Celebrating Derek's Heritage Part 1: Paternal Side

Yesterday, January 26, was Australia Day.  This is an important day that we celebrate every year because Bryan is half Australian.  His father (Derek’s Grandpa) was born and raised in Australia and Bryan still has family there.  Below is a link to more information on Australia Day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Day

Our original plan for dinner was to call Outback and order dinner.  Bryan would pick it up on the way home.  But, I was surprised with a snow day and schools were closed so I was able to stay home and plan a homemade dinner menu.  This meal was prepared together.  It was a fun experience to prepare our pieces of the meal in the kitchen while Derek played with his pots and pans.  It has been a long time since we have been able to do that.

Earlier in the day, I made Anzac Biscuits.  However, we decided to use chocolate chips and it made them very chocolatey.  I guess it’s a tradition with a twist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANZAC_biscuit

I also made cheese scones.  They were so easy to make!

We began with a Bloomin Onion  (Outback recipe) that Bryan made.

Next, we had our meal.  Bryan grilled steak and Shrimp on the Barbie (Outback recipe).  I made pureed carrots with ginger.

Since dinner was prepared later than our normal dinnertime, Derek had already eaten.  However, he wanted to sit with us so we gave him a plate with a shrimp, a spoonful of carrots, and a piece of scone.  He did not eat any of it.  I was not surprised because these are not things he generally prefers to eat.  He also did not like the Anzac Biscuit. 

Unfortunately, we did not get to celebrate with Derek’s Grandpa this year, but he was in our thoughts as we ate our meal.  We sent some Anzac Biscuits over to their house today.  It was great to celebrate Derek’s heritage on his paternal side of the family.  Within the next few weeks we plan to explore his maternal side of the family with a German meal.