General Chat

Hi Wilson ,sounds to me as though the soil is exhausted..i reckon to grow parsnips and carrots in soil that has been well manured two years previously.,then use growmoore fertalizer every year after that,a liquid feed of some sort over the leaves helps too.but not one made from horse or cow muck ,all that will do is make the roots screw and fork.
When did you last lime the soil ,that helps release the food in the soil.
Could also be lack of water making the plants shoot away to ensure seeding before they die ,lol,you have found out too how temperementle root crops can be.
I add my hopes Merle that that knee will improve quickly,legs are no fun when they play up ,for whatever reason.and ,in my case ,age dosn't help a lot
Think the boss has ideas of doing a bit more present shopping later this morning ,so i think we are Metro Centre bound ,so ,if i play my cards right and persuade her to buy me a Mac donnalds chicken burger meal ,i may well get away with doing soup again for tea weeeeell.it saves on the cooking and the power ,he he.
Looking again at you question Wilson ,and the mention of 15 inch tap roots ,i reckon your poor parsnips are heading down in a desperate hunt for water,this can also be the reason for them being dry and woody ,not good,those ones you will have to use as fuel on the B B Q. he he.
I havn't even looked at my root veggies yet ,they may even be worse than yours ,seeing as i was away for over six weeks at the worst time of year for their care ,oooooops.
Time to go and turn the meat in the chalet Mary ,and at this time of day ,i will be putting my gardewning jacket on ,brrrrr,
Catch you all later,Fred.

Evening....:>)) .....and good morning Fred.

Could go a nice MacChicken burger meself for tea, but we are settling on two grilled Flake ( Shark ) with Tartae sauce..... and some tattie cakes ( with a smidgin of Vinegar ) from the local Finch & Chimp shop....:>))

Never been a Parsnip eater, although back in the 50s they were forced into us....lol
Eat ya Parsnips me dear ol mum would say....:>((
Never required that taste, nor for carrots or Swede, Brussell sprouts, Turnips,Pumpkin,Caulliflower, Cabbage ( Although i did enjoy Sauerkraut.... ) Dad used to say, Eat ya Carrots, so you can see in the dark...:>))

Always loved the summer Vegies.....Lettuce,Tomato, Onions, Spring onions, shallots, Capsicum, Peppers, Peas ( by the plate full ) Beans, Potato ( by the bucket load..lol ) Garlic sangas,....( Great for keeping the girls at bay, specially the ugly ones on a blind date.....hee hee ).....and my favourite was Broad Beans that i used to sit for ages at the table, and pop them out of their skin....Yum!

The summer green vege made up for the ones i didnt eat Brussel, Cabbage, Turnip...ect.. so i still got my dosage of Green Vege.

This Sunday i wil drive to the local Scout Hall and purchase a Pine Chrissy tree, as i do every year, although......they are getting a bit pricey now and about $55 au for a 6 footer.....but just i cant bring myself to buy one of those plastic K-mart ones.
Always had a Pine tree since the 1940s ( Tradition )

Only a few weeks to Christmas....so i woud like to wish all on the Wattle thread a safe and merry Christmas.

I will again this year don the red suit and white whiskers and attempt ( attempt i say...lol ) to climb up on our house roof with a sack of presents for my grandkids after they arrive on Christmas day.....and do the Ho,Ho, Ho..thingy...before our Xmas lunch.....and do my best not to fall off the damn roof......lol

Keep safe everyone
Tony & Barb....:>))

Hiya Tony ,glad i popped back now lol.
afraid i can't stand shark in any shape or form after the last time i cooked some up,he he ,i tried putting extra salt on it ,pepper ,and in the end paprika ,but it still tasted naff,but the cat was sniffing and looked interested ,so i put it on his plate and put it down ,forgetting that it was laced with cayenne pepper and paprika.poor little B****r took a massive mouthful and without chewing ,swallowed the lot ' I tell you ,over the next five minutes ,the poor cat did more circus tricks than i ever thought possible .
i can laugh about it now ,but that poor cat until the day it died would run a mile if you even put a piece of cod down for him one sniff of fish ,and he was history for at least an hour.
The only way to eat parsnip is to roast it with a covering of honey or wrapping it in streaky bacon and roasting with the meat.
Other than that mashing it in with the potatoesboiled though on it's own ,no way ,yuk
I have fresh home grown broad beans either cooked or raw on a salad ,ditto with carrot,or shredded cabbage,sweede, the same ,but turnip .i won't grow or eat any way ,it is disgusting.
We are thinking of a real growing Christmas tree next year,i do miss the smell of a real tree,and we can get a 1 and a half metre potted one for £14 which can go into the garden for the following year,which will see the two of us out in style.
You watch that roof you daft skyte lol,leave that sort of trick to the younger ones ,who heal faster he he.
Offto get ready for the fray ,lol,catch you later.Fred.

Morning All,

Ahh Tony, all those vegies you didn't like as a child, i pity you poor mum trying to get them into you :-)), I remember absolutely hating cauliflower, and would sit looking at it and moving it around my plate until it was stone cold and even more disgusting. I couldn't even con the cat or dog into eating it, and believe me i tried reeeal hard, but i luuurve it now lol. I love all vegies now, especially straight from the patch, peas never make it into the house to be cooked here lol, there is always someone out there just eating a couple. How can you not like parsnip mashed with carrot?, yummmy. I even like swede and turnips in small doses.

Badger your description of the cat doing circus tricks made me laugh, poor cat, you gave him fish aversion ha ha, wonder he let you feed him anything after that lol


If you put a pine tree in a pot, even a good sized one, it won't get too big for several years, might get a bit root bound, but they last for ages. We had one it a big pot for several years. and it doesn't drop it's pine needles everywhere like a cut one. Was a bit of a business getting it inside when it was getting too big, good job for the bag trolley. Just used to put it back outside in the garden for he rest of the year and not look after it too well.


Have a great Sunday

There you Go Tony lol,getting picked upon yet again ,he he
Cauli either on it.s own or done with a breadcrumb and cheese coating [polish style] or done as a cauli cheese not forgetting the teaspoon of a good mustard,loooverly.
Parsnips ,wrapped in streaky bacon and roast in the oven along with whatever meat. or done the same way with honey ,not bacon,and even steamed parsnip mashed in with the mashed tattie mmmmmmm.
Neither peas ,or the broad bean make it into the kitchen i even dice or grate a little raw parsnip into my salads he he.cabbage too grated on a salad with beetroot leaves ,Wilson has the right idea lol.
The pot and tree idea is on hold for a while until i find a good tree with proper roots ,as when i checked the one in the pot carried a warning ,[this tree has had the main roots removed ,leaving only enough to stop it shedding needles for a few weeks,this tree will not survive outside in a garden [not daft these people are they]
My intention was ,to remove it from the pot and grow it on in the garden ,digging it back up carefully each December and putting it back out after the new year ,oh well ,back to the drawing board.
My beutiful moggie brought me a smashing present this morning ,one that earned her a special pat ,and stroke as soon as i saw it as i opened the door.
There was Hissy ,sat there waiting with her paw on one of my most hated enemy.one who destroys many of my young seedlings ,one that i hate with a passion.It lay on the step ,feathers everywhere ,a nice ,dead wood pigeon,had it have been nice and plump i would have kept it for my son who loves game birds but i find too strong .
The cat always goes for the back of the neck ,even when she brings me a mouse so the meat was not mutilated or marked ,seems she even started to pluck it for me ,such attention to detail lol.
Any way ,after i picked it up and gave her a stroke and pat ,she went off quite happily,so now i wait ,for her to bring me a rabbit ,which will def' go in the pot ,lovely grub.
Hope all are having a great weekend ,either monging about ,or getting ready for the big day ,but with the weather over there ,stay safe all of you ,god bless ,Fred & Liz

afternoon all,

welscome to the wattler cooking show...........................lol

not many veggie I dont eat, always had to eat what was on the plate so no point in fussing, although was not particularly fond of trombone, even stuffed it was still watery....

we went up to the block at Crafers on the weekend and cut down a christmas tree, first time ever cut down own tree, uts a but straggily and leans to one side.......but its ours and looks grtand in a bucket of sand ontop of the dining room table.........

got a lovely early chrissy present a whizz bang massage chair (like the ones you have to pay for in shopping centres. It has cewrtainly made my old back feel better.

time to head off to the gym.....

love to all and ((((hugs)))) Cowgirlxx

Goodness me..all this talk about veges is making me hungry..I love me veg and think I would make a good vegetarian...Not one that I wont eat..Hope my Chalet is working well on the meat Fred and it is ready for Christmas..
Us Aussies cant believe you cant buy corned beef in the butcher shops in the Uk..I thought that was where it originated, and was a staple diet on the UK menu..lol.

We don't have a Christmas tree any more as we usually go to one of the kids for Christmas and there is nobody here to see it so its enjoy the kids tree and watch the excitement of the grandies when they see the presents under it..

Well got to go and do some shopping today,,nothing exciting.only food,,you know,,that terrible habit we have all got into of eating...hee hee hee...

Love Mary xxxx

Ahhh Mare . . I am disappointed in you . . you are there to see the tree . . put your deco's up girl . . :)

We wish you a Merry Christmas . .
we wish you a merry Christmas . . .
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :)

:) :) :) L xo

What do you mean you can't get corned beef in England????? I also thought corned beef was born and bred i the UK. :-)).

Mare i understand your tree thing, but as Loz says, you are there, and when you walk past the tree even if it only you and your OH that see it.
It brings a bit of Christmas spirit to you heart, and if your grandies come by, they will notice.

Merry Christmas All,

Morning troops,well here goes as to why you can not get corned beef in England ,other than in a tin.
Corned beef was never a staple diet in this country in the old old days,it was a luxury for the well to do ,a real treat,the hoi palloy were too poor to afford meat anyway,which is why there were so many poachers.
On top of that ,the butchers in this country are too ruddy idle to produce it locally,so ,if you want it here ,you have to order it in from either abroad [France or Ireland],or one or two speciallist butchers who post it out to you..
You lot over the pond are spoilt rotten being able to go into a butcher in the high street ,and buy it there and then.lol,
I did enquire as to where i could order it ,but as soon as i saw the price, .wow .make it yourself mate.
The stuff in the chalet is doing very well Mary ,and the first batch will be ready to cook up on Tuesday next week,just in time to take some down to Wiltshire for the grandson to try,he he ,the rest will be in the freezer ,and the second batch will be ready to cook and freeze by the time i get back here.
I managed to get a new dongle from Vodaphone yesterday to replace the one i lost while away in bucks ,grrrrrr.
Vodaphone were very helpful ,upgrading me free of charge to a far faster dongle and keeping the old number ,so all i had to do is plug it in when i got home,and it works fine ,all i had to pay for was the new sim card.
The whole package will now cost me an extra £3- 50 a month because i have now insured it against loss or damage[the puter is already covered.]
I will set the T Mobile mobile dongle up on the acer too ,because the reason it won't work on windows 7 is that there is a compatibility issue,windows vista is fine.
I suppose this way too ,if i am in a bad area for vodaphone ,like Carlisle ,the T mobile should be okay to use instead.
We is having the day off from all shopping today ,mr and misses claws of the Baird family are pressie wrapping ,lol ,my favourite time of year and this year we have another family member to help ,one with REAL claws he he.
Hope all you lot over the big pond [both of them] are fine and havn't too many problems weather wise,look in again later .love to everyone ,Fred,& the two bosses.

evening all,

Mary you got to have a tree of something, I agree with Laurie evan a few decorations can make you feel so much better, I love it. We have our moose collection spread out on the mantle piece and the angels around the tree.

I am trying to type this while sitting in my favouritious chrissy present ever......my big massage chair, except when it vibrates its hard to stype straight.......but it does help my poor back..

got the fruit soaking for another cake, always make 2 or 3 just love fruit cake, we made 77 small ones (size of a large tuna tin) last week and decorated then to go inot the food hampers the mission gives out. Although tiring we had grest fun with some of the ladies from church.

Nearly got all the pressie shopping done, just the last few stocking gifts to get. in.

Hope you all sleep well because I will tonight time to just sit and enjoy the massage

love Cowgirl xx

Mmmmmm...Corned Beef.
Now where talking real food...lol

Corned Beef , Mashed potatoes with peas and beans.......:>))
Like some Hot English mustard spread on mine.Its gotta be Hot English.........and not the Aussie rubbish hot mustard we make here...its got no bite.
Cold corned beef sangas...left overs, for lunch the next day..:>))

Well.....the Pine Xmas tree is up in the family room ( 7ft high and 3ft wide ) and only paid $35 for it from the local scout hall, about 1km down the road. Barb and Sarah decorated it with tinsel, baubles and fairy lights on the weekend, and the smell of a real chrissie pine tree brings back memories from the 50s.

I remember as a teenager we would head up the scrub with a few mates in our ute's/vans ( sharpened Axe's ) and get our own, and a few for the widowed neighbours in the street, but they would hang you today if they caught you chopping down a tree. We woud stop at the mountain stream rivers and catch a few Trout on the way back to Melb....gut and clean them,and wrap them in newspaper to give to the widowed as well.

Gone are those days.

Fred. I had to laugh about you putting cayenne pepper and paprika on the Flake/Shark to give to the cat...LOL
No wonder he would run a mile when you gave some fish to him...hee hee

Mary. What about if i jump in a Ute and go chop down a Xmas tree up bush, and freight it up to you...Do you think they would mind..........It would only cost me a week in the slammer, and a $500 fine....but it would be worth it , just to annoy the hell outa the greenies........:>)))....lol

Hi all ,i agree with you Tony ,english Colmans hot mustard is the only boy to have .with beef ,corned or no.
Even when i do a snack of tinned sardine on toast i scrape mustard instead of butter on the toast first ,arrange the fish on next ,then add garlic and corriander powder before sliding it under the grill .delish'
The corned beef does well too with hot horseradish sauce ,again delish'
I plucked up the courage to go into the vodaphone shop about the loss of my dongle while away down bucks .
Have to say though ,that apart from a bit of a chuckle they were fantastic ,upgrading me to a more modern ,faster dongle free of charge,only charging me for the new sim card,they even persuadede me that it was worth the extra £3-50 a month to insure it for loss and damage.
the sim they put in the old phone number so that when i came home ,all i had to do was plug it in and off it went.
My T mobile dongle i got with the H P on windows 7 won't work over the vista programmes ,so i will leave the h p at home in future taking the t mobile dongle with the acer lappy which is vista.
That way ,if i am in a bad sector for reception on one dongle i can use the other one ,lol,if that don't work ,i have two options left to me,either set fire to the lappy and send smoke signals ,or use pigeons he he.
Well done with the cakes Cow Girl,but i ain't suprised you have back trouble after doing so many of them,you could do with Lizs recipe for half hour Christmas puddings after that lot ,so easy to make ,made Christmas eve ,and cooked in 45 minutes Christmas morning they are lovely and tasty ,far better than shop brought ones.
Off to make our tea now with Freds special coating on the roast potato's to make them extra tasty ,and crisp,on the outside but soft and fluffy inside mmmmmmm Fred.

Thats it . . . I'm off to buy some silverside tomorrow . . you fellas have made my mouth water. :)

Busy week coming up for me . . I have the pleasure of catering for TLR's work conference . . . the four days will feel like a month . .

But the beauty of all that is . . . when it is finished we can pack up the car for the journey north . . QLD here we come . . Christmas and a Grandie to share it with :)

Hope your all keeping out of trouble . . and giving the grin gear a good workout

L xo

Hello Laurie,Mary ,Tony, Badger & Wilson. Wow all that talk about Vegies and Silverside,my mouth is watering.I hope you are all well we are ok here but it has been a bad week with bushfires only 20 klms away from us and 2 farmers Father & son caught in the fire, they were airlifted to the burns unit in Sydney.I think (but havent heard an update) that they have it under control, as there hasn't been any Water Helicoptors flying over to-day,last Friday & Sat. the smoke was dreadful with the wind blowing it towards us., nothing much else has happened in our area.well folk I should go.
I wish you all a **** Merry *****Merry******Xmas & A Happy New Year
Marie

Morning...:>))

O/cast Saturday in Melb, and the last few days have seen some welcomed rain.

Marie. I feel these fires happening around the various states already, are a reminder of what we are to expect come full summer heat and high winds. Our news tells us to expect what we received last year, and possibly worse.
Its a worrying time, and i can only pray that people living in these high prone fire area's are prepared as best they can.
One of my 4 daughters and her family are thinking of selling up and moving into the Warburton area of Victoria, and i am not happy about that, but there is nothing i can do about it. At 32 she is now studying Horticulture and Floriculture........ and loves the bush.( like her old man )
I reminded her of a section of a well know Australian poem
"I love a sunburnt Country" .............******its beauty and its terror******......ect.... I also reminded her of last year, and the "Ash Wednesday fires" 1983 in Melbournes outer, when she was only a 6 year old along with her elder sisters, and we lived at the bottom of the Dandenong ranges. We along with others lost freinds in those fires in the small community of "Cockatoo" which was completely destroyed. My best mate lost his house, and pets, and it was an area of which my wife ( back then ) and i holidayed at his house in Cockatoo with our kids, when he was away o/seas. He woud leave us the keys to go stay there when we needed a break. Can only be thankful we didnt go that Febuary. So now when my kids tell me they are moving further out into the Yarra Valley.....it sends shivers down my spine.
As we Aussies know, our bush has three of the most volatile trees in the world. The Eucalpypt, Pine, and our Gum.........all exploding fuel laden trees, that send sunami type fire balls, pushed along with 100km hr winds that can wipe out a town in seconds........ Its not a nice thought.

Am i paranoid!!!...you betcha life i am mate....especially if my own kids are moving into these areas.

Well...best go do something constuctive, like lie down on the garden swing and dream about winnng the Lotto.....:>))


Av a good un


Tony....:>))

Howdy All,

All the talk about corned beef, made me pop some in the slow cooker before i left for work Friday. I arrived home to a lovely smell and only had to make some mash spuds, pumpkin, and peas Yummmmy. Cold with salad and pickles tonight. You are right though Badger, it can be expensive. Being farmers we eat a lot of lamb, so beef for a change is nice.


Tony, we can only pray that this year will be kinder than last in the fire stakes. It was a terrifying, hearbreaking time for so many Australians. I totally understand how you feel about your children moving into a higher fire risk area. Doesn't matter how old they are, as parents we stil worry about them.


Take care All

Good morning troops ,a wet and chilly one up 'ere in the frozen north of England ,but that is far better than a lot are getting in various parts of the world.
I hope you and all your family stay safe all this year Tony,it must be a huge worry for you and everyone else in those areas ,so at risk even this early in the year.
I was worried about my cousin in Brisbane but have now had a Christmas card off her saying the whole family are okay ,which is a relief.
The second load of beef is in the Chalet getting corned ,hope it is as good as the first batch which tastes spot on [weeeell .i had to test it didn't i?]
Going to be a busy day today ,i have the whole oven to clean out ready for the Christmas fare ,and i have to pack a few things for tomorrows trip ,which looks like being a run over to Carlisle ,and down the west side of the country to Oxfordshire [ m6 -m5 -m4] nice and simple ,i hope.
For any of you home soup makers ,wondering why some soup splits after being frozen it tends to be because there is milk in the recipe,i find that if you use long -life milk ,this doesn' happen ,the other alternative is ,add the whole milk after the soup has thawed ,before heating.
Have to go ,the oven still needs cleaning and it won't do itself my name ain't Merlin ,more's the pity .Fred.

Evening.......and good morning to Fred.

A warm day in ol Melbourne town, a temp of 32c and at 9:30pm stil sitting on around 26c
Tomorrow they have told us to expect 39c, so no repreive, and the air-con will get a good working out.
Pity those lady's who will sit in the chair under hot hair dryers tomorrow to get their perms in Barbs salon in the back of the house.....but come rain ,hail or 39c....the perms will be done....lol

Must be a Oven cleaning day today, as i gave ours a good cleaning out getting ready for the onslaught on christmas day. Our leg of Pork is in the freezer, along with the chooks, and the girls in our office asked me today if i wanted a leg of Ham ( company xmas bonus ) again this year.

I get an option. A slab of V.B ( Vic Bitter ) or a leg of Ham.........Well, i always go for the Ham...because it would be worth my life if i took the slab of V.B as a Xmas bonus...and walked in the house door to show Barb.
She relys on me getting the Leg Ham each year, and its my way of staying alive at Chrstmas, and in the good books.....hee hee

Best go put the outdoor flood lights on and give the pool a good chlorination in preperation for to-morrows 39 c, seeing now its a bit cooler at night.


Av a good un.


Tony....:>))

Morning again Tony ,seems i have a few minutes before i start packing the car ,to enjoy my coffee and relax ,so ,here goes.
Firstly ,i am now back on the main 'puter ,the new modem working fine so the first job was load the printer with the recipe someone asked for ,and put them on the hard drive of both puters,so ,if this person will P M me ,i will shovel them through to you as soon as i have your email addy.
Checking the recipe for the pudding ,it is quick to knock up ,after which it is put in the fridge overnight,taken out ,and put into the mic' as the table is cleared from the main course,ten minutes later ,it's on the table ,hot and yummy.
The cake is a little quicker to prepare than a lot of the others ,and turns out ,nice and moist and taste wise knocks brought ones into the middle of next week,both items have been prepared and cooked by Fred Cook lol,and come highly recommended.
The trip down south may be a quick one ,lol,seems that none of the laddoes stuff has arrived yet from Cyprus,and it may be a case of handing over his new licence so that he can hire a car,sleep there overnight ,and if no gear has arrived ,come home tomorrow, and this ,being the case ,Hissy will be more comfortable ,left at home with Martin and Chris.
We are all organised now .with only the stuff that won't stay fresh ,to pick up when we get back ,the turkey and duck from the farm,and the cream plus a few other odds and sods.
I don't half miss my horseradish that i had in the allotment [sigh] always fresh and tart ,the real mackoy .hoooott and spicy ,but i darn't try growing it out back ,these roots go deep ,and in no time take over the garden,so it will be hot Colmans best horseradish and ditto mustard ,slurp ,i can taste the meat now .luvverly ,lol
Well ,that's it until i get down south and get settled in for the evening,i only hope i get on the net all right Fred.