Pakawau Rural Women launch A Good Spread
The Pakawau Branch of Rural Women launched A Good Spread last Thursday at the Pakawau Hall. Photo: Gerard Hindmarsh.
As to be expected, a fitting spread was laid out last Thursday lunchtime at the Pakawau Hall to celebrate the national launch of Rural Women’s new recipe book, A Good Spread – Recipes From the Kitchens of Rural Women.
A huge upgrade on earlier compilations, this 360-page lavishly illustrated collection of recipes brings together classics of the original 1965 Women’s Division of Federated Farmers (WDFF) cookbook and combines them with favourites from current Rural Women members.
The book was published by Random House and officially launched in Wellington the previous Tuesday. The local launch was hosted by the Pakawau branch of Rural Women, several members of which have recipes in the book.
Branch president Joyce Wyllie of Kaihoka said branches all around the country were canvassed for contributions around six months ago. She sent in a recipe for Dainty Buns that had been a favourite of her mother, Minty Henderson of Pakawau, who’d been given the original WDFF cookbook at her pre-wedding party 55 years ago. “The book has been so well used it doesn’t have a cover anymore,” said Joyce. “Those buns were her most favourite and well-used recipe, so I thought others might enjoy it too.”
Another Pakawau branch member who had two recipes accepted was Margaret Jary. She’s been making large quantities of tomato soup for her kids ever since they were little. Now in their 40s and 50s, they’re now making the same recipe for their own children.
Margaret’s “Home-Made Spaghetti” recipe was printed too, which includes six kilograms of tomatoes in the ingredients and a hint on how to freeze it in margarine containers ready for a quick feed.
At the Pakawau launch, members were encouraged to bring a plate using a recipe from the original WDFF cookbook. A surprising number of older members brought along their battered copies. Jean Langford of the Takaka branch has been a member of WDFF/Rural Women for 40 years; her mother was a member for a similar length of time before her. Jean baked and brought along her favourite from the original book, an orange and raisin cake.
The new book is expected to be a big seller nationally if current trends are any indication; six of the ten best-selling books in New Zealand last year were cookbooks.
The Pakawau branch of Rural Women presently has 20 members. Joyce says that their support of the book fits in with the whole Rural Women motto of “strengthening rural communities”.
“Sometimes it’s not easy living in the country, especially with reducing services. Remember, you don’t have to be a farmer’s wife to benefit from our organisation; we welcome any woman who lives in a rural community.”
A Good Spread is available from all bookshops, including Take Note ($35) or direct from your local Rural Women branch ($30). Contact Joyce Wyllie at 524 8364.
Gerard Hindmarsh
