[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #8F9F59;”] H [/dropcap]ow many times have you been lured into buying a sumptuous-looking cookbook, only to find that the fine print includes ingredients that you have either never heard of, or which are almost impossible to buy? (Fresh bamboo sticks, dried banana leaf, mud crab…)

And we all own at least one cookbook that has such convaluted, complex recipes that even if you source the ingredients, you haven’t got time to devote an entire day to making dinner.

There are no such problems with this week’s choice for Bookmarks, which is a collection of recipes from the Port Fairy Consolidated School and Community.

This is what Michaelie Clark, from Warrnambool Books, has to say about her selection:

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #8F9F59;”] ‘T [/dropcap]his book was released by the Port Fairy Consolidated School and Community last year and is very impressive (deviates greatly from the old binders you used to get with photocopies of Mum’s yo-yo recipe, etc)!

It has been a consistent seller since its release.

In 2007, the Port Fairy Consolidated School made a successful application to join the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program, which gave the students the tools and support to grow, harvest, prepare and share food, with a strong focus on the value of local produce.

An important result of the program is the Shared Hands Cookbook, a beautiful collection of recipes from the school and its associates, the local culinary community, and others they are inspired by. The book includes high quality, full-colour photos of most of the dishes, plus lots of images from the garden, the school and around the town.

The recipes are easy to follow, diverse and incredibly tempting (the ‘Baked Zucchini Stuffed with Spicy Rice’ and the ‘Quince and White Chocolate Muffins’ would be pretty hard to pass up), but best of all is the book’s wonderful local flavour.’

Yum!

[box] You can keep up with new releases at Warrnambool Books via its Facebook page.[/box]

 Catch up on our other Bookmarks…

Ben Sanders: Retro meets whimsy

Gorgeous working dogs

Getting fit the fun way with Marie Bean

Can Paul Jennings put a foot wrong?

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #8F9F59;”] T [/dropcap]urning old quarries into beautiful places and spaces is something of a Warrnambool speciality: the late Sir Fletcher Jones did just that with Pleasant Hill outside his Raglan Parade factory.

About a kilometre up the hill from his masterpiece is another, equally impressive transformation of a former council quarry into the Warrnambool Community Garden and Hub.

Instead of taking things from the land, the Warrnambool Community Garden has spent the past six years putting life back into it.

The 2 acre site on the corner of Grieve St and Grafton Rd is a shining example of organic and permaculture gardening, with the site divided into areas of raised vegetable beds, more than 50 fruit and nut trees, a herb garden, bush tucker area, communal garden and 56 individual garden beds, all of which appear to be thriving.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #8F9F59;”] T [/dropcap]he individual plots are planted and maintained by group members who are assigned a patch of dirt for their own enjoyment. When Bluestone visited last week, the spring crops were booming, with beans, snap peas, rhubarb, spring onions, several varieties of lettuce and thick clumps of silverbeet among the delicious produce.

Incredibly, there was barely a weed to be seen.

“We have a flag system,” explained Convenor Geoff Rollinson.

“That means that if your plot is looking a bit neglected, a flag goes up on it…but we have never had a flag. It is the thought of being flagged that is the deterrent,” he said, laughing.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #8F9F59;”] T [/dropcap]he garden is home to several employment scheme projects and works in closely with other like-minded environmental groups around the area, who can also make use of the Hub: a retro-fitted portable classroom that showcases energy efficient building.

This weekend (October 12-13 from 10am), the garden is hosting its annual Dirty Weekend full of gardening and sustainable living-related activities, including composting, permaculture techniques, learning about edible weeds and indigenous foods, cooking with ‘ugly’ vegetables and various stalls, exhibits and competitions. A dry stone wall building workshop will also be held with expert David Long ($88 – bookings 0429 928 511).

[box type=”bio”] For more information on the garden, or how to become involved, visit its website here.[/box]

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This is the sort of thing that once stimulated “controversy” in households across Australia…to Hoover, or not to Hoover, the new carpets? When Mum bought her first Hoover in the 1950s, this was included in the instruction booklet.

If you have been following this section, you will know that given we are called Bluestone, we thought it only fitting that each week we dig out a track that has the word ‘blue’ in its lyrics or title.

What better way to start the working week than with some music?

This week we have chosen a smooth classic, Blue Skies, by Willie Nelson.

You can play it here.

 Catch up on our other blue tunes…

Indigo Girls: Tangled up in Blue

Emmylou Harris: Blue Kentucky Girl

Etta James: Misty Blue

Flunk: Blue Monday

Linda Ronstadt: Blue Bayou

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T [/dropcap]HE nightmares began for Ashlea Wines about a fortnight ago.

Cows were running loose, judges failed to show up, the rain came down in bucketloads and Ashlea left all of the prizes at home.

Such is the stress of being the chief steward for the entire cattle section of the Camperdown Agricultural Show which on Saturday (October 12) kicks off the show season for South-West Victoria.

Ashlea, from South Ecklin, has been chief steward for the past six years and still suffers the last-minute nerves that inevitably come with having full responsibility for making sure everything runs smoothly.

That includes organising judges, of which there are five, securing sponsorship for about $8000 worth of prizes, selecting and organising the feature breed events, and setting up and running the cattle events on the day.

“Every year I say that I am not going to do it for another year…and here I am,” she said with a laugh.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T [/dropcap]he Camperdown show is organised by perhaps one of the smallest committees – only eight hardy volunteers – yet it boasts a strong following, especially for its horse and cattle events.

Ashlea expects to oversee around 100 cattle entered for this year’s show, and that includes five milkers and one bull from her own family’s herd, Bubblefrost Jerseys.

“Fortunately my fiancee (Geoff Church) and cousin (Elyse Meade) will be preparing the cows on the day and looking after that side of things,” she said.

In reality, the preparations begin much earlier – in fact months earlier, when cows intended for show are broken into halters so that they become accustomed to being led around the show-ring.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] A [/dropcap]nd then there is the shampooing, shaving, brushing and general preening which needs to be done to ensure the cows are looking udderly gorgeous.

“I am a bit soft on my girls and have them rugged leading up to show day, just like you would a horse, so that their coats are the best condition they can be,” Ashlea explains.

It is not only the cows that need to look good, but also their owners. Those who lead the cows around the ring are expected to dress for the part.

“Last year we had heavy rain so we allowed everyone to walk around in gumboots,” Ashlea said.

Even as a chief steward, there are some things which remain beyond our control.

[box] Find out more about the Camperdown Show on its Facebook page.[/box]

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