It’s been a full-on couple of days. We took the kids out of school on Friday for their opthalmologist appointments, which meant taking a trip to Wagga Wagga, which is our nearest city. A bit of trivia for you: Wagga is the largest inland city in Australia. I didn’t know that until we moved to the country.
Good parts of the day included a professional confirmation of my son’s colour blindness, sushi for lunch (something we took for granted living in Sydney, but it’s a treat for us out here. Still trying to perfect making it at home with varying degrees of success), beautiful weather, Garbage on the car stereo and being together as a family.
Low points of the day were: my son vomitting four times, my son running a nasty fever and not really coping with being out and about and getting home and realising I’d caught his nasty bug.
Usually on the way to Wagga, we stop at this cafe you see in the pictures: The Jail Brake Inn. The name used to irritate me no end, because I always felt it should be jail break. I wondered if it was a play on words, but thought no, couldn’t possibly be. Not until my partner convinced me after two years straight arguing that you brake to stop there. Fine. It must be that, then.
When we first stopped there in the morning on the way to Wagga, we’d already stopped several times because our son was threatening to vomit, and didn’t. By the time we pulled up to Jail Brake, he had. At least it was well-timed! My partner grabbed a few snacks and drinks for us, and we headed off. He mentioned to me that they were selling this snack called the ‘Bum Burner’, so we agreed that on the way home, we’d stop by and get one. We also got these cool Jelly Joiners lollies, which blew us all away at how you could interlock a banana flavoured lolly with an orange one for example, and the combination actually tasted like bubblegum. Being a sunny yet freezing day, my man bought himself a Jail Brake Inn beanie and a matching beer holder simply because he’s an impulse buyer at times.
If you’re wondering about the Bum Burner, first off, yes it does. Secondly, I didn’t try it, but my man did. He has the deteriorated bottom to prove it. The Bum Burner is a disgusting looking beef jerky type of sausage with a ton of chilli in it. As much as I love chilli, I loathe meats that are preserved in this way, so it was that which deterred me from trying it, and not the spiciness. Which is funny, because out of the two of us, I’m the one obsessed with hot foods. I will tell you honestly, I could’ve eaten that thing and it wouldn’t have done what it says on the label to me. No hot food ever does. Just call me Iron Butt.
Today, my man and I woke up feeling like zombies with our son’s lurgy. We had to get groceries, as we’d been already putting it off for too long. Because my old slow cooker (or crock pot, whichever you prefer to call it) died last year, I decided it was time to pick up a new one, so that should make life a bit more efficient again, as we wait for an oven and stove. I predict there will be some slow cooker recipes on here in no time.
We arrived home after that, and had a lovely (well, as lovely as you’re going to get feeling as sick as we do) afternoon with the kids, curled up on the lounges with blankets, watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (old school version). I loved seeing the kids ooh and ah and gasp with wonder at all the amazing things in that movie. We ended up realising that we’d better feed the kids some dinner, so had beef rissoles and that cabbage thing I cooked last time that flopped. It also flopped this time, despite my adding bacon. This time, I chopped it too finely in the Thermomix, so it came out looking like a weird mash. Still tasted good to us oldies, though. I didn’t expect the kids to try it, and they didn’t. I will conquer it! I so much want to have it the way I used to do it in the pan. Sauteed and wilted. We also had some couscous, and later for dessert, I made that chocolate fondue I’ve mentioned before. The kids go beserk over it, so that kind of made up for the crappy cabbage. After dinner, I threw the leftovers into a potato and leek soup in the Thermomix, which my man and I will enjoy for snacks and lunch. I just can’t stand the waste.
How is your weekend going so far? Also, have any of you guys ever seen this Bum Burner before? Would you be game to try it?
