Especially for the older or younger

Alexa Johnston (author Ladies, A Plate), Founders, The Granary Cafe, Sunday October 18.

Cakes and biscuits took on new meaning after hearing first-hand about food writer Alexa Johnston’s passion for New Zealand’s traditional home baking.

The museum curator’s road to researching and writing of her life-long pastime came via the biography she wrote about Sir Edmund Hillary in which she included recipes – one of his favourites and a couple of Sherpa ones – which, of course, she tested. Her publisher’s subsequent suggestion to write a cook book resulted in Ladies, A Plate, which won the 2009  Montana Book Award Lifestyle section, and, just released, A Second Helping, with more more-ish cakes, slices and preserves. Now she’s working on puddings.

Johnston’s warmth and humorous anecdotes touched all in the mainly female crowd as she outlined the process of producing the books. Those with silvering hair especially enjoyed reminders of etiquette associated with the first book’s title from not so long ago, for example, the scandal of bringing bought biscuits!

Baking has had bad press and deserves better. Apart from its integral role in our social history, it’s about love and community, a way of showing we care. Johnston wants the sentence: “I’ve been good today...” to return to meaning we’ve helped someone, rather than not eaten that second piece of cake!

Dawn McMillan, (author Why Do Dogs Sniff Bottoms?), Elma Turner Library, Saturday October 17.

About 70 fans, including some unaccompanied adults, revelled in their animated encounter with prolific children’s author Dawn McMillan. Her energy and enthusiasm entranced as she read and performed the children’s favourite stories with full audience participation.

McMillan knows that youngsters relish slightly rude things in stories, like talking about dogs’ bottoms, as long as they’re not too rude. She wrote the award-winning Why Do Dogs Sniff Bottoms? after discovering her father never finished telling his version when she was small because he thought it was ‘rude’. One very cool lady.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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