Message Sticks.

"A message stickis a form of communication traditionally used by Indigenous Australians. It is usually a solid piece of wood, around 20–30cm in length, etched with angular lines and dots.

Traditionally, message sticks were passed between different clans and language groups to establish information and transmit messages. They were often used to invite neighbouring groups to corroborees, set-fights and ball games."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Message_stick

It seems my children have been sending me a rather bizarre message. When they don't eat the food I prepare for them, it is not necessarily the food itself, but the delivery of the food. I like spicy food, and until recently it hadn't been a problem. But then I realised it wasn't the taste of the food they were complaining about. To test my theory I turned uneaten chicken curry into curry chicken patties....and the little buggers ate it. So over the next few weeks, you are likely to be seeing a lot of patties, croquettes, balls, nuggets and sticks!

About a year ago, I went to a barbecue with a group of friends. Two foods stick in my mind from that barbecue - Chickpea Salad and Beef Korma. I grabbed the Chickpea Salad recipe from my friend, but never got the recipe for beef korma. Also, I only had turkey and lamb mince in the freezer, so I did it my way!

Lamb Korma Skewer Sticks:

700 grams lamb mince

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 cup finely chopped mint

1 teaspoon ground cummin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

0.5 teaspoons turmeric

Place the lot in a large bowl and squish until combined. Pop in the fridge for an hour. Use this time to soak your skewers if using bamboo ones, so they don't burn. With damp hands, form sausage shapes and skewer. Grill over medium heat on a griddle sprayed lightly with oil. Enjoy!

Ours were served with cos lettuce, cucumber and aioli.