Wednesday Words & Whimsy
Posted on by Debbie

An Author’s Dinner Showcasing Local Produce #WWWhimsy

The Author’s Dinner

My good friends Owen and Cathy run Laurel Hill Forest Lodge and were asked to host a special occasion for the visit of author Dr Sue Stuart-Smith, from the UK, who was on her first visit to Australia. It was to be a dinner, local visits and a sleep over in their lodges, which are part of the previous prison camp accommodation.

(You might remember we had our daughter’s wedding at this venue with visitors from UK and around Australia staying for the weekend enjoying the rural, rustic atmosphere – Victory: Final MOB update) .

I was asked to help out and as I had wanted to hear some of the talks, it worked out well, I got to listen, chat to friends who were in attendance and help friends all at the same time. It also brought back my waitressing days and I enjoyed the role I had. It helped that I was working with previous colleagues from my prison days – my staff members Daragh and Ros were great fun to work with again, despite me not being the ‘big boss’ anymore.

Don’t we look happy to be back together?

The Dream Team
The Dream Team back together again!

The dinner catered for 70 guests who came from Tumbarumba, Sydney, Wagga, Gundagai, and other Snowy Valleys towns to hear Dr Sue Stuart-Smith ‘in conversation’ with Geraldine Doogue OA, one of Australia’s most accomplished and versatile journalists. It was a captivating interview based on Dr Sue’s book ‘The Well Gardened Mind’.

In my opinion the evening was perfect in many ways, the weather, the thought-provoking topics of discussion, the group of people gathered which included a variety of health professionals, forestry representatives, local business owners, interested readers, Julie Vulcan an independent Australian artist, along with Sally Bryant from ABC Riverina Radio – plus of course the amazing food and wine!

Everyone present had been affected by the 2019/20 bushfires in some way and the dinner was a way of commemorating the recovery four years on, organised by Louise Halsey of the Tumut Region Community Foundation. In fact, the dinner couldn’t have happened anytime earlier due to the recovery processes of everyone involved.

The Dinner was a way of showcasing Tumbarumba and Snowy Valleys produce with locals Stuart and Janine Barclay of Wondalma Vineyard, sharing their variety of diverse micro-climate wines with the guests. Sally Bryant held an interesting and informative interview between courses with Stuart, who is President of the Tumbarumba Wine Growers Association, seated on the plush green stools provided by local Ladbroken Distilling Co. (plus supplying a delicious hazelnut liqueur).

What they ate

The three-course menu included loaded entree platters with:

  • charcuterie – sliced kabana, chorizo from Highfield Farm
  • smoked trout on blinis, with horseradish, capers and dill
  • zucchini fritters with black garlic mayo
  • basil hazelnut pesto and tomato bruschetta
  • pickled cucumber
  • local apple slices
  • cherry tomato, roasted hazelnuts and rice crackers

The Mains were vegetable heavy and complemented the lamb perfectly!

  • Roast Lamb with Gravy – Lamb was from Highfield Farm and Woodland
  • potato in mustard cream (some without cream)
  • sweet corn with sage butter
  • beans in basil oil
  • zucchini and garlic
  • beetroot and balsamic vinegar
  • minted cucumbers
  • tomatoes and onions
  • lavender jelly for garnishing lamb
  • all the seasonal vegetables were grown at Laurel Hill Forest Lodge
  • Happy Wombat Hazelnuts
  • Freedom Glen Black Garlic and Snowy Mountains Smoked Trout

The Dessert Platters – oh my, so delicious!

  • Mini pavlovas with (locally grown) raspberries and cream
  • Raspberry, apple and blueberry jelly squares
  • Lumberjack Cake
  • Anzac Lemon Butter Tarts (my favourite)
  • Almond and Hazelnut biscuits
  • Raspberries, blueberries, apple
  • Dried orange and apple slices

Everything was cooked onsite by a creative team (mainly Cathy) and the comments from guests on the flavours and quality of the food, were all fabulous. My taste test cemented the fact that she’s a wonderful cook!

Dessert platters
Dessert platters
Entree platters
Entree platters
Table setting
Table setting
Dr Sue and Geraldine
Dr Sue and Geraldine
The Dream Team
The Dream Team
Debbie smiles
Debbie smiles
Gathering
Gathering
Laurel Hill views
Laurel Hill sunset views

Many of the visitors stayed the night at Laurel Hill Forest Lodge and breakfasted heartily before heading out to see local points of interest – the ‘allotment’ where the vegetables and fruit are grown onsite; Asgard Nursery, Happy Wombat Hazelnuts and Pilot Hill embracing the Nature Wellness Trail with the Murrumbidgee Health team, where a lunch of sandwiches and fruit was provided by Laurel Hill Forest Lodge.

The group thoroughly enjoyed their visit and left mid-afternoon on Wednesday awed by what our area has to offer and the dedication of local producers.

Of course we knew all this but it was wonderful to see others sit up and take notice of our beautiful area.

The Well Gardened Mind

A distinguished psychiatrist and avid gardener offers an inspiring and consoling work about the healing effects of gardening and its ability to decrease stress and foster mental well-being in our everyday lives.

The garden is often seen as a refuge, a place to forget worldly cares, removed from the “real” life that lies outside. But when we get our hands in the earth we connect with the cycle of life in nature through which destruction and decay are followed by regrowth and renewal. Gardening is one of the quintessential nurturing activities and yet we understand so little about it. The Well-Gardened Mind provides a new perspective on the power of gardening to change people’s lives. Here, Sue Stuart-Smith investigates the many ways in which mind and garden can interact and explores how the process of tending a plot can be a way of sustaining an innermost self. Source

The Well-Gardened Mind

A great night

It was so good to be involved (in a small way) in this very successful dinner at Laurel Hill Forest Lodge. A fantastic way to showcase our area and all we have to offer plus hear from an international author about the benefits of gardening and being in nature and to meet the lovely Geraldine Doogue – I used to enjoy watching her on TV and admired her sharp mind and soothing voice.

A great night – well done to Owen and Cathy Fitzgerald for hosting and cooking such a wonderful array of locally produced food.

Geraldine Doogue with Cathy and Debbie
Geraldine Doogue with Cathy and Debbie

Join us for Wednesday Words and Whimsy #WWWhimsy

As you probably know by now, Min from Write of the Middle has been having a hard time as her mother recently moved into aged care and now sadly is unwell in hospital. Your can read Min’s latest update post here where she explains what’s been going on.

So it is that Sue and I are now guest co-hosting the weekly #WWWhimsy linkup for the next few weeks or until Min feels ready to resume her blogging.

WWWHIMSY LOGO

You can find the link below (and please don’t be put off if there’s a message saying the link up isn’t working), just click on the link and add your post. Sue and I will visit, read and comment instead of Min.

The linkup opens at 5am (Australian Eastern Standard Time) Wednesday mornings and closes at 6am on Friday mornings, and is open to everyone wherever you are in the world! Anything goes – new posts, old posts, only one post per blogger and if you can try to visit some of the others who have linked up that would be great!

Sue and I are looking forward to reading and commenting on your posts.

I’m adding this post to Canadian bloggers Donna and Deb’s What’s on Your Plate linkup #WOYP – always the first Wednesday of the month and loads of yummy posts to enjoy!

What's on your plate contributor
What’s on your plate contributor badge

I hope you enjoyed my foody offering today – it really was a fabulous event!

Wishing you a lovely week ahead!

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Debbie - mother of a 40 year old

Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. You can read more of Deb’s story here

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40 Replies to “An Author’s Dinner Showcasing Local Produce #WWWhimsy”

  5. What an amazing evening! The food looks delicious; the speaker sounds very good; and the waitstaff appears to be quite fabulous! I agree that getting your hands into the earth is so good for the soul. We have a little patch right off our back porch that is just grass. I’m thinking of seeing if I can make it into a small veg/flower garden. 

    Thanks for the link up, too!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

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  8. What a great event – I love how the community works together. The menu sounds absolutely delicious too – how lucky is Dr Sue to enjoy such top notch Aussie hospitality?!

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    1. Yes the community getting together was very special Sammie and they all so much in common with the fires and rebuilding their lives. Dr Sue really enjoyed her experience I’m happy to say!

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    1. It was all so well done by my friend Cathy (and her husband) with no issues on the food side of things at all. The guest interviewer Geraldine, got lost on the way and had given up making it in time but we managed to find her and all went well. Lots of interesting chat during the night!

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  10. There is so much that sounds great about this event Deb. Your smiles show the fabulous time that you had, even though you were busy working. Also that food looks ama.ing!

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  11. I loved reading this , and thenn of course I went down MOB lane…I only knew of your blog & your words from the Fiji wedding so now I have caught up. A bit!

    What a great event and post. So typical of the kind of hospitality and care that is missed living in the city. Your area and friends make things work so well. And yes, under the many memories of hardships from fires, floods and all the inbetweens.

    Thanks for sharing the hosting for Min.

    Denyse.

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    1. Thanks Denyse, I think you’re right, it’s a country thing with friendly hospitality and good sensible, but deliciously cooked food, plus interesting groups of people interacting during the evening! I’ve said it before but I really am so glad I live where I live!

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    1. The book was interesting Jo but it’s the sort of thing we know as we live in the country and value nature and can see the benefits of gardening and being in nature. The food was fabulous!

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  14. What a great night, Deb and wonderful you could be part of it (even if you were working). I love the name Laurel Hill Forest Lodge. It sounds like a lovely place to stay. Look at all those platters! The dessert platter looks way too tempting. Thanks for being my partner in crime and co-hosting #WWWhimsy as I always say, we make a great team. x

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    1. Thanks Sue, it was so much fun and I was buzzing all night! Laurel Hill is a nearby village with about 6 houses, no shops and few people but the area is beautiful and my friends have done a great job with running the Forest Lodge for group events, school camps, weddings etc. The kangaroos and brumbies come in for a visit most days!

      I enjoyed tasting the dessert platters, that’s for sure! Thanks for co-hosting with me and helping Min out, it’s great that we can do it!.

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    1. The food was all so wonderful Donna, thankfully I got to do some ‘quality control’ taste testing during the night! It was great to be involved and share our area with others.

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  16. Absolutely seems like a fabulous event. The food pictures!! Oh, la la… then I had to go look up Australian lumberjack cake, which just might be my next dessert club offering. The picture of the sunset hits all the marks. And of course, good on you for volunteering once again.

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    1. Thanks Mary, everything went well apart from the special interviewer getting lost on the way and nearly missing out on the evening altogether but we managed to find her in time! The food was fabulous 🙂

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