Addicted

I have a confession to make. I don't enjoy cooking. I cook whenever I HAVE to so that my family doesn't starve. I can follow a recipe and turn out a good result. I don't live in my kitchen and putter and invent new recipes. I have discovered, though, that I am addicted to cookbooks and recipes. I love to pore over cookbooks, they catch my eye in the store check-outs and on store shelves. When I'm sitting in doctors' waiting rooms, I'll peruse the mags for fun, new recipes, and copy them out if I have time.

My biggest weakness, lately, is Taste of Home cookbooks. I discovered them about a year and a half ago when we were at Sam's Club one day. There was a display of books and among them was a cookbook entitled "Simple and Delicious" by Taste of Home. It had a 12 week plan of menus with the shopping list organized by week. I was enthralled. I'd been cooking the same recipes for the 20 years of my marriage, and had hit a wall. I didn't want to prepare the same dishes from the same recipes. Summer break was staring me in the face and I snatched up that cookbook and began making out my grocery lists. Not all of the recipes were do-overs, but there were enough in the book to keep me motivated for the entire summer. It was wonderful! I was hooked, and began scouring the stores for more of their cookbooks.

I have about 6 of them, now. When I see a recipe in one of the books that I want to try, I put a sticky note on the page. My cookbooks are bristling with sticky notes. Again, not every recipe catches my eye or appeals to my tastebuds, but our range has been expanded. The most wonderful thing about these cookbooks is the pictures. Full color photos of nearly every recipe. When I described my experience to Jennifer, she laughed and called it gastro-porn. She's right. I'm reading them for the pictures.

This is my cookbook shelf.

I also follow a blog titled Our Best Bites. (There's a link to it, right there on the right of the screen.) It's written by two young Mormon girls and I love the way they think. I've tried several of their recipes, and I'm hooked. They have fun recipes, helpful hints and lots of good pictures. (Wink, wink)

Several years ago I had also collected and combined recipes from my mom and my siblings and compiled a Hillman Clan cookbook.

This was a Chrismas gift for family members that year. In the interim, my cookbook had become tattered, spilled, spoiled and nearly ruined, so 3 years ago I reprinted it and put it into a binder with sheet protectors. I've since given copies of the new version to my kids as they've left home. The beauty of the binder format is that it's expandable. There is also a pocket in the front where I can stick new recipes as I find them. My current project is to sort through the odd recipes in the pocket and organize, type out and print them to fit into the sheet protectors in my family cookbook. It's a project I had planned to do while I recuperate from surgery. It'll take a while, but I'm enjoying it. I'm also getting hungry...

I've also discovered that cooking is a lot more fun when you have, in addition to a good recipe, the tools, knives and equipment to make food prep easier. I invested in a nice set of knives early this spring, and a couple more tools and appliances like a rice steamer, several sizes of crock pots, and assorted other items. Now, while I still might not LOVE to cook, it's becoming more enjoyable for me. I don't have to ask the dreaded "What sounds good for dinner" question. By the way, tonight is "Chicken a la King" from the "Busy Family Cookbook" page 95.