Crying Wolf

Earlier today I sent an email to several of my close friends at work outlining my little venture. We have had a couple of recent resignations at work and I intended to piggyback on there to catch people’s attention – and to mess with their heads a little. The email went a little like this…

I thought I should tell you guys that I’m thinking of leaving too! I been approached with a really great job back at the chocolate factory and I know I haven’t been here long but I think it’s just too great an opportunity to pass up. At least you guys will have a more reliable source of chocolates!

No really, Just joking

I am pregnant though – only 10 weeks gone so you guys can’t tell anyone for a couple of weeks until I’m passed the safe point. It’s been a bit of a surprise for us! I just wanted you guys to be in the know unless you figured it out and started asking questions

No sorry that’s not true either but I do feel on a bit of a roll

But I do have an announcement

Some of you might have heard already that I’m planning to cook everything in the 1966 edition (I thought it was 1967 but I got it wrong) of the Edmonds Cookbook. Some of you might have heard of the Julie/Julia blog – I’m planning on doing the same thing. So I’ll be cooking all 556 recipes within a year and writing a blog of it as I go. Why – I thought it would be fun. Feel free to remind me of that later.

Kick off is on the 1/12 and I’m going to have to get going on my 3 Christmas cakes very quickly

http://debbiedoesedmonds.blogspot.com

Oh yeah, and the baking is going to have to be disposed of somewhere. I’d appreciate it if you’d all try to prevent Hannah from doing me any physical harm when I bring it in.

Debbie

The reaction was so good that I then forwarded it on to friends and family with a little explanation of why I had sent the email. To all my Friends and Family who received my email today outlining this venture I would like to reiterate again that I am not, and have never been pregnant. Some of you may have not managed to get all the way through the attention grabbing mid section of said email in which case I would like to reiterate that it was just a joke.

Again, I’m not pregnant. I’m not. Not even a little. My mother will not be a Grandmother in the recent future and don’t congratulate my husband (although commiserations and general sympathy are always warmly received).

So in Summary –There are no buns in my oven (all though there will literally be not only buns but rock cakes and scones in the near future), I’m not pregnant, Knocked up or up the duff.

Honestly – would I lie to you?

Here she goes

Ok, so the idea is that I’ll be cooking everything out of my old Edmonds cookbook – circa 1967 or so – and cooking it within a year. That’s 556 (or so – this “or so” may be a recurring issue) that’s a lot of butter, lard, suet and shortening. Kick off on December 1st.

In current years, we Kiwi’s have moved away from our Edmonds with its red titles and blue text, attracted by glossy pictures and descriptions of what the food is actually supposed to turn out like – shame on us for abandoning our culinary roots! I will admit that while I turn to my Edmonds for pancakes, scones or coconut ice I am likely to shun it in favour of something a little shinier when I go beyond the basics.

To look back to my classic Edmonds (De Luxe – that’s two words by the way, not one – Edition, 7th Printing) there must be some jems of our food history which we have unfairly abandoned in favour of Fusion, Café food and gastro pub cuisine – surely? Perhaps Moonshine Biffs are the new biscotti? Does food have to come from somewhere more exotic than our own backyard to be cool?

Of course it’s not all an ardent impassioned statement on Kiwi Cuisine – I’m a glutton for punishment (and probably just a glutton at the heart of things). A couple of years back I read the Julie/Julia blog and I thought - I'd like a bit of that action. I’m strangely enthusiastic about this form of culinary torture- guess I’m a food masochist at heart.

In light of the last comment – yes there are several recipes including “variety meats”. No I’m not happy about it.