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"A Family Tradition for 130 Years" A passion for cooking is key to author's success By Heather McCrae Special to the Star Because food has al- ways been a passion for Julia Aitken, it's probably one of the reasons she's been so successful as a freelance food editor. Living in Brooklin, Mrs. Aitken is co-author of a new book, The Ontario Harvest Cookbook™ Re- leased last spring, it's al- ready been rated as one of the top 10 cookbooks of the year by Canadian House and Home magazine. The idea to compile an Ontario cookbook came a few years ago, says Mrs. Aitken. "Ontario is rich in food and agriculture and I wanted to produce a cook- book made up of ingre- dients found in our great province," she said. When she learned Anita Stewart, a food writer for Canadian Living and Gourmet Magazine, felt the same way, the two women joined forces. Be- ginning two years ago, their efforts have now pro- duced an exciting new cookbook. The two women have covered nearly every nd of the province, ex- ploring the back roads and farmers' markets of Onta- rio to reproduce more than 150 recipes. "I always say each cook should have two of these cookbooks," she said. "One for the kitchen, and one in the glove compartment of thecar." ' Along with recipes for everything from soup to preserves, there's also a wealth of information on food festivals, markets, in- novative growers and much more. & "We wanted it to be more than just another cookbook," said Mrs. Aitk- en. "We've tried to give a bit of background about the food in each recipe, and where it comes from." Last week ,while sign- ing her cookbook at the Brooklin Village Shoppe, she served Finnish Spice Cookies for tasters to try. The delicious cookies orig- inated from the Scandina- vian House Restaurant in Thunder Bay. Julia Aitken of Brooklin is the co-author of a. new cookbook, the Ontario Harvest Cookbook. Released last spring, it's already been rated as one of the 10 top cookbooks for 1996. i One thing Mrs. Aitken always recommendsis On- tario wine. One of her reci- pes, Niagara Wine-Berry sauce, is to die for, she says. A question she is often asked is which recipes are her favorites. "I love them all," she laughs, but admits her fa- vorites depend on the sea- son. For instance, she'd make the Niagara Wine Berry sauce in the sum- mer when raspberries are in season, not when they're costly to buy in the winter. "A perfect recipe for this time of year is Lamb Shanks Braised with Hu- ron County White Beans," she said. Julia's husband Iain is very supportive of his wife's career. And why not? Because the majority of testing for the recipes was done in their kitchen, "he got to taste every- thing." For more than 20 years Mrs. Aitken has been a food editor for various magazines. Currently a free lance editor for the Canadian Family and Health Watch magazines, she's also food editor for Elm Street, a recently launched magazine for Canadian women. Selling for $24.95, the new cookbook is sold at Smith Books, Coles, the Cookbook Store in Toronto and, locally at the Brook- lin Village Shoppe. Region police * Police in Durham are ready again. : Ra Starting this Friday ( Durham Regional Police their annual holiday spot checks, at keeping drunk drivers off th They'll be setting up roadside cl at locations throughout the region ft the duration of the Christmas season. Sgt. Rick Bates of the Durham Pol; traffic unit said that the spot chec and the knowledge of people t they're out there -- een an effi tive tool in the ongoing battle agai impaired driving, and the destruc it causes. 3 "Due in part to our annual program, the incidence of impaired drivers h Cut Your Own Spruce & Pine Pre-Cut Trees Ava Spruce, Pine and Fi Balsam and Fraser All local L OSHAWA - DURHAM COLLEG Simply a better way to shop.