Monday, June 18, 2012

cookbooks for $100

cookbooks are shoved all over my house.  most of them are in two stacks in my kitchen, though.  the pages of how to cook everything and time for dinner are smudged and those two books seem to stay on top of the piles.  this time of year, though, canning for a new generation competes viciously with both.  also, my first cookbook given to me by my grandmother, alice, still gets pulled out from time to time.  it's a sort of junior cookbook put out by betty crocker.  my grandmother wrote in the inside cover page, too.  i love seeing her handwriting.  it still makes me tear up to speak of her.  she will have died 12 years ago this august.  she, too, had a cookbook collection issue.  i can still seem them lined up on a back counter in her kitchen.  i can close my eyes at any moment and smell what her fridge smelled like, feel the breeze from the back porch door, and see the flour sack towels laid on the counter.  she read cookbooks like they were novels.  much as i do today, actually. i miss her so much some days that it breaks my heart. i hope i never forget what that kitchen smelled, looked, and felt like.  i hope that my children and grandchildren remember what my kitchen smelled, looked, and felt like. 
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cookbooks hold a special place in my heart because they are tools for creating experiences and letting people you know that you love them.  food is love. that junior betty crocker cookbook is one of my most prized possessions. as well as, a cookbook that my friend, summer, made for me for my bridal shower.  she asked guests to contribute their recipes to the book and tell her why they gave her that recipe.  mike's mom included a recipe for macaroni meatballs that her mother used to make weekly when mike and his sister were growing up.  mike gasped and was left a little speechless when he saw that recipe.  my friend, julie, that i have known since i was hendrix's age contributed her grandmother moretta's chocolate cake recipe.  it made me so happy to see that recipe.  julie's mother is italian and i have many fond memories of eating with her family.  in fact, most of the "real, whole" food i had growing up; i had at julie's house.  that was one of the first home gardens i was exposed to, as well. i have a distinct memory of trying blueberries for the first time on the their front porch.  i was not a fan and didn't become one until i had hendrix.  i also have cravings for that mint tea you could always find in their fridge during the summer.  so, you see, cookbooks mean something.  they are powerful memory-chasers.   i collect them for many reasons, but maybe mostly, so my children can read through my collection someday and remember the many meals full of laughter and love that we had when they were growing up.  i guess that is why i cook at home so much, too.  not just to give my family real food, blah, blah, blah....but to create real memories.  the ones that matter.  and food made with love makes some of the best memories i have.
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so, what cookbooks would i buy today if you gave me $100?
DG at Home
Dinner A Love Story
The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
The Homemade Pantry
AYear of Pies

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