The new cookies at Home Hill News and Café inspired this week's column. Coffee and Anzac biscuits from Alfie’s Bakery helped the ideas to flow.
Basic Community Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
• Active listening and understanding to create a solid foundation.
• An open mind to add unique and interesting flavours.
• Kindness to help the cookie to rise and achieve its full potential.
• A sprinkle of humour to keep things light and fun.
• A dash of acceptance to create a welcoming and inclusive environment.
• The spice of difference to celebrate diversity and individuality.
• Participation to bring everything together and create a sense of unity.
Method
Combine listening and understanding in a large bowl, sifting out any lumps. Add open-mindedness, kindness, humour, acceptance, and differences, and mix everything together. Make a well in the centre for participation and bind everything into a soft dough. Shape the dough into balls and place them on a baking sheet, leaving plenty of space for expansion. Then, bake the cookies at 180°C for 15 minutes and watch them rise to the occasion.
Sometimes, we need to stop and reflect on where we are going. In today’s fast-paced world, we often reach for the easy, pre-prepared option instead of utilising those time-tested skills. Not all of us have had this experience, and this is where community participation comes to the fore. Community is about sharing experiences and skills to enable everyone to achieve their potential.
This is by no means the full list of ingredients that could be used to create a tasty cookie. The beauty of cooking is that little bit of ‘something’ we all add to build something ‘new’. Change occurs when ‘heat’ is applied as the catalyst, which is how a community develops and evolves.
What ingredient would you add to this recipe?
Until next time,
The Team
Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre
