My inbox this morning included an email from lovefood about
their recipe book competition. I don’t have any of the titles on the list, and
it prompted a look at my book shelf. I adore recipe books. They are the
equivalent of glossy magazines for those of us who are more interested in food
than in fashion. With beautiful pictures, the suggestion of calm, collected
cooking, and the promise of perfect domesticity captured within.
That's a Victoria sponge I made recently from Mary's book, and
then promptly committed baking blasphemy by filling it with cream. Please note I
do not normally consume cream in such copious quantities, however this was when
my Grandad was coming for Sunday dinner. My Grandad, aged now 83, has
subsisted on pies, pastry, white bread and lashings of cream. He is entirely
well, doesn't take any medication, and the bookshelf my recipe books are on was
put up by him just after we moved in. What is remarkable is that this was
shortly after he built the utility room that the shelf is in, from the
foundations to the roof, existing on a diet of builder's tea and bacon sandwiches. It’s
obviously working for him and besides, the cake tasted great.
This is the most glamorous book on my shelf. Bought in a
sale in a sells-a-bit-of everything homewares shop just after we bought our house,
with visions of the wonderful wife I would become, armed with this bible of
culinary expertise. In all honestly, I have flicked through it occasionally but
never used it any practical sense. Any recipe book that is embossed in metallic
lettering and comes with its own box just feels a little intimidating. I often
gaze at it longingly as I lift down an old faithful.
We bought this in the same shop, and The Husband likes this
one. It is quite masculine-looking I suppose with the flame and the monochrome, and there are manly recipes like steak, and double-cooked chips (which
The Husband has made several times with delicious results). It's a good book with a useful section on basic techniques.
This abel and cole book is really handy, with recipes for
anything you might get in your box. I've used it a lot in the few months I've
had it. The eagle-eyed will notice the tabs, inserted in an uncharacteristic episode
of forward planning. I have checked, they are two recipes for artichokes and
one for Chinese leaf, from what must have been a particularly daunting
delivery.
Day-to-day I use the internet preferring to find a recipe to
match the ingredients I have rather than the other way round. There are many
books on the shelf that have been used for nothing more than a pleasant half
hour of perusal. There are one or two books though, that have those lovely stuck
together sections, from well-loved and often-used recipes, like this page:
From a book I brought from my mum’s house when we moved in,
that Christmas cake recipe is the one we made every year when I was growing up.
This book isn't about the promise of perfect food, but some of my happiest
childhood memories, spent singing and laughing and mixing and baking with my
mum. Flour everywhere, Christmas songs playing, eating more mix than we put in
the tin. I love my glossy books and their arty pictures. But this one means
more to me than all of the others put together. This is the book through which
I can trace my childhood, and see the roots of my love for cooking. This is my
favourite book of them all.
I love cookbooks. I have an eclectic collection myself and have been known to permanently "borrow" them form my grandmas collection.
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Thank you so much for your comment Michael, and for visiting. Borrowed cookbooks always feel more special somehow!
DeleteI enjoyed having a look around your blog too! Feel free to pop back.
LOL. I have an obsession with cookbooks too. We have at least 30 - some general, some specific such as grilling or a type of food (Mexican etc). I dip into them randomly. It's like an old friend when I find a recipe I made ages ago that worked out well (brings back good memories).
ReplyDeletethank you so much for the comment, lovely to hear from other bloggers. We seem to have a glut of pasta books, and a lot of cupcake books from friends and family trying to encourage more baking! I love the memories recipes evoke, and I find that no matter how many times I've made something, I still like to lift out the book!
DeleteYum!
ReplyDeleteI have so many cookbooks that sit abandoned. I need to dust them off and have a go.
thank you so much for your comment - happy recipe hunting! do you have a blog I could take a look at?
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