Winter Warmth..........

I love my European Quilt...........made on the factory floor in Camberwell, Victoria, albeit the down is not Australian.......however, I still think this is a very good product which promotes Australian made products.

Early shopping is the key here....enjoy......Wendy!

View Online   MADE IN MELBOURNE AT OUR CAMBERWELL FACILITIES, JUST FOR YOU!  This winter, we are very excited and proud to introduce our new, and improved, range of down quilts. We only use pure, high fill power down in our luxury quilts. NO feather. We have also made some significant, cutting edge innovations to our quilt constructions, incorporating a sealed, baffle box to prevent the down from shifting. With four warmth levels to choose from, we have the perfect quilt for you.

POLISH 550 QUILT  The Polish 550 quilt range features a pure white duck down sourced from Poland. Duck down naturally has a maximum fill power of 550 and we use the best quality available. The quilt shell is woven with Egyptian cotton to a 270 thread count cambric fabric and features a baffle box construction so the filling cannot move around. Available in 4 warmth levels: Light Warmth, Classic Warmth, Medium Warmth & Extra Warmth.  Shop POLISH 550     HUNGARIAN 650 QUILT  The Hungarian 650 quilt features a very high quality 650 fill power filling that combines the finest goose and duck down from Hungary. The quilt shell is woven in Germany of Egyptian cotton to a 440 thread count sateen fabric and features a sealed baffle box construction so that the filling cannot move around. Available in 4 warmth levels: Light Warmth, Classic Warmth, Medium Warmth & Extra Warmth.  Shop HUNGARIAN 650     PILZEN 750  The Pilzen 750 quilt features a very high quality 750 fill power goose down filling sourced from the Pilzen region in the Czech Republic. The quilt shell is woven in Germany of Egyptian cotton to a 440 thread count sateen fabric and features a sealed baffle box construction so that the filling cannot move around. Available in 4 warmth levels: Light Warmth, Classic Warmth, Medium Warmth & Extra Warmth.  Shop PILZEN 750     MASUREN 900 SILK QUILT  The Masuren 900 silk quilt is the most luxurious quilt in the world. It features the highest quality 900 fill power goose down filling from the Masuren Lakes in Poland. The quilt shell is woven in Germany of pure silk and features a sealed baffle box construction so that the filling cannot move around. Available in 4 warmth levels: Light Warmth, Classic Warmth, Medium Warmth & Extra Warmth.  Shop MASUREN 900

Farmers urge consumers to 'buy Australian'

I can't believe that with all the wonderful fresh fruit we have in Australia, that in the last several weeks we were faced with a hepatitis A outbreak because of imported berries.....I am aghast with people not realising that our Australian fruit is fabulous...to say nothing of the very strict controls we have here.  I was reading an article from the The Victorian Farmers Federation and this is what it said:

            "The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) urged consumers to buy Australian-grown produce in the wake of the hepatitis A outbreak.  VFF's Peter Toohey said stricter standards here ensured eating Australian-grown fruit was safe.

            "We want to talk about the quality of Australian fruit and vegies - best in the world," Mr Toohey said.  "Most regulated in the world, to make sure that they're clean and healthy. Everything along the whole supply chain is checked off to make sure that we could [produce] really good, clean fruit. No contamination issues."

Image - Mornington Peninsula Produce- here

Now that gets me thinking I should stress again the Farmers Gate which I have posted about on previous occasions.  This is straight from the Australian farmers......no thirdperson involved.......and you can't get any fresher than that.  Have you tried them?

I thought with the long weekend this weekend, this is a good chance for those who could be visiting the Mornington Peninsula to take advantage of the many Farmers who are listed on the brochure "Farm Gate".  These are usually available at the tourist bureau or from the Farmers Gate.

There are many and varied different  farmers who are selling their beautifully fresh Australian produce.  Why not get along this weekend and enjoy the "fruits of their labour" so to speak!  At the "Farm Gate"...included on the list are...the hours of operation...the produce available... and the time of year the produce is available.  I found this to be invaluable and would recommend you get a copy of this Farm Gate list when you are next on the Peninsula or download it...here

Here are a few of the farm gates I have visited:

Mock Orchards & Totally Pure Fruits, 1095 Mornington Flinders Road, Red Hill,  is one of the Farm Gates I would recommend, the produce is certified Demeter bio-dynamic and has been in existence since 1974...a good recommendation...here

Del Grosso's Orchard, 101A Stanleys Road, Red Hill South and they  grow apples: Pink Lady, Fuji, Jonagold, Delicious and Granny Smith.  Also delicious cherries, plums, pears and nashi fruit and are open every day during summer...here

Pure Peninsula Honey, Derril Road, Moorooduc this is an education if nothing else. What I learnt about bees was astounding......maybe you are aware of what these little creatures are capable of etc., but I wasn't and it was fascinating.  This property is very interesting because of its production of an extensive range of 100% pure Australian honey and related products, farm shop and mock apiary....here

Pure Peninsula Honey, Derril Road Moorooduc Produce - Farm Gate 

There are many, many more Farm Gates and produce of course, and a visit to the extensive Mornington Peninsula website will provide you with all the information you need to purchase some wonderful produce at very good prices...and of course, helping our Australian Farmers....here

Image - Peninsula Page

Do try and go along to these Farm Gates......they are excellent Australian value.......Wendy

Easy Food for entertaining......

A very belated Happy New Year to everyone;  I was incredibly busy leading up to Christmas with a heavy workload and family functions which took the place of my blog.  However, I am now back on track.

The festive season I hope for all of you, was rewarding and most enjoyable, albeit our summer in Victoria hasn't been wonderful, but rather erratic weather wise, but very pleasant for entertaining.

Speaking of which, here is a recipe I came across during the summer break and it is delicious and oh so easy, which is what I love.  I hope you like it and would welcome your comments.

INGREDIENTS
9 ounces fresh goat cheese

6 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives

6 tablespoons finely chopped pistachios

1-1/2 tbsp finely crushed pink peppercorns mixed with 1-1/2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS

1.  Cut each log of goat cheese into 18 pieces and shape goat cheese into balls.

2. Arrange chives, pistachios and pink peppercorn/parsley mixture each into 3 small bowls. Roll goat cheese "truffles" into choice of coatings and place on a baking tray or plate. Chill until ready to serve.

I am not what you would call a great cook.  I don't really enjoy cooking the mundane day to day dishes, so when I come across a recipe that is easy but looks attractive and tastes delicious, I'm very willing to try it and I loved this one.  A very good start to a luncheon or alternatively at the end of the meal with a lovely glass of wine of your choice.

Do you have a special recipe to share or do you like to keep them to yourself?   Perhaps you might like to share one with me particularly if it is easy and quite impressive on the plate and palate, of course!

I would love to know your thoughts on this one...Enjoy!.........Wendy