Flavors...innocence...

I must say that watching " Junior Masterchef Australia " Season 2 is a whole lotta fun than watching the adult antics and dramas. Boy! We have had a lot of those over the week - whether it is at home, at work or even in our country! Anyway, it is so much fun looking at the children who are competing in a cooking competition while retaining their sanity and innocence. We, the adults, could actually learn a thing or two from these children. I tell you this, I am very impressed with the dishes they put on the judging table. OK, you may say that the judges are just "sweetening" their comments but there are criticism though not as harsh as the ones we get each day. To be fair, I personally think, the comments given by the judges had been encouraging. Afterall, it is a competition and there are bound to be winners and losers at the end. 

I kinda like Harry  ( I nicknamed him the fatboy ) who is very competitive and annoying sometimes while Chandler speaks word by word and I nicknamed him the OKU but he is a cute bloke. Greta, Lily, Indigo and Miraede are sweet and positive while Zac and Steven are cool. I guess, the one I like the most is Jack, super hectic, loony but sure can cook. Anyway, the episode I saw was a group challenge in a farm and you could just see the competitiveness minus the usual selfishness and all the bad behaviours found in human beings. In fact, when the Red Team lost their ingredient list, it was Jack from the Blue team that found the list and returned it to them. That was class act,man! I guess, I REALLY enjoy seeing these kids do the stuff for the day. The cutting , the preparation, the cooking part and the plating part were really superb. These kids knows their stuff and the dishes came out really well. I was very impressed especially the fried lamb rack encrusted with herbs & spices coat plus the pan-seared kangaroo meat. The desserts looked real appetizing and mouth-watering. I am really amazed by what these children could do. I used to joke to my friends that even our 10's - 12 year olds can't even fry an egg without making a mess out of the kitchen.

Yunno, that's what wrong with our society today. There are many boys and girls who can't cook a decent meal for themselves. Cooking Maggi Mee in a cup doesn't count as cooking, ok?  Convenience of food stalls, restaurants, fast and  food joints had sorta overtaken our culinary ability. No wonder mother-in-laws are fuming nowadays! Hahahahahaaaaaaa......... Yeah, I was just joking. Maybe ,we should sometimes take so time off just to get some basic meals on the table. There are plenty of recipes around and if one just take the time to cook up a meal, that itself is a great achievement. For me, my mom was a stickler that the boys/men should be out there earning the bread & butter but I stuck around to learn some of her cuisines.I learned by watching her doing it rather than writing in down in a recipe book. It may not be much but those are some of the best dishes I've tasted in my entire life. You see, whatever your mom cooked up, it was the best dish ever for you, right?  Likewise, I could never duplicate them the way they were made by mom but at least, I could do it with my own twist.  Never compare it with another person's dish because each to his/her own taste. I remembered that even a simple steamed beaten eggs with some grounded pork would taste heavenly on any day when it is done by mom. I have learned a couple of dishes as mom was more willing to teach me in the later years but I must admit I still lagged behind whenever I come up with her dishes. I still like mushroom and chicken in oyster sauce dish which was the very first dish I learned from her. My thoughts are simply this : Take time to learn to cook something from your memory of yesteryears. Visualized it and visualized how good it is going to taste and you'll get it right eventually!

Never be afraid to learn by watching cooking shows on TV ( Jamie Oliver gives a lot of good tips! ) becoz' there's tons of tips there and it is so satisfying when you can get the dish/ cake/bread or the broth right. It doesn't mean that you're a sissy if/when you learn to cook. Well, real and macho men cook,ok? BTW, some of the best cooks in the world are men. So then, put on your best apron and fire up. Hahahahhahhaaaaa.............. Go ahead, fire up your passion for cooking and get a good meal done for your family. I may not win a whole lot of battles in my life each day  but for one day when I am in the kitchen trying to get out the best dish/cake/bread or new creation, I know that I am a winner each time. That is a satisfaction no one can take away from you....each time.

So, go out there to your kitchen and get inspired! Your creation is as good as you can imagine it and get it done! Me? I am learning plait chocolate bread and croissants this week. Visualizing it and hoping to get it on the table soon!~ Be inspired,friends!~