“Beyond merely nourishing the body, what we eat and with whom we eat can inspire and strengthen the bonds between individuals, communities, and even countries.”

“At that time I was already wondering how to convey that the spiritual world is right at hand; that food is precious, and we are precious beings; that hearts can delight in cooking…Of course cooking is about getting it right, making food that is edible and delicious, but more than this cooking is about awakening your innate capacities for living in the fullness and vitality of the present, touching and being touched by life itself. To quote Rumi, what else would human beings want?” – Edward Espe Brown, The Complete Tassajara Cookbook

“There is a fundamental joy in cooking, born of the pleasure of using our senses — rustling our fingers through a bunch of herbs, listening to the sizzle of onions, watching the colours brighten while vegetables cook, inhaling the fragrance of olive oil the moment it hits the pasta.” – Deborah Madison, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

“A thoughtfully planned, carefully prepared meal is not only a pleasure to consume, it forges a bond between those who share it, connects us to the earth, and enriches our experience. We need the communion, the home-place rituals, where one is nourished and given a sense of place in the world.” – The Moosewood Collective, Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home

“A good cooks cleans as he or she goes.” – A wise cook

This recipe book as been collected and refined over round about 50 years. The full set was unofficially released to the family by email as a Word document in August of 2013, and then again in a slightly more official web release in December of 2013. So, enjoy!

Collected and refined by ‘the wise cook’ – Mum – Jen Shillingford | Web-ified by Alex and Sarah Bird for Christmas 2013 | Website updated by Alex for Christmas 2021