I greatly admire people dedicated and enthusiastic enough to grow their own food. I use lack of space, lack of time, and lack of know-how as excuses, while day-dreaming over lush vege plots and pots of perfect preserves. Angela and Nick, in contrast, rolled up their sleeves and got on with it. They have spent more than 20 years nurturing 16 acres of North Canterbury paddock and one tree into a productive plot that feeds their family – both physically and emotionally – and this book shares what they do. Part instruction manual, part recipe book, part permaculture manifesto, part memoir it’s a glimpse into a lot of care, hands-on work and a prodigious amount of tomato passata. There are some things in life that I put firmly in the camp of ‘way too much faff’ (icing cakes or fermenting my own kimchi) and others which I’m dead keen on such as making my own cheese or butter, and thanks to Angela’s encouragement and calm instructions I’m sure I could now give these a go, even if I don’t hand-milk my own cow first. More enthusiastic than skilled with gardening, I’m dying to try again come spring, if only for the idyllic vision of spending Christmas morning gently picking my home-grown berries for a jewel-box pavlova. We’ve long been impressed by Angela’s work as CEO of Eat New Zealand, and this glimpse into life behind the leadership glows with the quiet satisfaction of living your life according to your beliefs. TRACY WHITMEY