If you cook then, like me, you probably have a plethora of cookbooks. I have 3 cookbooks that are my "go to" books for recipes. It is those books that I turn to when I am searching for an old family recipe or just want to make some good ole' comfort food like Mom used to make. The first one I turn to is the book my Mom put together for me with all of her recipes in it. Most things she made out of her head so some of the recipes are a little sketchy. Unlike my sister, I cook a lot so I too just know those things that Mom left out. My sister doesn't, hence why she cooked a pumpkin pie for 4 hours this past year at Thanksgiving. Pumpkin pies are baked at a high temperature first and then turned down for the remainder of the cooking time. Evidently Mom left this part out!
(click photo to enlarge)
When all else fails I turn to an old Betty Crocker book that my Mom gave me. It is worn and tattered, but still has great recipes.
I always have somewhere to turn for just the right recipe for the occasion to make a wonderful meal to be proud of.
It would be so much easier if they made a cookbook for life with recipes telling us exactly what to do. Maybe I could have found the recipe to cure TJ's cancer in that book. If not, then maybe I could find the recipe to expedite the grief process. Throughout my life I have had so many problems that possibly could have been better dealt with had I been able to find the perfect recipe.
But, as many cooks know...It is the recipes you create yourself that are the best.
The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a star. ~ Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
Wonderful post, Sandy. Love your old treasured cook books. Your recipe book for life is a wonderful analogy. But I think, even with if I had one, I would be better at some things than at others and would still end up being burnt sometimes - or burning something by overdoing it. And I've been known to read a recipe incorrectly sometimes, too. :)
ReplyDeletei am not a good cook. he was though. my Dragon could make a wonderful meal from a mostly empty cupboard. the recipe you are working on to endure this, your way is so honorable and poignant. i wish you peace.
ReplyDeleteLOL on the pumpkin pie! Yes, my recipe does the 2 different temps.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, as we grow older, like me, we have a bit of a cookbook that we have created for ourselves and can check back in when we encounter difficulties. Take care, Inger
ReplyDeleteGreat post Sandy. I'm with you; since day one I've been saying I wish there was a handbook for all of this, something telling us how to act and what to feel and expect. It would be especially nice to be able to flip to the end of the book and see how things were going to turn out and how long it would take to get there.
ReplyDeleteBut sadly, our recipes aren't so simple and take a long time to prepare with many complicated ingredients. I know, however, that what we are making is worth it and will turn out beautiful, because we are all cooking together. <3
You know the old saying,grieving is a process, and each person handles it differently, in their own amount of time.I did enjoy your post so much, though. My Mom and Nana were wonderful cooks. My Mom with the comfort food and my Nana was the baker. Still hand down recipes to my children. Brings back wonderful memories. The beauty part of the old recipes is they are not typed. They are on index cards, hand written. They make me smile.
ReplyDeleteThat last part was so true. If only we had "recipes" for life. It would certainly make things easier.
ReplyDeleteNice post my friend!