With my Scottish heritage, it is no surprise that I grew up on Black Pudding and absolutely love the stuff. There are some pretty terrible options around, but you simply cannot go wrong with the Oakwood Black Sausage. It has the right amount of spice without being too sweet, holds it shape well when frying without being dry or rubbery. You can buy directly from Oakwood Smallgoods or Maxi Foods in Castlemaine.
Read MoreTop Five Reasons to Get Lost
Read MoreAs we hurtle at break-neck speed toward Winter, there is still no sign of any real rain or even a dramatic cooling of temperature. The hottest, driest Summer on record is still wreaking havoc for our farmers and gardeners although the brilliant Autumnal colours showering streets in reds and golds seem quite oblivious to this unusually mild weather. Here's hoping the rains come soon before the frosts arrive.
Read MoreFor a chance to win a double pass, tell us what you are MOST looking forward to at this year's Clunes Booktown Festival by completing the form below. But hurry - entries close Friday 26th April 2019 at 5.00pm.
Read MoreDelay for a moment, as we did, and I’ll take you to a country town, place you at the entrance of an old Scout Hall on a Saturday afternoon, where ladies have set up tables and laid out their stalls with their kids, selling knitwear, soap and not much else to the few who wander in.
Back in 2007 the millennial drought was well under way. The country was dry and farming communities were hurting. Clunes, the historic town 40km west of Daylesford, was suffering. Shops were closing and there was an uneasy sense of decline in the community. A group of locals put their minds together and decided to gather some book traders and turn Clunes into a mini book fair for a day. They expected a few hundred people. Six thousand showed up.
Read MoreWho said G&T's were purely a summer drink? This spicy cocktail will warm you up as the weather gets cooler.
2 orange slices (for more flavour, use dehydrated or brûléed orange slices)
1 teaspoon cane sugar
1 cinnamon stick
3 star anise pods
60ml Animus Arboretum Gin
150ml Strange Love No. 8 Tonic (or any other great quality tonic)
Add ice, orange, cinnamon stick and star anise to the glass. Pour gin over the ingredients to help infuse the flavours. Add tonic and stir before drinking. Voila!
Read MoreDrive to the eastern edge of Daylesford, where the elms begin to give way to farmland. Turn at the Farmers Arms and just before you get to the old railway bridge, take a left and follow the road for a few hundred metres to the old butter factory on your left. What you’re confronted with is a building that is distinctly Ye Olde Worldly, even King Arthur.
Read MoreDaylesford’s Farmers Arms Hotel is the type of character-filled, friendly pub that every country town wishes it had - and which dozens of metro pubs have tried try to emulate. The beautiful red brick building, complete with red geraniums in window boxes, gilt sign-writing on windows and clipped hedge houses the quintessential character filled bar.
Read MoreDanny Wootton is a quiet man. Softly spoken with a calming energy about him. You get the distinct impression that he sees the world differently. And not just because he spends most of his time looking at it through a lens.
Read MoreThis month, my esteemed colleague Richard Cornish is taking a break to look after his mum so I decided to shake things up a bit.
Read MoreIn the middle of the native forest on the outskirts of Blackwood is a sprawling garden that has erupted into a riotous range of oranges and reds.
Read MoreChef Tansy Good has not laid out a Phil Spector style wall of flavour, instead, in her considered style, she has left space on the palate for wine.
Read MoreLocal hospitality king Frank Moylan and his wife Melissa Macfarlane have returned to Kyneton’s Royal George Hotel.
Read MoreArtist John Lloyd sits in a stuffed leather chair under one of his landscapes.
Read MoreAlison Pouliot changed the way I see the world and she continues to do so.
Read MoreChillOut Festival in Daylesford and Hepburn Springs, Lost Trades Fair in Kyneton, Castlemaine State Festival, Old Hepburn Hotel and Daylesford Polo.
Read MoreMarch is always one of my favourite months of the year: Summer is in full swing and is always reluctant to let Autumn appear; …
Read MoreThe Palais-Hepburn has been reborn and it is beautiful. The 92-year-old dance hall in Hepburn Springs’ main drag has undergone refurbishment…
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