The Year In Review

New years eve is the time to look back and reflect on the year that was!

This year has been a year of incredible highs and lows for me.

I got to do my ultimate trip to Italy. I got to experience all that I had dreamed about for so long. The trip was everything I had hoped for and more. It also gave me a chance to be "me" again, and not be Mum for 2 weeks! 

Looking back though that was to be sum total of "highs" for me for the year!

The morning I landed back home, I landed with a thud! Within 3 hours of arriving home I was at the vet's having the family dog put to sleep. I guess they wanted me to be the one to do the dastardly deed. Putting this dog to sleep was so much more than putting the family pet to sleep. This dog was my son who has special needs' best and probably only friend. He was distraught, and it led him into a downward spiral of behavioral problems.

After 6 weeks, I succumbed and got the family a new dog! A rescue dog, I'm not sure exactly why he was surrendered, but he was a very emotional young "teenager" when he joined our family.

Looking back on Milo's entry into our home, I can see this is where the year went all pear shaped. Jack loved this dog, sure not as much as the other one, but it was still early days. He took him for walks, and that is when the bottom fell out of our world!

Those of you that have been followers for a while will know that Jack has Prader Willi Syndrome. This syndrome is a cruel one, and has many unfortunate characteristics, one of which is a high pain threshold. While out walking Milo (who happens to be an incredibly strong dog for such a medium sized animal) Jack managed to slip his femur out of the socket! A normal person would be screaming in agony, he simply complained of a pain in his hamstring. We rubbed, and went to doctors and physios, but there didn't seem to anything glaringly obvious wrong. Three weeks later, after my savior of many occasions in the months to come saw Jack, and pondered this strange set of symptoms, he suggested we should get a hip x ray done.

A six hour Emergency surgery followed, the blood supply was dead, and Jack was to be in a wheelchair for 12 months!

The worst however, was still yet to come. As I have said Prader Willi Syndrome has many issues, most we learn about along the way as we travel the journey. Four days post surgery, Jack slipped into a psychotic/delerium state. My seemingly "normal" 14 year old was little more than a baby again. I have since learnt that people with PWS can slip into these psychotic states, Jack was the youngest to have ever done this. The prognosis was not great - this state could last anyway from days, to weeks, to months!

Fortunately, we only visited "la-la land"for 35 days.

After 3 months in hospital, it was time to face the next hurdle - how to care for this child who already was more than I could handle, but now had all these new issues to deal with?

After much soul searching and tears, a decision was made to place him in "out of home" care. This is by no means an easy decision to make. I always wanted to take care of him, and to find a suitable place in the future, so that he could lead a relatively happy, normal, independent lifestyle. This was all so much more earlier than we had anticipated. Unfortunately services and facilities for adolescents with special needs are few and far between.

So while I used to write a daily blog, I now started putting all those words to good use. I started to writing to anybody who I thought would listen to me. I think nearly every politician in the state knows about Jack now!

It seems though that my words found listening ears. I now have a real chance to try and make a difference to the lives of young people with PWS. I am stepping into the new year fighting a battle that is for me a personal battle , but I am fighting not only for me, and my child. I aim to raise the level of awareness about PWS, and I am determined to get housing built so that our young adults with PWS can live meaningful, productive lives.

So Dear Readers, while I might not have been blogging, I have certainly been busy. I have often wondered if anyone has even missed me? We have still eaten, for many months though it was certainly not up to our usual calibre, but it was sustenance (and often times it was provided by good hearted samaritans!)

So I leave you here, at the end of a year I would sooner rather forget with a beautiful roasted pork belly.

I'm not going to give you the recipe, other than to say - it's all about simplicity.

8 Hour Slow Roasted Pork Belly

Score your pork belly rind. Place it on a rack in the sink, and pour over a kettle of boiling water. Dry well with paper towels. Rub oil and salt into the rind.

Turn the oven onto 100 degrees C.

Place the rack in a roasting pan. Carefully pour in a cup of cold water into the base of the roasting pan. Roast for 8 hours, checking that there is still water in the pan every couple of hours.

After 8 hours, turn the oven up to 220 degrees, roast for 20-25 minutes, or until you have perfectly crispy crackling!

Serve with whatever sauce you desire - port and cherry sauce, or as I did a caramelized peanut salsa.

Is there anything better than the crunch of pork crackling? I think not!

So Dear Readers I wish you all a happy and prosperous new year. I hope that 2013 holds good things for everyone (someone told me that its the years with the even numbers that are the bad ones) - so let's hope 13 is good because it's odd!

Happy Birthday to me and my Blog!!!!

Imagine my surprise today when I came home from a lovely day out to find this beautiful cake sitting on my doorstep.

The Cake Woman Extraordinaire had come to pay a visit - kind of like the tooth fairy really, but very unexpected though - perhaps I shall have to start calling her The Cake Fairy Extraordinaire (CFE)!!!!

Can this day get any better?

I started the day off with a little "me time".  Went to the "panel beaters" to get a bit of life injected back into the hairdo (read between the lines - eliminate gray hairs!!).  Then it was off to lunch!!  Mr. CCC was taking me for a seafood extravaganza by the water - the only hiccup was that it was raining - but one can overlook such minor technicalities if one has to.

So what is the big occasion you ask???  Well today is a milestone - in fact this week is a milestone.  CataCanCook, the blog, turned 1 year old!!!! and I, the author turned the big 50!!!!  So it's Happy Birthday to me and my Blog!!

Thank you to all my readers that have followed me during the past year. It has been a fun and rewarding experience for me.  I have made lots of new friends along the way, and I hope that the next year brings more of the same!

Thank you so much "CFE" for the lovely cake - you have made my day with your thoughtfulness!!!

And that was the year that was!!!

Here we are at the end of another year - where do they go, and why do they go so fast?  They say that they get faster as you get older - but is that true?  All I know is that it seems like only yesterday that we were saying goodbye to 2009.

So Dear Readers has it been a good year for you?

For me it has been a mixed bunch - we have had many ups and downs.

On the home front we have faced a long battle, having a portion of our home destroyed by a storm back in February.  The best part of 2010 was spent facing legal issues trying to fix it - I hope for a resolution next year - and a roof that doesn't leak when it rains!!!

On a personal level I have pushed myself to new boundaries and have done things I would probably never have done before.  I owe so much to my "BFF" Miss Twinkles - she has listened to me rant and rave this last year, and her friendship has given me so much support - thank you for listening to me, and coming along on the journey with me (willing or not!!)

The children have grown - one becoming an "adult",  one starting high school, and the other two now facing 2011 as their last year in primary school.  They grow up right before your eyes, blink and you might miss it.

So Dear Readers, what do hope and wish for in the New Year?

Is there a goal you hope to achieve, is there a trip you want to take, or a course you want to do?

I hope that each and every one of you achieve your goals.

I wish you all good health, and hope that 2011 is good to you all.

I have appreciated your company this year, and I hope that you will continue with me next year as my journey continues, who knows where a little food blog can take you........

Merry Christmas

Today's post is not a food blog - but it is my blog and I am allowed to have a little licence to deviate from the food path occasionally.  Today is a day to reflect on all that is good in your life.  So if you are looking for food - come back tomorrow.



Sometimes life throws you some unexpected detours in the journey of life.

Readers that have followed me for a while will know about my son Jack.  My path in life since he was born is so entirely different than what I could ever imagined it would be.

I was lucky enough recently to attend the presentation day ceremony at the school that he attends.  When I say lucky, I don't mean it glibly - I truly feel lucky to have wandered into this world that for the most part, is unknown to the general population.

Jack attends a special school.

There was a time when I would have shuddered at the thought of him attending a special school.  Now I am so thankful that we have become a part of this truly unique place.  Every time I attend events at the school I get a "catch" in the throat - and can feel tears trying to escape.  Such is the love in the air.

Presentation day was no exception.  Here is a school that is staffed by the most incredibly, supportive, dedicated teachers and support personnel you will ever wish to meet.  They love their job, and their job is by no means easy.  Yet they nurture and educate our children, give them encouragement and teach them all how uniquely special each and every one of them is.  If they do their job well, then our kids will leave school in year 12 and become a meaningful part of the community.

This day I saw 8 children graduate.  It was time for them to leave the nest that has nurtured them for the past 6 years.

This was my first time at a presentation ceremony, and I was filled with the truly wonderful sense of camaraderie that filled the hall.  Every single kid there belonged - they had friends, and not just their peers, but the teachers in so many ways are also their friends.  Friendship knows no boundaries at this school.  The cheers that they gave each other was like music to my ears - the hugs as they said goodbye to each other as they left school that day was heartfelt, they really meant it - it wasn't just a superficial slap on the back that you see so often at the end of the school year.

These kids know that they are unique, but not in they way you are probably thinking.  They all have a truly unique outlook on life - and it is not marred by our stereotypes.  They spread more love to people than some of us can ever do in a lifetime - and they want nothing more than to have that love returned.

There was not a child there that was anchored down with their disability - such is they way that they have been encouraged to live to their full extent by their amazing teachers.

They may never be rocket scientists, or discover a vaccine for a disease, but these people will all contribute in their own way to society.

Sometimes we all need to have a "reality check".  I have had 2 in the last couple of weeks.

As you celebrate the Christmas season, ponder on others.  No matter how bad we think our lives are, there is always someone else who is struggling more than we are.

Enjoy what you have, and be thankful for the good things in life.

Merry Christmas to all my readers.  I appreciate each and every one of you.  I love that you make comments, I love that you read my daily offerings.  I wish each and every one of you the happiest of holiday seasons and look forward to having your company again next year.

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!!

One of Life's Little Ironies

Dear Readers recently while telling some acquaintances about my blogging habit, and other aspects of my life, I was reminded none too bluntly, about what a bitter irony my life is.

Those of you that have read my blogs, and those of you that know me personally, will know that I love food!  I love cooking food, I love eating food,  and I love talking about food.

So here I divulge my little secret ...... just over 13 years ago I gave birth to my first son.  It ended up being a very traumatic time in my life - you see the birth was not easy - he was in a frank breach position, and the end result was a child that had the doctors baffled.

I spend an agonising two weeks with him in hospital while they tried to come to some conclusions (answers please, I need answers!) - in the end they couldn't determine what was wrong with him, and we were released, but only into the hands of the Children's Hospital - the local hospital had done all it could - it was time for the specialists! They too were baffled,  they ended up sending us home, only because they had no reason to keep us, but we were still none the wiser.

I spent the next 10 months of my life (and my son's) visiting several doctors per week.  Ultimately they ended up with a diagnosis, and here is where the bitter irony comes into my life!!

My child was diagnosed with Prader Willi Syndrome.  This is a relatively unheard of, sporadically occurring, genetic condition that affects approximately one in 10,000 births (lucky me!!).  It was 1997 and doctors had not run across that many children presenting with this condition - so it took time for someone to finally see the signs and call for a test - a test that takes many weeks for the results to come through (more agony).  The horrible part of Prader Willi Syndrome (PWS) is that it is ostensibly an eating disorder - I say this quite glibly as there are also many other serious underlying conditions that present with this syndrome.  Luckily we do not have a lot of the other issues to deal with.

The sad and horrible part of PWS is that people affected with this syndrome NEVER, and I repeat NEVER feel full. The section of their brain (the hypothalamus) that registers satiety is damaged and they are ALWAYS HUNGRY!  Nearly all people that live with this condition live with all food under lock and key.....

Do you see where the irony is now???  I love food!!!!

My baking was put on hold - I could not have food lying around the house - food that was tempting and calling out to my son.  In many ways a part of me died at this time.

I have now come to terms with this, and hence through this blog I am starting to relive my love of food.  We do not live under lock and key (but we do have a section of the house where some food is locked up).  Food is a constant struggle - I cannot allow him to eat a lot of the things that I bake and give so freely to "The Darlings" (they are skinny little bean poles that need fattening up - another irony - while I try to enforce a "Diet" on one - I try to "fatten up" the other two!).  Meal times are a constant negotiation - "why can they have seconds and I can't?"  "Why can they have whatever it is???? and I can't?"

You all, as food blogger readers, know what an integral part food plays in our lives.  What would you do if you were faced with a dilemma like this?  Food is everywhere - every social event we attend has food attached to it it in some way.  I actually dread Christmas - I love to bake and cook beautiful food - but all that temptation lying around - it's just not fair!

I try to be reasonable - I try my hardest to make meals that are healthy and appealing - hence posts like Healthy Fish and Chips!

So Dear Readers perhaps you now have a little insight into some of the whys behind my meals.  Perhaps you can see why this blog is so important to me - a way of letting the inner foodie in me out.

We all struggle to some degree with the impact that food has on our lives - if you are like me and have to occasionally undertake a diet, spare a thought for those that have Prader Willi Syndrome - their life is a constant diet.  They are constantly struggling with weight issues, and for many these issues become life threatening.   I am lucky my son is not obese - but that is because we have been very vigilant with him since the age of two.

The next time you offer food to a child, think twice.  (I am like a mother eagle swooping in for the kill any time someone hands my son food - although now he is older I cannot take food from him and placate him with something else - so please do not offer him any!!), and no, please don't say "surely one can't hurt" - in the big scheme of this condition it can!

Perhaps this blog will lead me somehow to writing a book about my experiences with PWS - perhaps that is to be my goal in life?

All I can say is be thankful of your life, enjoy food as only you can enjoy it,  There are others out there for whom this is not an option.

If there are any of you out there that would like more information on PWS - please feel free to email me. I am more than happy to share my experiences of living with this syndrome.

                                My son Jack - who just turned 13 last month!

PS. I promise my next blog to be "lighter" - this was just something I needed to get off my chest.  My fellow food blogger Tammi actually planted the seed in my head recently - and so I thought why not write a blog about this!!  So thanks Tammi.