Grandma’s pumpkin pie. Aunt Shelia’s famous pot roast. Uncle Dave’s delicious beer-battered shrimp.
We’ve all heard of them – those classic recipes that have been passed on for years, watering the taste buds of generation after generation.
But where can one go to find these scrumptious platters of pleasure? Well, it just so happens that the Community Action for Seniors Independence (CASI) organization in Osoyoos is hoping that with the help of the seniors in the community and the children of Good Shepherd Christian School (GSCS), they can bring these meals out of the history books and put them in the first-ever exclusively Osoyoos CASI Classic Cookbook.
“The goal of CASI’s Classic Cookbook is to create an inter-generational project where seniors in our community can share their knowledge, wisdom and history about food and the preparation and preservation of it with other generations in the community,” said Stacy Little, program manager of the CASI program in Osoyoos.
Little said seniors all over Osoyoos are being asked to submit their favourite recipes to CASI.
From there, recipes are taught (either by the submitter or another senior volunteer) to a class of students at GSCS, so the children can help prepare the meal and take in whatever lessons, anecdotes or stories the seniors may have to offer.
And when the lesson comes to an end and the finished project is sitting on the table, the children are then asked to draw the plate, which will then be used as the picture to go along with the recipe when the cookbook is completed.
Little said the program has already been in full swing for a short period of time and so far the results have been fantastic.
“We’ve done some really fun things,” she said. “We had one lady that did a Robin’s Nest cookie and with that came an educational component about robins.”
“It works both ways. It gets the seniors out visiting with the children and stuff too.”
Angela Westcott, principal at GSCS, said when Little first called her with the idea back in 2011, she immediately jumped at the opportunity.
“I think it’s fantastic,” said Westcott. “She called me to ask me what I thought of the idea and I thought it was fantastic. We’ve always done a lot of cooking and stuff with the kids and we’ve always tried to include them in community events … so it was an easy decision for us to be involved.”
Besides the simple fun and joy of cooking a delicious meal, Westcott said there are a number of hidden lessons that are inherent when cooking that really make the class an all-around educational experience.
“Cooking, as you know, is also a math lesson and being part of a community and seeing the tie to people in the community … that relationship is really important to them,” she said. “So there are lots of social-studies type things, math-type things, health and career as well as the artwork they’re going to be doing.  It’s fantastic.”
As far as what types of recipes CASI is looking for, Little said it’s simple – everything and anything.
So far she said they have about 30-40 recipes in the bank, but they’re looking to get a lot more.
“We’re looking for a slew of recipes,” she said. “We want barbecue recipes, pies, pasta, pancakes, pizza, cakes, cookies or casseroles. If you have a favourite recipe, that’s what we would like in the book. It can be anything.”
Anyone looking to submit a recipe for the CASI Classic Cookbook can do so by calling the CASI office at 250-495-6925, emailing CASI at [email protected] or dropping it off at the CASI office located in the Osoyoos Seniors Centre.  Finally, anyone who submits a recipe will be entered into a draw for the cookbook when it is released.
Little said she expects the book to come out sometime in the spring of 2013.