Just a little background

My husband Tim and l left Melbourne 8 months ago in our van with no real plan, other than to head towards Margaret River. We chose Margaret River because of my passion for all things food and the hope that l could find work in a winery restaurant and learn more of the technical skills involved in cooking. Tim and l have had our own cafes in Melbourne and l have become quite a decent cook. My family think l'm good enough to be on any of the popular cooking shows going round. (l know l'm not), so when ever l whip up a meal in the van Tim is always setting up scenarios like "just imagine setting up a table on the beach for the judges and serving up a dish with our freshly caught squid or trevally, snapper or herring". Hence the reason l called the blog "My caravan rules".
So we arrived in Maggie (thats what us locals call it) in January and parked our van at Prevally Park which is 7 ks from town and about 300 metres from the beach. Both of us fell instantly in love with the place and the perfect weather, which stayed at  29 degrees for the first 3 months so whats not to love. Now that its winter and the "worm has turned" so to speak we find ourselves firmly entrenched here and with Tims home improvements we are incredibly cosy and ready to face the winter fronts that continually roll in. According to the locals they average 27 cold fronts each winter, apparantly a statistic that should really send us packing to the warmer climes of Broome.However we will prevail, after all we are from Melbourne. Stay tuned.
It didnt take us long to find work and l was lucky enough to be employed by the wonderful "chef Adrian" at Laurance winery. Better known for its "chick on a stick" statue looming above the lake on this beautiful property on the famous Caves Road. My role as kitchen hand is a perfect way for me to observe how a proper restaurant is run and Adrian is always keen to show me his techniques. Tim is equally as happy pulling beers at the local pub. So happy campers really.
Over the past few months l have been busy writing recipes and taking photos of the food l have been creating here in my van, using the amazing produce of the area, especially from the famous Margaret River farmers market and amazing local meat from McHenrys farm shop. But the best produce of all has been from  the ocean just 300 metres away. Our love for fishing has surprised us really and we are both equally obsessed with it. I'm sure our family in Melbourne think we are quite mad and often make comments to that effect when tell them what we're up to on facebook. So l thought other travellers might get a few useful tips from me about what basic things l use to make cooking while travelling easier and to my mind fun.
I consider myself Mrs. average who like many other women have a passion for food, so heres to the start of my blog on food and any other random thoughts (of which l have many).
Oh by the way my name is Tina and l hope you enjoy my travels.