LIL BITS

Check out these Asia Sentinel artciles featuring Rabbit Ranch wine.

The Perfect Match

Lapin au Vin des Central Otago a la Wandering Palate (Rabbit Casserole with Central Otago Pinot Noir).
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Must-Have Wine: Feng Shui and the Year of the Rabbit

Our Wandering Palate, noting that the Lunar New Year celebrates the bunny, introduces us to Rabbit Ranch Pinot Noir 2009, Central Otago, New Zealand
Read the full 'Must-Have Wine' article on Asia Sentinel »

Thousands of dead rabbits carpeted Pioneer Park in Alexandra on Saturday, following the 19th annual Great Easter Bunny Hunt. Central Otago farmers have reason to smile following the eradication of more than 24,000 rabbits, hares, and other pests from farmland throughout the district. The 19th annu... read more »

A man who allegedly swung a live rabbit at pedestrians in Auckland's downtown Queen St was due in court today on a charge of animal cruelty. Police said the man, 53, held the rabbit by its ears and swung it at pedestrians as he abused them. Police were called by a security guard and when police ar... read more »

The Enderby Island Rabbit Club secretary with the winner of the Annual South Island Show in June 2009- gratulations Wayne!

 A Christchurch woman fears hallucinogenic "magic" mushrooms may be killing her rabbits. Zara Welton, 21, a mother and part-time rabbit breeder, had 28 rabbits in the back yard of her Spreydon property. Eight rabbits died over two weeks, and Welton suspects the mushrooms are the culprit. However,... read more »

Dome Away From Home

Download newspaper article (PDF, 5.2 MB).

Download newspaper article (PDF, 1.3 MB).

Rabbit's pen pal

Snapshot of Rabbiters Camp: The Night's Catch.

Run Rabbit

Therein lies a tail: Download PDF (2.6 MB)

Classic Car Editorial: Download PDF (3.1 MB)

The dangers of obesity to kids may be all over the headlines just now but, spare a thought for the legions of fat rabbits - overfed and under-exercised by their doting owners. To tackle the problem, Edinburgh University's Veterinary School is to employ a vet to become a rabbit specialist and examin... read more »

Easter has to be the best holiday of the year - the weather is settled, you can overindulge, especially on chocolate, and catch up with family and friends without all the stress of Christmas shopping and organising the summer holidays.

Easter as we know it today is believed by many religious historians to have its origins in both the ancient Pagan and Judeo-Christian traditions.

For Northern Hemisphere Pagans, Easter was a spring equinox celebration for ‘Eostre' the goddess of dawn, fertility and rebirth. In the Judeo-Christian tradition Easter celebrates to resurrection of Jesus and is part of the Jewish Passover.

When Christian missionaries wanted Pagans to accept Christianity, they decided to use the name Easter for this holiday so that it would match the name of the old spring celebration. This made it easier for converts to accept Christianity and still retain some of their heritage.

Also, hunger is the best sauce. In the past, Easter was a long anticipated feast; during the winter months, food stores and granaries ran low, and famine was a real threat. So, Lent, the period of fasting before Easter, made a virtue of a practical situation.

So, where did the Easter Bunny come from? Well, the goddess Eostre's symbol was the rabbit. It's a rather fitting tribute to fertility really - given the little beasties literally breed like the proverbial. Rabbits are extremely visible during springtime; mad march hares display their prowess to prospective suitors, and baby bunnies can be spotted frolicking over hillsides to the dismay of all the Farmer McGregors of this world.

The tradition of painting and hiding Easter eggs became linked with the Easter Bunny. Because rabbits were seen in the grass the eggs were hidden, the legend grew that the bunny had left them there.

So while Easter is a bit of an upside down celebration in New Zealand, with spring symbols when our part of the world is getting ready for winter, who would be without it?

Java House Easter Bunny Pie

Thanks to Ash from Java House, Masterton for sharing his ‘top secret' rabbit pie recipe.

If you don't know your own Farmer McGregor, wild or farmed rabbits can be found at speciality outlets and some butchers and will come skinned, but generally whole. Wild rabbits tend to be smaller, but more flavoursome.

You will need
1 wild rabbit
2 litres chicken stock
1 onion chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 piece lemon zest
1 stalk parsley
1 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tspn black peppercorns
100gm bacon
200gm mushrooms
1 cup fresh chopped parsley
100gm toasted flaked almonds
Salt and pepper
500gm short crust pastry
300gm puff pastry

Sauce
150gm butter
150gm flour
1.25 litres reserved rabbit stock
200ml cream
juice of 2 lemons
salt and pepper

Method
Put the rabbit, vegetables, herbs and peppercorns into a large pot and cover with the stock.

Simmer for a couple of hours until the hind legs are tender and then remove from the heat and allow to cool in the liquid.

Once cool take out the rabbit and strip all the meat from the bones. Throw away the bones and keep the liquid.

Fry the bacon and mushrooms together, then mix in the rabbit meat, almonds and parsley, and season with salt and pepper.

Sauce
Cook butter and flour together over a gentle heat to form a roux and then gradually add the reserved rabbit stock, stirring continuously and bring to simmering point.

Add the cream and lemon juice and simmer for a further 10 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent the sauce sticking to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Now add enough sauce to the rabbit mixture to make a creamy mix, not a sloppy mess and allow to cool completely.

Roll out short crust pastry and line a 24cm diameter dish. Blind bake the pastry for 16 -20 minutes at 200C. Remove from oven and allow to cool and turn the oven down to 180C.

Fill pastry case with pie mix and the roll out puff pastry and place on top of the pie.

Brush with egg and bake for 20 minutes at 180C or until pastry is golden brown.

Prising a giant 15_pronged mutant carrot out of your vege patch is one thing - working out what to do with it is another. Berhampore resident Archie Holmes, 96, doubts there is a vegetable peeler robust enough to deal to his 1.5 kilogram carrot, which he is keeping in a bucket of water by his back... read more »

A pet rabbit is being credited for saving the lives of a Melbourne couple after fire swept through their home this morning. Firemen say the husband returned to his Macleod home from night shift this morning only to hear the family pet, named "Rabbit", scratching at the bedroom door 30 minutes later... read more »

Download the Enderby Island Rabbit Club Newsletter.

Bunnies are turning up left, right and centre at the Mangere SPCA as the novelty of this year's Easter gift wears off. SPCA employee Jenna Fowler says 13 rabbits are ready for adoption and another 13 are waiting to come up for adoption, including two pairs. The influx is a result of people who hav... read more »