C is for Cookbooks

I'm not much of a collector. Really. I'm just not interested in collections of things. The two exceptions are yarn (of course) and cookbooks. I've always loved cookbooks. I remember getting the Better Homes & Garden Jr. Cookbook when I was a little girl. Those odd tri-colored photos of little girls serving the men and boys in their lives perfect little foods intrigued me. My mother always allowed me free reign in the kitchen and I was baking and cooking for the family by the time I was 7.



When I got older and moved out on my own, I began to collect cookbooks. My girlfriend, Christi, and I had apartments in the same farm house. We used to sit around pouring through the Molly Katzen cookbooks coming up with recipes to try. Then we'd try to find the ingredients or decide if we had enough money to go to the store to buy them. I learned how to bake bread from one of those cookbooks.



About 12 years ago, when my husband and I were renting an apartment in a duplex, we had a flood in our apartment. The washing machine hose of our upstairs neighbor broke and during the day it flooded both her apartment and ours. We came home to water pouring through our ceiling and plaster walls. We lost many things in that flood but the most heartbreaking to me was that all my cookbooks were ruined.


(Terrible photo I know but it was just too hard to get a picture of the bookcases)

Over the years, I've built my collection up again. They now live in our new built in bookcases in the schoolroom. Many of them are shown on these shelves. The remaining books are in my bedroom, the family room or the living room. I enjoy reading cookbooks just for reading. I try not to bring too many new cookbooks into the house as I'm trying to curb consumerism over all but it's difficult when I find great cookbooks at yard sales or Building 19. Just a few weeks ago, I picked up a copy of that same Better Homes & Garden Jr. Cookbook I had as a girl at a discount store for only $6.00. I don't think we'll ever cook anything from it but it's a blast to read.

This morning, my 10 year old son woke up and decided he needed to have Cinnamon Muffins for breakfast. He convinced his Dad to help him and the two of them produced muffins for the family. They were quite good and Jared was very proud of himself. Starting a snowy day with a hot muffin is always good.