Leanne Wheaton
Slow cooked shredded beef
THE good people at Henty can’t be wrong.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Jindera’s Leanne Wheaton and her husband Gordon Shaw took this dish to last week’s Henty Machinery Field Days and sold out very quickly.
“When we do tastings, everybody says it’s delicious,” Leanne said.
“It’s been requested to go in school cookbooks and it’s been used at christenings and 21sts and things so it’s been spread far and wide.”
Leanne had wanted to find recipes for bolar blade, one of the cuts the farming couple sell through their enterprise Grass Roots Beef.
“So I was just scanning cookbooks etc. looking for bolar blade recipes and I guess this is an adaptation of a number that I found,” she said.
“It’s a combination of a little bit sweet, a bit savoury, a bit tart.”
Leanne and Gordon have a smaller property at Jindera while the main Shaw family farm lies near Holbrook.
Cooking has long been a interest shared by husband and wife.
“It’s something we like to do together,” Leanne said.
“I like to cook stuff that I grow myself, using fresh seasonal ingredients.
“That’s my focus rather than a particular cuisine.
“I really like the idea of ‘OK, there’s a whole lot of apricots on the tree, what will I do with them?’ You know, let’s enjoy them while they’re fresh.”
Leanne grew up in Nhill and met Gordon, whose family has farmed in Holbrook for 50 years, in Melbourne.
They have three children, with the youngest in year 12.
Leanne also bakes and providing food for Saturday afternoon tennis and school functions has featured in the past.
She still enjoys searching for new recipes and finds herself improvising all the time in the kitchen.
“I probably do more reading of recipe books than actual cooking of recipes but it’s like a visual feast for my eyes,” she said. “I like beautifully presented cookbooks and nice photography, good food photography.”
Leanne and Gordon can be seen regularly at Wodonga’s farmers market and find it rewarding to get public feedback on their product. Grass Roots Beef also sells online via its website.
Six things I can’t cook without: A really good quality frying pan, nutmeg grater, good pasta, good music, sharp knives and a bountiful orchard and vegetable garden.
- Enjoy cooking? Got a recipe to share? If you or somebody you know would like to take part in Casual Cook, please email any contact details to janet.howie@fairfaxmedia.com.au