‘… this book is
not simply a good cooking book (which it is) but a great,
and in many
ways unexpected pleasure, to read in all sorts of ways.
Read on! Cook
on! Eat on! Be part of a universal human need, experience and art.’
— from the foreword by Margaret Mahy
I have to agree with Margaret Mahy, Rosie Belton's book is an utter delight. a total
must-read memoir for all foodies.
She traces the recipes and memories
that colour her fully-lived life and fondly remembers the traditional foods of her childhood such as apple dumplings, homemade tomato sauce,
condensed milk salad dressing and Yorkshire puddings, moving through to the
60s when the influences of post-WWII migrants began to impact on the Kiwi diet.
Foreign ingredients like salami, olive oil and yogurt were embraced.
Early 70s
experimentation (inspired by Elizabeth David) transformed the way we ate: coq
au vin, boeuf bourguignon, summer pudding and fresh strawberry ice cream – a
brief interlude of sophistication before the hippy movement took hold. Then
came vegetarian cooking, organic
growing and self sufficiency with spinach pie, baked cheesecake and big platters of mixed roast vegetables becoming popular
dishes of the day.
Travelling widely from the late 80s, Rosie’s
many trips exploring different cultures and cuisines
helped bring a richness
and variety to her home cooking. She visits France, Italy, South
America, Italy, Scandinavia and Africa, collecting delicious recipes for quail, waffles, crème brulee, gelato, ratatouille and tagines.
Back in New Zealand, she looks back
at the quintessential summer holidays at the bach with
the freshest of seafood - paua, shellfish hotpots and bouillabaisse. During quiet days in her home garden and orchard at Ribbonwood, Rosie makes gooseberry and blackcurrant tarts, real fruit jellies and plum jam.
And during life’s hard times, like the
Christchurch earthquakes, Rosie reaches for classic
comfort food, bringing to the table pea and ham soup, meatballs in tomato sauce and the delicious
warmth of a sausage ragout.
Simultaneously intimate and broadly social in
its sweep, Wild Blackberries: Recipes
and
memories from a New Zealand table is a glorious celebration of a life spent enjoying the pleasures and comfort of eating well with others. In times of joy, food enhances the celebration, and in times of sadness, it colours and comforts us.
In times of
anxiety and emptiness its preparation gives rhythm and meaning to the
day.
In my own life, offering food to others also brings me a sense
of accomplishment
and fulfilment.
When all else fails - cook! – Rosie Belton
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 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rosie Belton has always had a love of food and
celebration. She is a
Christchurch-based writer, drama teacher, director and
producer, businesswoman and author of Just
A Bang On The Head (Craig Potton Publishers).
Rosie lives with her
husband Mark in the home and garden they have created together over the last
35 years in Governors Bay, New Zealand.
Allen & Unwin - $36.99 - Publication 14 April, 2014
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