Hamiltons Bluff

Christmas Panforte & memories of Siena

2011-11-28T13:41:00.001+11:00

It was so hot the day we arrived in Siena - one of those blistering Italian August days when only tourists and shopkeepers remain inland and all the Italians flee to Sardinia or some equally exotic coastal location.
To escape the heat, we left the sunny piazza with its pigeons and tourists and apricot tablecloths and headed down a cool, dark cobbled lane, sheltered by tall, thick walls of history. Down the lane and around a corner we discovered a little shop selling Panforte - Siena's traditional cake, heavy with nuts and spices, honey and chocolate. We ate panforte with espresso that day as we wrote postcards home.
Panforte has since become a Christmas staple in our household, but I have been known to make it all year round as it is a wonderful way to end a meal. It is also a great way to showcase our local produce - I use hazelnuts grown up the road in Orange and local honey, prunes and figs. My recipe is - as all the best recipes are - a concoction of a number of recipes. A little from an old Italian baking book, a pinch from Maggie Beer, and a nod to Mathew Evans.
It is important to get the "stickiness factor" correct when attempting panforte. The mixture will be very heavy and appear to need more liquid - but persevere and get it into your mould or pan as quickly as possible. The "showy" ingredients - the fruit, nuts and spices - can be played with according to taste. You may prefer almonds to hazelnuts, more ginger, less white pepper. I never use glace cherries because I despise them - but they have been known to appear in Panforte.

120 g grated dark couverture chocolate (70% cocoa)

100 g dark cocoa

1 cup honey (I use local Cabonne Country Iron Bark Honey)

250 g caster sugar

350 g hazelnuts ( I use Fourjay Farms hazelnut kernels from Orange)

200 g prunes (I use delicious Budgi Werri Breakfast Prunes made from dried D'Arges plums and grown on the South West Slopes of NSW)

100 g glace ginger (Not so local, but Australian, I use Buderim Ginger)

250g glace figs (I use dried figs from a local organic grower)

200 g mixed peel

250 g plain flour

1 teaspoon-ish each cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, allspice and white pepper

You can purchase the local ingredients mentioned above online at our local Regional Deli, a Canowindra-based business run by our good friends, Chris & Nerida Cuddy.

Preheat oven to 180 C (or 350 F). I usually make between 6 to 8 small panforte out of this mixture, using individual non-stick spring form pans about 11cm in diameter. But you could make one large panforte if you prefer - just be sure to leave it in the oven a little longer. Panforte is traditionally round, but I have seen rectangular versions.

Dissolve the honey and sugar together in a pan over a medium heat. Simmer for about 3 minutes. If you have a thermometer, you are aiming at 112 C for the syrup, or "soft ball" stage.

In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients and then stir in the syrup. Work quickly and use a bit of grunt.

When all is combined, press into your baking tin/s. Dampen your fingers with a little water to press the mixture in if it is too sticky. Cap with little rounds of baking paper to ensure the panforte doesn't burn and place in the oven. If making multiple smaller panforte, only cook for about 10 to15 minutes. One large panforte should cook for about 20 - 25 minutes at the most.

Allow it to cool before turning out. Panforte will keep for weeks. They make great Christmas gifts wrapped brown paper and string. Below is a quick YouTube video showing the traditional method of wrapping panforte. Not a word is spoken but the crackling of the paper is utterly mesmerising!

Pomegranate

2011-10-08T17:26:00.000+11:00

Meet Daniel Lambert...

Affectionately known to locals as "The Pom", Daniel arrived in Canowindra about two years ago with a backpack and a guitar. A talented muso - he had parted ways, who knows why, with a band that was destined for great things and found himself in Canowindra with no idea what he wanted to do with his life. He got a job cooking in a local guesthouse, started to make friends, and bought himself a cat called Sophie (otherwise known as "Dan Lambert's Cat" - which has a wonderful book title ring to it, don't you think?) Like many creative souls, Daniel loves food, so he enrolled in TAFE and learnt the restaurant trade, gaining experience and paying his way by cooking in a local pub between classes.
Last night - Friday 7th October 2011 - Daniel opened his very own restaurant - Pomegranate - in the dining room of The Royal Hotel. We all hoped it would be good - for Daniel's sake we wanted it to be a success - but what we experienced last night was beyond good - it was bloody fantastic.

The restaurant looks great, thanks to the styling magic of Kate Barclay from the Bendy Street Emporium, local artists V-Ananda Ma and David Isbester, local foodie Katie Kelly and a tribe of friends who were ironing linen tablecloths and sewing cushions up until the doors opened last night. But it was Daniel's food that stole the show. Here is the menu;

Entree
Twice cooked pork belly with blood orange & fennel salad
Grilled quail with green papaya salad & roasted rice
Confit of lamb with parsnip puree & labne
Main
Swordfish with chermoula & boulangere potatoes
Crispy fried duck breast with chilli & apple relish and sweet & sour cabbage
Porterhouse steak with pomegranate & red wine jus, baby veg and paris mash
Dessert
Date and tamarind pudding & butterscotch sauce with black sesame ice cream
Chocolate torte with pine nuts & pomegranate
Rosewater panna cotta with raspberry syrup & pistachio praline

If this is Daniel's starting point, with no start-up capital and limited experience, I can only imagine how far he will go. But for now, he is here with us in Canowindra - and we are going to make the most of it! Call 0458 322 495 to make a booking. Pomegranate is open on Friday and Saturday nights.

Warm spiced Sangiovese with hazelnut biscotti and candied citrus

2011-06-08T16:10:00.018+10:00

Dolce Nero barrels in the cellar door. Photo by Di Smith

It's freezing outside - snow is falling in nearby Orange - but its warm and cosy inside the cellar door. We will be open this June Queen's Birthday Long Weekend (Saturday 11th, Sunday 12th and Monday 13th from 10am - 4pm) for wine tasting and sales. To warm you from the inside out, we will be serving delicious warm spiced Sangiovese with homemade hazelnut biscotti and candied citrus. If you're rugged up, you're welcome to take a stroll around the winter vineyard or even try your hand at a game of boules on the lawn - or just sit inside and enjoy the view with a glass of wine. Call 02-63442670 or email me at juliabluff@bigpond.com for more information or group bookings.

One Hundred Miles of F.O.O.D.

2011-04-11T09:15:00.018+10:00

Pinch me. I must be dreaming. Here, in the heart of regional NSW, the land of kelpies and white Toyota utes, I find myself in a scene similar to one I once stumbled upon (literally) down a midnight alley in Rome – family, friends, eating, drinking, dancing, laughing, under strings of festoon lights.

I’m in Canowindra for the annual 100 Mile Dinner – a highlight of the very popular Orange F.O.O.D Week festival held every April. Long communal tables are set for 340 guests, running the length of Canowindra’s historic crooked main street. Diners are bussed in 56 kilometres from Orange for this event, and tickets sell out on day one. Brightly coloured lanterns zigzag over head against a starry autumn night sky. The scene is quite delightful.

This year, F.O.O.D (Food of the Orange District) is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Over the past two decades it has become one of Australia’s most successful and authentic regional food events, never losing sight of its core philosophy to promote and support regional produce and producers, and in so doing, support the local economy and regional tourism. Considering the International Slow Food movement was founded only three years earlier in 1989, Orange’s F.O.O.D group could justifiably be described as a pioneer of the modern regional food movement in Australia.

The degustation100 Mile dinner represents the very best Central NSW produce prepared by the best Central NSW chefs and cooks. It takes its name from an experiment in local eating which turned into a best selling book called “The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating” by Canadians Alisa Smith and JB Mackinnon, published in 2005.

One hundred miles is roughly 160 kilometres – but the “160km Dinner” just doesn’t have the same ring. The 100 Mile Diet’s motto is “Local Eating for Global Change” – it’s all about food miles, carbon footprints, how far food travels from paddock to plate and supporting local farmers.

Edwena Mitchell is a member of the F.O.O.D Executive Committee and the co-ordinator of the 100 Mile Dinner in Canowindra. She is also a cook and caterer of formidable reputation. A typical no-nonsense country woman, Edwena runs her own successful catering business, is on every committee under the sun, works the family farm and shuttles children from one sporting event to the next. I asked Edwena if the 100 Mile concept – eating seasonally and regionally and supporting local economies – could ultimately save the world?

“Not all at once!” she laughs. “But it is the trickle down effect – you have to start somewhere!”

At face value the 100 Mile dinner is an excellent tourism and promotional event for regional food and wine. But beneath the fun and frivolity lies a serious and worthy cause. Edwina says it’s all about sustainability and conservation .

“Many farmers and producers would laugh at being called conservationists, but in reality we all are,” she says. “Around our area, after eight years of drought, conserving moisture and pasture and still managing to produce was the only way to scrape an income. And then there are “food miles” to consider. Why are we importing apples and other vegetables from China when we produce our own?”

But for one night at least, economic and political pressures are swept to one side as people enjoy all that is good and delicious about fresh, seasonal, local food.

Braised duck with kipfler potatoes and beetroot relish from Lindl Taylor and Josie Chapman in Orange is simply mouth-watering.

I want to go back for seconds, but there are other things to try. Bathurst lays on a fantastic slow braised venison osso bucco with baby carrots, Tuscan kale, Dutch cream potatoes and gremolata. Canowindra cooks bring it home with an incredible dessert of organic honey panna cotta with poached organic figs and hazelnut bread. What makes the menu special, is that almost all of the produce has been sourced from within the region. Think of Orange as ground zero and the region radiating out over 160 kilometres. The pork came from Trunkey Creek Pork near Blayney, the duck from Dutton Park Ducks in Young, and the goat from Meadows Prime Chevon in Lyndhurst. Fruit, vegetables, cheeses, nuts, honey, oil, bread and wines are all sourced locally too.

Close to midnight, a conga-line appears out of nowhere and I am swept away.

A middle aged man, who looks like he should know better, grabs me by the waist and laughs “Let’s Conga!” Not usually a team player, I surprise myself and join in the festivities. A group of local musicians are playing on the sidewalk in front of the old bank building. It’s cold, but no-one seems to notice. There is a real atmosphere of carnivale.

Then, as quickly as it began, it’s over. Like a flash mob, one minute people of all shapes and sizes are dancing and laughing in the street, the next they have picked up their belongings, boarded a bus and are gone.

By midnight the hard working committee and local volunteers are stacking tables and sweeping the street. Like Cinderella, Canowindra has turned back into its normal, reliable, unadorned yet lovely self. The ball is over. By 8am the following morning it’s business as usual. A young bloke in a big hat parks his hotted-up ute and races in to the bakery for a pie, the local publican receives kegs from the daily beer truck, and the shop owners of Canowindra open their doors for another day.

If you want a seat at next year's 100 Mile Dinner (April 16th 2012), be ready to purchase tickets in early March 2012 at www.orangefoodweek.com.au

The sweet smells of life

2011-02-15T14:33:00.000+11:00

Today, the children and I experienced the pure olfactory exhilaration of a face full of tree ripened nectarine perfume.
Unimpressed by hard, odorless, tasteless supermarket fruit, neither Angus nor Ella were too keen to try another nectarine. Until today, when they picked their own sweet ripe fruit from the very tree they planted just eighteen months ago.

We were not expecting fruit so soon, but our little nectarine tree graced us with twelve perfect nectarines this year. The Satsuma plum also produced some fruit. We can't wait until next year's crop.

Of all the senses, I think smell is the one I would most hate to lose. A big call, I know. I can't say I would be too keen to give up sight or hearing either. But to go through life without the dimension of smell and taste would be bland indeed.

The nectarines got me thinking about my favourite smells. Apart from the obvious - baking bread, freshly ground coffee and garlic frying in butter - here are some of my sweetest;

                              wood smoke
                                                      musty fallen autumn leaves
Japanese incense

      sugar cane (from a childhood spent in Queensland)

                                            jonquils

                        Eau de Givenchy (my first French perfume!)

    kerosene (from a little kerosene heater that
    kept me warm through a Japanese winter)

                                                                  crisp misty mornings

the sweet, sticky grape juice left on
clothing after a night of harvesting

                              lemon zest freshly zested

                                                 that first whiff of the ocean

        crushed kaffir lime leaves
                                                     Eucalyptus forest floors

aged red wine

And yours? Post a comment, share your favourite memory smells.

The home shed and the garden - an update

2011-02-02T10:11:00.000+11:00

OK, so it's not a stone farmhouse in Tuscany, but our shed has proven quite a fine place to live over the past year. I do have a few complaints - the damn dust for one. With the road next to the vineyard unsealed, clouds of red dust roll over us whenever a car goes by. But not too many cars do go by. And one misty morning a herd of cattle moo-ed by and we sat outside with our cups of tea watching the quintessentially Australian scene being played out in our own front yard.

We could get the road sealed, it would certainly cut down the dust. And it would be easier on my poor old Honda.

But we don't want to live on a sealed road, it's so much more interesting with it's rocks and dust and pot holes and kangaroo tracks.

There are plans afoot to renovate the shed. At the moment our bedrooms are upstairs and the bathroom/laundry and kitchen/living areas are downstairs. The middle of the shed (see the roller doors in the photograph) is still a working shed full of farm "stuff" and the other side is the Cellar Door, which we open for wine tasting and sales every weekend. We have decided there is no point building another house on the property, we will just take over the shed and make it a home. After all, the electrics and plumbing are all in place, so why start from scratch?

The Garden.
This spring we established a garden.It was pretty tough going to begin with. The ground around the shed had been severely compacted over years as a drive way and parking area for tractors, trucks and harvesters. We tried to rip the ground buy barely broke the surface, so instead we layered gypsum to break the clay, a few ute loads of compost from a landscape supplier and a truck load of extra river sand and earth to build up levels. The entire area was then covered in a thick layer of mulch. If we keep adding compost, the soil will improve over the next few years. Mulching is absolutely essential for successful gardening in dry Australia. Well, mostly dry. As luck would have it we just experienced our wettest summer in decades, so many of our young drought hardy plants have turned up their toes in the water logged clay ground. I will replant as soon as the weather cools down.

I want the garden to be a shady haven in our long hot summers. I like controlled chaos in a garden - no neat borders, box hedges or boring roses on sticks. I prefer a garden to be full, over-grown, edging on wild. Mostly green with splashes of colour here and there. I like trees to grow in unusual forms with limbs overhanging paths or bent into bonsai-like shapes.

Not for me those perfectly formed straight trunked trees sold in nurseries. The botanical equivalent of "little boxes on the hillside".

I've learnt over the past ten years what grows best out here in central NSW. Favourite plants, often repeated or planted en masse, include rosemary, pennisetum rubrum, Russian sage, silver wormwood, sedum, seaside daisy, artichoke and lavender (French or English, not Spanish -too prissy.) Many of these plants can be divided and propagated at home, saving lots of money on landscaping. Australian natives such as emu bush, wattles and hakea also feature.

For shade, we have planted a fast growing White Cedar (also known as Persian Lilac), a Chinese Pistachio, a Japanese flowering plum, a crab apple, an ash and a black mulberry. And I could never have a garden without herbs. Instant gratification and useful as well, we scatter herbs throughout the garden in a roughly permacultural kind of way. We have thyme, sage, rosemary, flat leaf parsley, lemongrass, lemon verbena, bay, chives, dill, basil, rocket, garlic and mint. I have given up on coriander as it always bolts to seed.

Last night, half the ingredients that made up our dinner came from our garden. Home made pasta using our own eggs, our own garlic, tomatoes, basil and sage. How much better life is with a garden!

A long, slow summer of dam swims, good friends and yabbying

2011-01-25T15:07:00.003+11:00

After our uncharacteristically wet spring and summer, the dam in the vineyard is full and has been the centre of summer entertaining. The brown, earthy, cool dam water is heavenly when temperatures hit the high 30s (that's around 100 F for all of you on the other side of the planet). As I write, we are expecting temps of around 40 C (or 104 F) tomorrow. Yikes!

The other thing we love about the dam is that it provides us with yabbies. Yabbies (known by the fabulous scientific name Cherax destructor) are basically freshwater crayfish, found in rivers and dams throughout Australia. They are tough survivors, burrowing deep into the bottom or sides of dams and rivers during periods of drought until they find moist soil. Yabbies can survive for years underground. Yabby meat is quite sweet and has been eaten by aboriginal people for thousands of years. The remains of yabby shells have been found in ancient aboriginal riverside middens dating back 28,000 years.

Yabbying is an Australian tradition - up there with icy cold beer and Christmas at the beach. All you need is a small piece of meat (the stinkier the better), a long piece of string, a degree of patience and low expectations. We took some dear friends from Canada and Sydney on a traditional yabbying expedition on a hot day in December. We had no luck with the old meat-and-string method (possibly not helped by me throwing myself into the cool water to escape the ridiculous heat - enough to make any yabby run for cover), so we set an "opera house" trap overnight. (Note; it is illegal to use opera nets in rivers, but OK in a small private dam). The following morning, our hard work and patience was rewarded with one, solitary, unamused yabby.

Our not-so-bountiful yabby catch - lived to see another day.

My hopes of a yabby feast dashed, we threw some sausages on the BBQ for lunch that day. But here is what I had intended to do with the yabbies;

Fresh yabbies with tomatoes, capers, fennel & chunky garlic croutons
This recipe is inspired by the books and recipes of Australian cook extraordinaire and regional food champion, Maggie Beer, with a nod to Jamie Oliver too. I can recommend "Maggie's Orchard" (published in 1997 by Viking Press) and the beautifully photographed "Maggie's Table" (2001, Viking Press) for information and recipes on yabbies..and all of her books for any lover of good food!

First, prepare the yabbies for the worst;
Stun the yabbies by putting them into the freezer for half an hour. Best they are unaware of what is about to happen to them. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and throw yabbies in straight from the freezer. Cook for about 5 minutes, drain and, when cool enough to handle, peel the yabbies and remove the yucky bits.
Now, make the salad:
Throw into a bowl chopped tomato wedges, finely sliced red onion, a tablespoon or so of chopped capers, finely sliced fennel, grated lemon rind, lemon juice (tarragon vinegar is good too), extra virgin olive oil, basil leaves, salt and pepper. Toss well. If possible, let the salad stand for a little while to allow the juices to marinate the flavours together. This salad will be a bit like an Italian panzanella - salty, zingy, fresh, flavoursom.

And finally, the chunky crutons;
Take a loaf of good, solid bread such as Italian ciabatta and tear it into bite sized pieces. Spread over a baking tray, slop generously with olive oil and add one or two cloves of crushed garlic, salt & pepper. Toss well and bake in a moderate oven for about 5 - 10 minutes until crispy and golden.

Now toss the bread, salad and yabbies all together and serve in a generous bowl with a cold beer or a Canowindra chardonnay.

YUM!
Post script; Timmy the cat was found caught in the yabby net the day after yabbying, having climbed inside to get to the bait. He waited patiently all night to be let out and was not amused by our laughter or the fact that we left him in there for a few extra minutes while we rushed off to find the camera.

Just take the damn picture and get me out of here.

Postcards from Canowindra

2010-11-22T12:27:00.001+11:00

The beautiful spring weather inspired me to take a wander through town over the weekend and take a few snap-shots of local life for you. Spring is a busy time in the bush - wool is being sent to market and hay is being made while the sun shines. Farmers are worried about too much rain over the next few weeks which has the potential to ruin wheat crops, and locusts remain a threat. But spirits remain high since the drought broke - the local pool has re-opened for the summer season and orders are being placed at the local butcher for Christmas hams. Life is good in the country.

Lady and dog, strolling down the main street.

Wool ready for market.

"Looks like more rain coming."

Finns Old Store in the main street - recently re-opened as a gift shop/cafe.

Original stained glass windows of the Garden of Roses Cafe
- the place to go for a hamburger "with the lot".

Pasta with Sage & Nut Brown Butter

2010-11-18T21:17:00.000+11:00

The past few weeks of warm weather and rainy days followed by sunny days has seen my
sage triple in size. Its purple flowers are lovely but it's the pungent leaves I covet!

For an easy meal, simply allow a generous knob of unsalted butter (I used about 125g here) to froth and just start to brown. Add fresh sage leaves and fry for just a minute until they begin to crisp. Tonight I also tossed in a few capers and roughly chopped flat leaf parsley for good measure. Good salt and ground pepper is a must. Other possible additions are garlic and/or pine nuts. It all comes together in minutes. Don't burn the butter - you want nut brown.

Ta da! So easy - throw it all together with a bit of Parmesan on top and serve with a green salad. Tonight's lettuce is from our own garden - I feel so smug! We matched it with a local wine - a 2010 Angullong Sauvignon Blanc from just up the road in Orange, NSW. Great family dinner outside as the sun set over the vineyard and the chooks scratched around the garden. We love (almost) summer nights!

Sweet success - our Dolce Nero starts to make an impression!

2010-11-02T11:29:00.005+11:00

Here I am, slaving away, pouring tastings of our wines at the
Canowindra Twilight Markets. I prepared little espresso cups of
dark chocolate and cardamom mousse to go with the Dolce Nero.

Our Sangiovese dessert wine "Dolce Nero" is gaining a few fans. This morning we received an order from Stuart Knox of Fix St James Wine Bistro fame in Sydney. Stuart was just listed as a "sommelier to watch" by Max Allen in The Weekend Australian. He is a great supporter of Australian boutique wines. He tweeted, and I quote;

"Loved the Dolce Nero. Really unique and very flexible with food matching. I've got a crazy idea to try. Can you send me 12 to pour?"

Yah! We love new orders!

Here is a description of the Dolce Nero from Australian Wine Communicator of the Year (2010) Peter Bourne;

"This lush and plush passito-style dessert red has a rich, concentrated grapey bouquet of marinated prunes and liquorice allsorts. The palate is equally luxuriant though its Sangiovese heritage remains clearly defined...Perfect with Corella pears marinated in red wine and served with Italian-style rice pudding or a slither of classic Gorgonzola dolce."

Sounds delicious doesn't it? You can read more about our Dolce Nero in my Nov '09 post...

The magic of a "free range" country childhood.

2010-10-27T12:06:00.001+11:00

About 500 metres up the dirt lane running alongside our vineyard, you'll find a small outcrop of wild acacia trees (golden wattle) growing on the side of the road. The trees are gnarled and light on foliage - a consequence of ten years of drought. A small man-made gully runs through the trees to direct water on the rare occasion it does rain. The ground is rough and rocky - the odd sheep's skull and old tyre lies tossed among the stinging nettle and other weeds.
It's nothing special, but to our children and their friends, this is a magical place known as "The Village". The gully has been christened "Creek Angus" by Angus the Autocrat, much to Ella's displeasure. (I fear revolution is unavoidable!) This is their land. It is a place they come and play without adults hovering over them, directing them, scolding them, cramping their style. Over the past twelve months they have created individual houses decorated with weeds, rocks and bones. They have developed infrastructure - pathways, a town square and even a dog kennel for Max. Many picnic lunches have been packed and taken up to The Village, along with work tools and additional building materials such as off-cuts of wood, empty plastic bottles, rope and cardboard boxes. Angus has a pen knife which he has been taught to use responsibly.

It's The Secret Seven meets Lord of the Flies

The children have been known to play up at The Village for hours only to come home at dusk. Just like my suburban childhood in the 70s - "come home when it gets dark", my mother used to say. These days only "irresponsible parents" would let a child "roam the streets" all day. It's a wonder children today have any skills at all by the time they leave home! Perhaps they don't?
Some over-protective parents may not like the idea of children playing, out of sight, in an outcrop of trees on the side of a road. There is potential for danger. The road is hardly used - but it only takes one farmer whizzing by in his ute, not expecting a child to jump out from the bushes, for tragedy to occur. On the other hand, it would be a tragedy of another kind if the children did not have this incredible place in which adventures are had, skills are forged and lifelong memories made.
So we have put a few rules and safety measures in place. Firstly, a few bikes are left in clear sight by the side of the road so that anyone in a car or ute will know there are children about. Secondly, no young children without road sense are allowed up to The Village. And thirdly, no running out from the trees on to the road under any circumstances. Just because only one car goes past a day is no need to become complacent about road rules. The children are keenly aware that if anyone is caught breaking the rules or being silly near the road, they will all suffer the consequences and no-one will be allowed to play in The Village - so they self monitor.
I still worry, and take the occasional stroll up to The Village to keep an eye on them (much to their annoyance). But we have made the decision that The Village is an experience to cherish. We are very lucky - we can do this living in the country. We can safely give our children more freedom than we could (or would) if we lived in the city. But perhaps we need to find ways to give our city children more scope and independence as well?
I love New Yorker Lenore Skenazy's blog (and book) http://www.freerangekids.wordpress.com/ - "how to raise safe, self-reliant children..without going nuts with worry!"

The 109th Annual Canowindra Pastoral, Agricultural and Horticultural Show (please be sure to snip your raisins)

2010-09-27T09:07:00.002+10:00

Another Canowindra Show has come and gone in a frenzy of wool, wheat and preserves. The Agricultural Show is a tradition held in just about every country town in Australia, no matter how small the population. The Royal Easter Show in Sydney is a huge event every April, but its regional equivalent is played out across thousands of rural communities every year.

I wasn't allowed into the Preserves and Home Mades pavilion
with my camera while judging was taking place.
I'm not sure what they thought I might do with the images.

The Canowindra Show is traditionally held over a two day period taking in the 4th Saturday in September when the spring countryside is at its most glorious. The 100 page Show program is published about a month before, ensuring ample time to co-ordinate entries and exhibits. For the farmers, competition sections include Stud Beef Cattle, Merino Stud Sheep, Dairy Goats, Wool, and Working Dogs. For the "Ladies", competition sections include Dairy, Fruit and Garden Produce, Home Mades, Preserves, Needlework, Decorative Flowers and Craft Work. And then there is the hotly contested "Rich Fruit Cake Competition" - the winner of which must be prepared to bake a second cake for the state semi-finals and may go on to the Royal Easter Show in Sydney! This section includes a time-honoured recipe which must be followed to the letter. The following hint is included in the program;

"To insure uniformity, and depending on size, it is suggested the raisins be snipped into 2 or 3 pieces, cherries 4-6 pieces, and almonds cross ways to 3 or 4 pieces."

The Preserves section includes 32 categories from Peach Jam to Cucumber Relish. Entry fee is 30c (capped at $3) and first prize $2.

Every year my children enter works in the Junior Art section - usually Lego creations and drawings. They also like the "Animal made from vegetables or fruit" category - although I am pretty sure last year's winning eggplant penguin was not made by three year old Geoffry!

Friday night is feral night - the night we have to tackle the side show. The kids love it - the lights, the noise, the Dagwood Dogs and undercooked hot chips with chicken salt. The plastic toy guns and jewelery worth 5c that cost us a dirty $5 ball throw. The "colourful" carnies selling Elvis clocks and whirlie-gigs. At 8pm, after the polo cross and harness racing, fireworks light up the night sky.

Wool ready for judging

Bringing in the sheep

At 9am on Saturday the ring events begin. Cattle and sheep are judged, working dogs are put through their tricks and the vintage tractor pull wows the gathered crowd. Ironically, the "Official Opening of Show" is held at 2pm on Saturday, just before it ends. But the best is saved till last - the Sashing of the Showgirl, the Grand Parade and the Stockman's Challenge.

By 3.30pm on the fourth Saturday in September the Canowindra Show is over for another year - exhibits are collected, the carnies fold up their monster machines and the good people of Canowindra go back to their simple, normal lives where fruit cakes can be made with whole fruit pieces and eggs are misshapen and speckled.

Our first eggs!

2010-09-13T17:39:00.000+10:00

The day we have eagerly awaited has finally arrived. Some time in the early hours of this morning, two of our clever chooks did, for the first time in their young lives, what they were born to do - laid two brown, slightly speckled eggs. I can't help but wonder how much of a shock it must have been - at least our various bodily functions are explained to us in excruciating detail for years before we are confronted with them. Perhaps I should have better prepared them in some way? Life education for domestic chooks.

I feel strangely smug about it all - as though I have done something terribly clever. Billions of chickens lay billions of eggs every day (although, sadly, usually not in such comfortable digs) and yet I feel as though something truly amazing has happened. It's a good feeling knowing you can produce food to feed your family - although I'm not sure how far two small eggs will go tonight. But I am sure it won't be long before we have so many eggs we will be giving them away - how nice that will be. Thank you clever chickens!

Cannellini Bean, Chorizo & Tuscan Kale Stew

2010-09-07T20:39:00.002+10:00

Dinner ingredients last night include Tuscan kale straight from the garden.

The Tuscan kale seed I sowed in April is now providing an endless supply of gorgeous healthy greens for the kitchen. The children are stoic - their natural inclination being to screw up their faces at the prospect of kale at every meal. But I think they may be coming around to this packed-with-goodness super food - especially served this way. This stew is full of flavour and reminds me of a thicker, stewier version of minestrone.

Rough ingredients
2 leeks or an onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 celery stick, finely chopped
2 or 3 chorizo sausages, sliced
3 tomatoes, roughly chopped - or a can
one large potato, washed, peeled and cubed
olive oil
a flourish of paprika
500ml chicken or vegetable stock
couple of tablespoons of tomato paste
a can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
a lovely bunch of kale, finely sliced - or spinach or silverbeet.
fresh Parmesan to top

Rough method
Basically, create a soffritto of the leek, carrot and celery, sauteeing them until soft in the olive oil. Add the garlic a few minutes later to ensure it doesn't burn (nothing worse than bitter burnt garlic!) I can't tell you how many dishes I begin with this classic flavour-building starter of onion, carrot and celery sauteed in olive oil. Apparently, the Italian word "soffritto" comes from "soffriggere" - meaning to cook at a temperature just below frying. The French have their version too, called "mirepoix", the only difference being the French tend to use butter instead of olive oil.
Now, back to the pot. Add the chorizo and let it cook off and release it's lovely oil and flavour for a few minutes before adding the remaining ingredients - tomatoes, stock, tomato paste, potato, beans and kale. Let it all simmer for half an hour or so, or until the potato is cooked through. Season and serve with Parmesan sprinkled on top - and perhaps a bit of finely chopped flat leaf parsley (also a staple in my garden). I like to serve crusty white bread with this stew - great for mopping up the sauce. Naturally, this is a dish just made for Sangiovese, but last night we enjoyed it with a big oak aged Durif.

Cannellini bean, chorizo and Tuscan kale stew with
crusty bread to soak up the juices.

Canowindra - an artist's perspective

2010-09-04T22:42:00.003+10:00

Our friend and local artist, David Isbester, manages to capture the heart and soul of this little country town in his wonderful, tonal paintings. David exhibits his works - and those of many other regional artists - in his gallery, RiverBank, in the main street of Canowindra.Click on this link for a quick slide show of his works - it's worth it.

Be present. - Canowindra, NSW, Australia, 2804 - Artpost Slideshow

PS - I have mentioned David previously in this blog.To view some more of his works, including landscapes, go to my post from March 2.

Best season in 25 years!

2010-08-31T14:08:00.000+10:00

Life. A spring blossom emerges from a branch of a gnarled old road-side tree.

I have lived in regional NSW for almost fifteen years and I have never seen it look so lush and alive. Sure, we get a flush of beautiful green spring growth every year, but the drought ensured it was always only skin deep. But this lush is the lush of deep and meaningful rains. I was speaking to a farmer from Forbes last week who said he thought this was going to be "the best season in 25 years". The knock-on effect of such optimism is felt throughout the community. From small business owners to broad acre farmers, people are looking forward to being able to pay off some of the debts accrued over the past ten years and hopefully make a bit of money this year.

Canola crops on the road between Canowindra and Cowra.

Canola is a harbinger of spring out here. Many people hate it's strange, cloying scent, but I like it. When I first moved out here I thought I had left an old stale packet of salt and vinegar chips somewhere in my car until I realised it was the canola I could smell. It's a controversial crop - to GM or not to GM - but it is also an incredibly beautiful crop.

Eucalyptus blossom

Everything is in blossom. First to bloom every year, the delicate white almond blossom put on a show last week and this week the gaudy pink plum blossom is taking centre stage. The native flora is on show as well - eucalyptus blossoms always remind me of that great Australian children's classic Snugglepot & Cuddlepie, and the wattle is almost brighter than the canola, if that is possible.

The dirt lane looking down to the vineyard, taken yesterday.

Royal in the Afternoon: The three D's - Live at the Royal

2010-08-23T15:43:00.002+10:00

Jamie and and old friend from university, wisely or unwisely, bought one of the old pubs in town a few years ago. Unfortunately, Canowindra is a town of 2,000 people with three pubs and three clubs, so our market is a little thinly spread to say the least. However, The Royal is indisputably the best pub in town, attracting some amazing characters from far and wide to sit around the informal circular bar and have a yarn over a cold beer.

For a taste of a classic Aussie country pub on a lazy afternoon with a bit of live music thrown in, click on to Jamie's link here: Royal in the Afternoon: The three D's - Live at the Royal

Cornflake biscuits and choc chip sprinkle cup-cakes

2010-08-22T14:31:00.001+10:00

A lazy Sunday afternoon - just what the doctor ordered! Ella and I have spent the afternoon baking school lunch box treats - crunchy cornflake biscuits and Ella's own choc-chip sprinkle cupcakes. Quality time.

Cornflake Biscuits
125g soft butter
1/2 cup castor sugar
1 egg
a few drops vanilla essence
1 cup self raising flour
2 cups cornflakes
a handful each of sultanas and choc chips

Cream the butter, sugar & vanilla essence, then add the egg slowly. Mix in flour, cornflakes, sultanas and choc chips. Place generous teaspoon sized dobs of mixture on a tray lined with baking paper, and bake for 10 - 15mins at 190 degrees C. Makes about 22 biscuits.

Ella's choc chip sprinkle cup cakes

125g softened butter

3/4 cup castor sugar

a drop vanilla essence
2 eggs
2 cups self raising flour
3/4 cups milk
3/4 cup choc chips

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla, then add eggs, one at a time. Add flour, milk and choc chips. Spoon mixture into patty pans and bake for 15 minutes at 190 degrees C. Makes 12 - 20 cupcakes, depending on patty pan size. For the icing, cream 1/2 cup of icing sugar with 50g butter, a drop of milk and vanilla essence (just add a tablespoon of cocoa for chocolate icing). Wait until cup cakes have completely cooled before icing. Sprinkle with sprinkles before the icing sets.

Chook house pride

2010-08-19T11:52:00.008+10:00

You will notice corrugated iron was used in the
construction the chook house - just not the corrugated
iron I salvaged from the school dumpster!

Hallelujah! The chooks are finally housed. Many, many weeks after purchasing our six Isa brown pullets, Jamie has completed the construction of their new, permanent, fox proof, movable-by-tractor home. Silly me thought it would take next to no time or money to build a simple chook house. I am a child of middle class suburbia. My step-father could proudly make anything mum needed for the house or garden out of things salvaged from a Sunday morning family outing to the local tip. Jamie, on the other hand, is the child of an architect of considerable note, and the mere suggestion that something could be "bunged up" in an afternoon out of old bits and pieces with no consideration of design or detail is repugnant to him. Of course, I knew this about Jamie, but it did not stop me enthusiastically raiding a dumpster outside the children's school, under the cover of darkness, to take possession of a number of sheets of perfectly good corrugated iron used in the construction of the new school hall (my bit to ensure minimal wastage during the Australian Government's controversial Building the Education Revolution). Jamie was not impressed and the corrugated iron was added to our pile of farmyard-junk-which-might-be-useful-one-day. And here is precisely where I take issue - Jamie is a terrible hoarder. We have so much "don't throw that out it might be useful one day" stuff taking up space I am frightened of becoming like one of those overweight Americans trapped in their own home. I would have thought that old corrugated iron, wire, star pickets, pieces of wood and pipe etc have only one possible purpose on the planet - that being to go into the construction of a wonky backyard chook-house. Left to me, I would have happily dodgied up a simple lean-to with a few sheets of rusty corrugate and a bit of twine fashioned from wheat stalks.

Angus made the stairs

But it's just as well it wasn't left to me. Despite the inordinate degree of time and frustration that went into the project, we now have a pretty clever chook house. Designed to be moved around the vineyard onto fresh, green pastures every few weeks (with the aid of the tractor), and made fox proof by securing 20cm wide chicken wire around the perimeter, (foxes will dig down but not tunnel far under), our new chook house, I must admit, is uber-cool enviro-chic, and no doubt the envy of chooks throughout the district. Features include a nifty back flap to allow for easy-cleaning of nesting boxes and collection of eggs and a cooling vent in the roof which can be closed in inclement weather.

As it turns out, Jamie's chook-house has cost us a reasonable amount of money in steel, wire and plywood. Add to that the cost of chicken feed (ironically, not "chicken-feed") and it would probably have been cheaper to buy eggs at the supermarket. However, given the appalling conditions of commercial egg laying chickens in this country, including those described as "barn laid", we think the only ethical thing to do is produce your own eggs if it is at all possible.

So, although not a financial success in the short term, our chickens are most certainly - if I remember to feed them - an ethical triumph. If all goes to plan our six brown chooks will be supplying the family with healthy, organic, cruelty free eggs by mid spring. In fact, it looks like I may have over estimated the number of chickens needed to feed a family of four, so I will be all bountiful benevolence, with baskets of fresh eggs available in the cellar door and frittatas and quiches aplenty.

An evening of "real food"

2010-08-06T19:05:00.000+10:00

My mother in-law, who is a fantastic cook, commented this morning that if she could have only one cook book she would probably choose Matthew Evans' "The Real Food Companion". Today, I am basking in the after-glow of an intimate dinner for 75 with the Gourmet Farmer himself. Held last night at the wonderful Old Convent in Borenore, the dinner was part of Orange's annual Frost Fest. Matthew Evans is a former food critic for The Sydney Morning Herald who saw the light and moved to Cygnet in Tasmania to live a "real" life, grow his own organic produce, milk his own cows and eat his own animals. The entire move was documented in a great series called the Gourmet Farmer shown on SBS here in Australia.

Last night's meal - featuring recipes from The Real Food Companion - was prepared by one of my favourite chef's in the region, Josie Chapman. It began with a simple wooden bread-board offering fresh Labna (yoghurt curd cheese), creamy, nutty hummus, wild olives and fresh bread, moved on to melt-in-your-mouth lamb shoulder braised with tomato and green olives (and served in rustic terracotta dishes by a local potter) and ended with "ye olde appley cakey" served with an old fashioned cornflour custard and hand made treacle ice cream. Wines were by local wine maker and former Australian Wine Maker of the Year, Philip Shaw. The atmosphere was magical - long communal tables set up in the old chapel, candle light reflecting sparkles onto the rough walls from an incongruous but delightful mirror ball suspended from the vaulted ceiling, a fire blazing, and the whisper of almost-snow outside. Conversation was loud, opinionated and entertaining - just as Julia Child would have liked it!

Matthew was on hand to talk about his philosophy on food - that it should be as organic, fresh, cruelty-free, seasonal and local as possible. He spoke about the "standardisation" of milk - that the milk we think of as pure and fresh has not only been homogenised and pasteurised, but it has also been put through an "ultra-filtration" process which pulls the milk apart into its various components before putting it back together again as...well... milk. He spoke about the irony of creating products such as mass produced cheeses that are so lacking in nutritional value that even bacteria cannot survive on them! He also spoke of the joys and frustrations of rearing his own animals on the farm in Tasmania. Turkeys, he said, were horrible animals to deal with, but "so good dead!". With apologies vegetarians, I think that would make a great title for his next book - "So Good Dead".

So, with my new copy of Matthew's book in hand, I am preparing a simple Lamb Shank and Pearl Barley Soup for dinner, served with fresh bread from Racine (Friday is bread day!). I also have a muslin lined sieve in the sink draining the whey from 1kg of full fat Greek-style yoghurt as I attempt to recreate his wonderful tangy Labna. I love having a new food hero!

http://www.oldconvent.com.au/

http://www.tasteorange.com.au/

Thank you Mr Halliday

2010-08-02T23:25:00.000+10:00

We were pretty nervous this week awaiting the publication of the 2011 James Halliday Australian Wine Companion. At least, I was - Jamie seems better able to maintain a calm approach to wine reviews and show results. After many years in the industry, we do understand how wildly results and reviews can fluctuate - a wine can win a gold medal in one show and score below bronze in another. However, the bottom line is that good reviews are great for marketing and sales...and sales are what we need to stay in business!
James Halliday is one of Australia's most respected wine writers. There was a wild flurry of twittering a few days ago when the 2011 Australian Wine Companion was launched and top scoring wineries posted their results online. I knew we hadn't scored the coveted five stars - I think you get a personal email when you join that club - but I still had high hopes for a decent review.
Well, we drove through sleet and snow to Orange today to buy our copy, and we are pretty happy with the result. Our 2007 Sangiovese was awarded 90 points - "highly recommended". Mr Halliday wrote;
"...this is for lovers of Italian (home-grown) wines, winning a gold medal (at) the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show '08; its cherry fruit is more than a matched by its tannins, and demands food."
We will aim for five stars next year!

From my bedroom window this morning...

2010-07-15T16:28:00.000+10:00

We were woken this morning by the sound of about twenty noisy little parrots feasting on the small dry catkins on the silver birch trees outside our bedroom window. I'm not sure what kind of parrots or lorikeets they were - a few had bright red chests but most were a vivid mix of bright yellow, green and blue. They seem to love the silver birches, and although birch trees need a bit of extra care and water in this harsh summer climate (and it is politically incorrect these days to plant such water hungry, non-endemic trees), I will plant them again in the new garden on the other side of the shed just because I love them.

Misty Mornings

2010-06-21T14:43:00.000+10:00

The vineyard shed in the mist this morning.
The shed is all things to us at the moment -
cellar door, pump house, working shed and home!

I love this time of the year in the vineyard. Misty mornings, the sculptural forms of the bare vines, currawongs and magpies. I'm a ridiculous romantic and only see the beauty in the vineyard, but Jamie is much more of a pragmatist and just sees a lot of big jobs that need doing.

Bidens pilosa

On my walk around the vineyard this morning, I was delighted by literally thousands of little spiders' webs attached to literally thousands of Farmer's Friends that have taken residence between the rows of the vineyard. Farmer's Friend is also known as Cobbler's Pegs or Pitchforks (such evocative common names!), but its botanical name is Bidens pilosa. It is a native European herb that has become an environmental weed in Australia. It gets into everything at this time of year - the dog, the cat, the sheep, socks, jumpers, everything! I spent a good half hour devoiding Max of the little prickles this morning.
The Framer's Friends and a lot of other weeds have to go. Because the vineyard has been in 'moth-ball' mode for the past 18 months, the weeds have got the better of us, and they will take a lot of work and money to get under control. First we will have to slash every row of the vineyard. Jamie started this job yesterday but within just two rows he ran over some wire (rendered invisible among the weeds!) which got caught up in the slasher which now has to go to the local mechanic to be repaired!

Good Morning Mr Magpie!

When the slashing is complete, we will be able to begin pruning. We will hand prune our precious Sangiovese and a section of Chardonnay but will have to machine prune the remainder of the vineyard this year. It all takes a huge amount of time and money so we just do what we can with all we have at our disposal in money, machinery and man-power. Wine sales are growing steadily so if we keep putting one foot in front of the other we should be able to get on top of the weeds and pruning.

...But I will miss my walks in this wild, untamed vineyard when it is finally brought under control!

Today Canberra...tomorrow the world!

2010-06-17T21:45:00.000+10:00

It is an unfortunate fact that neither Jamie nor myself like the "sales" component of this job. I'm not referring to cellar door sales - we love welcoming people to the vineyard and sharing our wines. What we loathe is the cold canvas door knock to big city restaurants and fine wine merchants. It's dog-eat-dog out there in the super-competitive world of wine sales. Imagine how hard it is for an artist to put his or her art work on show for all the world to see and criticise, or for an author to publish a new manuscript. Well, it is equally difficult to put your wine - quite literally the fruits of your labour - in front of a potential buyer and await their verdict.
If they don't like it, it's akin to someone telling you your baby is ugly!
We are pretty confident about our wines - at the risk of sounding cocky, we know they are good. Ultimately, quality is paramount in the boutique wine game. But there are a lot of good wines out there vying for space on a respected wine list or a coveted eye-level shelf, so it can be very difficult to get noticed. Wine distributors are one solution - professionals with contacts in the industry - but they take a significant cut and often have many wines jostling for attention on their books.
So, we do the hard yards ourselves. Or should I say, Jamie does the hard yards. I think people actually appreciate seeing the wine producer with "terroir" under his nails - so far most have given us the time of day and, even better, we have notched up a few great new stockists.
Last week Jamie hit the streets of Canberra. With heart in hand, he made appointments with a number of top restaurants and wine merchants, offering them a tasting and our story, and to our delight we now appear on a number of excellent wine lists in the nation's capital!
We have only just started looking to Sydney, but already the popular Italian restaurant Il' Piave in Rozelle and the very hip wine bar Fix St James in the city have taken us on.

Here is a list of our current stockists...

Lolli Redini, Orange
Racine, Orange
Boathouse by the Lake, Canberra
Ottoman Cuisine, Canberra
The Lobby, Canberra
Rocksalt, Canberra
Canberra Cellars
Cox Kelly Fine Wines, Canberra
Mollymook Fine Wines and Ales
Sassafras Creek, Kurrajong
Fix St James, Sydney
Il' Piave, Sydney
D'Aquino's, Orange
Totally Local, Orange
The Royal Hotel, Canowindra
TasteCanowindra
The Old Vic Inn, Canowindra
Canowindra Bottle Shop

To misquote Kevin Rudd; "Today Canberra - tomorrow the world!"

Six chooks, two rows of kale and an orchard

2010-06-04T14:54:00.001+10:00

Jamie & Ella plant our fruit trees into
the dry earth last October.

Last October we planted a small kitchen orchard to the south of the vineyard shed. At the time we didn't know if we would lose the vineyard and our house in town remained unsold in a very pessimistic market, so the ceremonial planting of the orchard was a defiant, fist-shaking leap of faith - a way of staking our claim on the land and a symbol of hope for the future.
I ordered a variety of fruit trees from the Diggers Club on line - a few plums, pears, a nectarine, two almonds, a walnut, a fig and a pecan. We planted fairly late in the season, when the temperatures were already warming up considerably - not an ideal time to plant tender young fruit trees! But I was determined - motivated by a strong emotional need to do something palpable in such an uncertain time. So Jamie and the children helped me dig holes into the hard, dry soil, we planted the trees and kept them watered throughout the blazing summer. The dawn or dusk walk down to the orchard to provide its daily drink was good therapy for me - a time to slow my mind and think about better times ahead - to imagine the orchard fully grown, bursting with sweet pink blossons in spring and providing a canopy of cool green in summer. Of course, the orchard was also established to satisfy another strong instinct - the instinct to survive, to be self-sufficient.

The orchard in May 2010.

Seven months on and I am delighted to report the orchard more than survived its baptism of fire. The last of the autumn leaves have now dropped and the trees have gone into hibernation for the winter. Since they were planted, the trees have grown at least a metre - except for one pear tree which was coppiced to a stump by a hungry hare in November. Fortunately, the hare ate above the graft and the pear has come back quite well - I expect it will catch up with its siblings by the end of the next season.

Water is no longer an imperative now that winter is upon us, but I still cherish the afternoon walks with the dog and the children down to the orchard - at the moment we can see the beginnings of fat new buds developing in the bare branches - tiny harbingers of good things to come.

I have just put in another order with the Diggers Club for a couple of apple trees to fill a few bare spots in the orchard - I can't believe I didn't order them last year - what is an orchard without at least one apple tree? I have ordered one Granny Smith (the best apples for cooking) and one Jonathan (a universal pollinator).

Tweety Bird and Chop Chop

Closer to the shed I have established a small vegie patch which is now planted out with two rows of Tuscan Kale, a couple of artichokes and next season's organic garlic crop. A lemon tree has also been planted next to the patch to take advantage of the sunny position. A wonderful friend gave us the lemon as a "shed-warming" gift - she is of Russian origin and says it is an old Russian tradition to provide a new household with a lemon tree.

And finally, I am thrilled to announce the arrival of six Isa Brown pullets to the vineyard. I have been nagging Jamie for chooks for years - how ridiculous to live in the country and not have chooks!!! Angus has named one "Tweety Bird" and Ella, quite ingeniously I think, named another "Chop Chop". I hope the poor little fellow doesn't get too paranoid!

Canowindra Long Weekend

2010-05-26T10:40:00.000+10:00

If you feel the need to escape to the country, to breath some fresh air, to feel some space around you - make your way to Canowindra his coming June Long Weekend.
What makes Canowindra different from the country towns - especially those closer to Sydney - is that it is the real thing. An authentic working country town, population 2,000, which has not become a tourism parody of itself. Don't get me wrong, Canowindra still needs some tourist dollars, but the town does not exist for tourists alone. Some country towns are virtual ghost towns through the week and only come to life for tourists on the weekend. Disneyland Country Towns. Not so Canowindra.

Here, old men still tip their hats as they walk by, the finger wave and nod is obligatory to every car you drive past, and the wide main street is full of dusty Toyota utes with kelpies in the back.

Almost all of Canowindra's local businesses - from the pubs to the boutiques, have committed to remaining open for the whole long weekend, so our little town will be abuzz! Just 4.5 hours drive from Sydney (and 2.5 hours from Canberra) and you could be sitting by the fire with a beer or a local red at The Royal Hotel.

Here at Hamiltons Bluff we will be open all weekend, offering tasting plates designed to compliment our wines. Sit out under the old peppercorn trees in the cellar door garden and graze over pecorino cheese, Italian salami, local Ligurian style olives and home made bread and olive oil with a glass of our Sangiovese.

In the heritage listed main street, some of the businesses open will include:

The Bendy Street Emporium - a superb new homewares shop http://www.bendystreet.com.au/
The River Bank Gallery http://www.riverbankgallery.com.au/
Little Poppets - beautiful childrens' boutique featuring Australian design labels.
Tiquetonne - a very funky litle boutique with original designs.
The Deli Lama - great coffee, cakes & lunch.
The Royal Hotel & Sally's Bistro - fancy a beer by the open fire and a good pub meal?
The Old Vic Inn - fantastic heritage building, coffee, gallery, restaurant and award winning guesthouse.
Virginia Cullane Books - shelves and shelves of wonderful second hand and rare book

Around the corner in Ferguson Street you will find:

The Canowindra Trading Post - one of the most popular gift and homewares shops in the region - they serve coffee in the garden too! http://www.canowindratradingpost.com.au/
TasteCanowindra - restaurant open for breakfast and lunch, gallery, live music venue (open mike and folk music on the last Sunday of every month) and wine tasting centre featuring most of the wines from the region http://www.tastecanowindra.com.au/
Ruby Red Dress - fabulous vintage clothing - a must see!
Raw Canvas - extensive art supplies

The Age of Fishes Museum in the centre of town tells the story of an amazing 360 million year old fossil discovery just a few kms out of Canowindra. The fossils are of major international significance as some of the fish show the first signs of the evolution of fins to limbs. The Age of Fishes Museum is worth a visit - they are also the town's accredited Visitor Information Centre. http://www.ageoffishes.org.au/

Tom's Waterhole is another winery that will be open all weekend - Graham and Jan from Tom's Waterhole also own and operate Balloon Joy Flights from the vineyard. If you have never experienced a hot air balloon flight - add it to yout bucket list! http://www.balloonjoyflights.com.au/

JUST IN...Wallington Winery will also be open for wine tastings and sales over the June Long Weekend. Wallingtons produce some superb wines and it is worth the visit just to check out their wonderful straw bale winery. http://www.wallingtonwines.com.au/

Canowindra, NSW, Australia

2010-05-10T10:22:00.000+10:00

Deer over the bar, The Royal Hotel, Canowindra
(Photo by Kate Barclay)

I am supposed to be writing a speech for the Graduate Women's Association, but I'm uploading photos to my blog instead...

The Royal Hotel, Canowindra

The verandah of The Old Vic Inn, Canowindra

Friday is Bread Day

2010-05-02T14:32:00.000+10:00

It is ironic that while we can get our hands on some of the freshest and most diverse produce out here in regional NSW - from asparagus to venison - often straight from the farm gate, we still suffer from a distinct lack of one of the most basic and beloved foods in the history of human kind - bread! Bakers out here are still, predominantly, "Hot Bakes"- mass producing spongy bodiless white bread, limp lifeless pies and various cakes in the most unnatural hues. Real bread - the staff of life - is almost impossible to find beyond the Blue Mountains. But our wonderful Canowindra grocer, "Gaskill Greens" (whom I have mentioned in previous blogs) recently began to stock fresh bread - generous loaves and crusty baguettes brimming from baskets every Friday. The bread is made by the talented team at Racine, a fabulous new(ish) restaurant with a decidedly French bent just up the hill in Orange. Racine is owned and run by award winning chef Shaun Arantz and his gorgeous (and about to be a new mum any minute) wife Willa. "Racine" is a French word meaning "origin" or "roots" - a nod to the couple's dedication to local seasonal produce. Racine was just named the 7th Best Regional Restaurant in Australia by the Gourmet Traveller team, so here's hoping they don't get so busy that they can't make our wonderful weekly bread! http://www.racinerestaurant.com.au/

"Messing about in boats"

2010-04-29T14:59:00.000+10:00

Like Ratty and Mole, Angus and a friend just "messing about in boats"!

Dark Chocolate & Cardamom Mousse

2010-04-27T11:00:00.001+10:00

Having made 80 of these mousses (what is the plural of mousse?) for our Cellar Door opening and another 60 for the Twighlight Tasting a few weeks ago, I don't really care if I never see another mousse again!

(Update 10th April 2011 - we made 150 mousses last night for the 2011 Twilight Markets - could have made 150 more!)

However, they are delicious and have been very popular, so here is the recipe as promised.

200g very good quality dark chocolate
(at least 60% cocoa solids)
200 ml whipped cream
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
4-5 egg whites whipped into very stiff peaks
50g castor sugar

It is best to work quickly, so have your melted chocolate, whipped cream and sugar and whipped egg whites all ready.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over boiling water - don't let the bowl touch the water and make sure no water makes its way into the chocolate (water or liquid will make the melted chocolate sieze at this stage). A less romantic but fool-proof way to melt the chocolate is to use the microwave on low. Sprinkle the cardamom into the melted chocolate. Whip the cream and sugar together and mix into the melted chocolate, working quickly. Whip the egg whites into stiff peaks, mix a few large spoonfuls well into the chocolate mixture to lighten, then carefully, gently fold the rest in to the mix, trying to retain as much "lightness" to the mousse as possible. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving. As you can see in the photo, I present them in little espresso cups - very cute!

This dessert was developed specifically to match our sweet Sangiovese Dolce Nero ("Sweet Black"). Dolce Nero is a unique wine in Australia (we believe something similar is made in Italy) being a red dessert wine which is not fortified. The Dolce Nero is very popular in the Cellar Door - it tastes of ...um...prunes and stewed plums with a touch of licorice allsorts. It is an AMAZING dessert wine to serve with chocolate, poached fruit, hard cheeses or gorgonzola.

Another 2011 update....we have almost sold out of the 2007 Dolce Nero - just a few cases available from the cellar door (only two per customer) and the remainder available only at a few select restaurants. We will try to bottle the remainder of the 2007 vintage, currently in oak, as soon as possible!

A walk with winged creatures

2010-04-21T12:14:00.000+10:00

Max the Mutt and Angus walk up our dirt lane.

After the children set off down the dirt lane to catch the school bus this morning, I set off up the lane for a walk. I rarely find the motivation or the time, but I really do need the walk to clear my mind. This morning, I found myself completely surrounded by swarming locusts, but as unpleasant (and destructive) as these creatures are, it was not entirely an unpleasant experience. For one thing, the locusts (which, although they look like grasshoppers, actually fly, not hop) despite swarming past me in their millions, didn't touch me - not once! They must have some sort of internal radar - like bats - as they just flew by me, minding their own very busy business. I felt like I was in a ticker-tape parade as millions of shimmery silver wings fluttered around me.

Then my attention was drawn above the shimmering sea of locusts to what could only be described as a battle of the air. In the blue autumn sky above, three magnificent hawkes - Brown Goshawks I think - engaged in a battle of speed, skill and grace with a variety of other smaller, less graceful but determined birds. The battleground was the sky above an open paddock in which five gnarled old gum trees stood. The hawks clearly had a plan of attack - perhaps they were after baby birds in nests - as they glided effortlessly around each gum, occasionally diving into the tree and out the other side with much flapping and fussing from the smaller birds around. It was a David and Goliath scene - certainly the smaller attack birds had no hope of matching the hawks' skill and grace, but that did not stop them from shrieking after them and flapping their little wings as fast as they could in an attempt to catch up with them. I image they were saying;
"That's right, fly off to your mummies you cowards! If I get a hold of you I'll give you what's for you bullies!!"
I watched for a while. Finally the hawks flew away and the smaller birds settled back into the trees, safe for now. The locusts just kept swarming.

Locusts are on the march

2010-04-19T13:22:00.000+10:00

Locusts are on the march as you can see from this quick vid taken from our front gate at around noon today. (Actually, it is very hard to see on the video - looked OK on my camera but didn't upload very well - just imagine a sea of motion across the paddock!) As we are going into the dormant winter period, they are not an immediate threat. However, come spring when the eggs they are laying now hatch we may have a problem on our hands. Oh the joys of agriculture - droughts, gluts, frosts and now plagues!

You never know who is going to "drop" in!

2010-04-12T10:04:00.002+10:00

Look what dropped out of the sky on Saturday morning. A film crew from the UK's ITV, on the last day of filming a doco on hot air ballooning in Australia. The crew included UK actor Stephen Tompkinson (Ballykissangel and Wild at Heart) and balloon pilot Robin Batchelor. Tompkinson and Batchelor made a similar documentary last year called "Stephen Tompkinson's African Balloon Adventure".

Surely it's OK to partake at 8am if you have been up since 5am? Stephen Tompkinson & Robin Batchelor take "tea" from the back of our ute.

Their balloon almost landed on top of our vines at about 7am this morning. The kids jumped on their bikes to check out what was going on and we followed with a basket of tea, fresh Anzac biscuits and bottles of wine to kick start their day - all served out of the back of the ute!

Stephen Tompkinson and crew film the end of the documentary from the vineyard.

The crew of Stephen Tompkinson's Australian Balloon Adventure - the ITV doco should be release around August.

Gearing up for the 100 Mile Diet Dinner

2010-04-07T12:50:00.000+10:00

It's a big week. My Style deadline looms (Style is a fantastic independent lifestyle magazine for regional NSW) and I have three stories left to complete this week. As soon as the stories have been submitted, I will hit the ground running with preparations for the 100 Mile Diet Dinner to be held in our historic main street this Monday night 12th April... and for our smaller local "Twilight Tasting" in Memorial Park on Saturday night, for which I have to make fifty dark chocolate and cardamom mousses (note to self - must post recipe).

Canowindra's historic main street all dressed up for last year's 100 Mile Diet Dinner

The inaugural 100 Mile Diet Dinner was held last year - 300 people seated at long tables down our main street feasting on amazing food and wine all sourced from within a 100 mile radius. The concept hails from the Slow Food Movement in Canada - the idea that locally grown and consumed organic produce is better for your health, better for local economies and better for the planet. The event is part of the Orange FOOD Week celebrations (Orange, a major regional centre, is about 40 minutes from Canowindra) and was such a huge success last year that tickets for this year's dinner sold out faster than an AC/DC concert!
The dinner is subtitled "Dinner with the Neighbours" because it features courses provided from the surrounding towns and regions of Bathurst, Cowra, Mudgee and Orange.
Tonight, the committee meets at Margaret Wallington's wonderful straw bale winery to fold napkins, string together menus and tickets and discuss any last minute jobs. I just recieved a draft menu - there will, of course, be small last minute changes - but it will go something like this...

On arrival - Rosnay organic olives, Nashdale radish served with local garlic aioli and a selection of 100 mile locally made breads and olive oils.

Entree from the producers of Canowindra - Asian duck broth with caramelised leek and corn wontons, bok choy and seared duck breast.

From the producers of Bathurst - Pot Roast of rolled Capretto, fig jam and Jannai goat's curd; Bramble Liqueur Panna Cotta & Walnut Biscotti.

From the producers of Cowra - Lamb rump in a lemon, cumin and coriander marinade with eggplant, potato and baby spinach; Hazelnut Whitie with rhubarb and raspberry compote.

From the producers of Mudgee - Beef, bacon and chive pie with tomato relish, turnip and kale; Blackberry and Apple shortcake with honey custard.

From the producers of Orange - Twice cooked pork belly with apple, fennel and parsley salad and verjuice dressing; Strawberry jelly, mousse and fresh strawberries with hazelnut toffee shards.

View across the vineyard this morning

2010-04-06T21:02:00.000+10:00

View across the vineyard this morning

"Adventure in An Antique Mood"

2010-04-04T15:54:00.000+10:00

Early morning balloon over The Royal Hotel, Canowindra

I have to confess the title"Adventure in an Antique Mood" is not mine, but it describes hot air ballooning so well I love to quote it. Journalist Diane Ackerman, in a piece published in the New York Times in 1997 entitled "Travelling Light", wrote

"Ballooning appeals because it is more langurous and low tech; it's adventure in an antique mood."

Canowindra has always been a major hot air ballooning destination - something to do with topography and air currents and, of course, beautiful scenery. Autumn is one of the most popular seasons for ballooning and this week (5th - 11th April 2010) balloonists from across the country will gather in Canowindra for the "Canowindra Challenge Balloon Festival". Every morning this week we will be be woken by the sound of a fire breathing dragon floating above our heads. It's always exciting - a great way to wake up!
For more information check out http://www.balloonjoyflights.com.au/

Pine Mushrooms on Sourdough Toast

2010-03-31T09:51:00.000+11:00

Just look at that colour!

We have an amazing green grocer here in humble little Canowindra. Gaskill Greens - owned by vegetable grower and food lover Greg Kocanda - is dedicated to selling as much organic, locally grown, seasonal produce as possible, and as we grow a huge range of produce between Orange and Cowra, the variety and quality available is as good as it gets. My children will not eat apples from the big supermarkets any more (nor will I buy them - support the farmers not the corporates!). Fresh, crisp apples that have not been in storage for months are a revelation to the poor city folks.

My pine mushrooms on toast

Greg supplys all the best restaurants in the region and it is such a treat to go into his little shop in our main street every day to see what is on offer. Yesterday I bought these beautiful pine mushrooms (lactarius deliciosus or saffron milkcaps) and fried them up with garlic, salt and butter (mushrooms are, after all, the ultimate vehicle for the holy trinity of flavours!). Admittedly, I bought them for the most superficial of reasons - their divine colour! The result was delicious, although they are not quite as soft and silky as your standard field mushroom. Pine mushrooms have a less earthy, more delicate flavour and need to be cooked a little longer. And for all you hypochondriacs out there, beware the tangerine pee that may result - I spent an uneasy 24 hrs convinced I had an incurable liver disease!

Cellar Door Opening

2010-03-24T17:17:00.000+11:00

Well, the Cellar Door is now officially open! Last week the garden was whipped into shape, the hundred louvre windows in the cellar door, rendered opaque from the calcium build up from the bore water we use on the garden, were scrubbed clean, ten years worth of boxes, paper work and general office build up were whittled down and brand new "Cellar Door Open" signs were erecetd.
On Friday morning Jamie drove up to Orange to pick up the goat for the spit which he then sat in the front seat of the ute and dutifully drove home - belted in of course....and dead and spit-ready. I, in the mean time, was up to my eye-balls in melted chocolate and stiff egg whites preparing 80 dark chocolate and cardamom mousses for dessert (recipe to follow).
At around 6pm the guests started to arrive. Of course, the dirt road that leads to the cellar door, which had been packed down hard from recent rains, had been graded by council just hours before creating a fine red chalky dust in clouds that swept over us and all our guests in their finery in the cellar door garden as every car arrived. We ask council to grade the road for months and they choose our opening day to get around to it!
But nothing, not dust nor frustrated spit operators, could ruin what really was a perfect autumn evening. The goat was delicious (thanks to the graziers who knew how to carve!) served on crunchy French rolls with spicy beetroot relish and washed down with our 2004 Sangiovese (great feedback on the '04 - it is aging incredibly well!). Our local musicians - David & David - rocked on electric guitar and mandolin under the pepper trees. And the mousses (pl. meese?) went down a treat.
Come Saturday morning, Jamie and I were questioning the sense of having a huge opening party the night before we open to the public as we scrambled out of bed and madly tried to clean up and appear fresh and enthusiatic for customers. (Truth be told, Jamie had cleaned up most of the mess the night before as I lay in bed with a strange "flu" that seemed to have descended on me.)
So we are now open for business. Last weekend and this coming weekend are not expected to be too busy, but the Easter weekend is traditionally one of the busiest in the year for tourism in regional NSW. Now we just need to make some sales!

Sydney, here we come!

2010-03-11T13:32:00.000+11:00

Brochures are printed, the ute is full of wine and we are heading off over the sandstone curtain to the big smoke! Swimming pools...movie stars....
We will be tasting and selling our wines at the Sydney Cellar Door in Hyde Park this Sunday 14th March. This is one of the best wine and food events we have ever attended - great atmosphere, fabulous crowd - and the ability to actually sell our product to the discerning Sydney market.
If you are in Sydney, please come and see us in Hyde Park!

And life returns to the river!

2010-03-09T09:41:00.000+11:00

Below is some of the most beautiful footage I have seen in a long time. Taken over the weekend by our friend Andrew Holmes on a neighbouring property, it captures the exact moment the Belubula River began to flow again. Magic!

Local Artist, David Isbester

2010-03-02T21:45:00.001+11:00

David Isbester is a wonderful artist - and friend - living, working and painting here in Canowindra. David is the artist in residence at the Riverbank Gallery in the main street. His gallery openings are a treat - usually ending in a jam session with a local guitarist and David on the mandolin around a fire.

Jamie and I have been collecting David's works for almost ten years. He is a wonderful tonalist, and his paintings of the main street of Canowindra capture the unique essence of this country town. Enjoy David's latest collection and go to http://www.riverbankgallery.com.au/ for more information.

Vineyard photo shoot

2010-02-21T12:13:00.000+11:00

Spent a lovely morning with my photographer friend Kate Barclay (www.redbubble.com/people/katebarclay) taking promo shots of the vineyard and wines. Sure beats sitting at the computer all day!

Does my bum look big in this? Carrying props through the vineyard.

Sangiovese and olives.
The olives are from the tree in the cellar door garden - a wedding gift from my grandmother Pat Sorby ten years ago.

Cellar Door gates flanked by tall iron barks

Passata

2010-02-18T14:25:00.000+11:00

It is the end of summer and our local green grocer - who sources fresh, organic regional produce - is now selling bags of locally grown deep red cooking tomatoes for $1/kg.
As wine producers who specialise Sangiovese, a variety that hails from one of the greatest food-loving regions on earth, it follows that food would be almost as important to us as wine. We tend to eat a lot of tomato based pastas, casseroles and big meaty stews - especially in the cooler months. Soul food!
At the end of summer I usually spend a few days in the kitchen taking advantage of the end of season glut of tomatoes and basil. I make bulk lots of passata - a basic Italian tomato sauce used either straight over good pasta, in pappa al pomodoro (a divine rustic bread and tomato soup), or as a base in stews and casseroles. I also make bulk pesto sauce (basil, garlic, pine nuts and olive oil) - by not adding the parmesan I can freeze it in plastic zip-lock bags.
Following is an incredibly simple recipe for passata. As I am hopeless at preserving things properly, I find it is much easier to simply freeze containers of passata (I freeze it in quantities of about a cup) and pull them out of the freezer as I need them.

2.5kg tomotoes, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
a large slosh of good olive oil

Place all ingredients in a large pot and cook, stiring to make sure it doesn't catch, for about an hour. The longer you cook it, the more concentrated your passata will be. Experiment to suit your own taste.

After about an hour, push the passata through a mouli to get rid of the tough pieces of skin. I don't have a mouli so I use a colander and push the passata through with the back of a large ladel. Let it all cool, divide into conatiners and freeze. If you are good at preserving, add one fresh basil leaf to the top of each bottle before sealing - it makes a real difference!

Many passata recipies call for the tomato to be cored and seeded before cooking. I find this ridiculously fiddley, so I just don't bother!

Why I live here...

2010-02-17T21:04:00.000+11:00

I just had to post this picture, taken yesterday on my way back from Cowra - just a few km out of Canowindra. Although the trip from Cowra on the Binni Creek Road is ten minutes longer than the main road, I often take it just to lap up the views. It's my everyday 'road less travelled'. This view looks towards Orange and Mt Canobolas. Can you smell the air? So clean and fresh :)

Rain, Glorious Rain

2010-02-14T11:43:00.000+11:00

It is still raining. For the last two weeks we have had fantastic rain. An inch last week, two and a half inches during the week, and judging from the rain gauge attached to a vineyard post I can see from my window as I write, it looks like we have had another three inches since Friday.

We have been in drought since 2001. The last time I remember the lucern flats by the river flooding was when Angus was a baby. Sure, we have had some good rain and storms over the past nine years, but in order for a drought, especially one of this magnitude, to break it is not just a matter of good rain, but good timing. The reality is we need months of good soaking winter rain to come anywhere near breaking this drought. The rain we have been getting in the past few weeks is just what we need through winter. But some of the old farmers in town are in high spirits (farmers are realists but also optimists - you have to be in this business!) saying this rain may herald a new, better, wetter decade.

But even though it is too early to declare an end to the drought, the immediate effects of this rain are, for the most part, positive. Our tanks are full - overflowing in fact - and this is a blessing given we ran out of rainwater a few weeks ago and have been using bore water to wash in and buying drinking water in.

We are not harvesting fruit this year, but the vineyards trying to pull fruit off at the moment will be finding the rain a probelm. Not only is it difficult to harvest in the rain, but the rain and humidity cause disease to flourish on the vines and within 24 hours the rain can reduce the sugar levels in the fruit and delay harvest. But rain is generally good, and no-one is really complaining.

The country side is verdant. Of course, if you look closely you will see most of the green is made up of noxious weeds such as "cat-heads" and "khaki weed" - but the psychological effects of being surrounded by green as far as the eye can see are significant.

Of course, we have had periods of green over the last decade. The odd rain and the spring seasons all bring green. But the kind of green that comes from weeks of soil soaking rain is different altogether.

And the sky! For the past three days it has been a lovely silver grey. A sky filled with rain clouds set in for the long haul, not just a fleeting thunderstorm. My spirits are soaring!

I ordered wellies for everyone on-line last night. Jamie says that's tempting fate but I am not in the least bit superstitious - so bring on the wellies!!!!!

I'm going to put on another guilt-free load of washing!

Getting started...

2010-01-27T16:20:00.000+11:00

Finally, my desk is in place! Kids start back at school tomorrow (if I say "yah!" does that make me a bad parent???) so it is time to start sending wines out to potential buyers and reviewers.

We are still experiencing hideously hot and windy days, but when they end with sunsets like this they are almost forgiven. This picture was taken last night by the cellar door gate.

Shed Living

2010-01-24T19:58:00.000+11:00

Here are a few photos of our new shed home.
It really is quite a groovy space.

Spent a few hours in a big hat under the shade of an old peppercorn tree weeding the cellar door garden - must be ready to re-open in March!

Dead sheep and rainbows

2010-01-20T21:27:00.000+11:00

Max, our small, white, fluffy mutt of a dog, just deposited a sheep's leg - complete with remnant wool and hoof - on the kitchen floor. He's no sheep killer, he found a carcass in the paddock beyond the vineyard and dutifully brought it home for all of us to share. He is clearly very impressed with himself.

I have been off-line for days (it's given me a nervous twitch), and in that time we have made the complete move to the vineyard. One of things I love most about being part of a country community like Canowindra is the incredible network of friends and neighbours and the way they pitch in and help when needed. On Saturday morning, no less than five utes and trailers turned up outside the house at 8am. During the course of the morning, at least ten people helped with the move. By noon, I was up at the shed trying to make sense of where to put furniture and boxes (we have down-sized by about 60% so space is a premium) when a friend turned up with four trays of sandwiches to feed the hungry masses. Another came to take the kids to the pool. Another dropped off a bowl of fresh local peaches. Another went down to the old house and began cleaning rooms. As we had no water or stove in the kitchen (the water was finally plumbed in this afternoon and the stove should be operational by tomorrow) friends have dropped in dinners every night. I cannot express how grateful we are to all our wonderful friends. Growing up in the city, I don't think I ever experienced anything like this - it was like an Amish barn raising!

At dusk we cooked up a feast of sausages and rissoles and tomato sauce on bread washed down with plenty of beer and wine. At the sight of the kids starting up a game of bush cricket, Jamie and I shared a glance and a mutual understanding that this was what it was all about - and that everything was going to be OK.

We were also treated to a full rainbow against a stormy summer sky that seemed to begin at one end of the vineyard and end at the other - a good omen I think.

There is no "Exit Plan"

2010-01-15T11:25:00.000+11:00

Yesterday I was asked by a well-meaning family member if we had an "exit plan" in place for the vineyard business. I was taken aback. Exit Plan? I am pushing for time to plan for success let alone failure! What ever happened to failure not being an option and crossing bridges when we come to them? I am convinced "exit plans" and "exit strategies" are just another way for business and marketing plans to look thick and impressive. I can handle a basic SWOT plan - it is certainly wise to know your threats and weaknesses - but to plan what we would do if our venture fails is a complete waste of time.

I asked Jamie what he thought his "exit plan" would be and, after due consideration, he suggested "to become a cult leader with hundreds of young nubile wives and die in a raging sex scandal".

I think that is about as useful as anything else.

The plumber just didn't show up today, so we will be moving in to a shed with no kitchen tomorrow.

One day to go...

2010-01-15T09:23:00.000+11:00

A photo taken on Wednesday as a dust storm blew in over the vineyard. The vines look so sad and thirsty but they will survive until next year when we will be able to prune and water properly. It is too late this year and we have no fruit to sell anyway - we need to stimulate cash flow through wine sales this year.

News this week that NSW is on target for a 30% reduction in grapevines over the next three years. The devestating grape glut that has made it impossible for growers like ourselves with expired contracts to sell fruit for the past few years and many are selling off land and pulling out vines. The drought is also taking it's toll on vineyards without water (luckily, we have bore water), but grapes are incredibly tough plants which may not produce good fruit in such stressed conditions but should be able to bounce back.

Schadenfreude - benefiting from other's misfortunes - is a terrible thing and my heart breaks for those losing their vineyards, but if we can hang on to our 110 hectares until the glut has balanced out, we may find ourselves in a viable business again.

Spent yesterday cleaning plaster dust, windows and the filthy bathroom up at the shed. Thankfully my friend Kate stepped in to help, rolling up her sleeves and setting to work scrubbing the blackened tiles in the bathroom. Kate pulled me out of my overwhelmed haze and encouraged me to get on with the job. Thank goodness for friends!

Must remember to water the orchard today.

Making the Move

2010-01-13T23:14:00.000+11:00

It is 10.46pm and still 32 degrees C in our bedroom. I am sitting on the bed, surrounded by sad, empty shelves, boxes and piles of clothes. My feet throb and I can't sleep due to a combination of heat and a racing mind.
We are mid-move and already completely exhausted, stumbling between optimism and enthusiasm to despair and frustration. We have just a few days left to vacate our lovely old house, construct a kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms in the vineyard shed and move in - all within our strict budget of zip! To keep myself motivated, I have taken to watching episodes of Grand Designs on Youtube in the evenings, favouring those featuring unemployed vegans with impossible builds in foreign lands on miniscule budgets.
We plan to move in physically on Saturday, but managed to move a significant amount of furniture and boxes today - in 40 degree C heat! To top it off, we realised the vineyard water tanks are full of sludge just as the pump blew up up leaving us with no water OR sludge...and something smells very nasty in the bathroom drain....

The To Do list now includes:

plumber in on Friday to fix pump and septic system
install second had kitchen including stove and rangehood
electrician on Friday to install rangehood and kitchen power points
finish painting new wall separating bedrooms (what was one large open plan room upstairs has been turned into two bedrooms... the children will just have to share for a while...)
finish bathroom floor
destroy population of red back spiders living in the bathroom
clean house - carpet cleaners booked for Monday morning. Struggling with moral inclination to clean carpets professionally for a few hundred dollars and tight-arse inclination to spot clean them myself because most people don't bother to have them professionally cleaned...but will begrudgingly take moral high ground just because it's the right thing to do grumble grumble...)
tidy lawns and gardens of house
secretly dispose of bags and boxes of crap that Jamie refuses to throw out
disconnect/transfer internet, telephone, power, gas,
Buy beer and sausages to feed the gang of great friends who have offered to help on Saturday
and something else very important I have forgotten....

And after all this we plan to re-open the cellar door for wine tasting and sales in March...have to sell the wine in order to make this whole thing work!

Christmas Pud

2009-12-05T16:25:00.000+11:00

Our daughter Ella just walked into the kitchen and announced with glee "It smells like Christmas in here!" That's because the Christmas pudding - having spent its formative days soaking in a mix of brandy and our Sangiovese dessert wine "Dolce Nero" - is now wrapped in a calico bundle and boiling away on the stove, filling the kitchen with cinnamon, clove, butter and brady infused steam.

It's not too late to make your Christmas pudding - here is my recipe.

350g currants

350g sultanas
150g mixed peel
150g chopped dried figs (you can use your own mix of fruit to make up 1kg - I just don't like glace cherries!)

250ml brandy (I use a little less brandy and a good slosh of our Dolce Nero - others use rum)

250g butter

250g brown sugar

6 eggs

1/2 teaspoon each ground nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves

450g self raising flour

Mix the fruit together and soak for one to three days in the alcohol.

On the day you make the pudding, make sure you have enough time to have it on the boil for six hours!

Cream the butter and sugar (I grate the cold butter into the bowl to make it easier to blend) and add the eggs slowly, one at a time, so that the mixture doesn't curdle. (If it does, don't worry - carry on!)

Stir in thr marinated fruit (there won't be much liquid left as it will all be in the fruit), flour, spices and a pinch of salt and mix well.

Make sure everyone in the family has a turn stirring the pudding for good luck!

Dust a large square of calico with flour (an old pillow-slip will also do) and spoon the pudding mixture into the centre. Bring the corners together and form a tight ball and tie off with string.

Immerse the pudding into a large pot of boiling water and let it boil away for six hours. You will have to top up the water occassionally to keep the pudding immersed. After six hours, sit the pudding in a colander until it stops dripping then hang in a well ventilated place to dry. I find it is best to pop it into the fridge until Christmas - especially here in Australia where the pudding can go mouldy in the heat and humidity of Summer!

On Christmas Day, re-boil the pudding for about and hour before serving with vanilla ice cream, thick cream and/or brandy butter. This recipe makes a large pudding - enough for the extended family!

Jumping hurdles

2009-12-04T16:52:00.000+11:00

We have jumped our first hurdle. Today, we signed the contract for the sale of the house. It was fortuitous to say the least - months and months of no interest in the house and then, literally, the day we had to make a commitment to buying the vineyard, a buyer for the house! I am not a superstitious person, but it certainly felt like a sign.

We will have about six weeks to make the shed at the vineyard habitable, pack and move. With Christmas in the middle, this is going to be a frantic time - but you do what you have to do!

I had one bad "what the hell are we doing?" day - but it passed. Now it's onwards and upwards. We have three years to make this vineyard thing work - to rebuild our brand and sell our wines.
It is a gamble - but life is a gamble.
At least we won't die wondering "what if?"...

Dolce Nero - "sweet black"

2009-11-09T10:53:00.001+11:00

OK, so food photography is not my forte - but this photo was taken after a very boozy dinner and it is a miracle the dish was even served!

An old friend popped in out of the blue on Friday night (or was it Thursday?) so I took the opportunity to whip up a dessert of pears poached in our sweet dessert style sangiovese called "Dolce Nero" (sweet black) to turn into a not-so-subtle blog marketing plug!

So simple and delicious....peel pears and poach slowly (about 2 hours depending on ripeness ) in a syrup made of of half Dolce Nero and half water, a cinnamon stick, a couple of oh so pretty star anise and a piece of lemon rind. Leave the sweet little stems on the pears, have enough syrup to cover them and place a lid on the pot. I serve them with a dollop of very thick pure cream ( a dollop for the plate and a spoonful straight into my mouth!)

I love that the Dolce Nero is something beautiful created out of adversity. Our cloud's silver lining. The grape glut meant fruit that would normally be sold was available to be played with. As Carl Jung said ..."the creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity."

Here is the story of the birth of our unique Dolce Nero in Jamie's words...

"The 2006 ripening period at the end of vintage went on forever with no rain. We ripened a select parcel of Sangiovese to previously unheard of heights. Normally picked at about 14 Beaume (measure of sugar in the berry), we picked at 22! Fruit like that has never been grown in Australia before. No one has been able to get Sangiovese so ripe. The fruit was cold fermented on skins for six weeks before the ferment was stopped at 10% alcohol, leaving about 240g of residual sugar in the wine (a monster amount!). After a period of cold stabilisation the wine was filtered and bottled. It is not fortified and only 750 bottles were made."

We serve Dolce Nero at the end of a meal with dried fruit, dark chocolate or hard cheeses. It would make a great Christmas wine matched with spicy Christmas pud, and we have even served it on ice with a nip of vodka!

You can order Dolce Nero from http://www.hamiltonsbluff.com/ or purchase it from tasteCanowindra in Canowindra or the Union Bank Cellars and Totally Local in Orange NSW.

ANZAC BISCUITS

2009-10-31T17:51:00.000+11:00

I've always been a nail-biter and right now I have nothing left to bite. I read in a self help book (in a weaker moment) that nail biting is akin to "consuming oneself emotionally". I prefer the theory that truely creative types are nail-biters. Then again, perhaps I'm just really stressed at the moment. Waiting...waiting...waiting...

So, in a bid to keep myself occupied and de-stress, I have been baking ANZAC biscuits all afternoon. Actually, I bake them quite often. They are delicious, nutritious, easy, inexpensive biscuits that everyone loves - and I usually get about 40 from this recipe, which keeps us in stock for a week. Great for the kids' lunch-boxes.

For those who don't know, ANZAC (Australian & New Zealand Army Corp) biscuits were developed out of necessity in Australia in WWI, when mothers, wives and girlfriends of soldiers needed to bake something with the highest nutritional value possible that would not spoil during the two month sea journey to the front. Eggs were scarce, so they don't appear in the ANZAC recipe. Butter and golden syrup (molasses or treacle) are used as the binding agent. I don't think nuts were used in the original recipe, but they are a nice addition.

Every time I pull a batch out of the oven I think of the women who did the same almost 100 years ago,who lovingly packaged them up into tins and sent them across the ocean to their loved ones.

ANZAC BISCUITS

2 cups rolled oats (I like quick oats - just a bit finer)
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups dessicated coconut
2 cups plain flour
1 cup ground or flaked almonds (or another nut or linseed, sunflower and almond, LSA, mix)
pinch of salt

Mix above ingredients together in a large bowl. In a saucepan melt together:

1/2 cup water
250g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
2 teaspoons bi-carb soda

Pour into dry ingredients and mix together. Now just make up balls of flattened biscuits (whatever size you like - sometimes I bake giant ANZACs for fun) and bake them in a moderate oven until golden (light golden for soft, darker golden for crunchy).

Trust me, these are not your standard horrible mum's-trying-to-bake-something-healthy-with-oats type of biscuit - they're delicious!

A Kitchen Orchard

2009-10-29T14:05:00.000+11:00

Balls are still in the air, goal posts keep changing, but at least we are still in the game. Family and friends keep asking in earnest "Any news yet?" - but it could be weeks until we know if the vineyard is ours - and in what convoluted financial way we are going to pay for it! But I have a good feeling about it. So good, in fact, that in a wild leap of faith I conscripted the family into helping me plant out my kitchen orchard this week. Perhaps not the most sensible move until the papers are signed and the other potential buyer is completely out of the picture - but I've had it with sensible! So, in went my kitchen orchard. A symbol of hope, of good things to come. We planted to the south of the shed in a large open space that can be seen from the cellar door. My plan is to extend the orchard next year, including the addition of a citrus grove at the end (if only for the annual sensual experience of walking through a citrus grove in flower!) But for this year, here is a list of what went in:
* 2 Blood Plum "Satsuma"
* 1 plum "Santa Rosa"
* Nectarine Goldmine
* 1 Pear "Doyenne Du Comice" (because it sounds oh so exotic!)
* 1 Pear "Beurre Bosc" (because of their antique beauty in a bowl!)
*2 Almonds (self pollinating)
* 1 Grafted Pecan "Cherokee"
*1 Andean Walnut
* 1 White Fig
Yes, it is distinctly lacking in apples and sweet smelling apricots - but I promise they will find a home in the orchard next year.

Until we hook up an irrigation system (which Jamie is - understandably - cautious of doing until our future is more certain) I am watering my babies by hand. But that's OK - there is therapy in it.

Someone wants to buy our vineyard.

2009-10-23T11:48:00.000+11:00

Someone wants to buy our vineyard! They want to buy it for its precious irrigation licence and rip out all the vines. My stomach churns when I think of our beautiful vines being tossed into a bon fire - gone forever in an evening's entertainment.

Well, technically, they're not our vines. They are owned by my husband Jamie's parents, but the vineyard has been Jamie's baby since he established it over fifteen years ago. Jamie meticulously measured out every row and every vine, co-ordinated the planting of every one of the 70,000 vines, and ultimately created a first class vineyard producing premium fruit and award winning wines. I helped too, of course. Mainly in the marketing and drinking departments.

But now someone wants to buy it while the vineyard market is at an all time low and Jamie and I are desperately trying to find a way to keep it. It is strange to have your vision of the future - of growing old with the vines, of the children growing up with the industry - suddenly yanked out from under you. What else would we do?

The last eight years have been extremely difficult for anyone on the land in Australia. We are now suffering through our ninth year of drought, and the grape industry collapsed thanks to a major glut a few years ago. With no one to sell fruit to, it is hard to keep the business going. Jamie's parents have retired and, understandably, want financial security. Due to drought, grape glut, frost hits and the general state of the global economy, the vineyard has not been a source of financial security for a number of years, in fact, it has been a drain.

But things will improve - there's nothing surer. Everything is cyclical - it's just a matter of whether or not we can hang on until the upswing - and the fat lady ain't singing yet!