Dozens of local residents who contributed to the publication of the Osoyoos Cooks at Home cookbook were on hand this past Saturday at the Osoyoos Seniors Centre for the official launch of the impressive 128-page book. The book not only includes dozens of delicious recipes, but pictures of local contributors, including the students at Good Shepherd Christian School in Osoyoos, who played a significant role in this project. Showing off the cookbook and some of the artwork include, front row from left, April Westcott, Faith Westcott, Jesse Zimmerman, Crystal Zimmerman and Jada Gaudet. Back row, from left, are Community Action for Seniors Independence (CASI) volunteer program manager Aja Jackson, CASI volunteer and cookbook contributor Moe Olynick, volunteer Audrie Cox and student Jen Rempel. Photo by Keith Lacey.

 

 

Moe Olynick says her spare ribs cooked in cola are “to die for” and hopes hundreds of Osoyoos residents will try her recipe now that the Osoyoos  Cooks at Home cookbook has been officially released.
Dozens of members from the Community Action for Seniors Independence (CASI) – which recently changed its program name to Better at Home – and community supporters showed up Saturday morning at the Osoyoos Seniors Centre for the official launch of the community cookbook.
Not only does the impressive-looking 128- page cookbook contain dozens of tasty recipes, but there are pictures of many of the contributors, facts and figures about the Town of Osoyoos and its history, pictures from the Osoyoos Museum archives and pictures of CASI volunteers.
“This was a true community project in every sense of the word,” said Stacy Little, program manager for Better at Home and the woman who applied for a provincial grant that led to the creation of the community cookbook.
Olynick, a longtime volunteer with CASI, said was very excited when she heard about the cookbook project and wasted no time volunteering, along with her husband, their  Papa’s Sweet Ribs With Mustard Barbecue Sauce to the project. She also contributed a second recipe called Moe’s Muffin Pizzas.
She hopes the ribs recipe is as much a hit with the residents of Osoyoos as they are around the family dinner table, said Olynick.
“I’ve been told by everyone who tries them that they’re absolutely delicious,” said a beaming Olynick during Saturday’s gathering. “The key is cooking them in cola … it doesn’t matter what kind.
“I’ve tried making ribs with all kinds of different sauces, but I’ve found cola works the best.”
Being able to be part of a project that brought so many different people together was amazing, said Olynick.
“It was just so much fun to be able to contribute something back to the community like this,” she said. “I love cooking and I’m glad I was able to help out in any little way I could.”
Last April, CASI was awarded a grant of almost $25,000 from the federal government’s New Horizons for Seniors Program to create a community cookbook, said Little.
The goal of the project was to create a project where seniors could share their knowledge by providing hands-on cooking demonstrations to young people in the community.
Members of CASI partnered with the students and staff at Good Shepherd Christian School. For the duration of this project, students and seniors shared cooking skills, computer experiences and a lot of laughs, said Little.
More than a dozen students from Good Shepherd were at Saturday’s kickoff event.
The cooking sessions were made even more memorable as the students received art training from a professional volunteer artist and created colourful artwork for the cookbook based on six cooking sessions between the seniors and students.
“The cooking, photography and art sessions have been filmed and photographed and are featured throughout the cookbook,” she said
“This has truly been a community project and I’m so proud to have been a part of it.”
There are too many volunteers involved in this project to name them all, but they each played a significant role in the 14 months it took to put this project together, said Little.
“This project has forged new friendships and ideas and culminated in a community cookbook that features delicious, time-tested recipes from local residents of Osoyoos who love to cook and share the secrets of the bountiful harvests that can be found in the Town of Osoyoos,” she said,.
A total of 500 copies of Osoyoos Cooks at Home have been published and are on sale at $19.95. All proceeds will go towards programs that keep local seniors living independently in their home, said Little.
Copies can be purchased at the Osoyoos Museum, Osoyoos Home Hardware, Bonnie Doon Health Supplies, Wander Café and the Osoyoos Seniors Centre.