a short discussion of cookbooks

as some of you may remember, i recently had a field day at Better World Books
they have a wonderful sale bin and free shipping....
and the more you buy the less each book costs
so hence the field day


now i have a sort of partial review of some of those books
and a few recommendations for  anyone who cares to listen
(not necessarily in that order) ***and i am not affiliated with anyone..... no one pays me...i wish they would! hahahaha so this is based on my opinions, if you trust my opinions, you maybe would like to pick up these books ......used if you have to***




first off...... if you are a new cook, or just starting out  or just want to know the real nuts and bolts of cooking
i have two recommendations for you


the joy of cooking 1975 edition (although i hear that the new 75th anniversary edition is wonderful and just as good as 1975)
and 
Good cheap food by Miriam Ungerer


these two together in my opinion are the true MUST HAVES if you aspire to any sort of cooking
i got the joy when it first came out in paperback in 76, from an aunt who worked at scholastic.
she brought home a set for me and a set for mom...(this was in 2 volumes)
i read that book over and over and over, it's burnt on the cover now...i don't remember how that happened (could have been from someone i lent it to)
but for anyone, this is a total college course in food


the ungerer book is another must have..... she's practical, down to earth and a good read......PLUS she teaches you in plain and entertaining english what pots and pans to get and how to get them
I LOVE THIS BOOK
another book i read over and over- i credit her with my money saving exploits in the kitchen.
this one i picked up in texas in 1980....and again at a library sale here....


now there are a few other books i would suggest if you decide to really get into a whole cooking as the center of family life lifestyle


another one would be Fancy Pantry, and Better then store bought: a cookbook by helen witty.
those would be (IMHO) the very minimum of books to have on your shelf
after those you can fill in if you want with julia child, craig claybourne, etc......
depending on your niche 
or interests


now out of the ones i picked up....... 
Betty Crocker Whole Grains: Easy Everyday Recipes don't bother with this one

a much better one is 366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans, and Grains

i also like 30 day gourmet...... which since i do this anyway, i figured i would compare all the freeze ahead books.... 

i did NOT like 'Once a month cooking' nor the friendly freezer.....

if you decide you need a book for freezing and cooking ahead.....get the 30 day gourmet- either the books or the software 

now something i would like to remind you folks of.....in case you forgot

or didn't know in the first place

but every industry has a promotional agency for the most part

even food industries here are some of the meat ones

Pork

Beef

Chicken

Lamb

Turkey

they have recipes and facts and all sorts of things for you....

you can easily put together a file of recipes and ideas from their websites alone

now as some of you know.....i am also a canner, so i always have the ball book (the newest edition is the anniversary edition) i also like to get really old ball blue books, war years and prior..... just because

and i dehydrate a lot of stuff so i got a few of the dehydrating books

i can't really recommend any of those at this time because right now off the top of my head i can't remember the titles!

the last book i am going to recommend (because i just think it's the coolest most satisfying book about food, home and homemaking in my opinion) is The Pantry (see my link to it on the right)

i loved this book.... and if you are at all interested in how food was stored all those many years without electricity.... you WANT THIS BOOK....... it's eye candy and history and wonderful.

it did not get the audience it should have ........

again i am not affiliated with the author but i just loved this book- i would LOVE to see her do a matching book on summer kitchens......

so there you have it for today

let me know what you folks think ok?

vi