We’re off to Austrialia in our cooking around the world series!

• United Kingdom
• Sweden
• Russia
• India
• Japan
• and now we off to Australia!

I have always wanted to travel to Australia and now we will do so virtually and though cooking.  Here is a web page with some Australian food slang and information. We have been in the mood for a new sweet treat and looked at Pavlova and Aznac Biscuits, but ended up deciding to try our hands at making Samoan Panikeke, traditionally made with bananas.

The kids can help with the mixing and I fried them while they crafted and put together a puzzle of the world. Anytime I cook with hot oils on the stove, I make sure the kids are safely away! My kiddos helped to mash the bananas, measure the ingredients, pour and then mix them together.

We learned that although they are very good at their jobs,but I am not too hot with deep frying!  As a matter of fact, I think this is one of the first times that I have ever tried it and I will have to admit, I am not a fan of cooking with hot oil.  It is stinky, hot, and all I can think about is how many calories I am adding!  My first batches turned out very burnt!  Then I started making them much smaller than the recipe called for and had better luck. The kids thought they turned out OK!  We talked about how people all around the world have their every day foods AND their sometimes foods.  Due to the sugar and fat content of this one, it is a sometimes food!

They are excited to learn more about Australia in the coming week. Cooking is such a great way to spur interest in other cultures and they are VERY interested in learning more after our cooking adventure!  I have lots of crafts and learning planned for them!