Limited Edition Cookery - something very special from food and lifestyle columnist Laura Faire

Limited Edition Cookery

by Laura Faire

Spot Publishing

PO Box 147 461,Ponsonby

Auckland 1144.

Hardback - $115.00 - Publication date 18 September.

This is a cookbook like no other I have ever seen. 

To start with each copy is uniquely hand-finished by the food writer author as a piece of art but she is at pains to point out it is still a cookbook and she hopes that it will start on the bedside of many a foodie before migrating to the kitchen where it will become food splattered.

The binding is woven rather than gummed and the print uses the highest quality vegetable ink. The book is a carboNZero certified product using a business to consumer life cycle measurement. This means that all the greenhouse emissions associated with the lifecycle of the cookbook are measured, reduced and offset through purchasing verified carbon credits. It has been printed by Soar Printing, a New Zealand owned and managed family business since 1920.

In addition to a stunning selection of recipes, beautifully photographed by Michael Bradley with additional illustrations by John Kelleher each copy also includes a packet of bee mix which is  a mixture of wildflowers that attract bees and other beneficial insects. It contains seeds for Phacelia, Bergamot, Alyssum, Fennel and Dill. The author says it is to sow in spare spots in the garden or tubs where you won't accidentally do some weeding. Let the seeds grow wild, flowery and (for the bees at least) delicious. 

Because the rrp of the book is $115.00  review copies are not available. I was fortunate to see one of three advance copies that were printed digitally to check the paper weight and to see how it all came together. The result is very special indeed with a print run of 1000 copies.

It is going to be sold in a limited number of designer stores and booksops in the Ponsony Road/Jervois Road area and the author/publisher will post a list of these on her website as books are delivered to them. It will also be available from her website - www.laurafaire.co.nz

Below is a recipe from the book and this is followed by the author's introduction in which she outlines her philosophy of cooking at home and her motivation for publishing this book.

A GIFT OF FENNEL AND FISH

Baking paper or foil

1 large bulb of fennel, very finely sliced

½ a small onion, finely sliced

1 lemon, juice only

4 knobs butter

500g medium white fish, cut into 6-8cm pieces

1 teaspoon crushed pink peppercorns

a few sprigs of chervil

Preheat the oven to 200ºC.

Tear off four 80cm lengths of baking paper or foil and fold each in half to

make four double-thickness squares.

Combine the fennel and onion slices in a bowl with the lemon juice.

Divide the slices between the baking paper squares and top each with a

knob of butter.

Divide the fish between the piles and sprinkle with a few pink peppercorns.

Draw up the edges of the paper and crimp, then fold together to form a

parcel.

This is a little easier with foil.

Place the parcels on a baking tray and bake for 15-17 minutes or until one parcel peeked into shows the fish is cooked.

If not serving the fish in its wrapping, remember to pour over the lovely

juices.

Serves 4

Preparation time 10-20 minutes (depends on slicing skills)

Cooking time 17 minutes

Buying fish can be fraught with worry, guilt and expectation. Is it fresh, is it fished safely, were the fish and the fishermen well treated? There is no antidote like asking a few questions (or catching it yourself). The New Zealand quota system goes a long way to managing fish stocks, but for more information it is worth looking at the New Zealand Forest and Bird Society’s annual publication, The Best Fish Guide.

Introduction by the author

My first problem was a chef’s problem, that of controlling the

ingredients in my kitchen. I solved this by growing my own food.

From plant to plate – the unique care of an ingredient from

germination to degustation. This process has now become part of

my life, and it can be a part of yours too. It can be merely a small

pot of chives tucked behind the toaster on the kitchen bench. Or it

can be a window box on that sunny sill – or a full-blown outdoors

potager with gumboots and wheelbarrows.

Where this little slice of perfection fits into each person’s life is a

personal choice. I’ve found that bringing a little bit of care into the

home is nourishing, and it will give a lot more that it takes. That I

can promise.

From planting a few herbs and strawberries, my scratching in the

dirt has led me on a full-blown environmental journey. I've learned

that topsoil is finite and we are wasting it. Crap farming methods

turn topsoil to dust, and the wind blows it away. A big heavy key

turned in my heart. And then a talk that I heard, beamed over the

internet by Richard Heinberg for the British Soil Association, set me

in a direction that saw me give up my job designing recipes and

force me forward to hone my own particular brand of planetary

heroism.

My way may be small, but my heart is in it. If you can find your own

way of helping and you can get your heart engaged, you too will feel

as if you can change the world. In fact I believe you can.

Having written quite a few books already, and having a column in

the Sunday Star Times, I first thought to produce a book. But for me,

books pose a problem. While I am so grateful to have been

published at all, the cookbook industry has a mould. I have certain

goals with each book I have written. With this new book I so strongly

wanted to create a book that reflected the way I cook.

My book needs to be of its time, local, natural, simple and beautiful.

It needs to be crafted from start to finish with collaborators who also

reflect a love for the environment in their work. These strange ideas

don’t fit the usual publishing mould.

So I have created this book. I have touched each page personally

and wrapped the final book in its paper wrapper. The artists, from

photographer, illustrator, editor, designer to printer, have filled it

with their best work too. This is a labour of love, of quality and care.

And the materials used in this book are clean enough to be added to

your compost and then spread through your garden.
So even if this book doesn’t sell it will be good for the planet.

Laura

About the author:

Laura Faire is a food and lifestyle columnist for the Sunday Star Times.
She is well known as a guest chef on TVNZ¹s Good Morning show where she
appeared regularly for 3 years. Her work is often seen in New Zealand food
magazines. This is her second solo book. Her previous book Now is the
Season (2011) is published by New Holland Publishers.