My Favorite CookBooks
Are cookbooks obsolete? When you need a new recipe, do you reach for a bound volume, or do you head straight to the Internet? I must admit that these days I often just google what I’d like to make (most recently at Easter, it was Spinach and Strawberry salad), and I have a number of recipes right there in front of me. While I have weeded out some of my cookbooks, there are some that I just can’t part with. I recently had the opportunity to take inventory of my cookbooks, because (Drum Roll, Please)…..WE ARE MOVING!
I have dropped some hints here on A Better Bag of Groceries that my home life was a bit chaotic right now, but I have been too superstitious to put the actual reason for the chaos in print. Now, that Moving Day is (gasp!) only one week away, I feel comfortable letting you all in on The Big Secret.
I’ll give you the quick rundown:
- We have outgrown our house and our current kitchen is too small and outdated for someone (like me) who really likes to cook
- We heard of a retired couple who wanted to sell their bigger home – just down the street from us
- We put our house on the market and sold it very quickly
- We are buying the house from the retired couple
- We are moving next week
And this happened all in the span of two months. Whew!
My husband and I have been crazy-busy finalizing the details of the sale and purchase and of course, packing. We have sourced a lot of our boxes from our local supermarkets.
Our whole house smells like corrugated cardboard and produce right now!
Moving, no matter what, is no fun. On the plus side, it does force you to clean out, to weed out and to get organized. While we are moving just a few houses down the street, we did rent some temporary storage and we have been busy emptying out our current house.
One of the benefits of moving is that it sure does burn a lot of calories! Between the stress of the whole buying/selling process and the activity involved in moving, my husband and I are both feeling pretty fit and trim right now.
According to CalorieLab.com, a 128-pound person burns the following calories while packing and moving:
- Packing and unpacking boxes: 145 calories per hour
- Moving furniture/household items and carrying boxes: 290 calories per hour
- Carrying loads upstairs: 464 calories per hour
Back to my Cookbooks….I was very proud of myself for getting them into only one box. I really have weeded them out, but these are the Cookbooks that I must keep.
There are my cookbooks that I need for how to cook anything. These are my favorite references for cooking times, internal temperature checks, and The Basics.
A Wedding Shower Gift - given to me by a woman restauranteur
I bought it Used. Look at all those smudges!
Of course, I have some of my Healthy Cooking Bibles. Some Weight Watchers favorites:
My Weight Watchers Bible from the 1990s - look at all the recipes I flagged!
Despite Sarah's recent troubles, this is a great cookbook from the late 1990s.
My Nu source for healthy recipes!
I also can’t resist buying the Cookbook when I really, really love the restaurant:
Andy Husbands from Tremont 647, Boston, MA
Todd English from Olives, Charlestown, MA
Claire Criscuolo of Claire's Corner Copia, New Haven, CT
After having children and focusing my efforts on healthy family dinners, I added these to my collection:
Love those 30 minute meals!
Do we really need to be deceptive about promoting vegetables? Got it on the bargain rack.
I loved Julie & Julia. I saw the movie, read the book and then read My Life in France by Julia Child. So my husband gave me this masterpiece for our anniversary:
Boeuf Bourguignon, anyone?
And there are some sentimental cookbooks that I will keep forever.
My favorite Christmas cookie recipes are found in this Cookbook from 1982:
I remember this from when I really started cooking - around age 12.
A cookbook that my Mom put together as a fundraiser for Hospice Care of Rhode Island.
Lots of Family Favorites in this one - look at all the smudges!
And an anniversary gift from my grandmother:
I kept a note from my grandmother inside the front cover. So glad I did!
The next week is sure to be challenging. My goal is to keep my kids feeling secure, my family as healthy as possible (difficult to do as we pack up our kitchen) and my sanity in check. The good news is that my Cookbooks are going to have a great new home in a much more functional kitchen very soon. I can’t wait!
Yesterday’s Winner
Congratulations to Commenter #47 (and #48 – she took advantage of the Two For One Special) Mallory!! You’ve won the Kashi TLC Giveaway. Please email me at abetterbagofgroceries@gmail.com with your full name and mailing address so that I can send it out to you. Thank you to all who entered!
NuVal on Facebook
You can become a fan of NuVal on Facebook. Check it out for the lastest news and fun giveaways!
Here’s the address: http://www.facebook.com/NuVal
Question of the Day
What Cookbooks could you never part with?
Posted by: Melissa 9 comments
Posted in: Cookbooks
on Jun 23rd, 2010 at 7:28 am
Congratulations, Melissa! Hope it all goes smoothly!
on Jun 23rd, 2010 at 8:11 am
Congrats on the house purchase. I would never part with the cookbooks from my grandmother, even if some contain recipes that still call for lard (think of the trans fat!)…but they are pieces of history!
on Jun 23rd, 2010 at 9:47 am
Whew! I was worried you were leaving our great town! Happy to hear it’s just down the street. Good Luck with the move…can’t wait to see pictures on your blog of your new kitchen!! I have to admit I go to the computer for recipes but you have just inspired me to go through my cookbooks and weed out the ones I would never use. Might just find some new healthy recipes to make this summer!! Happy last day of school!!
on Jun 23rd, 2010 at 9:59 am
I love cookbooks!! I have found myself many of times sitting in front of my bookshelf combing through my recipe books. I have a couple favorites…one called “Where’s Mom Now That I Need Her”…my mom gave this to me and both of my sisters when we moved out. Lots of helpful stuff in here as well as a sweet note from my mom
The other is “The Cooking Light Complete Cookbook” this thing is PACKED with awesome recipes and tips for healthy cooking. And, it is a beautiful book!
on Jun 23rd, 2010 at 12:33 pm
[...] My Favorite CookBooks – A Better Bag of Groceries [...]
on Jun 23rd, 2010 at 2:17 pm
Timing is everything! Good luck on the move; I’m sure it will go well. The Betty Crocker cookbook is a staple in my house. I got it as a shower gift too over 20 years ago, and I just went to a wedding shower and the new bride received her copy too! Somethings will never go out of style; fortunately cooking, eating and reading about food are some of those things. All the best!
on Jun 23rd, 2010 at 4:43 pm
oh i am so excited for you! it seems right when it all falls into place so easily. moving is usually the time i go through my cookbooks too. good luck with everything!
on Jun 23rd, 2010 at 6:42 pm
Good luck with the move. The one cookbook I could never live without is called “A Place at the Table”. It is published by The Paige Whitney Babies Center in Basking Ridge, NJ(where I grew up). It has some of the most fabulous, flavorful and easy dishes to make. I always go there first for recipes.
on Oct 16th, 2010 at 12:28 am
Do you know about the new website called Eat Your Books? It is a huge database of cookbooks, and once you’ve “picked” your own books from their list and added them to your virtual “bookshelf,” you can then search them for recipes! It’s so much more gratifying to look for recipes in your own books instead of the internet… I love it.