Many of the recipe names in “Seasonings,” our new Nelson literary cookbook,  are  linguistic and geographical adventures in their own right. Greek-Style Creston Lentil-Feta Burger (by Jodi Eaton), for example.

Soba Noodles with Baby Spinach and Spicy Tamari Dressing (by Melanie Lucas).   Cauliflower Soup with Blue Cheese and Thyme  (Jeremy and Nette Lack). See what I mean? The titles are rich in images, and we haven’t even got  to the ingredients, the photos, or the authors yet.

One recipe name even has punctuation and comes off quite haiku-like: Wild Salmon in Pastry, with Leek Marmelade and Goat Cheese by Francyne Laliberté.

“You might want to replace your usual thanksgiving dessert”, said Jocelyn Carver in a recent Kootenay Co-op Radio interview,  “with the Pumpkin Mocha Cheesecake which was a huge hit at the Wild Onion restaurant. This recipe has been jealously guarded for years and they agreed to put it in this cookbook.”

Jocelyn is the Marketing Director at the Kootenay Country Store Cooperative. She collaborated with Anne DeGrace of the Nelson Municipal Library to produce this book, which was launched Friday night, October 1, at the library.

Editor Anne DeGrace, Photographer Heather Goldsworthy, and Editor Jocelyn Carver (Photo: Bill Metcalfe)

“One of Those Magic Collaborations”

Combining local recipes and literature in a single book was originally Anne DeGrace’s idea.  “I have been trying to get a chief librarian to take a risk on this for maybe ten years, and June Stockdale (the current head librarian) was willing to take the risk,” said Anne in the same radio interview. “It was June’s idea to approach the Co-op. ” As soon as Anne found the right person at the Co-op, the path was clear.

Here’s Jocelyn Carver in a two minute video from the book launch Friday evening at the library talking about how the partnership was “the perfect expression of this community.”

The Literary Seasons

The book is built around the four seasons, and Anne invited four prominent local authors to write about them: Rita Moir (spring), Tom Wayman (summer), Eileen Delahanty Pearkes (autumn), and Almeda Glenn Mille (winter).

Author Tom Wayman reading at the book launch (Photo: Bill Metcalfe)

Each seasonal section has recipes with photos and matching shorter offerings by more writers. Spring brings us twenty recipes including Cold Gingered Asparagus by June Stockdale, and the recipes are interspersed with six short written pieces including The Ghost in the Rhubarb Pie, a charming story by Paula Hudson-Lunn about recipes, families and history.

And we proceed through the book and the seasons with new gastronomic, literary, and photographic insights on every page.

Mouthwatering Photos

The photographs are by Heather Goldsworthy.  “She can photograph an onion so you want to cry,” says Anne. “The book is truly mouthwatering,” says Jocelyn, “because of her photos.”

A Gift to the Community

“Proceeds from the sale of the book go to the library after costs are covered,” says Anne, “to the library expansion over the long term, and that is because the Kootenay Co-op  is a pretty amazing community partner.”

“One of the principles of cooperatives,” says Jocelyn,” is concern for the community as well as education and information, and for the Co-op this project encapsulates those two principles which we hold quite dearly. Working in partnership it allowed us to reinvest in the community, to provide a gift to the community.”

The book launch evening also celebrated the Nelson Municipal Library’s 90th birthday. I’ll be writing about that in a separate post.

Library Board members Cathy Heyland and Nancy Jones had a steady stream of customers at the book launch