Posts Tagged ‘country’

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COOKIE’S DIARY

Published November 20, 2010 by Anna Johnston

A note from Anna.

Finally, the time has come and I can introduce you to my Cookie, she’s a wise old owl who knows more about hospitality than anyone I know, having ran an elegant Country Guest House in one of Australia’s wine regions for over a quarter century & I’m so proud to call her my mentor, my friend & a woman I can only hope to aspire to, she’s one tough lady!

I first met Cookie when I was a little girl of just 5 years old when my family stayed at her beautiful old country home, The Flamingo where every evening we dressed up in our best & sat down to dinner with the other guests at a magnificently set dining table complete with gleaming silver candleware, crystal glasses & floral arrangements, the likes I’d never seen until then.  I felt like I was Cinderella as I watched the beautifully coiffured Cookie always dressed so elegantly sit down to dinner with us all, to me, she was sophistication personified. Continue Reading

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MARMALADE DAYS

Published November 11, 2010 by Anna Johnston

The love of cooking is all part of my DNA makeup; you see I come from a long line of awesome Home Cooks.  We grew up around the aromas & production of a big old country kitchen where homemade bread, big vegetable gardens, orchards & preserves were part of our everyday lives.  In fact I’m pretty amazed at times that both my brother Kris & I made a career out of cooking, because we still groan at the thought of dangling precariously from heavily laden & sticky apricot trees, picking the last of the summer fruit for jam making.  We’re still pretty sure it was a punishment for some childhood wrong doing; Oh how we hated the fruit picking part!  It sort of sounds idyllic now though doesn’t it; but anyone whose ever come off worse for the wear after a rotten apricot throwing contest knows it aint all glamour my friends!

These days I’m the city girl living in a trendy suburb, & dashing around at top speed ‘as ya do’, but sometimes if I can get away, I love an escape to Riverbourne & get around the big old country kitchen for some serious pantry cooking with the gals in my family & on this little country getaway we made amongst other things, Marmalade. Continue Reading

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