Saturday, August 09, 2014

Cooking before Pinterest

Going away to college is a good thing in a wide variety of ways, but it also helps me keep accountable for the stuff I do need and the stuff that is just ... stuff. I took a couple bags to the thrift store the other day and I was hoping to fill a few more this afternoon, but then I came to the fact that I can't get rid of my cookbooks. They are useful.

from Victoria's "At Table with Family and Friends" cookbook


It's easy to go on Pinterest and see half of your feed all recipes or recipe modifiers, and yes, I do have a recipe board (or two?) on Pinterest, but in all honesty, there is nothing like pulling out your wooden box of family recipes. Or pulling fun cookbooks off the shelf like the Anne of the Green Gables, Little House on the Prairie, Tasha Tudor, or Victoria cookbooks to help you get inspired to use those dried cranberries or the over abundance of herbs.


And before you think I'm bashing Pinterest, I'm not. Perhaps it's that I am what some people call " an old soul" and I find pleasure in slipping on an apron and making a good, healthy recipe that I can touch and turn to by holding a book or recipe card.

(Don't even get me started on kindles or nooks!) ;)
Since in college I will have little time for consistent blogging (though this year my posts have been anything but consistent...) I'm thinking about having a series of random favorite things to share with you and being that today I've been stuck on kitchen related things, here is the pilot of the series of "Weekend Favorites" --

[No. 1] This recipe box from the Rifle Paper Company. It fits the larger 4 x 6 sized recipe cards. It comes with pretty cards, too.
[No. 2] A super cute apron from Anthropologie. I found this on clearance several months ago and is the first store-bought apron I've ever owned. ;)


[No. 3] Doesn't this picture make you want to zoom in and read off the recipe cards?

Courtesy of Pinterest
[No. 4] Summer dining on the porch

from Lanier's Books
What are some of your favorite to-go-to recipes books?

4 comments:

Sarah said...

Cheri,

I agree, Pinterest is a great source for finding new recipes, but there is nothing like making something from a favorite cookbook! Over the years I have collected several and now have a cupboard devoted to my collection. My favorite cookbook is the one my great grandma gave me when I was a teen. It is a composition notebook that she hand wrote her favorite recipes in, as well as gluing in newspaper clippings of recipes. Baking something my great grandma made brings back memories of her when I was a child.

I pray that the LORD will bless you as you prepare to leave for college!!

-Sarah

Laura said...

Hi Cheri, I guess I haven't got the hang of Pinterest. Many of my recipes do come from the Internet, but are usually the result of a Google search. I like that I can compare recipes of the same dish and choose the one that looks best to me. But I try to copy my favorites to recipe cards! I really like that recipe box you found. My box is vintage, from my great-grandma, but it only holds small cards.
I love Lanier's gorgeous table setting. I just noticed I have the same S&P shakers. :)

~ Shannon said...

Love your cookbooks! I must admit that I am a minimalist with physical cookbooks -- my Betty Crocker, a cookbook from my old church, and an English cookbook comprise my collection. There are so many recipes available online that I tend to use Pinterest or Google when I need something. However, since I have no tablet or "convenient" electronic, I like to print out the recipes I try and store them in a binder filled with page protectors (easy to clean!). In essence, I'm making my own cookbook of recipes that are tried and true! So I suppose I'm not entirely "modern" in my approach. ;-)

I hope your preparations for college continue to go well!

Blessings,
Shannon

Cheri said...

Sarah, it must be so special to have a cookbook (and heirloom, really) put together by your great-grandmother!

Laura, what a good idea to transfer often-used recipes from websites to recipe cards. I never thought of doing that. :) My wooden box (came from VF many years ago…) holds the small 3X5 cards, too. What fun though, to have your great-grandmother's recipe box!

Shannon, being minimalist with cookbooks isn't a bad idea since you don't have to spend copious amounts of time wondering which to flip through first. ;) Come to think of it, I DO have a binder similar to yours though it's mostly comprised of pages sent to me from my Grandma or a few random other recipes that I've found on blogs. :)