Day 5 Mystery Island Vanuatu.

It's drizzly and miserable, being the only opportunity to go snorkelling we are doubly glad we didn't carry snorkel gear all this way or worse but some we didn't need just for the one day. There is an airstrip on the island and it's a Tender sport, which means you are transported to and from the Island by Tender boat for which you must obtain a ticket and wait your turn.

Day Four Noumea Cheekyricho TransPacific a Cruise

Here we are in Noumea again.

This is the view on a floor to ceiling LCD screen in our cabin. At least it shows you what's up ahead, whether it's daylight or not outside. It's bigger than a porthole and cheaper. We went to McDonalds to use the wifi which was extremely slow. We did find out that Richo's son and daughter in law are expecting his first grandchild, a little boy. So that is a great memory to take from Noumea.

There is a park in the middle of the city where you can get free wifi for 2 hours, there is also a card available for $10 AUD for 1 day. We have already done the aquarium, Amadee Island, all the beaches and a day trip around the place.

The weather was warm and the light drizzly rain waited until we sailed away from the port. We bought a couple of bottles of French wine and water, softdrink for our little bar fridge.

We had to be transported to the visitor centre by bus as we disembarked in the middle of the container terminal.

Day One Transpacific Cruise Cheekyricho journey

So this is dessert. Thought we'd start at the toptonights specialty Icecream was Butter Almond. We had a scoop of it with this low fat Mango Pudding. 

Oh the decisions....

I had every intention of showing you the main which was a slow roasted strip sirloin with Yorkshire pudding whole baked jacket potato and seasonalveggies. I guess I was a little eager so you didn't get to see it until it was half gone. Oops  

The beef was lovely and tender, a well flavoured Rosemary jus and a massive hollow Yorky Pud.

The Triple Smoked Fish Rillettes was small but tasty.

Adequate portions served in a well timed manner had us well fed and ready for an early night, rocked to sleep by a 4-5 metre swell. They change each table cloth and setting between every diner. The waiters are proficient friendly and very attentive. I seem to have killed my room key. Serves me right for putting it in my bumbag pocket next to my phone. Well I'll have to sort that tomorrow.

Day 2 Cheekyricho Trans Pacific Cruise Holiday

No this is not some indoor roller coaster or theme park, this is the view from the Royal Promenade shopping and cafe precinct to the roof. Duty free stores, clothing jewellery and guests Tour services. There's beautiful wood panelling, granite surfaces, floors and pylons with mirrors, glass and artworks including sculptures.

There is an Ice Skating Rink, I know! How funky is that, you wouldn't expect that on a cruise ship. There aren't many children on board but a few youngsters braved the rocking boat and took to the ice, the more experience they gained, the more daring that became and the bigger and harder their falls. Lucky kids are made of rubber. My rebuilt ankle was cringing with dismay.

I don't know about you but this is what my breakfast table looked like as we sat right next to the window and watched the 6 metre high seas rolled by. A 48 knot wind whipped up the white caps and spray and at only 20C degrees outside we stayed indoors and didn't break out the cozzies.

I'm trying to stop Richo from eating himself to death, he seems hellbent on digging his own grave with his teeth and it's not a battle I'm winning. We opted to visit the salad bar for lunch in the main dining room.

Everything was going well until Richo asked me, what to order, to have with his "side" salad! Seriously!!!! This was like a big mixing bowl filled with salad, prawns, prosciutto, chicken, olives and cheese, we had a Warm Tandoori chicken roti with this spicy mint sauce sauce that obviously had green chillies in it. Damn it was good, Richo the chilli sook threw his hands in the air and refused to try it. You can't win 'em all. 

The Beatles Tribute Show is on tonight and we are going to try and stay up for it.

I brought a highlight pen and marked all the activities we wanted to attend. Haven't honoured one activity with our presence yet, too busy talking to other passengers and relaxing. We seem to be the last to leave the dining rooms as fellow diners entertained us with witty stories of their cruise experiences, home stories and travel adventures, past and planned. Richo even squeezed in a morning nap.

We ended up at the early show and it was very good. They sounded like the Beatles and didn't try and change the songs at all which was refreshing. The seas are massive, the singers frequently lost their footing and wandered off. Sick Bags have been placed strategically about the ship. We went to the Buffet but couldn't eat anything. So I collected some bread and salad and brought it back to the cabin in case we got hungry during the night.

The little towel animal was a lot more interested in the snack than either of us. I went from a quite a few squeamish episodes to a full blown upswallow, proof that this is the worst sea I have ever encountered on a cruise ship. Richo stopped me from taking seas sick pills because they make you feel worse. He relented after I proved to him that I really was seasick and went to sleep. We set the alarm for before dawn to attend the Dawn Service of the Anzac Day Commemoration.

The Ship

As a P&O ship leaves Sydney we decided to wander about the ship & give you an idea of what home to us will feel

Like for the next 24days.this ship appears to much larger than the P&O ship that is leaving Sydney, see how it compares size wise to the Opera Hiuse

The bathroom is bright and comfy. Bigger than aMotorhome with like a revolving shower door. From one of the levels you can see right down to the shopping arcade and coffee shop below. Glass elevators give you a seagulls view of the floors.

Fluffy towels, adjustable shower head and hand rails, hope we don't need them.

Not exactly swimming weather, but we are off to learn how to put on a life jacket.

Very Nautical.

This is a surf wave riding activity. There aren't that many children on board, I wonder how many adults will wipe themselves out here. There are lots of Americans, hopefully we should learn a lot more about our destination before we get there. 

Farewell

Well the holiday has started. All the hassles, stress and planning. I need a holiday after all the organising and co ordination. The ship is lovely, the food so far was really tasty with amazing variety. Our little cabin is sparkling clean, crisp white linen and oodles of mirrors lending a feeling of spaciousness. This is like a floating town. Richo has discovered chocolate chip cookies... Again. Lunch by the Harbour Bridge, even the rain couldn't dampen our spirits, let's see if the big  seas have any impact on the mood. Alaska here we come.

Key lime Slice, Strawberry something, Brownies, fruit salad and a huge variety of bread.

3,100 passengers to feed, what a job.

The Famous Sydney Opera House juts out into Sydney Harbour in Benelong Point.

We farewell Australia to sail to the top of the world. So exciting. So far we have been on a car trip, a plane trip and train ride before boarding this massive ship and this is just the first day. 

Shellfish Mornay Boats Cheekyricho YouTube recipe.

I used to dive for my own lobsters or Eastern Crayfish as they are called, that was a long time ago and over the decades we caught them so often we were always looking for new an innovative ways to prepare them. Don't get me wrong my favourite way is still freshly boiled, sprinkle with salt and pepper and eaten with the freshest white crusty baguette and icy cold beer with a wedge or lemon or lime. Now I have to buy them I am a bit more frugal with them. All shellfish seem to compliment each other and none more so than scallops and fresh Australian Banana Prawns.

You simply must try this delicious seafood boat with its lovely light cream sauce and lobster tail with scallops and Prawns. This works out to be quite economical for a very luxurious and decadent entree or light meal. We hope you give it a try for that special occasion dinner. http://youtu.be/WDgC-tc_gYU

Baking with Babies

I had the good fortune  recently to make a batch of gluten free donuts and White Chocolate Muffins with a delightful little helper.

It is never too early to start involving the little ones in the kitchen. Yes it can be a bit messy but the benefits are wonderful. Our little sous chef was so serious and hands on, mixing, measuring, cracking eggs testing the texture and even lined a dollop of raw dough up for a taste test. There were so many giggles and exclamations of joy.

We were probably a little overdressed for the occasion with our best after five mock tail dress on when the impromptu baking session began. An apron and a good washing machine should sort the resultant marks that the apron couldn't prevent. Being so small she had to sit amongst the ingredients on the bench to ensure all aspects of the production were adequately supervised. We all had fun and we all enjoyed the fruits of our labours. If you don't have children of your own try and borrow one for some fun in the kitchen. Don't forget to watch our Gluten Free Donut recipe on our Cheekyricho YouTube channel and giggle along with us for the fun of it.

This is the finished result still hot off the press with a sticky warm glaze dribbling down the side of our latest Gluten Free Invention.;-))

We made so many we had to freeze some so it's a pretty economical recipe too.

http://youtu.be/Rv9_tjrMbAl

Tuna Stuffed Kumera Boats Cheekyricho video recipe

This is an insanely budget meal Kumera was on special for $2 per kg, little flavoured cans of tuna were less than 😀$1 each, you'll need 2 of them then  just add 50g of your favourite Mayo or sour cream or yoghurt and top with 50g of your choice of cheese. It's filling delicious ridiculously simple, looks yummy and we served it with Balsamic Cabbage with pine nuts and bacon. Life is good when you can eat this well for so little money and effort. Kumera is good for you its sweet, creamy and satisfying. Paired perfectly with your choice of tuna or chicken you just can't go wrong.

5 minutes in the airfryer and you're good to go. A gluten free tuna mornay variation to wow you friends and family. I can just see this one in the camp oven on your next camping holiday.

Check the simple 4 ingredient airfryer recipe out on our Cheekyricho YouTube channel.http://youtu.be/X473bz_e7Xk

Cheekyricho Donut Party.

We made a Donut Party. Jam filled donuts, glazed ones, cinnamon and donut holes. These were so easy to make, so light and fluffy. Colourful and fun to make.

No wonder there is a variety of donuts in just about every cuisine in the world. They are quick to make, cheap and the kids will love decorating them.

We like our jam donuts with raspberry jam but you could fill them with custard, cream, lemon curd, Passionfruit butter, Nutella, ganache, salted caramel or even icecream. One thing is for sure you won't find a nicer or more simple recipe to make with perfect results every time. Check it out on our Cheekyricho YouTube channel. Stay tuned next week for our Gluten Free Version with our special guest chef. 

http://youtu.be/apohn175NeM 

Pad Thai Cheekyricho YouTube video recipe

A recent trip to the Asian Grocery store had me carrying bags of Asian specialty foods home. They are actually cheaper than the supermarket. Have an amazing variety, good specials and carry an enormous number of new and interesting foods in all different quantities. No reason to buy a big bag of spices if you only want a small amount but you can really experiment with all the different countries cuisines and ingredients. Australia is quite a young country in terms of food. With an English heritage much of our early cuisine was modelled on traditional English recipes. Multiculturalism has Brought an enormous diversity in foods readily available to suit any cuisine on the planet.  On any one food street in any major city you can visit just about every continent with a short walk even specialty restaurants catering for vegans, vegetarians, low carb, high protein, noodles, curries, seafood, steakhouse, sandwiches, burgers, cooked for you or cook yourself. It's great and you visit a different country every night if you want and never leave your neighbourhood. We are really enjoying Korean Food at the moment but you can't go past an old favourite of Pad Thai, this is our westernised version but we still think it's pretty yummy. I've tried Pad Thai in Thailand and it was delicious although there were a lot more noodles and the protein was pretty scarce. The sauces make it really yummy and although you can buy the ready made flavour base why not give our home made variety a try. You will be glad you did.

http://youtu.be/GmBxLDsqYxA

Chicken Cordon Bleu in the Flavorchef

Time for another Flavorchef recipe and here is the easiest Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe we have made yet. We used skinless boneless breast fillets with lean double smoked ham, Gouda cheese, Panko Breadcrumbs and served them with pan steamed snapping fresh asparagus spears, zucchini fritters and a lovely cold glass of Australian Dry White Wine. Gourmet dining at home,within a budget and you can enjoy a couple of glasses of wine without worrying about how to get home, you're already there.

The best thing about eating home cooked food is you know exactly what's in it. You can take advantage of seasonal fresh produce, it costs a fraction of the price of a restaurant  meal and the more you practice your cooking skills the better you get at it. We find that trying to find a restaraunt now a days that is reasonably priced with adequate sized portions and delicious meals is getting harder to find. More often than not you come home disappointed with the dining experience knowing full well you probably would've cooked it better yourself. I do occasionally come across a menu idea that I simply have to try at home and don't forget when you cook for yourself, you are preparing meals to your own personal taste. Not too salty, sweet, rich or spicy. You cook for taste not for profit and that combination has to be a winner.

Our Chicken Cordon Bleu is quite simple, looks impressive and the little bit of trouble you go to, to make it it is rewarded by its lovely fresh taste. The best quality oil, still crisp yet just cooked asparagus absorb some of the delicious meat juices and crunchy coated little sweet zucchini fritters served with airfryer fries. It's a match made in heaven, one of our viewers has suggested you could fill the breast with Brie, cranberry jelly and the ham for a delicious flavour alternative to the more traditional Cordon Bleu. That's a great tip Klara, thank you,  I will definitely give it a try next time. The possibilities are endless, pine nuts, ricotta and spinach, or pumpkin, walnuts and blue cheese, what about apricots and almonds with Camembert, even dates and cashew butter would be great. What do think would make a great filling?

Coconut Prawns

Moist tender sweet coconut prawns are so easy to make, gluten free, perfect finger food, a clever addition to your next seafood platter or just a great easy to prepare and serve seafood meal. We used Australian fresh Banana a Prawns but any fresh shrimp variety would do. 

We hope you give them a try. Check out our insanely simple video recipe on our Cheekyricho YouTube channel.

http://youtu.be/ebxTIfNJls8