Aussie Farmers Deserve A Break!

It's this time of the year when the first harvest from out west bares it's luscious fruit and I set about making my annual batch of ruby apricot paste to sell in store for Christmas. So, as they do in the country, I swapped my time as the camp cook for a pallet of Earlicot apricots and headed to Menindee to pick, pack and cook for a few days.



 

It was so much fun and if I didn't have such a huge amount of fruit mince tarts to make I probably wouldn't have come home!!



We take so much for granted when we pluck our fruit and veg off the supermarket shelves. As an ambassador for Australian Year of the Farmer I would like to take my hat off to every single farmer in the country. Blood, sweat, tears and a whole lot of worry goes into producing our food. After my time on the orcahrd, I am making a personal quest and urging everyone I know to get behind the Aussie farmers and only buy Australian grown produce. To my mind, this is the foundation on which everything else is built on.

The bees are brought in to do their job when the flowers are setting to pollinate the fruit.




A welcome place to lay one's head after a big day in the orchard and a big cook up for the weary workers.





The long road home from Menindee as I farewell my new friends at the desert fresh produce.

My apricot paste is available to purchase off the Christmas brochure along with lots of other gorgeous goodies for the holiday season. Click here to view.

Happy cooking,
Simmone x