Each week I post another fascinating true-life excerpt from my friend & mentor’s journals while she was Housekeeper & Cook at The Flamingo, during the period 1968-1999, titled Cookie’s Diaries. Together we’ve changed a few things around & set Cookies story in a fictional Australian country town so as to protect the innocent & the not so innocent!  We hope you enjoy Cookies journey from such humble & all but penniless beginnings to owning & running the highly successful country guesthouse, ‘The  Flamingo’. To read the last chapter click HERE.
Anna & Cookie – Discussing food & life in the 1970’s
One of the best things about working our way through Cookie’s Diaries are the discussions I’ve had with Cookie, so I thought I’d share some of her insightful answers to my questions with you all.
Anna: Seriously Cookie, how come you guys were not the size of houses with all the rich carb-high foods you cooked & ate throughout the 1970’s?
Cookie: I believe we were much more involved in the food chain back then because we grew & cooked locally grown produce that had not been tampered with like foods of today are. The range of fruits & vegetables were a lot more limited than they are today, you’d always have a feast or famine with fresh vegetables, so we preserved & frozen the glut & used a lot more herbs & spices to bring more taste to the table. But it all took work & I suppose that meant we used up the energy we ate to a great extent too. I think everyone has their opinions & reasons but you mustn’t forget it was my generation who were so busy creating social change & equality for ourselves that we made the homemaker redundant & households have lost control of their food chains because of it. The cost has been on our health – progress always costs.
Anna: You sound as if you were quite intimidated & a little scared of Frederick, especially during your first decade at The Flamingo. Were you?
Cookie: I always felt so indebted to him. Frederick was the strong character between the 2 men & he had a difficult personality tending to clash with everyone in his professional life at one time or another, he was so exacting. He was entirely different in his personal life though, very easy going & loving & a great mentor for me, he knew a lot about discipline & sacrifice & stepping up; I think I needed Frederick in my life to learn these important traits. It was an odd relationship we all shared I admit.
Anna: Your journals suggest you literally fell in love with food & cooking throughout the 1970’s. Was there any one recipe or reason that hooked you?
Cookie: Your absolutely right, I did fall in love with catering about then but I’d always loved cooking, even as a child. Being surrounded by people who expected wonderful food made me stretch my abilities, although I genuinely enjoyed feeding & serving people. I think that’s the one vital ingredient you need to have to be successful in the hospitality industry, an enjoyment from serving people. It’s hard to remember any one recipe although I started playing around with pastries & bread making in the late 1970’s & that was a whole new playground for me as there was so many variables that could alter a recipe.
I was so happy to see you try the Walnut Bread Anna, as that was the first real bread I made. Knowing your reluctance of baking, I’m so interested to know how you enjoyed the process?
Anna: (Giggling uncontrollably) Well! Seeing you asked Cookie then I have to answer honestly don’t I?  I actually got right into the whole kneading & watching the bread rise, it was quite exciting, but seriously Cookie, your Walnut Bread was so filling it was like eating half a dozen bread rolls!  Such a heavy bread but so tasty, especially while still warm from the oven with lashings of butter, but there was no way I could finish 1 roll, it was so filling. No wonder you guys could work all day on a bowl of soup & a bread roll!  Next time I will make very small rolls I think because the taste was awesome.
Anna: You wrote quite a bit about broadening your palate under Silvio’s instructions. I loved the way he saw that as the first step to wine & food pairing. I would love to hear more about that journey as sometimes I think I failed a bit during my time as a Chef – there were a couple of foods I refused to taste!
Cookie: Oh Yes, indeed – tasting a full range of foods is imperative to an educated palate but so too is learning how to use your nose to identify the aroma & fragrance & smells that are around you. Silvio was forever grabbing flowers & soil & herbs & insisting I identify the bouquet. Once you get comfortable with multi layered fragrances & tastes its quite easy to then pair foods well.
Anna: I’m interested in the Australian wines throughout the 1970’s, what were they like?
Cookie: I have been so privileged in watching our wine industry come of age to the world-class standards of today; we really do grow & produce exceptional wines now. Winemakers back then were attempting to mimic the European styles with quite a bit of success. For example, many said our champagne styled wines were as good if not better than their French brothers. I don’t believe winemakers fully appreciated our rich soils until we started to own our unique & sometimes brazen flavours with high alcohol contents. It’s an interesting subject isn’t it? I love that now days no one frowns on your wine choice no matter what you’re eating – we would never have been so bold in the 70’s.
Walnut Bread
1 & 1/2 Cups (185 grams/6 oz) chopped walnuts
7 grams (1/4 oz) dried yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups (250 grams / 8 oz) Plain Flour
1 cup (150 grams / 5 oz) wholemeal plain flour
1 cup (100 gram / 3 1/2 oz) Rye Flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon plain flour, extra
Lay the walnuts on a baking tray and bake in a moderate 180 C (350 F) oven for 5 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Â Set aside to cool.
Mix the yeast, sugar & half cup (125 ml / 4 oz) of warm water in a bowl. Â Cover and set aside in a warm place for 10 minutes, or until frothy.
Combine the flours, salt & walnuts in a large bowl.
Make a well in the centre and pour in another 1 cup (250 ml / 8 0z) of warm water and the frothy yeast. Â Mix with a flat bladed knife to a soft dough and gather into a ball. Â Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, or until smooth & elastic.
Place into a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and leave for 1 hour, or until slightly risen.
Just like this! Â Turn out onto a slightly floured board & knead for 1 minute.
Sprinkle the top of the loaves with the extra flour by hand or with a sifter. Â Using a sharp knife, slash the dough diagonally.
Bake for 30 – 35 minutes at approximately 180C.
So, would anyone else like to ask Cookie a question or 2 about the 70′s?
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42 Comments and Pings on COOKIES DIARY Pt. 28
That bread looks great! You are so lucky to know someone like Cookie – how inspiring.
Debra Kolkka recently posted..No Brigitte Bardot sighting in St Tropez
Yes, I am so lucky Debra
She has been hugely inspirational for me for sure 
Great interview, Anna! & a great recipe, this is so something I would love to try. & re the “how were you not the size of a house?” point, it really does go to show how active women were back then (well, men and women and kids too). we’re far too sedentary today!!
Heidi xo
Heidi – Apples Under My Bed recently posted..BFF Brownies
I think your right Heidi – and didn’t you just love the delicate way she said “you guys are lazy as…..”. It’s true though when put like that – we are absolutely not as involved in the food chain as she was. Makes a girl kinda think huh
I love following Cookies Diaries,and that walnut bread looks delicious! Those photos are beautiful…I can almost smell it! I love bread baking and this one is unique! Thanks for your wonderful posts.
Margaret Murphy Tripp recently posted..The Ultimate Diet Post
I’m so glad you too enjoy following Cookies Diaries Margaret, I always think I’m being a little self indulgent sharing Cookie’s Diaries because I think its a fascinating “hospitality” story (& motivational for the girl chefs), its lovely hearing about the successes & sharing & identifying along the way her challenges. Now the bread making
I’m such a novice & find it so challenging, so its almost “happy dance” time when (& if) it turns out like bread & not a brick!! 
It was great to see things from Cookie’s perspective in real time compared to back then. You asked such a great 1st question, Anna. Cookie gave such a logical answer too. You don’t really think about how much of our food is processed these days compared to back then. Everything was so natural and much healthier. That combined with the fact that they did most of their chores by hand would really contribute to a lean and healthy figure.
The bread looks wonderful. I’d love to have some still warm out of the oven slathered with butter and enjoyed with soup. It does look filling like you said. Thanks to you and Cookie for taking the time to do this enterview.
LeQuan recently posted..Hainanese Chicken Rice at Cafe D’Lite
Your so right LeQuan
Everyone asks me about the heavy carb foods in Cookie’s era., they were tasty (been guilty of lining up for 2nd’s on many an occasion) but there’s no way I could live on that sort of food…, so I thought her answer was awesome too. Kinda makes you think though doesn’t it 
Have a wonderful summer week LeQuan – I’m so green with envy of you guys kickin’ it up in the sunshine too.
How wonderful to sit with Cookie and learn more and more and more. Well done on those brilliant looking walnut bread rolls – you are a professional right off the bat.
Mandy
Mandy – The Complete Cook Book recently posted..Microwave Oven Chocolate Pudding in a Cup
Its truly wonderful indeed Mandy, to see things from another time like that. She’s a one in a million isn’t she
Oooh, I’d love to read more conversations like these! I love your honesty about the bread, too – it’s funny how filling some breads can be! You’re so lucky to have such an inspirational woman in your life, bestie bestie!
Hannah recently posted..The 10-Part Dessert Extravaganza Begins- Burch and Purchese- aka Melbourne Part Three
I know., I’m a lucky little gal to have been inspired so much by Cookie. Uughhh, the bread – I loved that it smelt amazing & tasted so yummy, I can see why home bakers don’t buy bread – I mean, its like eating a whole different type food group than bought stuff (yep., you can tell I’m not a big bread eater huh). I was going to tell Cookie it felt like a brick in my stomach after
Cookie is an amazing baker, so I’ve got a long…. long LONG L O N G way to go!!!! 
devouringaaahh, I mean eating just one roll – it should have come with a health warning or at the very least a prize for achieving such a featWhat a lovely conversation between you both! The walnut bread looks lovely. I really enjoy making bread-the rising etc is so much fun
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella recently posted..Shortgrain- Surry Hills
I’m finding that out – who would have thought it’d be so exciting huh
Cookie is right–it really was in the ’80′s that corporate food makers switched to corn syrup as a sweetener-additive, and portions started the Mega-size trend. 25 plus years later, and Americans are obese.
the walnut bread looks really scrumptious—beautiful work.
It was an interesting comment wasn’t it. I think Australia was a good decade behind US but I saw some statistics the other day that suggests Aussies are the most obese in the world now. So sad…, I guess that’s what happens when we take our control of the simplest of things & hand it over to corporations & money makers – feeding ourselves! I found that statement incredibly levelling too Nancy.
So interesting to consider that as women have entered the workplace in the last decades our nutrition has drastically changed. Your walnut bread looks great! I often think about how I wouldn’t have time for bread baking if I weren’t working from home.
lisaiscooking recently posted..My Calabria- Rustic Cooking of Southern Italy
It’s a sobering statement isn’t it, the type of statement only women can make – or maybe confess. Working from home would be the ideal I think Lisa, that way a girl can put her multi tasking talents to some really awesome outcomes, I envy you your lifestyle & definatly have it pegged for my own future too. And the bread was awesome – I was kinda chuffed that my first attempt at breadmaking turned out so well. It was pretty encouraging that it worked as I kind of found it a bit fun
Great interview, Anna! Cookie makes a really good point about eating locally and seasonally. This bread looks phenomenal!
Faith recently posted..Baked Fish with Crumb Topping
Thanks Faith
I could while away a lot of time listening to Cookie’s wisdom & reflections, she is a great advocate for eating locally & says everyone should have a garden even if its just the herbs we use in cooking. Considering how much I spend on herbs each week, its a really big point. Oh yes, my first attempt at breadmaking was a success….. Yay 
A good start with lots, & lots more to learn methinks 
We are just getting into baking our own bread, and I LOVE nut breads in general. Definitely putting this one on the to-do list. As for Aussie wines, can’t get enough of them. Some of my favorite cellared bottles are from Henschke, Clarendon Hills and D’Arenberg…..LOVE-LOVE-LOVE! – S
Oui, Chef recently posted..No Botox Required – An Anniversary Facelift for Oui- Chef
Awesome Chef. Let me know how the recipe turns out for you. My results were good (especially for a bread baking beginner) but I’ve been told by the family experts that I still didn’t knead it long enough as it’s keeping qualities weren’t fabulous. LOTS to learn in this baking fishbowl I can see
You & me both my friend with the Henschke, got me quite a few of those bad boys laid down resting away, as well as the D’Arenberg. Must sample some Clarendon Hills – but your right with the Aussie wines, they pack a punch but boy are they the business. So happy your into them 
That walnut bread sounds amazing! SO very hearty and filling.
Oh yeah…., it was certainly filling & hearty Krista
No wonder the bread was so filling, look at those ingredients! They were certainly a different breed back then. We don’t move nearly as much, just think of not having remotes even- How many extra steps would that be a day?
InTolerantChef recently posted..Lavender Grey Churros
Your scarin’ me know Bec. Life without remotes (mini freak out looming) – but your right, I think we could add a few steps to our day that way. Yeah., I knew it was going to be filling & wholemealie, and I don’t really eat much bread anyway…, but these little babies took ‘filling’ to a whole new level
Enjoyed the repartee, will try the bread some time.
Cindy Taylor recently posted..SLOWPOKE ME
Excellent
Oh how much I am in love with these small wonders! Like the uneven crust and the walnuts in the bread. Awesome bake..simple and marvelous results, Anna.
Sanjeeta kk recently posted..Peanut Butter Stuffed Okra and Ridge Gourd
Thanks so much Sanjeeta – its my first loaves of bread & very filling too – I’m kinda happy with how they turned out too
Oh my, this one has to be my fav post till now from the series.Loved so much the way cookies explained the food recipes & habits transitions.Thank you so much for sharing this Anna.Loved her saying “although I genuinely enjoyed feeding & serving people. I think that’s the one vital ingredient you need to have to be successful in the hospitality industry, an enjoyment from serving people”…So true!
The walnut bread looks scrumptious!! I have to try this recipe in winters!
Tanvi@SinfullySpicy recently posted..Apricot-Cornmeal Upside Down Cake
Yes, I’m so lucky to have Cookie so generously share her thoughts about how things have changed, its a bit of an eye opener isn’t it & really puts things into a social understanding rather than a personal understanding of why things are the way they are. She’s been an awesome mentor of mine Tanvi, love her to bits
very nice interview Anna and how inspiring! i’m so bad with baking bread, haven’t actually got it right with my first, and never tired after that, i’m all overwhelmed seeing ur bread want to bake some
Ananda Rajashekar recently posted..Kiddos! – White chocolate apricot shortbread
Oh I sure know how you feel there Tanvi. The whole baking thing has me quite a dither worrying about whether I’m capable – give me a main meal challenge anytime or ask me to cook for 500 people….. no problem, but baking a loaf of bread & waiting (& worrying) whether or not I’ve weighed everything correctly or the temperatures are right…..and then not knowing if it’ll come out right after cooking…. now that’s cooking my friend.
Anna you made bread! It looks lovely too.
You are so lucky to have Cookie in your life.
So does this mean more bread to come?
cityhippyfarmgirl recently posted..how to make a sourdough starter
There is so much more
scarychallenging bread & baking to come, I think I’m going to have to set up a cake stand outside work just to make sure it gets eaten by people (quite happy with my size y’see) & not interested in representing a house!The bread looks so fresh and a great excuse to have it with some very decadent butter!
chopinandmysaucepan recently posted..Lang Lang plays Rachmaninoff in Sydney- Australia
Yep, sure is – is there any better taste than butter on hot from the oven bread…. methinks not
Looks to me as though you might have the beginnings of a baking bug here, Anna! Have you tried the no knead bread recipe – it’s a real stunner.
Heheee
Amanda I haven’t heard of almost anything in the baking bread department – but I’ll be looking out for it now won’t I??!! 
Honestly girlfriend, I have no idea why you think breadbaking is so hard. Looks to me like you’re a natural!
Heheee
It was kinda fun, but its just the first step Celia Lovely….., one step at a time. I think I’ve got a bit of a phobia about it, I blame those snobby bakers in the pastry sections of the kitchens, they somehow always made us chefs feel like we didn’t know a thing about cooking until we’d baked (one of those Melbourne versus Sydney / Aussies versus NZ); makes no sense I know…., but there you have it. Thanks for the vote of confidence though 
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