SWAN Hill hospitality retiree Lynne Dunoon has collated her years of experience into a cookbook and is donating each sale to the Mallee MRI Appeal.
Mrs Dunoon compiled 300 Well-Loved ‘Go To’ Recipes for Every Occasion from crowd-sourced recipes from 60 Australian home cooks, including some Swan Hill locals, alongside tips and tricks for carers and hosts alike to make.
She initially started the project as a way to document recipes for her grandchildren toward the end of COVID lockdowns.
“I thought it would be better to have the recipes tidied up by a graphic designer and it looked so good that I decided I would have other people contribute, and it grew and grew,” Mrs Dunoon said.
“The process kept me in touch with a lot of people, including friends from Swan Hill who have contributed recipes for the book.
“I had to stop when I reached 500 recipes.
“The book also has special features which include wine terminology, recovery food, breakfast ideas, picnics, children’s parties, table settings, and social confidence as a host or a guest.
“While I felt that it was a joy and a form of occupational therapy for me, I didn’t know what to do with it when it was finished, and decided to donate the books to charity organisations.”
The end result is a one-stop recipe book for experienced and new home cooks, including valuable tips on cooking and preparation of several courses as well as preserves and condiments.
Although she was born and raised in Swan Hill, she and her husband moved to Melbourne in part for better access to medical treatment.
“We are both cancer survivors, and it meant to the world to us to be able to go two or three blocks for daily treatment,” she said.
“We were able to stay home because of that easy access to daily treatment following surgery, to finally become clear of cancer.
“Treatment and recovery was a long, slow process, and that’s really hard on the budget if you don’t have your home to come back to.
“Recovery was absolutely assisted by being near home, and I do believe part of healing is able to be emotionally and socially stable and maintain that normality.
“It distresses us to think our lovable country Swan Hill home doesn’t have an MRI facility for the local people who don’t want to leave or can’t leave Swan Hill but have to if they want to get well.”
With the support of Swan Hill locals and businesses, 300 Well-Loved ‘Go To’ Recipes for Every Occasion is now available for purchase at Clarks Gift Shop and Ray White Real Estate.
“Working with the team has been a joy,” Mrs Dunoon said
“I wish to thank Shirley Hall, Gwen Phyland, Barrie Bales and the outlets for the books, Clarks Gift Shop and Ray White Real Estate who have made it possible for the sale of this book to the public to support fund raising for the MRI machine.
“Outlets are not charging any fee, so every person who buys a book is donating the $50 cost to the cause.”
