Local is Lovely

Sophie Hansen moved to the country, married a farmer and now promotes the Orange Region food industry through a seasonal cookbook titled Local is lovely. In this exciting hipster recipe collection, the former food and lifestyle magazine writer immersed herself in local food buying, though being geographically isolated from other shops and healthily enjoying the regional farmers markets. Kowning that 'most people only cook around three recipes from every cookbook they buy', Hansen has tried to attract readers with intimate stories about how each of the farms flourished. I was initially hopeful of finding new recipes to cook with out Brunswick figs and plums, but Local is Lovely is mainly about Orange region harvests. Teaching an adaptation of traditional recipes and some bonus hand-me-down secret recipes, Local is lovely does however teach city chefs to consider seasonal meal planning. Sophie Hansen's humor can be read through usage of phrases such as 'fancy pants' and 'flash in the pan', while her narrative voice is heard through well-worn speech idioms like 'to be honest' and even more playful nonsense like 'extra oomph' and 'um'd and ah'd'. Look out for Returned Soldiers Act, 'the proverbial', and venison. -- Alice Bee * The Australian Writer *