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The Shady Baker takes some time out and shares recipes from a weekend away on a retreat run by horsemanship coach Jillian Prince.
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY JANE SMITH
Jill approaches everything in her life with the same careful consideration, so it was easy for me to say yes when she recently asked me to hold a breadmaking workshop as part of her first equine-based women’s retreat. What developed from that first conversation was The Space — a weekend that saw a group of very diverse women taking part in activities that included equine sessions, sunrise meditation and the art of making a loaf of bread.
Jill lives with her husband, Dom, and their daughters Sarah, 18, and 16-year-old Alice, on Lachlan Downs station, 80 kilometres south-west of Cobar, New South Wales, where they run a Dorper sheep and dryland cropping enterprise.
With the Jackermaroo Range and Sandy Creek running through the property, it’s a stunning landscape. The rocky clifftops and shady creeks are favourite places for the family to take visitors, generally with an esky packed with some delicious food.
The Shady Baker chats to Graziher’s Life on the Land podcast about her life on a sheep station east of Broken Hill and her love of cooking for her family. Article continues below.
Jill’s life has varied over the years. Before she moved to the property full time, this mum of two worked in administration roles in Cobar and finished her education in various areas of natural therapies. Like many women on the land, she then became a teacher as her girls completed primary school through Broken Hill School of the Air, also fitting in farm work where she could.
Horses have been part of Jill’s life since she was young, riding at the Cobar Pony Club and with her friends on the outskirts of town. But, even for an experienced horsewoman like Jill, riding can take a little more courage after having children. In 2006 she found a mentor, Wilcannia-based Mog Davies, who was a coach for a horsemanship school, Quantum Savvy. Mog’s guidance led to Jill studying horsemanship, a process that proved to be life-changing.
Today, Jill runs her own horsemanship clinics, both at home and on other people’s properties, teaching others to be safer and more connected with their horses through heart-centred horsemanship. “All the long, dusty kilometres travelled are worth it to see the changes in the horses and the personal development and changed mindsets of their humans,” says Jill. “It is a humbling experience.”
More recently her attention has turned to developing The Space. The focus of these retreats is to enable non-horse people to experience the healing power of connecting with horses. The goal is for women to reconnect with themselves and others, and share stories and meals while creating awareness or rekindling a little spark that may have been lost among the demands of everyday life.
Jill is collaborating with integrative healers and creative women to host workshops, alongside her unique equine sessions, to share the message that connection to self, other people and the environment is powerful.
The recipes on these pages, developed for the retreat, are nourishing and sustaining and chosen especially to be prepared and shared with a group of friends around the kitchen bench while you take the time to chat over a coffee or a glass of wine and reconnect with yourself and others.
For more information on The Space and Jillian’s other work, follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
WHOLEMEAL PANCAKES
Makes 10-12 pancakes
1 cup (150g) plain white flour
1 cup (150g) plain wholemeal flour
½ cup (100g) brown sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder, sifted
1 egg
1½ cups (375ml) milk
70g butter, melted
1 tablespoon plain yoghurt
TO SERVE
Berries, chopped nuts, honey and cream, or your preferred pancake toppings
1. Put the flours, sugar and baking powder in a bowl and mix to combine.
2. Whisk the egg, milk, butter and yoghurt in a jug or separate bowl.
3. Gradually add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, whisking to a smooth batter. You may need to add a little more milk, depending on the type of flour used.
4. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Pour 1/3 cup of the mixture into the pan and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip it over
and cook until golden. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
5. Serve the pancakes warm with toppings of your choice.
NOTE: I like to use Triticale Flour from Woodstock Flour. Any wholemeal flour can be used, or just use white flour.
SEEDY HONEY SNACK
Recipe inspired by Ulli Piwarz, resident chef at The Space. Makes about 40 snack-size pieces
150g rolled oats
250g mixed seeds, nuts and dried fruit, such as sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), chopped walnuts, macadamias, almonds, hazelnuts and dried blueberries or cranberries
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt flakes
40g butter or coconut oil
140g honey
1. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and set aside.
2. Combine the oats, seed mixture, cinnamon and salt in a mixing bowl.
3. Combine the butter or coconut oil and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until melted and combined.
4. Pour the honey mixture into the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly.
5. Divide the mixture between the baking trays and spread it out evenly.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the mixture is golden brown. Check occasionally and turn the trays in the oven to prevent overbrowning the edges. Stir the mixture slightly, if necessary, to also prevent overbrowning.
7. Transfer the mixture to a large piece of baking paper laid on your work surface. Lay another piece of baking paper on top of the mixture and use a rolling pin to smooth it out until you have a large, flat, glossy layer around 5mm thick. Peel off the top piece of baking paper off and cool completely on the benchtop.
8. Break or cut into pieces. Serve as a snack, as a dessert with fruit and yoghurt, or crumble it over pancakes or muesli.
Visit The Shady Baker website or find Jane on Instagram.
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To hear more extraordinary stories about women living in rural and regional Australia, listen to our podcast Life on the Land on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major podcast platforms.
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