When I moved to my home in CT about a year and a half ago, I brought with me a four-piece set of bookcases that had been custom made for a wall in the loft apartment where I had lived. Created to look like a built-in bookcase when in place, this set of bookcases housed my collection of cookbooks.
Cut to size for a new space, the bookcase unit is now comfortably housed in a sweet little room, a “clubby” sort of den, off the dining room. In the morning, on a sunny day, the light fills the small space and invites you in to sit and linger awhile. Not often enough, I do.
My cookbook collection is at home there now, back on the shelves once again. Over the years I’ve accumulated some 400 or more volumes, although I’ve never actually counted them. (always on the lookout for new favorites to add … ) The collection covers the gamut of the culinary world, loosely organized on the shelves to fit my browsing needs. They inspire me, motivate me, direct and delight me. In some ways they chronicle periods in my life, remind me of places I’ve been, and take me to places I haven’t. They are like old friends, always nice to come back to, always there to offer stimulation, advice and recommendations.
A short stack of cookbooks also sits on the island in my kitchen. They’re the current favorites, the culinary works in progress, or in the thought/planning process, at the moment. When I am done trying a recipe, and tweaking it to fit my tastes, I type it up and put it in a very well-worn, now over-sized, folder. One of these days (really!), I’m going to take the time to make a cookbook of my favorites to pass along to the family. I’m hoping my grandchildren will want to try the recipes at some point in their lives, and enjoy them, as I have. Part of my legacy, so to speak. I treasure the few of my grandmother’s recipes that I still have – on very dog-eared paper, in her handwriting, blue ink. My father still talks of her ultra creamy cheesecake from time to time; I remember, with deep fondness, the terrific German Apple Cake she made. Reminiscent of so many wonderful things…..
Sitting in the stack at the moment, to highlight a few …The Farm Market, one of several farmers’ market cookbooks I have and love, Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooking Cookbook ( time to get back into using the crockpot – there’s that chill in the air! ), Provence Harvest – a superb book, soon to be added to the website, that embraces a Farm to Kitchen philosophy, and does so with great photos, recipes, and a lot of inspiration for a kitchen garden. It entices all the senses and makes me want to pack a bag and board a plane!
At the top of the stack is another favorite, The Apple Cookbook, which has a great recipe for a French Apple Tart. I’ve used it often, this week with golden delicious and fuji apples from the farmers’ market. Can’t wait for the scent of apples and cinnamon in the house…..a down-home, feel good feeling. Don’t you agree?
