There isn’t any need to go into detail about who we are and why we set up this blog: all that detail can be found from the ‘Welcome’ (‘Home’) page, the ‘About & Contact’ page and ‘FAQs’.
A blog is something I (we) have thought about setting up for some years. It was just a case of finding the right formula and it was only relatively recently that it became clear that Olive’s Cottage, with all the family and personal memories, was the appropriate vehicle.
A blog differs from a normal website in that while it has some static pages (pages that are rarely, if ever, updated) it has at least one dynamic page, where regular updates or articles are posted on the ‘Blog’ page. A blog is largely a case of self-indulgence, however, hopefully you will find Olive’s Kitchen provides you with some reading and entertainment of interest. We have a wealth of material to draw on, from our own resources and through friends and acquaintances.
With less than three weeks to go, the next topic provides a recipe for a Christmas cake we have been cooking for 33 years – no, not the same cake all that time; we make one every December! If you like rich fruit cake, you too should make it!
Following that, the next lot of of postings will cover:
- Several days we recently spent at Olive’s Cottage, including a five hour Sunday lunch where we sampled 25-year old Tasmanian cheddar cheese, ate amazingly fresh vegetables provided by our nephews and sampled a range of Tassie wines.
- A recipe for my take on ‘coq-au-vin’.
- A farewell to Nat and Rosalie White (one of Rhonda’s sisters) as they leave their winery, Main Ridge Estate, after 40 years.
- Two friends recently visited us from Germany but can only go to Tassie for six days – what to do, what to show them, …?
- Salad basics: While the standard of cooking in Australia has reached excellent levels, there are still ways to improve our salads.
- The GST debate: Putting on my statistician’s hat, my calculations show that if the full GST model were to be implemented, the extra money Australians would have to find is a lot more than they might think, not just to cope with increased prices of fresh food but to maintain their same overall standard of living .
To set the scene for future articles, check out the map at the top. It shows that Tasmania is quite small compared to the rest of Australia. However, it is quite large in its own right, being somewhat bigger in area than either Switzerland or Denmark.
The blog largely focuses on the Tamar River Valley, one of the most beautiful and fertile areas of Australia. The estuary is 70 kilometers (over 40 miles) in length, stretching from Launceston to Bass Strait. For a larger scale map, click here: Tamar Valley.
If you feel inclined, be in touch via the ‘About & Contact’ page.
We hope you enjoy Olive’s Kitchen!
Robin and Rhonda