Sunday is the day when a little girl’s family cooks, and she longs to be part of it.
Today, they are making fresh ricotta – the secret to which is fresh sea water. Normally, she’s never allowed to go to the ocean; her family always says she’s too small, the bucket too heavy, the steps too steep. But today is different. Her brother and sister can’t go, so her father decides to take her along.
They make their way to the beach, through the park, across a busy road, and up and down a hill. ‘The air is salty, and the waves crash like thunder.’ She helps to fill the bucket. Maybe she is too small? But she holds on tight!
Back home, they make the ricotta together. Her father shares stories of how his parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents made it before him.
Next, her mother peels the apples into long, curling snake-like strips, while the little girl eats the bits that fall to the table. She helps to squeeze half a lemon over the apples to keep them from browning. There’s whisking of eggs, a dash of vanilla and sugar, and finally, spooning in the ricotta.
Into the tin and into the oven the cake goes, as the house fills with the comforting scents of cinnamon and lemon. Finally, the family gathers under the lemon tree in their backyard, enjoying a Sunday with apple, lemon, and ricotta cake.
This is a warm, heartening story of family, tradition, and cooking together. In the back of the book you’ll find the author’s own recipe for her Apple, Lemon & Ricotta Cake.
The illustrations are full of happiness and remind us of the joy of cooking together with children, creating memories to last a lifetime.
All ending with love and a feast, under the lemon tree every Sunday.
Reviewed by Jane Stephens
Age Guide 4+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julia Busuttil Nishimura is a cook, author and presenter. Julia’s food is influenced by her Maltese heritage, the ebb and flow of the seasons, and by her time spent living in Tuscany, where she learned the joys of the Italian kitchen.
Julia is a columnist for Gourmet Traveller, Good Weekend and The Design Files and the author of three bestselling cookbooks: Ostro, A Year of Simple Family Food and Around the Table.
She lives in Melbourne with her husband, Nori, and two children.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Myo Yim is a Korean author and illustrator living in Byron Bay, Australia. Her first book, To the Forest Night, was published by Yellow Imagination Books in South Korea in 2019. Myo illustrated White Sunday and wrote and illustrated Rajah Street (Walker Australia). Myo works across many mediums, 2d, 3d, digital and analogue, but pencil drawing is her favourite tool to navigate this rough world.
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