Wednesday, March 16, 2011

My Shelves Runneth Over


You know you have a problem when you don’t let your spouse know about what you bought.  I love cookbooks.  In fact my shelves runneth over.  I have vintage books, handmade books and everything in between.  I love the Taste of home cookbooks and magazines.  My other big favorite is the Gooseberry Patch cookbooks.

Someone once asked my husband if I did a lot of cooking.  His classic comment was, “Not so you’d notice.”

I love looking through them and at times I’m inspired to even try one.  Our JoAnn’s Fabric store sells Gooseberry Patch cookbooks.  I was in the back at the pattern table browsing their selection.  An elderly lady walked by and asked about the cookbook. 
“Do you like cooking?”

“Sometimes, mostly I just like to eat.”

She laughed and shared a recipe she thought I would like.

Finally I fessed up,  “I tend to read them more like novels instead of cooking with them.” 

16 comments:

  1. Your husband's response, "Not so you'd noticed." made me smile. I was talking to our librarian today. She mentioned about a cookbook written by The Pioneer Woman that she gave to her daughter. It's a cookbook but also stories of the author's life. Yourpost reminded me to checkit out.

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  2. I have heard of others collecting cookbooks too. I love that you like to read them even if you don't cook. You surprised me, I have to say. I was sure your piece would be about children's books, professional books...not cookbooks.

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  3. I am one of those in the moment cookbook shoppers. I see someone on TV that has something cool and I race for it. I make plans to cook something but I don't. I love to cook but Tuvia is tough. He is basic in his food interests and he does have a sensitive stomach. I used buy every new Moosewood cookbook and experiment.
    These days I look forward to the next meal I can eat out.
    Ruth, I think it's wonder that you have a passion for cookBOOKS! Passion and books... that's the key for me. And I love a SLice with PASSION! Now I need to create one for today.
    Bonnie

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  4. I love cookbooks too. But I also love to spend time in the kitchen, making changes to the original recipe. Usually it works. :)
    Happy slicing,
    Ruth

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  5. Cookbooks with pictures are the best! I have a hard time resisting cookbooks too.

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  6. I started to make some comments, and realized it would make a great slice. So stay tuned for Book Saga 2.

    Seriously I love lots of books. I so enjoy picture books with their wonderful illustrations. and some of the great words that they use. I love books.

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  7. I had to chuckle out loud. My grandmother used to enjoy cooking up a storm. Now she enjoys reading them "like novels", savoring each picture and commenting on the "just right" ingredients. Enjoy!

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  8. I just bought my 34 year old son a Taste of Home slow cooker recipe book because it had terrific pictures, and I know their magazine is great. He has two small children and I thought they could help pick something out for him to make going by the pictures. Yes, love of cooking/eating--how I was raised!! Enjoyed your thoughts.

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  9. I have to remind myself to use my cookbooks instead of looking up recipes on the internet. I used to think my mom was so weird because she would rather read a cookbook than a novel, but I have met many people who agree with her. Try "Death Warmed Over". It is a cookbook/information book about foods common at funerals in many world cultures. Very interesting!

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  10. So, I'm not the only one with a cookbook fetish! Sometimes its just nice to dream about someone else making the recipes for you!

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  11. I loved what you wrote, & have several cookbooks that tell stories. I've had my students write food memoirs & we've made several cookbooks from the class through the years. They're always wonderful memories. It's funny that, like others, I also thought you would write about other kinds of books. It's great to have a secret once in a while.

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  12. I like a food stain on a cookbook's page to indicate that it was a loved...or at least tried...recipe. I was upset by the first stain in my new Joy of Cooking long ago, but the next year opening it up to the cookie recipe, I knew which one I was looking for!

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  13. Ooh...I live antique cookbooks - such a glimpse into another world, another time. I used to cook all the time, now I love to cook every so often...a recipe really has to "call" to me (but perhaps that's just a fancy excuse!).

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  14. I love cookbooks too. I fold over the corners of all the recipes I want to try. I'm lucky to get to one or two. My husband is forever printing out recipes on the computer. Things he sees on the food network. He actually follows through!! He just made this Hungarian Shepherds Pie!!

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  15. Oh do I know how you feel! I had a garage sale last fall and I vowed to get rid of "some" of my duplicates. How sad is it to say I had two and THREE copies of a few Gooseberry cookbooks! It can't be my fault if they were gifts... can it?? I love cookbooks so much that the notebook my kiddos take home each night are called COOKBOOKS!

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  16. Reading a cookbook like a novel. Too funny. Sometimes I do that. Maybe for a different purpose. I don't always go to a cookbook when I want to make food, but I can sit and read a Cookbook just for the purpose of getting new ideas in my head for the next time I open my fridge or cupboard.

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