Spring is certainly a wonderful time of the year in Country Victoria; there's nothing more beautiful than healthy, green landscapes, blossoming flora, the smell of sun showers on the warm soil and people mowing their lawns, maintaining their blooming gardens in preparation to start spending more time outdoors now that the weather is more mild. Any wonder Spring is the popular season for weddings!  One place I find particularly beautiful, especially at this time of the year is Bright in North-East Victorias High Country. Bright is surrounded by Alpine Ranges and is the base of Mountains popular for hiking and snow skiing. It is still quite chilly in the early stages of Spring being so close to the snow capped mountains, but when the sun is...

A question I get asked A LOT from both locals and tourists alike is.. 'What Pub would you recommend going to to get a good Chicken Parmy in town?' So.. Myself and a team of trustworthy taste testing recruits have recently set out to put a number of local Pubs that serve the old faithful, much loved, traditional Chicken Parmy to the test! and here is the final verdict - Parmys from the following restaurants came in as the favourites..5 to 1 #5 The Yarrawonga Hotel -35 Belmore Street, Yarrawonga VIC'The VIC' as the locals call it serve up my personal favourite chips! they're always crunchy and delicious with plenty of flavour! Their Parmy is pretty stock standard, yummy served with either salad or...

If you're someone who gets just as excited for your daily coffee as you do for Christmas then you and I have that in common! It's okay to treat yourself to the best barista made beverages and be a bit of a coffee snob sometimes!  Hard Luck Coffee Co is one of my favorite coffee stops in town, owned and run by two lovely souls that are not only great Baristas who have found their niche in the coffee buiz, but have created a friendly, inviting atmosphere that gives you a great industrial yet homely first impression with a funky hipster vibe!The beautiful pastel colour palette is illuminated by warm lighting throughout the interior, bringing the old building to life - accompanied by...

Wintertime in the country can be a world of fun! especially if you've got access to a 4WD. This month friends and I went on a road trip South-East of Yarrawonga/Mulwala to Victorias beautiful High Country. On a fine, sunny Winters Saturday morning we headed down through Benalla onto the Midland Highway passing through Swanpool, past Lake Nillahcootie, through Mansfield and onto Mt Buller Road - High Country bound. We started our journey through the hills on Mt Sterling Road, an easy 2WD road with amazing views of the surrounding mountains - standing out among them all was Mt Buller, with its white snow caps shinning brightly on a beautiful, clear day - almost ready to kick off the snow season.  We continued around the...

There are real benefits to buying and cooking Fruit and Veg in the season that they are grown and harvested. Eating 'seasonally' is healthier in that you can be confident that the produce you're buying hasn't been sitting in refrigerated freight trains/trucks for several weeks before being dusted off and popped on the shelves with the 'fresh food' label attached to the display basket. The out of season (in your area) produce normally has to travel a long way to get to your local supplier - sometimes from overseas! This is usually picked earlier than its ultimate ripeness stage to give it time to ripen during it's travels. Unfortunately you don't get the same nutritional benefits and taste from produce picked...

I love cooking with wine! it adds a rich flavour and so much body to a winter meal.. accompanied by a glass to sip away at of course!These recipes are great if you have a little bit left in the bottle that isn't ideal for drinking anymore to avoid wastage. These are perfect winter warmers that I make all the time! Ingredients are mostly sourced from local grocers and butchers. I also get house made pasta, sauces, oil, gormet Murray River salt falkes and a lot of seasonal vegetables from the Richglen Olive Farm on the Murray Valley Highway. You can also get a great drop of wine from all of the wineries in surrounding towns, some are on offer at local bottle...