I cannot help myself. There is just something in me that would rather read cookbooks than fiction. It started at a very early age for me I suppose. Maybe it was watching my grandmother pour all the love she had into a pot of black-eyed peas or homemade biscuits or those fabulous pies she used to make just for our family when we would visit. Maybe it was the comfort foods that just made life seem tolerable when nothing seemed to go right. It could have been the way my Mama and I would watch Julia Child on a Saturday morning on PBS or the way my Daddy would make the most plain and simple foods melt in your mouth with just the right ingredients and herbs and spices. Food has been a HUGE part of who I am for my entire life.
I remember baking with my Mama and my Meemaw as a little girl. It was hard to get into the kitchen with my Daddy because he was such a perfectionist but when I went away to college and began my own food and cooking journey he was ALWAYS the one I called for instruction. I called when I needed to make a roast or cook a brisket. I called when I was making vegetable soup and potato soup. I called for just the right way to cook squash and carrots and any other vegetable I remember eating as a child.
It was not always pretty.... I remember as a newly wedded wife burning spam! LOL My precious husband ate whatever I put in front of him and never complained one bit. If something was really good, though, he would say that it needed practice and wink. I knew that meant it was a hit and I should hang onto that recipe to use again and again. He still says that, btw, but now it is just about every meal. He is truly encouraging and precious! He tells me that if I had a bed in the kitchen I would NEVER leave it!!! He is probably right... ;)
I can honestly say that I am a cookbook addict. It is true... with over 200 cookbooks and counting my shelves are buckling under the weight. LOL See?...
I remember baking with my Mama and my Meemaw as a little girl. It was hard to get into the kitchen with my Daddy because he was such a perfectionist but when I went away to college and began my own food and cooking journey he was ALWAYS the one I called for instruction. I called when I needed to make a roast or cook a brisket. I called when I was making vegetable soup and potato soup. I called for just the right way to cook squash and carrots and any other vegetable I remember eating as a child.
It was not always pretty.... I remember as a newly wedded wife burning spam! LOL My precious husband ate whatever I put in front of him and never complained one bit. If something was really good, though, he would say that it needed practice and wink. I knew that meant it was a hit and I should hang onto that recipe to use again and again. He still says that, btw, but now it is just about every meal. He is truly encouraging and precious! He tells me that if I had a bed in the kitchen I would NEVER leave it!!! He is probably right... ;)
I can honestly say that I am a cookbook addict. It is true... with over 200 cookbooks and counting my shelves are buckling under the weight. LOL See?...
I am also the recipient of a few foodie magazines, too...
* Gourmet
* Vegetarian Times
* ACF Culinary Journal and Student Journals
* and Cook's Illustrated which is a gift from my Mama every year.... I love her!
With all of these cookbooks you better believe that I have Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volumes 1 and 2... thank you very much! ;) (this is my copy... 13th printing the year I was born so my copy is as old as ME! lol )
I started reading Julie and Julia today, too.... (this is my copy, btw)
and I now have a hankerin' for some good old fashioned Potage Parmentier (Onion and Potato Soup). I think of all the foods my Daddy made for me that is the most wonderful... he made it for us after we had been ill with just about anything... there was something very healing in it and to this day I crave it after a bought with whatever virus has plagued our home. I have not been sick lately but I might just need a bowl of comfort just because. I will try Julia's recipe this time... in the spirit of the book I am reading and in preparation for that movie coming on August 7th.
I will share if I do... :)
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