1 10” savoury tart shell pre baked
1 Large Fennel Bulb
150gm Traditional camembert, cut into small wedges
1 bch Chives, finely chopped
300mls Cream
3 Eggs
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Cut Fennel into small dice and cook slowly with a good splash of olive oil until soft but retaining shape. Mix the cream, eggs and chives together and season. Place the fennel and cheese in the tart shell and put in the oven prior to adding egg mix to avoid spillages. Pour in the egg mix and cook on 160oC for approximately 30 minutes

1 ea Large Pizza Base
50gm Tomato Paste
100gm Tasmanian Heritage Traditional Camembert
300gm Pumpkin
1 Tbsp Honey
1 Tspn Chopped Thyme and Rosemary
1 ea Clove Garlic, crushed
50gm Mushroom, pan fried
Olive Oil Salt and Pepper

Cut the pumpkin into uniform medium size dice. Toss with the honey, garlic, herbs, a good splash of olive oil, seasoning and roast on 200oC for 30 minutes. Cut the cheese into small wedges. Spread the tomato paste over the pizza base and scatter over the pumpkin, cheese and mushrooms. Bake in a hot oven for 15 minutes.

Osso Bucco ingredients:
6 osso bucco steaks
plain flour
2 tblspns butter
2 tblspns oil
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped carrots
½ cup sliced onion
4 tblspns tomato paste
1 heaped tblspn brown sugar
1 cup dry sherry
½ cut water
salt & pepper to taste
finely chopped parsley
Dust meat with flour. Heat butter and oil in large frypan and fry eat until browned on both sides. Remove to large flat casserole or baking dish. Add the vegetables to frypan and fry lightly. Add tomato paste, sugar, sherry, water, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Pour over meat, cover with lid or foil. Cook in 160°C oven until tender, about 2½ hours. Sprinkle with parsley.

Serves 6
This is a tasty economical dish. It can be served with either rice or noodles and green vegetables.

www.dandaraganorganicbeef.com.au

4 chicken breast
2 GOH Whole Chillies (finely chopped)
1 tsp GOH Oregano
1 tsp GOH Marjoram
1 lemon
100ml olive oil
salt and pepper

To make the marinade; peel the lemon, place in a mortar & pestle and crush with the dry ingredients (Whole Chillies, Marjoram, Oregano, salt & pepper) and oil. Apply this mixture to the chicken and refrigerate for 24 hours. The chicken is best cooked on a skillet for 5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through (don't worry if there is some charring as this works well with the marinade flavour). Serve with green salad and steamed new potatoes.

www.gourmet-organics.com.au

I was born and bred on the land and for many years have maintained my
interest in the land and it's associated problems with control of vermin and
pest eradication which threaten the productivity of Rural Producers.

I have noted over many years since the late 80's that a growing number of
small acerage holdings are being acquired by city folk, wishing to enjoy the
ambience and pristine lifestyle that comes with living in the great
outdoors.

However, I have also witnessed that a substantial number of these
folk have demonstrated thier attitude that having rabbits grazing up to the
back verandah of their newly acquired "bush block" is seen as being cute and
cuddly furry little "pets" which have a simplistic attrcation for the
family.

The same attitude is evident in the willingness to adopt the same
attitude towards kangaroos.?
David Lord (rightfully) points out, that this is again an emerging problem
which despite wonderful gains in rabbit eradication over the last decade or
so, is again rearing it's head of infestation in many areas.!!

It is clear that so many of the "hobby farmers" are unaware or ignorant to
the incredible speed of reproduction within the rabbit & kangaroo colonies
and level of devastation they cause within a very short time.? We are a
nation endeavouring to deal with the harsh reality of countywide drought and
the adoption of accepting the influx of roo's and rabbit's as cute inhabitants is simply a "no win" situation.

I believe that the Pastures Protection Boards and all other Goverment and
semi Govt Agencies should be making it clear to the "hobby Farming" community, that there are dire consequences in store, if that activity is not curtailed, as a matter of prioity.?

The Victorian State Government's decision to decommission Lake Mokoan in the North East of the state is a classical example of city ignorance and disdain for the rural community. Increasingly we see decisions made by city bureaucrats that are dictated by urban demands but impact negatively on rural communities. Unfortunately this has always been so but it must end soon or our water reserves and our food producing ability will be forever compromised.

The "gullible green" vote in the urban electorates have encouraged the State Government to decommission Lake Mokoan so that 52 GL of water can be returned to the Murray and the Snowy. Unfortunately for them to do this, 12 of the 52 GL is water they must buy back from irrigators so that those remaining in the depleted Broken River system have a reasonable level of security. In their own cost benefit analysis the DSE say that the 52 GL is worth $4.2 mill p.a. to the environment. They do not include, however, the loss of agricultural production from the 12 GL they are buying back. The national average production from 1 GL of water is $1mill and it supports about 30 jobs. Loosing 12 GL means loosing $12 mill p.a. of agricultural production and 360 jobs!. Not only that, this $12 mill has a 3:1 flow on effect throughout the community. A further $36 mill and about 1000 jobs will be lost because of this ill conceived decision. This madness has to stop.

Join the protest rally outside the DSE offices in Benalla at 8:30 am on Feb 5th or send donations to Justice for the Broken Valley, C/- 298 Booth Rd, Taminick, Vic 3675.

Michael Reid
Secretary JBV

On a rural road a state trooper pulled this farmer over and said: "Sir, do you realize your wife fell out of the car several miles back?"

To which the farmer replied: "Thank God, I thought I had gone deaf!"

Morris and his wife went to the state fair every year. Each year, Morris would say: “I’d love a ride in that helicopter.”
Each year Esther would reply: “I know Morris, but that helicopter ride is $50. $50 is $50.

One year Morris said: Esther, I am 85. If I don’t ride that helicopter now, I might never get another chance!
Esther said: “ I know Morris, but $50 is $50!”

The pilot overheard the couple. He said: “Folks, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take both of you for a ride. If you can stay quiet for the whole ride and not say one word, I won’t charge you, but if you say one word, it’s $50! Morris and Esther agreed and up they went.

The pilot did all kinds of fancy aerial acrobatics but not a word was heard.

When they landed the pilot turned to Morris and said: “By golly, I’m impressed, I gave you everything I had, and not one word, I’m impressed!”

Morris replied: “Well, I was going to say something when Esther fell out, but $50 is $50!”

Submitted by BFA

On summer vacation, Josie and her son, James, went to visit Josie's Uncle Jon who owned a nice farm. While there, Uncle Jon was helping one of his cows give birth, when he noticed his four-year-old Great Nephew, James, standing at the fence, wide-eyed and soaking in the whole event.

Uncle Jon thought to himself: "Great, now I'm gonna have to explain the 'birds and bees' to him. Well, no need to jump the gun. I'll just wait and see if he has any questions, and I'll just answer them as best I can."

After Uncle Jon finished helping the cow with her birthing, he walked over to James and asked him: "Do you have any questions about what you seen here tonight?"

"Just one," the little boy whispered, eyes still wide with wonder. "How fast was that calf going when he hit the cow?"

BFA

Telstra had an operating surplus of 800M$ in the mid nineties before privatisation and that was to put a Fibre Optic network across Australia, replacing the worn out copper system. Residents today could have had 24Mbps ADSL even in fairly remote areas, have we missed the boat or can the recent 'Ruddslide' get Rural Australia back on track?