triple b newsletter july 2014

Welcome to the first newsletter for 2014 – July already! It’s been a fast paced and exciting new year for us so far since we joined The Market Shed on Holland Street family in mid January. The market is vibrant and busy with a vast selection of food, both fresh and prepared for customers to eat breakfast, brunch or lunch in comfortable surroundings with live music undercover – the first time in 8 years that we haven’t had to battle the elements at a market. If you haven’t been to the market yet do try and get there soon – it’s on Holland Street in the City behind the IGA on Gilbert Street – free parking

on Sundays and open from 9am until 3pm (although we will only be there until 2pm).

Over the Christmas break we bought another flock of Dorper sheep – a very beautiful bunch of girls with huge backsides! Our first lamb was born on 19th May and had an influx of births in June; great mums with lots of milk and babies doing really well. We aim to have a lot more lamb on the stall to compliment the beef by the end of this year – the Dorpers are large, meaty animals that don’t require shearing.

The year so far...

News from the farm to you.

July 2014

Triple B Newsletter

1.5kg chuck, blade, skirt or round steak, 2 med onions roughly chopped, 6 cloves garlic, 1 TBspn chopped fresh ginger, 6 fresh red chillies seeded, 2 cups coconut milk, 1 ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp gd turmeric, 2 tsp chilli powder (optional), 2 tsp gd coriander, 6 curry leaves, 1 stem lemongrass or strips thinly peeled lemon rind, ½ cup tamarind liquid, 2tsp sugar.

Cut beef into strips. Put onion, garlic, ginger, chilli and ½ cup coconut milk into blender and blend until smooth. Pour into lge saucepan with all remaining ingredi-ents except tamarind liquid and sugar. Mix well, add meat and bring quickly to boil.

Reduce heat to moderate, add tamarind liquid and cook uncovered until gravy is thick, stirring occasionally. Turn heat low and continue cooking until gravy is almost dry, stirring frequently to ensure mixture doesn’t stick. At end of cooking time (about 2 ½ hrs) when oil separates from the gravy, add sugar and stir constantly al-lowing the meat to fry in oily gravy. Serve with rice, veg. dish, & sambals.

Contents• T he year so far .....................................1• Rendang Dagling recipe ..................1

What’s Liam been up to? .................2• Cattle update .......................................2• Customer Education ..........................3• Beef Tea ..................................................4• More Sheep ..........................................4• Tree Planting ........................................4• Life in General ......................................5

Rendang DagingDry Fried Indonesian Curry

Insight into life on the land

1Triple B Newsletter July 2014



The last paddock planted to oat, barley & vetch and within 5 days its up and growing rapidly

The cows are looking splendid, sleek, glossy and munching on fresh green grass at this time of year. Cow No: 30 presented us with an early calf in late Feb – a bit sneaky of her and Curtley, the bull – they were supposed to wait a bit longer! I guess the moral of that story is ‘never turn your back on a bull’!

Curtley was supposed to be put in with the girls on 1st July – HOWEVER he had different ideas – he managed to redesign 2 gates that Liam had put double chains on (top & bot-tom) – Curtley lifted the gates off their bottom hinges and pushed until he’d formed an arch so that he could walk under and get in with the ladies !! Liam now has 2 arched gates for a round yard and a very happy bull!

Liam had a good season with hay late last year – the weather was kind when-ever he needed to cut or bale the hay – a few delays with late rains but nothing disastrous – and for the first time since we started using biodynamics and improving our pastures, he was able to cut meadow hay – this is unheard of in this district where it is traditionally cropping/sheep country – just goes to show what careful husbandry can achieve.

Late May Liam was busy spreading compost, getting equipment ready to start seeding. The compost heap was about 60m X 15m and weighed at least 100 tonnes (with some left for the garden too). He then began sowing seed for the next crop of hay – follow the events on our facebook page..Triple B Biodynamic Beef, to see and learn about what is going on down on the farm.

What’s Liam been up to?

The cattle...

Triple B Newsletter July 2014

Something consumers should be very aware of is a growing trend with many producers (not just beef ) of jumping on the organic/b-d bandwagon using such phrases as ‘happy animals’, ‘spray free’, ‘grass fed’ or organic but not certified. Also a number of beef producers are being certified by the Cattle Council of Australia as ‘grassfed’ which appears to means that they have to provide photographic evidence that they are feeding their animals grass! This is a really tricky area because automatically many consumers would think that use of the word ‘certified’ mean the animals are organic – and of course it doesn’t. Grass feeding

won’t prevent producers using herbicides on their paddocks for the animals to ingest nor does it stop them using drenches and vaccines on their animals. What consumers need to ask are the right questions – ask what herbicides & pesticides are used on the property and animals – if you are told none, then ask how they deal with worms, lice and weeds. Most grass fed producers will still finish their animals on grain – not the correct food for cattle. As for using ‘happy’ in relation to animals this means diddley squit! Contented young animals destined for the abattoir are left with their mothers as long as possible, in our case at

least nine months; they are not taken to huge abattoirs who deal with several species of animal and they are not left in the abattoir overnight or longer waiting to be despatched. Even if we weren’t required by our certifying body, NASAA (National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Aust.) to undertake these practices, we would be doing it anyway because we genuinely care about the humane treatment our animals receive – it’s how we sleep straight at night!

A bit of education; because knowledge is power

Humane treatment of our anilmals.


3 Triple B Newsletter July 2014

Many customers understand the huge benefits of bone broth and we sell out of bones rapidly every week. One lovely lady spent time with me explaining how to make beef tea, which I wanted to do for a young friend who is recovering from cancer treatment and can’t digest properly – so if you didn’t see it on Facebook, here’s the recipe and if that doesn’t appeal to you then check out the other link attached which makes a broth. Don’t forget though that it is really important to have b-d/organic bones – marrow could harbour chemical residuals from conventional

animals - so that the tea is concentrated full of all the essential minerals & vitamins that are produced in that process. BEEF TEA500gm very lean Round or topside steak - chop finely and put into a large glass jar (tie a piece of muslin or thin cloth over the jar if you want)Place a folded tea towel in the bottom of a saucepan large enough to hold the jar comfortably and sit jar on top of tea towel.Add water to the pan only (NOT IN THE JAR) and boil for 4-5 hours, checking water level regularly (only add enough water to the pan so that the jar doesn’t begin to float!).The liquid in the jar at the end of the process is BEEF TEAStrain the meat and collect the precious tea storing it in the fridge (give the meat to the cat or dog!)

SIP 2-3 teaspoons three times a day and discard any leftover tea after 3 days.It is really important that the tea is sipped from the spoon as this especially good for people with compromised digestive systems, in particular those recovering from chemotherapy.

When I googled Beef Tea there are numerous recipes quite different to this one, but here’s is the link to Mrs Beeton’s 1861 recipe:www.vintagerecipes.net/books/bookofhouseholdmanagement/beef_tea_3.phpBeef Tea - Vintage Recipeswww.vintagerecipes.netRecipe for Beef Tea from The Book of Household Management (1861 Also check out the Weston A. Price foundation who promote traditional food and have recipes for all sorts of broths by author Sally Fallon.



The Goodness of Beef Tea

STOP PRESS. More Sheep to Join Triple B’s EnterpriseWe’re pleased to announce that we have bought another 40 Dorper ewes & 2 rams to bolster our existing flock of 16 who are busily popping out lambs this week. By the end of the year we should be able to bring regular supplies to

the market. Dorpers are a cross between Dorset and Persian sheep – self-shedding so no shearing toworry about and they are the Staffies of the sheep world so you can all look forward to some amazing lamb.

We are taking off Sunday 27th July to feed and entertain a bunch of friends after they’ve planted our 600 trees from the local Landcare group - so be sure to stock up for that week so that you get your fix!

The trees planted last July (see our August 2013 newsletter) have grown incredibly and the direct seeding, now entering it’s third winter is quite astonishing – there are trees on the Clayton property that are 3m plus after only that short time. We’ve planted an orchard, olives and driveway trees at the Clayton property in preparation for our eventual move there and hope to start building the new house this year. Liam, during downpours, has been drawing the new house plans and we are keen to start building again for the third time – a family project with Liam & myself doing most of the work (yep even I can wield a nail gun) with assistance from second son Sean, a carpenter/builder and third son, Justin a concreter.

Tree Planting

Life has been full of wonderful surprises this year like talking to Marilyn, who owns the Market Shed, and discovering that we were both born in the same east London suburb, the same year and about a week apart! How flukey is that – considering women were kept in hospital for 10 days after giving birth in those long distant days, chances are that our mothers met each other! So we are both celebrating Sexy Sixty in late

July/early August. Then best of all that one of our sons and his wife are going to buy the farm next door to us at Clayton, this is brilliant news and we hope will benefit the Market Shed customers eventually as they are planning on raising free range pork and game birds. If you hear of anyone looking for a certified biodynamic property with mains water, zillions of trees, established orchard and about 40 acres of land, our home outside

Milang will be on the market we hope by the end of the year.Many thanks to all our wonderful customers, many of you have patiently followed us from one market to another which warms our hearts. We look forward to catching up with you all soon.

Life in general

Soon to be on the market


5 Triple B Newsletter July 2014

TRIPLE B BIODYNAMIC BEEF – your guarantee of sustainably farmed, grass fed & humanely treated beef & lamb

www.triplebbiodynamicbeef.com.au/Like us on facebook! TripleBBiodynamicBeef

email: [email protected]: 0448 026 310

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triple b newsletter july 2014

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