieve, even if they don't fit into a neat little box.

Blogger and twitterer Ben Jones says it all here:

http://benpaddlejones.edublogs.org/2010/09/19/what-edumacators-can-learn-from-junior-masterchef/comment-page-1/#comment-139

What do others think?

In the meantime, here are a few photos of my own Junior MasterChefs at work in the kitchen:

Mr 9 picked out this wild barramundi after a quick chat with the fishmonger at our local Coles.

"Oh, that's disgusting," he says. Though he took ghoulish delight at showing Miss 7 and I the heart and lungs and other gross things ...

Mr 7 plated up barra with rice, smashed potatoes, rocket, mayo, and a little bbq sauce. A weird combination I know, but he liked it.

Miss 7 added a little more rocket, lemon and Japanese mayo to hers

She was also proud of her efforts!

And in case you're interested, we stuffed the fish with garlic, lemon, and fresh dill supplied by one of the Mums at school. Then we put it in a oven bag and cooked it. The rocket came out of our herb garden.

It was delicious!

Disclaimer: We all had upset tummies the next day so we're not sure if it was a bug - as the kids also had fever and sore throats - or the fish. I'm hoping it wasn't the fish!

What do your kids get up to in the kitchen?

Ding dong ...

So, while we were petsitting for my brother and his family recently, the door bell rang.
It was The Avon Lady.
Truly.
In the flesh.
Now, I haven't had an Avon Lady for years.
There was a Mum at school who used to sell it, and then we moved to NZ, and I didn't get to know one there.
And since moving back to Brisbane, I haven't come across another one.
With my sister-in-law's order, The Friendly Local Avon Lady kindly left a couple of brochures.
The kids enjoyed going through them with me.
Now we didn't order any of the items here - hey, I'm a woman, I needed make-up! I had to get my priorities right.
However, we did enjoy browsing through the health and lifestyle brochure.
And boy, they didn't sell these kind of things when I last ordered Avon!

A mango slicer. Okay, it may have its uses, but doesn't that kind of negate the pleasure of slicing a mango and sucking the flesh off the seeds and cheeks? Or maybe that's just me ...

A strawberry slicer. Again, I guess it would be useful, but slicing strawberries keeps the ruggies quiet for at least a few minutes usually.

If you're pitting the cherries, you can't spit out the seeds. That is all.

Ice-cream holders. Erm, what happened to cups, cones, or sticks? Or are we breeding a generation of lazy ice-creamer lickers? Gasp! It's UnAustralian!

Erm, guess these are like wine charms for grown-ups. Drink charms for kids.

A cake slicer. Now this, in my opinion, is pure evil. There is no fun at all in cake-slicing if one child is not convinced that another received a bigger slice as him/her.

A handy, key-holding rock. Genius, except that anyone who buys Avon will know your secret!

So, would you order any of these wonderful new kitchen gadgets? Or have you used them, and can you share a review?

Breakfast burritos

I knew Mr 9 was feeling better yesterday, when around mid-morning he announced he was suddenly starving.
Both kids have been off their food lately, having had a virus off and on which has caused sore throats, aches and pain, upset tummies, and coughs. It's been hard enough getting fluids into them, let alone food, but I always try not to panic if they don't eat. Most times, kids don't starve.
Anyway, having missed dinner the previous night, and breakfast the next day, Mr 9 discovered his appetite was back.
Like Miss 7, Mr 9 loves a cooked breakfast, though we usually do it only on a Saturday or Sunday morning.
C. decided that since he was home from school anyway, he may as well make something delicious.
And so he did.

Chase's Breakfast Burritos

Grab a couple of good quality meat patties from the freezer.
If possible, cook in a non-stick pan. You may need to add a little oil.
Cook eggs to your liking.
Heat tortillas in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
Assemble burritos:
Put cheese on the base, add meat and egg.
I add barbecue sauce and mayonaise for extra taste, then fold the tortilla/burrito.
Toast lightly in a sandwich maker if you like the cheese to get all melty.
Enjoy!

Breakfast Burrito - the breakfast of champions!

Mmm, burritos ...

Puppy love

So, who caught the first episode of Junior MasterChef?
The kids really wanted to watch it, but Mr 9 was in bed and asleep before the show even began, and Miss 7 only made it to the first ad break. Next morning was school, so it was probably just as well.
I wish I could tape it for them, because both C. and H. love to cook, to eat, and to watch television (well, they are kids!) They're obviously really interested in Junior MasterChef because there are kids on it doing exactly what they would love to do.
Miss 7 loved the parts she saw, but had one criticism: 'Where's the fat one?' she said. "Matt. Matt Preston."
(Sorry Matt ... but at least she likes you!)
Apparently Matt and his cravats are taking a smaller role in the kiddie version of the show.
No matter. We saw a playful side to George and Gary, and Anna Gare is just lovely.
And the kids. The kids! What a fantastic group of budding chefs, and how brave were the ones who sadly had to leave?
Awesome.
In other news, the kids and I did a bit of pet-sitting on the weekend, which we all loved. We popped into feed and play with a friend's dog while she was away, before popping across to my brother's home to pamper their elderly and slightly grumpy mini-daschund, young and excited poodle, and somewhat aloof British Shorthair cat. 

It's always a treat to have some puppy (and kitty) love.

Teddy, the cat, another one who will only eat Whiskas wet food

Wilbur the sausage dog. Sorry for blurry photo, he refused to look at me and kept moving because he was sulky and missing his humans. He later grudgingly allowed us to pat him and cuddle him.

Pippa the poodle. Kids wanted to take her home with us.

How did you spend your weekend?

Kids In The Kitchen

Who is looking forward to Junior MasterChef?
We are.
But seriously, have you seen the ads? I mean are these kids for real?
Bless their little hearts, I mean that in the nicest possible way. As in how do children even want to eat spatchcock, let alone make it? How do they know how to temper chocolate or encrust a piece of chicken with macadamia nuts? (Hell, some of us trouble just spelling macadamia ...LOL).
My kids love to cook, but it's more about helping out in the kitchen, and baking traditional kiddie fare, like pikelets, scones, chocolate crackles, honey joys, muffins and biscuits.
They both do a great breakfast - Mr 9 whips up fantastic omelettes, fluffy and filled with whatever we have in the fridge or freezer. It may be cheese and ham one day; mushrooms, tomatoes and onion the next.
This morning, Miss 7 woke up early. (Of course she did ... it's a Saturday. On school days I'm flat out gently prodding her out of bed!).
And she had an appetite for eggs - scrambie eggs. (Scrambled to the grown-ups).
She did it all herself, cracking eggs, whisking, pouring, and stirring to her heart's content. I just supervised to ensure she didn't burn herself or set fire to anything!
And yes, she even 'plated it up' herself.
I have to say that perhaps they were the nicest scrambie eggs I've ever tasted. The only improvement would have been a coffee accompaniment. And both Mr 9 and Miss 7 can make a perfect Nespresso skim milk cappacino, but, sob, I am out of the pods, and on my Single Mum Budget I currently can't afford to order in any more.
And before you suggest instant coffee, I remind you that Nespresso has turned me into a coffee snob. I would rather have No Coffee than a Bad Coffee or Instant Coffee. But feel free to suggest decent coffees if the mood takes you.
In the meantime, H. shares her recipe for scrambled eggs.

Scrambie Eggs for Two *
Crack 4 or 5 free range eggs into a bowl. I like free range eggs because the chickens have been happy and free, and not made to live in yucky cages. And their egg yolks are really orange.
Add a little skim milk - we hate the taste of full-fat milk, but you could use full-fat milk or even cream if you like it.
Whisk with a whisker! This is fun.
Melt butter in a pan, and pour in the eggs.
Stir so that they don't burn but become nice and moist and yellow. I use a shoveller (that's fun too). **
Put some toast on while you're waiting for the eggs to be perfect.
Smear toast with a little butter or margarine, then put the eggs on top.
I like mine with tomato sauce, Mum likes hers with a little salt. You can also put grated cheese on top.
Enjoy!

* Mum's note:  Big Brother was still snoring.
** Mum's note: shoveller = spatula.

Cooking the eggs with 'the shoveller'

The finished product: Scrambled eggs on slightly-buttered toast

The chef prefers hers with a little tomato sauce!

Junior MasterChef starts on Channel 10 this Sunday at 7.30 pm

The kids are alright

Recently, the hospital where I've been studying Mindfulness, rang to offer me a place in their class for advanced students.
I was busy at the time, so returned the registrar's call a bit later.
"I'm ringing to accept the position in the Advanced Masterclass," I said rather breathlessly, before we both burst into laughter.
It was around the time of this year's original Masterchef finals, and clearly we'd both been watching just a little too closely.
So here it is: I am a Masterchef junkie.
 I love the passion for food, the pressure tests, the inventions. I love the back stories of all the 'characters' - because although this is reality telly, we all know it is managed and edited to a degree to present the most interesting television.
I love that this was a show that I could pretty much watch with the kids (although they couldn't watch the whole thing on school nights, it went on much too late), with little swearing, and no sex (unless you count the sometimes lascivious expressions on the judges' faces as they tasted the food.)
And it piqued the interest of my little ones, who already loved cooking and tasting food.
Mr 9 desperately wanted me to apply for him to go on Junior Masterchef.
This I did, with some misgivings, because as a Mum, I didn't know if it would be something I would want to expose him to. (Miss 7 was too young). There was a disclaimer that successful applicants would need to take x amounts of weeks off school as well. And if he'd been accepted, I would have had to talk to his Dad and principal about this.
To my relief, our application was rejected. This was possibly because Mr 9 has a life-threatening allergy to nuts - and I note in the 'sneak peeks' one of the kids makes a macadamia-encrusted chicken or something. Or the fact that C. has Aspergers. Aspergers means he is obsessive about a few things, cooking being one of them, but can find a change in routine extremely challenging.
C. loves to help me prepare the evening meal, and will often cook breakfast on the weekend or on holidays - omelettes are a speciality.
C. and H. will often do a "Masterchef cook-off" on a Sunday, where they insist I stay in bed (which I kind of do, getting up now and then to help them find ingredients and pans),  before plating up two meals for my enjoyment.
Of course, I can't possibly eat all that, so I taste a little, pronounce my verdict (they are both winners in some way), and let them demolish the rest.
Miss 7's favourite cooking area is baking - biscuits, slices, muffins and puddings - while Mr 9 prefers savoury - omelettes, French toast, helping create my famous lasagne.
They are both waiting eagerly for Junior Masterchef to begin, and will give their expert kiddie commentaries on this blog.

So readers, would you let your children go on Masterchef? And if so, why?

Our famous lasagne. Good enough to eat! (Well, that's kind of the idea...)