Seafood Without Fear

Growing up, I was never a fan of fish. Many Friday nights were fish stick night, but those frozen sticks really consisted of very little fish and I always smothered them with Velveeta anyway.

Since moving abroad, and living near oceans, I have grown a strong desire to like seafood. After all, this is the place to find it fresh, cooked by people who are REALLY good at it.

So, T and I have attempted a few things, always searching for recipes that will make it simple and tasty. We do fresh fish fillets and shrimp. Last year, I even made a Spanish paella that called for giant shrimp and mussels. It turned out really nice!

I make a big effort to try new seafood varieties in nice restaurants. We eat lots of Tasmanian salmon and Barramundi, and I'm in the habit of ordering scallops now too.

But, fancy seafood in fancy restaurants costs fancy money. So, wanting those items, without the fancy prices, I decided I should learn how to cook them myself.

A friend and an online search led me to The Cooking Professor. It is a wonderful place near us that gives cooking classes of all sorts. And one of them is Seafood Without Fear. Perfect!

I organized it as a small Girls' Night Out. There were 4 of us on the night. And it was so much fun. Cooking classes are wonderful!

After arriving we went over the recipes (9 in all), and then off to the kitchen. We met so many other lovely people and the cooking went fast. Before long, it was time to eat our feast!

On the menu:

Spaghetti Vongole Puttanesca

Scallop Spoons with Cauliflower Puree and Sage Butter

Moules Mariniere with Crusty Bread

Homemade Foccacia

Whole Baked Snapper with Hot Chips and Tartare Sauce

Crayfish Mornay

Chargrilled Baby Squid with Chili, Lemon, and Parsley Bruschetta

Oysters Kilpatrick

Broccoli and Beans in Bagna Couda



It was so much food. We stuffed ourselves! Since the class, we've only made the scallops here at home, but I think we'll put the mussels and foccacia on the menu for the weekend.

Locals: check out http://www.thecookingprofessor.com.au/

There are tons of different classes. And so fun to do in a group!

Now, when I post a facebook status with generous offers for potential visitors, I can add a seafood feast to the list!

Me and My 8 Seconds

It has been brought to my attention by a faithful blog reader that there are rarely any photos of me on the blog. I think this is fairly typical. It is usually the mommy behind the camera, not posing in front of it.

It does occur to me sometimes to ask T to snap a photo or 2. But often the moment passes and we never get around to it.

But, I thought I would go back in the photos and see what I may have missed during my months long break from blogging. I found a few snaps, and you are in for a treat, faithful reader!

In February, our good friend Stuart celebrated his 40th birthday. They threw no ordinary fete, but a Wild West themed party! Everyone came as cowboys or Indians and the house was turned into a cowboy saloon. I was so impressed that everyone made the effort to come in costume. It was great fun! With a pig roasting on a spit, baked beans, cornbread, and lots of other yummy cowboy-ish fare.

The best part, however, had to be the mechanical bull they rented and had parked in the front yard. It may have taken me a couple glasses of courage- but I did it. I rode the bull.

T also enjoyed the challenge of the mechanical bull. I won't take all the glory. I believe he was even the champ, beating out all the other cowboys, and complaining of a sore groin for several days.

Somehow, I managed to go all afternoon without snapping a single photo of D. She wore a denim skirt, plaid top, and cowgirl hat to the party. But shortly after arriving, dove into her friends' dress up collection and came out as a princess.

C, however, remained in costume all afternoon. Is he searching the programmed songs for some honky-tonk?

He even had a go at the bull.

The Rest of the Trip

Day 4 was Easter Sunday. We all awoke to find the Easter Bunny had visited and hidden eggs all around the hotel room. Amazing animal, that Easter bunny. He was able to find us in Sydney last year, and Exmouth this year. He doesn't miss a thing! And neither do the kids when it comes to egg hunting. Church was wonderful. Exmouth has a small Catholic church with a kind priest that covers 3 parishes (with lots of kilometers between them).

After church, we planned to meet our friends at Coral Bay, which is nearly a 2 hour drive south. We loaded up and hit the road.

Most of my readers likely know that I was not made for the sun. I've had some bad sunburns, (and skin cancer) and that has caused me to be more of an indoor person. But, we live in Australia and that means enduring the sun and outdoors sometimes, to truly enjoy our surroundings.

Exmouth has lots of sun. And it was beautiful and the beaches were fun and the whalesharks were great, but it was more sun than was appropriate for fair-skinned me.

All 4 of us are in the habit of protecting ourselves from the sun with hats, sunscreen, clothing, shade, but the sun is so hot up there that I would have spent the whole time applying sunscreen to prevent the burn.

So, by day 4, I knew it was time for me to avoid the sun. Coral Bay also has lots of sun. So I knew I couldn't enjoy it to the fullest. :( But they also offered a glass-bottom boat tour to view the coral. So, the kids and I signed up for that with my friend Kelly and her 2 boys Jacob and Ollie. It departs from the beach so, after lunch, we trekked down to the beach and boarded the boat. I didn't take many pictures but we saw so many kinds of beautiful coral and fish, a starfish, and small shark. A really fun experience! See a school of fish swimming below us.

T, and Kelly's husband Gareth, did a bit of snorkeling and tried spear fishing. Fun to try new stuff!

We decided to leave Exmouth on Monday morning and start south. We had to stop and check out these monstrous termite mounds along the way. There are thousands of them all over the place. A six-year-old on our whaleshark tour told me they are made of termite spit. I think I believe him. Look at the size of this thing!

We drove all day, arriving in Geraldton around 6:30. The hotel had a nice restaurant so we had a great, relaxing dinner and some wine before returning to the room to jump on the beds and burning off some energy.

Geraldton is just about 4 hours north of Perth so we didn't have too much of a drive left for Tuesday. So, that morning T dropped me off in town and he and the kids went to the playground.

We've been looking, recently, for original paintings from Western Australia, or landscape photography that we love. Geraldton had a number of galleries and I spent a couple of hours checking them out. A few people told me about an Indigenous Art Center in town that sold work from local artists. When T picked me up we went to have a look.

This art center is great. Just a room, full of paintings, at the Tourist Centre. They even provide the artists with the paint, to better insure the quality of the work. We found 3 paintings on canvas and are so pleased with them!

D picked this one out, so we'll have it stretched and hang it in her room.

A nap and a DVD later, we were home again, and starting to think about our next trip.

D has requested New York City (listening to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys has her feeling brand new and inspired) but first...Thailand!

Morning Tea

D was a lucky guest at a wonderful birthday party on Tuesday morning. Her school friend, Cate, turned 5 and inivited a group of girls to a nearby playground for a tea party. I didn't bring the camera so I don't have photos of the party, but, I thought I'd highlight the neatest idea that her mom Jacqui used.

They went to a second hand store and purchased a set of china dishes for $10. Then each of the girls got to bring home a china tea cup, saucer, and small plate. D loves her new dishes that make her feel so grown up and lady-like when it's time for morning tea!

1 Hour Film Developing? Try 3-4 weeks!

I have the Exmouth blog post in the works. I started typing on the weekend and thought I would add the photos of the whaleshark experience once they were back from the photo place. But, the camera we used was a disposable, underwater camera. A 35 mm camera. An out-of-date dinosaur age camera!
We bought it at Kmart- yes, we have Kmart here. And, when I bought it, Mr. Kmart photo lab said they could develop it there. But, Camerahouse is closer so last week, the kids and I went to Camerahouse. They turned me away saying, "We got rid of that machine like 2 years ago!"
I said, "But you are CAMERAhouse!"
She said, "Go to any chemist (pharmacy). They will send it off and it may take 3 of 4 days, but they can do it."
My chemist said, "Nope, sorry. I don't think anyone does that anymore."
So, T took it over the Kmart only to find that they are renovating the photo lab- most likely removing their film developing machine!
Out and about again today, on our quest to see our whaleshark on paper, we visit another pharmacy, this one with a big KODAK sign in front and a big picture of a box of film (you remember the little gold and black box). Pharmacy lady said, "Uhh, no. Maybe Target has a lab?" (Yes, we also have Target here, but it's like old Target, before the late 90's update).
Target had no photo lab.
So, onto a different shopping center. One with another Kmart. A Kmart with an operating photo lab. I approached the counter with my camera. Before I said anything a lady approached me. "Just letting you know we have to send that thing to Melbourne for developing and it will be 3-4 weeks before your photos come back." I laughed out loud.
I decided it was the only choice and had the camera sent cross-country. I should have asked how much it would cost. They probably have to empty the dark room that they now use for storage, replace that wacky red light bulb, and bring someone out of retirement to do it. Plus shipping! This could cost a small fortune!
And chances are, since all the underwater photos were taken with no flash, while trying swim alongside a whaleshark- they'll all be blurry. Let's hope they are all sparkling clear and this was worth all my trouble!

Exmouth, Western Australia

We had quite a trip. The drive north wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. We all slept, snacked, sang our favorite songs, and watched DVDs. After roughly 1,300 kilometres (around 800 miles) of red sand, termite mounds, and kangaroo carcasses, we arrived at our destination.

Exmouth was built in the 1960's. The US Navy needed a communtication station in the area. So they built a Naval base and the town of Exmouth was built beside it.

Our Best Western was once Naval barracks and was located right beside the base, which is now largely deserted. The hotel was alright. The room had a queen bed and a set of bunkbeds (which the kids found THRILLING), and a little kitchen and dining table. Just right for us and our busy trip. The hotel had a pool, spa, alfresco bbq area, and 2 resident emus named Stupid and Bullmouth. D was delighted at hearing one emu was named Stupid. This is, of course, a word she is not allowed to use normally. So, using it when referring to the emu was a real thrill for her. On any given day of the trip, she asked/said/stated, "Where's Stupid? I wonder where Stupid is. Is Stupid over there? Watch out for Stupid's poo on the ground! Let's find Stupid. Hey, there's Stupid!" She enjoyed every minute of it.

So here's a brief run down of our first 3 days in Exmouth, and a few photos. As you may have read the the previous post, underwater whaleshark photos will posted at a later date.

Day 1: Groceries (not very exciting, but necessary), a dip in the pool, and meeting friends at the beach.

Jumping in to daddy is always a favorite activity.
C really got the hang of his swim ring.The kids spent lots of their beach time making birthday cake for daddy. mmmm!
But there's always time for making sand angels. And a run around the beach to search for seashells. Day 2: Whaleshark snorkeling tour!!!This experience was the highlight of the trip.

Whaleshark info:

The mass spawning of more than 200 species of coral

in March and April each year is part of a chain of biological

events that heralds the arrival of the world's largest fish,

the whaleshark to Ningaloo Reef. These gentle giants cruise

the world's oceans in search of concentrations of plankton.

A fully grown whaleshark can reach up to 18 meters in

length, bur more commonly, individuals encountered at

Ningaloo Reef are between 4 and 12 meters long. A 12 meter

whaleshark may weigh as much as 11 tons and a mouth

more than a meter wide.

We were out at sea all day, starting off with some snorkeling in the shallow to view the coral. Once a spotter plane had located a whaleshark, we boarded the boat again and set off to find our gentle giant of the sea. C wasn't feeling the mask and snorkel, so he stayed on the boat. We were given lots of instruction from the guides. We were required to stay 3 meters from the whaleshark, 4 meters from her tail, and to avoid swimming directly in front of her. That all seemed fine and easy to me.
And then we arrived at the whaleshark, which is MUCH larger than I even imagined and everyone gets all excited and the masks and snorkels and fins go on and the first group lines up and everyone's adreneline is pumping and in you go!

Except, (as readers may remember from my Great Barrier Reef blog) C likes to sleep a lot when we are on vacation. And so for the first little while I sat in the cabin with a little boy sound asleep on my lap. It was still exciting and after T returned from the water, out of breath and grinning from ear to ear, it was my turn. I passed our son to him, suited up, and in I went.

The boat tries to drop you beside the whaleshark, but also ahead of it, so that you sort of see it while it swims by and you are to swim along side. But, it's a whaleshark and it can go where ever it wants. I entered the water, got my bearings, and put my mask in the water. Hello whaleshark! I was right smack in front of her. It was an uncomfortable feeling and anyone hovering directly above my snorkel would have heard some choice words of surprise. But the guide was right beside me and so I quickly swam with him to place myself in a better position.

We took turns, T and I, going in the water and trying to keep up with our whaleshark. We were in 75 meter deep water so there were waves and not ideal conditions for the kids so they stayed aboard the boat.

You can see the whaleshark in this photo above, the gray shape in the water, with the people swimming around it. The guide would show us where to be by holding their arm straight up out of the water. You can see the outstretched arm of our guide below. Follow her!

Mac liked the little whaleshark so much, we're on a quest to find one at the store.
Once our time with the whaleshark was up, they served a great buffet lunch, and we went to more shallow waters for more snorkeling. The group on the previous day had seen dugongs in the area so we tried to find them again, but no luck.

Day 3: We hit the beach and saw a wonderful sunset.

Unfortunately, it's a bit of a drive from Exmouth to some of the nicer beaches in the area. We drove to Cape Range National Park and discovered Lakeside Beach. It was a nice place for the kids to play and the parents to snorkel.

D out for a swim.

C loves his trucks in the sand.
T returning from snorkeling.
Me, kicking out to enjoy the coral. T takes all the kids to fly the kite.

T and D went out to see sunset at the nearby lighthouse.

I will blog about Easter Sunday and the remainder of our trip soon. SO much to tell!