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Farm Kitchen:  How many cookbooks do you have?  |
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AuntJamelle
True Blue Farmgirl
569 Posts
Jaime
South Bend
Indiana
USA
569 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 17 2018 : 06:19:41 AM
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Am I the only one guilty of hoarding cookbooks? I have a very large cupboard under my kitchen island with two shelves PACKED with cookbooks!
And I think I have more on the way via a friend that is getting rid of all of hers. She is going to rely on Pinterest she says.
Now, I have a ton of Pinterest boards for recipes too but I don't know if I will ever be able to relinquish my books!
One thing I have been doing, however, is typing in my favorite recipes on Google Docs. That way no matter where I am I can call them up and add ingredients to my grocery list, plan meals, etc.
I got most of this done last year, but am going back through my books again looking for things I've missed.
Do you have a favorite cookbook or books? Ones you've found consistent great results with?
My very first cookbook was actually a mail order binder called Great American Home Baking. I paid a crazy amount of money for monthly installments of recipe pages that went into the binder.
BUT I will say that I still make several of those recipes to this day! Over the last week I've pulled that binder back out and I'm going through it and typing in recipes online that I want to try.
I've never really had a bad recipe turn out from that book so I want to try some more of them! |
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YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl
7114 Posts
Sara
Paris
TX
USA
7114 Posts |
Posted - Jan 17 2018 : 07:06:12 AM
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Jaime, let's just say I have enough cookbooks I could be snowbound for a year and never run out of something to read. My favorites I may read more than once.
That doesn't mean I have stopped buying them. MaryJane's Wild Bread is on preorder and will be delivered in March. To help with the cost of my collecting I now try to buy used cookbooks on Amazon. Have had very good luck with my purchases - most are almost like new especially those from libraries. If I can't find a cookbook I want used on Amazon I still shop Amazon for their lower prices.
Dawn has gotten me interested in learning about Persian cooking so I have been looking at Persian cookbooks on Amazon. I have Italian, Mexican, and Irish cookbooks so a Persian one would make a great addition to my collection.
Jaime having your cookbooks under your counter sounds neat and handy. I keep my in my living/sitting room. Some share space with my gardening books on a 6" vintage wood garden bench in the middle of the room. Others are on two foot stools by my rocker. I have spend many a contented hour looking through my books and noting recipes I want to try.
One of my favorites is Lydia Bastianich Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine. On Saturdays PBS out of Dallas airs her cooking show and what she cooks is recipes out of this book. It's fun to have the book opened to the recipe in my lap while I am watching her prepare it.
Sara~~~ FarmGirl Sister #6034 8/25/14
FarmGirl of the Month Sept 2015.
Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.
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firecatinc
True Blue Farmgirl
1252 Posts
Lenora
Fulks Run
VA
USA
1252 Posts |
Posted - Jan 17 2018 : 10:27:14 AM
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I also have too many cookbooks to count. I love looking at them but rarely fix them. My favorite is one of my mother's from the depression. It talks about rationing. I use the dumpling receipt from it all the time.
Nora
Farmgirl Sister #7131
Farmgirl of the Month, January 2017
http://firecatinc.wordpress.com |
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janamarieje
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
Jana
Southern California
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Jan 17 2018 : 1:46:07 PM
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I also love cookbooks, but I have worked hard the last month thinning my collection down to four selves on my bookshelf. Yes I had too many cookbooks and I tried to give some to my grown girls, but they both use the internet to find ideas and recipes. Sad day when you can't sit in a comfy chair flipping thorough the pages of a cookbook and marking the ones you want to try some day.
Jana
http://www.emhardt.com
https://www.etsy.com/shop/cjhandcraftedstudio
Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! ~Charles Schulz
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AuntJamelle
True Blue Farmgirl
569 Posts
Jaime
South Bend
Indiana
USA
569 Posts |
Posted - Jan 19 2018 : 06:50:52 AM
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Sara - I will have to look into the books you mentioned! I enjoy watching cooking shows as well! Have you ever watched The Great British Baking Show? Really enjoyed that one! The Big Family Cooking Showdown is what I'm watching my way through now - both shows are on Netflix.
Nora - I really LOVE older cookbooks! You are lucky to have inherited that book you mentioned!
Jana - Comfy chair? Cookbooks? Sounds like heaven! :) A nice thing about cookbooks too is that you can read a recipe or too and then move on to something else - quick and easy - as opposed to getting pulled into a novel and having to break away!
I've been reading my way - slowly - through an old copy of The Joy of Cooking that I got for $3 at a used bookstore. What amazes me about the book - well one thing - is how many of the recipes are just using very basic ingredients - mostly things we have in our homes anyway - but it different ways to produce so many different yummy things! It is the cookbook to have if you were snowed in with a houseful of people to feed! I'm also impressed with all the extra info they share, each section giving lots of info about the category of food, tips etc. And there are recipes for EVERYTHING - not that I have any desire to cook brains, for example. {shudder}
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YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl
7114 Posts
Sara
Paris
TX
USA
7114 Posts |
Posted - Jan 19 2018 : 06:53:57 AM
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Jaime I watch The Great British Baking Show on PBS - they sure do take their baking seriously.
Sara~~~ FarmGirl Sister #6034 8/25/14
FarmGirl of the Month Sept 2015.
Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.
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AuntJamelle
True Blue Farmgirl
569 Posts
Jaime
South Bend
Indiana
USA
569 Posts |
Posted - Jan 19 2018 : 07:01:05 AM
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Haha - Yes, yes they do! I enjoy all the different things they make and picking up the different names they call things over there vs. here in the US. I've noticed that what they call cheesecake bears NO resemblance to ours here. I've always wanted to see them do an episode with what I would call a true cheesecake - but alas!
I also envy them their access to certain things - like Double Cream. I've googled it and our heavy cream here in the US is a pale cousin of what they use! |
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hudsonsinaf
True Blue Farmgirl
3162 Posts
Shannon
Rozet
Wyoming
USA
3162 Posts |
Posted - Jan 19 2018 : 07:03:07 AM
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I absolutely LOVE cookbooks!!! I have so many and this is after I got rid of quite a few, in order to downsize for moving. The children and I are in the process of studying countries of Europe for geography... Depending on how many weeks we spend on any given country, I will "need" an authentic cookbook from that country, as we always have food to go with the country we are studying, hahaha. I did the same thing for Asia!
~ Shannon, Sister # 5349
Farmgirl of the Month - January 2016
http://hudson-everydayblessings.blogspot.com/ |
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Audra Rose
True Blue Farmgirl
2281 Posts
Vanessa
Brooksville
KY
USA
2281 Posts |
Posted - Jan 21 2018 : 06:30:24 AM
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I have about 9 cookbooks that I refer to routinely, plus The Sweet Potato Queens books and books by Frances Mayes (Under the Tuscan Sun author). I also have 2 recipe journals. My favorite is from my grandma's Lutheran church ladies.
Farmgirl Sister #6754
Doxie Mom - Everyone loves a Weiner!
Today me will live in the moment unless it's unpleasant, in which case me will eat a cookie.
Cookie Monster |
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YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl
7114 Posts
Sara
Paris
TX
USA
7114 Posts |
Posted - Jan 21 2018 : 06:59:45 AM
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Vanessa your mentioning the Sweet Potato Queens reminded me of one of my favorite cookbooks Southern Sideboards 1978. You know it's southern and from that era because every other recipe calls for Crisco. Not shortening or lard but Crisco. I grew up believing it had to be Crisco and now I only use olive oil. Must say fried chicken in a iron skillet with Crisco is the best I have ever had.
Sara~~~ FarmGirl Sister #6034 8/25/14
FarmGirl of the Month Sept 2015.
Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4759 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4759 Posts |
Posted - Jan 21 2018 : 07:23:02 AM
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I also have too many cookbooks to count. In an effort to reduce their #'s I have settled upon getting them from the library first to see if there is a large number of recipes that I will make before actually buying the book. This has helped me get a little control over my collection. The last one I bought was Chris Kimball's "Milkstreet" Cookbook. It is superb and I love all the recipes I've made so far, which is half the book.
Dawn in IL
Life is like a novel, every day is a new page...... |
Edited by - ddmashayekhi on Jan 21 2018 07:23:20 AM |
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AuntJamelle
True Blue Farmgirl
569 Posts
Jaime
South Bend
Indiana
USA
569 Posts |
Posted - Jan 22 2018 : 07:04:39 AM
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Shannon - That is a GREAT way to add another element to home schooling! Love it!
Audra Rose - I will check out the books you mentioned! And CHURCH COOKBOOKS - they are the best! Have found a more than a few recipe treasures that way!!!
Sara - Crisco! lol We all use it sometimes! I'm actually on a mission to render my own lard this year though - trying to go super old school :)
Dawn - That is a great idea on using the library to vet cookbooks! I will be looking on their website today!!!
I can also recommend the first Pioneer Woman cookbook she put out - have made several of those recipes all with great success. Love the step by step photos! I think most of the recipes are available online too - at least the ones I've made like her Pot Roast, the Chicken Fried Steak and the Cinnamon Rolls :) |
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levisgrammy
True Blue Farmgirl
9438 Posts
Denise
Beavercreek
Ohio
USA
9438 Posts |
Posted - Jan 23 2018 : 07:50:50 AM
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Probably more than I should have but I enjoy them. I have my mother's that she got in 1946 when she and dad married. It has her handwriting in it which makes me so happy to see. I also have many small ones she had from church and our small town cookbook. Then there were many others plus my own when I married and ones I have collected. I just got around to getting MJ's cast iron cookbook. I am visiting my grands but it will be there when I get home.
~Denise~
Farmgirl Sister #43
"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105
http://www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com/
http://www.torisgram.etsy.com |
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AuntJamelle
True Blue Farmgirl
569 Posts
Jaime
South Bend
Indiana
USA
569 Posts |
Posted - Jan 23 2018 : 10:02:04 AM
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Denise - Love that you have a cookbook with your mom's handwriting! That makes it so special!!!
Got a new edition of my Southern Living magazine yesterday and now I am on the hunt for something featured in one of their articles. Junior League Cookbooks! Does anyone have some of these? They are community cookbooks done for fund raisers - in the south I guess - and many of them have won awards, etc. Some are super spiffy some look more like what I think of as a church cookbook.
I ordered one on Amazon this morning called Stop and Smell the Rosemary
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0963242121/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It has excellent reviews and was also mentioned in my SL article I mentioned. Can't wait for it to get here!
See? There I go! ANOTHER cookbook! |
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YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl
7114 Posts
Sara
Paris
TX
USA
7114 Posts |
Posted - Jan 23 2018 : 10:16:37 AM
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Jaime, on a hunt for vintage cookbooks is like being on a treasure hunt.
A couple of months ago I found a 1933 cookbook "The Wilken Family Home Cooking Album" in an antique shop for $6. It's a paperback with pictures. My favorite picture is Ma & Pa Wilken feeding chickens. The family owned a small brewery. I Googled the brewery but all I found was their collectable vintage whiskey bottles.
There's a recipe for "Old Fashion Tomato Catsup" I want to try.
Sara~~~ FarmGirl Sister #6034 8/25/14
FarmGirl of the Month Sept 2015.
Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.
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MBurns
True Blue Farmgirl
1859 Posts
Marlene
Swisher
IA
USA
1859 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2018 : 1:28:32 PM
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have gooseberry patch cookbooks and collect them. they are really fun.
Farmgirl friends are fun. |
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levisgrammy
True Blue Farmgirl
9438 Posts
Denise
Beavercreek
Ohio
USA
9438 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2018 : 5:07:30 PM
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Oh my goodness, my daughter is moving and she had a bunch of cookbooks she wasn't using so I'll be taking those home with me. I feel like a cookbook hoarder!
~Denise~
Farmgirl Sister #43
"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105
http://www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com/
http://www.torisgram.etsy.com |
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saram
True Blue Farmgirl
521 Posts
Sara
Biggs
CA
USA
521 Posts |
Posted - Jan 27 2018 : 09:38:36 AM
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Yes! Cookbooks are a definite addiction, but so practical that we can justify collecting them, right?!
When I go to town (30 miles away) one of my favorite places to spend time is in Barnes and Noble, and the cookbook section is one of my stops. I don't buy them, I just adore them! I guess that's like previewing in the library.
But to the original point of online vs. inhand: This definitely is a sad evolution. My bookmark button on my laptop has a loooong list of recipes I have found while looking for something I didn't already have in my kitchen. About 6 times per year I hit that button, and its always one of those "Oh Yeah!" moments. I forget those recipes even exist. But who can forget that familiar binding, that worn cover, that place holder on the shelf? When I recall a recipe in one of my books I remember what color to look for, the size of the book, and even which section of the book it was in. There is something so vast and lonely about cyber space that things I find there just seem to float about in it with absolutely no points of reference or identifying characteristics to them. But a book...one always remembers a book. Sometimes my cookbooks call me to cook, rather than the other way around. |
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texdane
Farmgirl Legend Chapter Leader Chapter Guru
4658 Posts
Nicole
Sandy Hook
CT
USA
4658 Posts |
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AuntJamelle
True Blue Farmgirl
569 Posts
Jaime
South Bend
Indiana
USA
569 Posts |
Posted - Jan 31 2018 : 06:16:24 AM
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Sara - Sounds like a good vintage find! Let us know if you try making that catsup!
Marelene - I love Gooseberry Patch! I already had an ahem, "healthy" amount of them in my collection - then a girlfriend just gave me about 10 more!!! BLISS!
Denise - Score! Hoard away!!!
Sara - I hear you about the charm of books "in hand"! I do love my Pinterest and I'm on the computer so much that I do use and reference the things I've pinned a great deal. But I will never give up my REAL cookbooks! What if Pinterest starts charging for use? What if cyber hackers take down the internet and I need a recipe for banana bread??? lol - ok, so there would probably be bigger problems in that case, but you get the idea!
I actually have created a master spreadsheet of recipes we've tried and liked - it includes both links to recipes online or which cookbook they are in and page they are on. I also typically print out the recipes I try from online - then if they are a winner I slip them into a plastic page protector and then into my favorites binder of recipes. It's a FAT binder - lol!
Nicole - Muwahahaha! I love it!
My copy of "Stop and Smell the Rosemary" came yesterday. I can already tell I am going to LOVE it! Only was able to browse briefly before I was too tired to keep my eyes open last but almost every recipe I saw so far looked like a winner!
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AnnieinIdaho
True Blue Farmgirl
437 Posts
Annie
ID
USA
437 Posts |
Posted - Jan 31 2018 : 9:57:00 PM
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I love cookbooks and read them like a novel. Even with so many I still find that many cookbooks I will refer to do not have the recipe I have in mind. So I will go through several of my cookbooks looking for the recipe. I have my favorites but I also enjoy buying the women's clubs and church recipe cookbooks from days gone by. I have one book from the Long Beach, California area from the time period when women went by Mrs. John Smith and her name was left out. These recipes were also all hand-written, no typewriter or computer. It is fun these collections I have from upstate New York to Indian Reservations. There are some gems in these collections. I recently read a tiny pamphlet cookbook put out by Metropolitan Life Insurance in 1957 that my grandma used. It is interesting to see the trends in food. All very fun. When I used to travel with work I always bought a post card, hat tack pin, and a regional cookbook from the area, many were published by Women's groups. Even our local quilter's group put together a cookbook. What fun! Happy Reading and Cooking! Annie
"The turnings of life seldom show a sign-post; or rather, though the sign is always there, it is usually placed some distance back, like the notices that give warning of a bad hill or a level railway-crossing." Edith Wharton, 1913 from 'The Custom of the Country'. |
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Joey
True Blue Farmgirl
1868 Posts
Joey
Gulf Coast
FL
USA
1868 Posts |
Posted - Feb 03 2018 : 6:29:16 PM
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My. Grandmother, mother, and aunts all collected cookbooks. My mother read them like. Ovels. As the first born grandgirl, I got all the cookbooks. I love them! My favorites are all the cookbook that a company would put out for you to use their product, like Nestle, Ritz crackers, Jello, etc. I just love looking through them.
Well behaved women rarely make history.
Farmgirl #5554 |
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1Anne
True Blue Farmgirl
99 Posts
Anne
Lebanon
CT
USA
99 Posts |
Posted - Feb 07 2018 : 10:48:06 AM
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I don't consider myself a hoarder - I'm a collector of cookbooks. And, as with any "collection", more is better!! (Isn't it?? LOL) It's all about the hunt and the thrill of pouring over the recipes that I hope to make, i.e. the dream. Ok, maybe I do have a little hoarding going on - I clip out way too many recipes from magazines & newspapers and store then in labeled manila files for that someday of cooking/baking bliss.
I think my favorite cookbooks are the vegetarian recipes based out of the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, NY, especially the books by Mollie Katzen. There is nothing like a book - let's enjoy our cookbooks!!! :-) Anne
Yes, in God I trust. |
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TroopersMom
Farmgirl in Training
44 Posts
Janie
Canton
Ohio
USA
44 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2018 : 12:34:44 PM
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Omg girls, I enjoyed reading this thread so much! I feel much more "normal" now...LOL. I too read my cookbooks like a novel! I thinned my "collection" out about 3 yrs ago.
My absolute favorite books I continue to collect are the Farm Journal cookbooks, they are a staple of life to a country girl/cookbook collector. I also have a Pinterest folder for Antique cookbooks and recipes that I love. I am under BlueGinghamKitchen there. A lot of the cookbooks are all downloaded and can be paged through right from there.
Thanks so much for making my day here everyone! Country girl hugs...
"one farm girl to another"
See my Etsy favorites for barter items/Many under $10/Some under $5
http://redzingerfan.etsy.com
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HollerGirl56
True Blue Farmgirl
1334 Posts
Barbara
Flat Top
WV
USA
1334 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2018 : 2:17:14 PM
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I know I have two hundred or more. I would be to lazy to count them. All I can say is that I have so many it has given me a fear of cookbooks. I have cleaned a lot out but some are too special to let go.
You Might Be a Redneck If---you've transported a goat in an economy car.---Jeff Foxworthy |
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stephaniesmith
True Blue Farmgirl
58 Posts
Stephanie
Independence
MO
USA
58 Posts |
Posted - Jul 29 2018 : 10:42:09 AM
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OH ladies, I have such a cookbook "problem"! My collection is over 200 last time I counted, and I'm still adding to it all the time. But I use them, so that's ok, right???
My favorites are the vintage church ladies cookbooks. They are the best!
blog: www.atthesmithhouse.com |
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Farm Kitchen: How many cookbooks do you have? |
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How many cookbooks do you have?
