Sorting the Cookbook Collection....

I love each one of them.  They have distinct personalities.  How could I sort and throw out any of them?

There they were stacked on my counter awaiting their fate.....

My cookbook collection.  My recipes. Those wonderful creations that had saved my reputation more than once.

Love this one. It's full of fabulous uncomplicated, gourmet, delicious recipes, and is a storehouse of information. It was a keeper.

My mother ask me to take home a few of her cookbooks the last time I visited her.  Considering the current state of affairs, I thought this one might

be helpful....

Perusing through this collection from the Sunday Parade Magazine, I spotted several variations of the "Budget Casserole" and "Budget Stretcher"  I remember my mother using.  My favorite from this era, though, are the molded gelatin salads and the Baked Alaska dessert....

Oh dear... I hadn't found any to dispose of yet.

Memories flooded my mind when I reached for this one....

I went with my children and now I'm going with my grandchildren on field trips to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland, California. (That means Bishop's has been in business over 25 years!)   This little book is full of memories and great recipes like the Applesauce Pumpkin Bread (moist and tasty)

and I love their Persimmon Cookie recipe.  I put it in the sentimental stack.

In my quest to raise healthy children, I collected these two fine cookbooks.  The Snacks has clever ideas for "presentation" of healthy foods and the CANDY

was invaluable for great traveling ideas...foods, games and "how to's".  Ok, these two belong in the sentimental pile.

I felt like hugging some of these cookbooks.  They're like old friends!  When we moved to our ranch in Surprise Valley, I loved using recipes submitted by so many people I knew and saw at least once a month!  Great food and sometimes a story or two  makes this one a little like a story book.....

This darling notebook, given to me by my precious daughters, holds my accumulation of handwritten and typed recipes from

family and friends, and those I cut from magazines and newspapers.

And then there was the time My Sweet Husband and I attended a conference for small family farms and met a woman who was collecting recipes

and farm stories for her cookbook.  We agreed to contribute and were published in this cookbook....

Probably one of the funniest cookbooks I've ever seen was given to me by my sister-in-law...

.

It does have the best bread pudding recipe I've ever tried!  Sometimes it's fun just to read through the names of the recipes..."Uncle Willie's Swamp

Cabbage Stew",  "Clara Jane Vickar's Creamed Tuna Lunch", "Betty Sue's Sister-In-Law's Fried Eggplant". It does have a whole section of recipes I don't

think I will ever use...."Boiled Squirrel", "Butt's Gator Tail", and " Aunt Donnah's Roast Possum".  However, one should never say never!  I'm not ready to
part with this one yet.

This was my first cookbook.  I had to buy it for my high school Home Economics class. It's a basic, classical cookbook .  It is beloved.  Currently, the cover has been duct taped, and some of the index pages have come loose from the three ring binder, but for the most part, it is in great shape and still quite useful.

Well, I did manage to find six books to give away. I discovered I had never used a recipe from any of them and had no attachment to them.

Next there is the magazine recipe collection to sort through....the Bon Appetit, the Taste of Home, the Food Network.

Not right now though.  I'm ready for a cup of tea!

Happy Cooking, Happy Infusions,

Kate

http://tea4kate.com