As residents of Pender Island, authors Andrea and David Spalding take eating very seriously. They will be signing copies of their most recent cookbook, Seasonings: Flavours of the Southern Gulf Islands (Harbour Publishing, $29.95) at Barbara Jo's Books to Cooks (1740 W. 2 Avenue) on Tuesday, November 20 from 5pm to 6pm. Gulf Island snacks will be provided.

Seasonings highlights some of the very best food and drink that each season has to offer on the Pender, Salt Spring, Galiano, Mayne and Saturna Islands. With over 100 recipes ranging from multi-course meals, complete with wine pairings and tasting notes, to dishes calling for foraged ingredients such as nettles or wild mushrooms, this delightful book pays tribute the area's rich food and drink heritage.

On the Gulf Islands, community and food go hand in hand, and so it is only natural that this cookbook should include anecdotes about Islanders. Seasonings features characters such as Theresa Carle-Sanders (an online chef and brewer), David Rotsztain (a cheese artist), and activist Dan Jason, who challenges the world's major petrochemical and pharmaceutical giants' promotion of monocultures, monopolies, patents and genetic modification by growing, selling and sharing heritage seeds. The book also pays tribute to the organizers of community gardens and food festivals, including the legendary Saturna Lamb BBQ.

From farmers' markets to honesty stands to wine festivals and high-end resorts, food and drink are paramount on the southern Gulf Islands, and Seasonings provides a way to capture the abundance of it all.