cookbook decisions_opt
One of my family manager goals this summer is for the kids to all master a few recipes. My girls were browsing some of my new cookbooks trying to decide what they wanted to learn and to them, it’s all about the food photography. If the picture looks amazing, they want to make it. I have a ton of “kid cookbooks,” but none are exactly what I want. In my “free time,” I’d love to write a Cooking with Kids” cookbook, emphasizing the importance of family meal time, ideas for making meal time meaningful, and of course, lots of “how to” recipes…all while doing it on a budget. Look for it completed by the time our children graduate. 🙂
During this “perfect recipe” searching process, the realization hit of just how many cookbooks I own. People have all sorts of collections, don’t they? I guess I collect cookbooks, and the problem is that I don’t want to get rid of any of them. I love them all. I feel as if I am betraying a part of my culinary legacy because each one holds a tiny memory.
cookbooks on shelves_opt
Do you see that shelf? Notice any problem? Yes, it’s bowing from the weight of too many cookbooks (and there’s another whole shelf you can not see.) I guess it’s time to start passing on some of my “heritage” to the next generation of wanna be cookers. 🙂
I bought the Better Homes and Garden “New” Cookbook at an estate sale for $3 when I first got married. It’s one of my “go to” books when I am trying something new, and my Mr. Food Cooks Like Mama cookbook was a wedding shower gift. I still use it all the time, and now my kids will as well because it has yummy recipes for people who don’t know how to cook. I have breakfast, lunch and dinner cookbooks – cookbooks for just muffins, cookbooks for just salads, even cookbooks for recipes that only use beans. Not to mention the tons of whole food books from all the years I was completely consistent with only eating whole food. Mix that with great recipes from magazines and now the host of on line recipes  and it’s recipe overload. Even though I get the majority of my recipes on line, there’s something about holding and browsing those cookbooks that just bring me back to simpler times and I LOVE them.
I started counting the number of cookbooks that I own and it’s in the dozens…yes, I know…too many. I’ll be passing on some of these to my friends in real life (come get them, girlfriends :)).
cookbooks for kids_opt
So, am I the only one who collects cookbooks?
I thought it would be fun to share how many you own and if you have one or two favorites that are like a best friend…please, give us the title. Once I clear out all these old ones, I might need a few new ones. 🙂