Busselton and Beef!

Busselton, Western Australia, is approximately 220kms south of Perth. It was founded in 1832 by the Bussell Family. John Garrett Bussell moved his family to the area in 1834 and started a cattle farm. The farm was known as"Cattle Chosen" It wasn't long before it became a prosperous farm. Many people moved to the area and started farming as a result of the Bussell family's success. The town is named in the family's honour.

Later on, Grace Bussell, daughter of John and Ellen Bussell, was only 16 when she became famous for her heroic efforts along with the family's stockman, Sam Isaacs, in rescuing passengers from the SS Georgette, a steam ship. The ship got into trouble and passengers were put into life boats and were swamped with water. Grace and Isaacs rode horses down the cliffs, out to sea and rescued all the people.  They were both awarded medals from the Royal Humane Society. There is so much history in this area and this is only one of its amazing stories.

Today it is one of Western Australia's favourite holiday spots. One of the main features is not only the beautiful coastline with great beaches, but an amazing timber jetty which stretches 2kms out to sea. The jetty is so long because of shallow waters in Geographe Bay. It was constructed so commercial ships could moor and collect the cut timber. There is a rail line which also stretches the length of the jetty. In recent years, an underwater observatory was built at the end. Today you can walk the jetty or catch the train to the end. It has survived a cyclone in 1978 and a fire which destroyed 65 metres in late 1999. Locals eventually persuaded the West Australian Government and local shire to spend money preserving the jetty.

This is one of my favourite places to visit, here is a link for you:  

http://www.discoverwest.com.au/western_australia/busselton.html  

Beef and Red Wine Casserole

Ingredients 

1kg of chuck or stewing steak, diced into small cubes
Half a cup of plain flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup of red wine
2 cups of beef stock
1 dozen small pearl onions, peeled
500gms of baby carrots
250grams button mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon of fresh garlic, peeled and crushed
2 bay leaves

Method

On the stove place a fry pan with olive oil on low heat. In a bowl, coat the beef with the flour and then place into the fry pan to brown. Cook the meat in a couple of batches as it is easier.

In a casserole dish, place red wine, beef stock, garlic, bay leaves, salt and pepper and mix. Add the meat and vegetables, gently stir.

Bake in an oven for apporximately 2 hours at 16o degrees Celsius. Check on it from time to time to see if needs more liquid, if so, add a little more stock.

Take casserole out of oven and remove the bay leaves. Serve with fresh crusty bread.

Enjoy!!