A FEW OF MY FAVORITE COOKBOOKS…
ME! And, I am betting, many of you! For many years I’ve been collecting cookbooks. I mean, who collects cookbooks, right? I can’t resist when I see a cookbook that is full of photos of delicious looking food (pastries) and has a paragraph or two from the author. It feels like I’ve been invited into the author’s kitchen, and being a visual person, I can actually FEEL myself there, cooking, baking, tasting all those wonderful cookies, cakes and pies coming of of the oven. I read cookbooks likes novels, devouring every page. On of my favorite cookbooks is Love Real Food by Kathryne Taylor. Who can resisit Summer Blueberry Cake or Breakfast Cookies? That’s right, cookies for BREAKFAST! This is a girl after my own heart.
I’ve made these Breakfast cookies many times, adding apple and carrot pulp from my juicer…and pecans. How can something so healthy be so good for you! No guilt for this breakfast. Kathryne and her dog, Cookie, spend lots of time together in the kitchen.
Another cookbook that is my go-to when I want something that soothes the soul is The Little French Bakery Cookbook. Susan Holding studied in Paris at Le Cordon Bleu during the day and took photos in the City of Light during her time off, all of which are in this cookbook. What I love about it is that she has include many of her “family favorites” like Spaghetti and Meatballs (delish!) and BBQ Rib with Cowgirl Sauce. You can make a Tart Aux Pomme for dessert! There’s a little of France and Wisconsin in this, one of my favorite, cookbooks.
This may sound strange, but I also like to sift through cookbooks when I am trying to lose a pound or more. Somehow, when I see the words “butter”, “chocolate chips”… and instructions for making “creamy” lemon meringue pie, and “chocolate macademia” nut cookies, I feel full! Well, maybe not full FULL, but satisfied. I know, it’s weird and I’ll admit sometimes I just want to get out of bed and start baking, but mostly, it makes me happy to just eat the pages in the cookbook.
Of course, now that I am baking and posting recipes on my website. www.pipkas.com, I am seriously devouring cookbook recipes and techniques while also developing my own recipes. Lots of “experiments” have landed in the trash but each failure has whipped up my enthusiasm to make a better pie or cake next time.
Sharing a recipe for brownies filled with toffee candy bar chunks makes me so happy because I KNOW you’re going to love them! There’s those words…SHARING and LOVE. That’s what it’s all about.
Share what you bake. Love what you make.
There’s nothing better than seeing the smile on someone’s face when they bite into a chocolate cupcake topped with 3 inches of peanut butter frosting or watching a child eating a crispy-on-the outside, gooey-in-the inside, chunky chocolate chip cookie. There’s so much joy in sharing.
