Tracy Soon's Yam Cake or Wu-Tau-Kou I love yam cake. Mum always made this simple dish back home in Malaysia. It's great if you're having a party as you can prepare it well ahead of time, and it never fails to impress. If you have problems getting hold of fresh yams, you can try looking for the peeled and frozen ones available at some Asian grocery stores. 150g dried shrimp, soaked 300g meat, chicken or pork, cut into cubes 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped 1 yam, cut into cubes 3 cups rice flour 6 cups water 1 spring onion, sliced 1 red chilli, sliced thinly 2 tablespoons fried chopped shallots Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the dried shrimp, cubed meat and garlic. Fry for 15 minutes or until fragrant. Add the cubed yam, rice flour and water. Stir well and season with salt. Lower the heat and let it simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture starts to become sticky. Meanwhile, grease a large metal tray or baking tin. Transfer the cooked mixture into the tin and smooth the surface. Put the tin in a large steamer, or a big wok filled with water and steam with the lid on for around one hour over a large fire. Set aside to cool. You can unmould the yam cake or serve it straight from the tin, garnished with spring onions, cut chilli and fried shallots. Serve with chilli sauce or sweet sauce. Serves 8.

To celebrate Carlton, and the multicultural community of which Meld Magazine, and many international students are a part - we embarked on a little project last year, inviting residents, students, workers, business owners and volunteers from all around the neighbourhood to share their stories through food.

The project was also borne out of our belief that everyone, regardless of race, culture, socio-economic background, or gender, has something to bring to the table.

We dubbed it Home Cooked, The Carlton Community Cookbook Project.

And so we began, running test kitchens, styling food, organising photoshoots - out of a tiny kitchenette in the city fitted with only a two-burner stove and oven.

Like many grassroots-driven projects, it was a painstaking and messy affair. We broke plates. Had photoshoots redone when we didn't think they were up to scratch. Returned to the drawing board again and again as we revised the cookbook for the umpteenth time.

But it was also a rewarding, exciting and bonding experience.

Staff from Bendigo Bank Carlton got to share a meal with international students at Arrow on Swanston. Meld Magazine volunteers hosted a community lunch at the Church of All Nations. Members from the church community Life* Expedition got to sample the dishes coming out of our test kitchen.

And on September 2, people from all around the Carlton neighbourhood, descended upon Readings Carlton for our official book launch. It was a wonderful night where new connections were made and acquaintances became friends, as we gathered around a shared table of glorious food and wine.

As a not-for-profit new media outlet reaching out to international students, we are so privileged to be part of what has become known as a "glocal" (global and local) community right here in Carlton.

Those who are up to speed with developments in new media will recognise the phenomenon of which we are a part.

Unlike traditional mass media, new media platforms have opened up opportunities to engage intensely and intentionally with a small local audience, encourage new ways of information sharing, spur non-traditional interactions that have an impact on a community, and foster a two-way conversation between audiences and news providers, organisations, businesses, educational institutions and the like.

This has also been what the City of Melbourne's Opportunities for Carlton Fund has been about: to harness community energy, skills and resources; and to empower the community to positively engage with the changes currently occurring within the Carlton community. And that includes connecting people within Carlton - the diverse groups and individuals, across cultures, age groups and interests.

So thank you to all our contributors and volunteers who have given so much their time to this project, and the City of Melbourne who has supported us through the Opportunities for Carlton Fund. The journey has been precious.

We also hope this cookbook will inspire others to gather people round the communal table and share recipes and dishes that taste like home, sweet home.

Home Cooked: The Carlton Community Cookbook Project contains a collection of 30 heartwarming recipes and stories contributed by people from the Carlton neighbourhood - from scrumptious chilli cheese scones to Nonna's homemade lasagne, Shanghainese dumplings with a modern city twist, green tea cheese cake made with love, and even a cocktail named after Carlton.

You can purchase your copy online or from Readings, 309 Lygon St, Carlton.

For more information and all other enquiries, email meld@meldmagazine.com.au.

Well, that is What's Happening in My Carlton at the moment.

Sneak peek inside our cookbook.

From left, Meld volunteer Ellie serving community lunch at the Church of All Nations, Aggie and Susanna from Bendigo Bank share a meal with international students in Carlton, Aggie's homemade arancini, students from the Arrow neighbourhood, Greg, Karen and Aun from Meld Magazine (bottom left)

Karen Poh is the Editor of Meld Magazine Karen Poh arrived in Melbourne as an international student in 1998. After completing an arts degree at University of Melbourne, she went on to pursue a graduate diploma in journalism at RMIT. She spent four years working for community newspapers around Melbourne. Seeing a need to provide relevant news and information to international students who make up a sizeable community in Victoria, she founded Meld Magazine as a not-for-profit online media outlet in 2008. Meld Magazine was also designed to give local and overseas students a leg up in their careers – by putting media students on the same beat as fully-fledged journalists and photographers, and encouraging business and marketing students to innovate and test emerging models of journalism, and develop an ethical and sustainable business model.

Meld Magazine: Melbourne's International Student News Website MELD Magazine is an independent not-for-profit media outlet incorportated to reach out to international students in Melbourne, and provide students the opportunity to gain real work experience. With no paid staff, MELD relies solely on volunteers from both local and international students. The editorial team is made of both local and international students, and it has worked to provide local content in every sense of the word. www.meldmagazine.com.au