Garden Hints & Tips
Summer in ‘tropical’ Victoria
With our weather recent combination of heat and wet our gardens have responded with tropical style growth – especially the veggies!
Victoria Arnel
Cooks Column
Christmas Canapés
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Christmas is just around the corner. Assuming you have all your cakes and puddings sprinkled with a touch of brandy and well-wrapped, maturing away in your pantry, you might like to prepare some savoury treats for those unexpected visitors who call by.
Garden Hints & Tips
Summer gardening tips
‘They say’ it’s going to be a hot one - and going by these pre-summer above average temps ‘they’ may be right.
Cooks Column
Pesto 5 ways
Don’t you just LERV pesto? Well, here’s a treat for you: Pesto in five versions!
Garden Hints & Tips
Summer herbs for flavour
On a visit to one of my favourite spots …The Benowa Botanic Gardens, these gardens are in Southport on the coast and if you are in the area are a must visit. There are several areas in the gardens where families congregate to relax, play, eat or just to explore.
Cooks Column
Date and Apple Squares
Here’s a date and apple slice that you can almost convince yourself is good for you. So much fruit and rolled oats - you can almost feel it doing you good.
History
Family Contribution To War Effort
The Koch family made a significant contribution to the Australian war effort during the World War 1. No less than four members of the family are listed on the Colbinabbin and Rushworth (Shire of Waranga) war memorials. This is all the more surprising because the family was of Prussian descent,
Garden Hints & Tips
Gardening tools I cannot do without - Part 2
Gardening tools I cannot do without - Part 2 I am a big believer in using gardening as an exercise, but I also believe in just sitting in the garden with a cuppa or a beer and enjoying just looking at the garden and its wildlife. As I have aged
Cooks Column
Orange and olive oil cake
Here’s a challenge for you. If you made the orange cake featured recently in the News, here’s another - almost the same - from another writer on the Cooks Column team. Have a go at this recipe and tell us which one you preferred. You might even like
Cooks Column
Mei Goreng
Mei Goreng This is a classic Indonesian dish using traditional flavours of garlic, chilli, palm sugar and lime. You can substitute the tofu with chicken, adjust the ingredients to suit the fresh produce available in any season, and experiment with different mixes of Asian greens and herbs - the final
Garden Hints & Tips
Gardening tools I cannot do without - Part 1
Gardening tools I cannot do without - Part 1 As gardeners we tend to acquire all kinds of tools to help us with our gardening, especially after we reach ‘a certain age’. Here are some tools I find I cannot do without. Icy-pole sticks. These are handy for pricking out
Garden Hints & Tips
Grow rhubarb for delicious pies, preserves and jams
One of the most rewarding plants for the little effort it requires is rhubarb, a hardy perennial plant grown for its tart (but delicious) edible stalks. It’s supposed to prefer a cooler climate for good results but it can certainly thrive in our climate (although it can get a