BNS Class of 2024 Cooks: A Class Cookbook, Block 1

Welcome to Our Cookbook In the fall of 2019, my two English 8 classes began their journey to becoming cookbook authors. Using examples from authors like Nigella Lawson, Ruth Reichl; popular food magazines; and my personal family cookbooks, we researched the components that make up a useful but also engaging record of family food traditions and set about documenting our own.

Each student was invited to contribute a recipe from their own (family’s) collection of foods or kitchen-related crafts. They found the recipe, followed it to test the recipe (or watched a family member do so), and took notes to find those little hints that somehow never make it into the written recipe. While they were permitted to copy the list of ingredients from the original, all other components of the recipe are their own, and they worked hard to give each recipe context, write clear directions, offer useful tips, and create helpful photos and illustrations.

We hope readers feel they have succeeded and are able to recreate these dishes with their own families.

The narratives between the recipes represent the students’ memorable food and family experiences. We wanted to share what feasts and kitchen adventures have helped to shape us as a community.

We hope that their memories will give readers insight into the experiences that teens value. Food is often best shared and I hope readers will see that our authors value how sharing food helps them to build relationships with friends and family.

From our kitchens to yours, Ms Jennifer Cowley English Teacher