Preserved cook book

My Grandma was the first person whose baking I really admired and looked forward to. She was also the first person I knew who passed away. It was then I realised I would never get to eat her apricot pie, muesli or stewed fruit again; those tastes that I had taken for granted, that only she could make. This established a need for me to conserve the wisdom of our past. Like the ripe apricot from summer, if preserved in the right way, we can enjoy it all year round. Food, like people, has rich histories. Both go hand in hand with shaping our cultures’ attitudes. The preparation and the act of sharing food forms deep and personal relationships between people. It is often tied to particular places and therefore is connected to local and regional availability of seasonal produce. It is this everyday use of food and its enjoyment that I hope to capture in this book I am working towards publishing.. Have a look at the people I have found and met alreday, they are people I knew, or discovered through word-of-mouth. They all reside in the beautiful region of Otago, some were well known community members, others were their towns best kept secrets.