Liz Ashworth is a well-known Scottish food writer who likes to keep our culinary traditions alive. With roots in Orkney and Moray and family and friends dotted all over Caithness and Sutherland, she knows many people still cooking in the old way and has written a series of books for children, Teach the Bairns, to help children learn to cook regional and classic dishes. Here she takes us back to her own childhood in Elgin when it was a thriving market town for Moray and the east Highlands. These are her words, along with recipes for two of her favourite childhood cookies.