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“More sweet rice dad.” - My Kids

Sweet Rice

I was a solo dad for several years while my children were quite young. As with all energetic kids, you have to feed them often. I’m no cook by any stretch of the imagination. Boil an egg, I can do that. Burn a pot of rice, no sweat. My mum loved me and my siblings without reserve, but an imaginative cook she was not. Boil-up was the main meal of the day, weetbix for breakfast, lunch mostly baked bean sandwiches. Unfortunately for my children, I am my mother’s child, with my mothers’ cooking skills. Sorry mum, when we meet again, you can give me a growling.

Sweet Rice

I had my first taste of sweet rice when I was a kid myself. Smooth, creamy and sweet. Yummy, more please. As I remember it, mum told me to just add milk and sugar to the rice, walla sweet rice. In my young mind I thought that makes sense, so I followed that recipe for years. Cooking rice in milk, watching it burn or overflowing amongst some success, was how it went. 

My kids and I discovered that corned beef and onion stew go well with sweet rice. A delicious combination. Back then rice was used only for sweet rice. I admit, cooking rice in water was not part of our family’s life growing up. In our small town there was a Chinese restaurant, but the influence of other ethnic cuisines was minimal. It wasn’t until years into adulthood that I realised cooking rice in water was far more useful. 

Boil Up

Like I said earlier, my cooking skills are extremely limited. When a solo dad I turned to basic food to get by. Peeled potatoes and carrots with cabbage boiled in seasoned water with sausages or brisket is my boil up recipe.

Expanded Menu – not by much.

I’m now a senior citizen, I know what I like. I like meals I can cook quickly, meals I enjoy with easy-to-get ingredients and the less dishes to wash the better. Once every couple of months I have a boil up. There are only two in our household, I’m the only one who eats boil up. By the time I’ve finished the pot, over three or four meals, I’m sick of it. A few weeks later my taste buds send me a message, more boil up. I oblige and repeat the cycle. 

Rice and noodles are the base of what I cook for myself. Rice cooked in water, not milk, with a touch of seasoning. In a wok or frying pan I’ll sauté onions, add tomatoes and mackerel. I like sauce, I make sure there is more than enough to soak into the rice. Udon noodles I just throw into the wok on top of the chicken and vegetables and give it a good stir. If I have leftover rice, I’ll turn it into egg fried rice the next day. A packet of Indo Mie noodles I turn into a wonton soup with vegetables and an egg on top.

Nutri-Bullet

The nutri-bullet is a godsend for my health. Any green vegetable goes in, spinach, salad mix, courgettes, or silverbeet - goes in with an apple, a banana, or whatever else I fancy. Adding water and some fruit juice with a protein powder make up my shake. If you have no teeth or stumps like me, this is a wonderful way to get the necessary nutrients into your body. 

My children are all adults now with lives of their own. I haven’t made sweet rice for years. My children’s cooking skills are way beyond what I am capable of. Thank goodness for that.