I MADE IT MYSELF
WHO: Rachel Pitts
WHAT: The Hungry Girls' Cookbook, $35
Katherine Bird, Leah Holscher and I came up with the idea about the middle of last year. As soon as we thought of it our eyes lit up and the project started running away on us. I pulled the recipes together, Leah did the photography and Katherine did the design and illustrations. The photos were taken over three days in my backyard and it was so much fun pretending to be food stylists. Initially, we made the book for friends and family as Christmas gifts but we also left some beside the cash register at Pepper Cafe in Flemington and suddenly they started selling. I've always loved cooking and over the years I've made a few things that I thought were worth writing down, so I had a few recipes up my sleeve.
Making the books by hand is incredibly time-consuming but its also a lovely way for Katherine, Leah and I to catch up. We make a night of it; drink a bit of wine, fold, glue and hand-stitch the books and have a laugh, too.
We've had such a great response to the book. People love the fact that it's hand-made and you can really see the care that's gone into each one. It's very exciting for me to hear about the people cooking the recipes; everyone seems to love the rhubarb sour-cream pie. The recipes are designed for the home cook, so they are straightforward but hopefully a little new and interesting, too. Now we're dreaming up the next volume.