Do you ever feel guilty, staring at a herd of cookbooks, and yet you continue to....

[Kalmia]

crank out the same 40-50 meals ad infinitum? I'm about ready to donate those books and settle for my usual repertoire.

Some were gifts, so I feel bad ridding myself of them.

[sf]

God bless the internet because there's no need to dust cookbooks
anymore. If we want to look at one, all we need to do is request it
from the inter-library lending system.

--

sf

[Julie Bove]

"Kalmia" <tween...@mypacks.net> wrote in message
news:840c5dbb-feca-448f...@googlegroups.com...

> crank out the same 40-50 meals ad infinitum? I'm about ready to donate
> those books and settle for my usual repertoire.
>
> Some were gifts, so I feel bad ridding myself of them.

I used to collect them. I had a small bookcase stuffed full. I am now down
to 2 shelves but I so rarely refer to them I should probably toss them.
Most anything is found online anyway. I always try new recipes though.

[koko]

On Thu, 23 Apr 2015 17:35:22 -0700 (PDT), Kalmia
<tween...@mypacks.net> wrote:

When I give someone a gift it belongs to them, it is no longer mine.
They should feel free to do with it what they want, and I tell them
that when I give it to them. If I give you a gift, and it brings you
pleasure to re-gift it to someone that would like it more, then do it.
That's a gift given twice.

koko

--

Food is our common ground, a universal experience
James Beard

[Janet B]

That On Thu, 23 Apr 2015 17:35:22 -0700 (PDT), Kalmia

<tween...@mypacks.net> wrote:

>crank out the same 40-50 meals ad infinitum? I'm about ready to donate those books and settle for my usual repertoire.
>
>Some were gifts, so I feel bad ridding myself of them.

That is sort of true here, but, I go back thru a bunch of cookbooks
every winter and find that I am looking at things with new eyes. What
once didn't appeal to me now intrigues me. I add probably a dozen new
regulars each year and some old standbys fall off the dog-eared menu.
Janet US

[graham]

On 23/04/2015 6:35 PM, Kalmia wrote:
> crank out the same 40-50 meals ad infinitum? I'm about ready to donate those books and settle for my usual repertoire.
>
> Some were gifts, so I feel bad ridding myself of them.
>

As an update to the old proverb:
"Too many cooks - write books!"
Graham

--
"It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion
will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the
political power to do so."
Sir Arthur C. Clark

[W. Lohman]

On 4/23/2015 8:21 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
> I download a lot of the recent, popular cookbooks from the Internet.
> Flip through them, then delete them after finding nothing of value.

Arrogant little dumpling, aren't ya?

[spamtr...@gmail.com]

On Thursday, April 23, 2015 at 5:35:25 PM UTC-7, Kalmia wrote:
> crank out the same 40-50 meals ad infinitum? I'm about ready to donate those books and settle for my usual repertoire.
>
> Some were gifts, so I feel bad ridding myself of them.

No, we'll feel like we're in a run, and break out some cookbooks.
The one untouched book is a Japanese cookbook. We like eating the
typical bento lunches, but I cannot get motivated to cook out of this
book.

[Jeßus]

On Thu, 23 Apr 2015 17:35:22 -0700 (PDT), Kalmia
<tween...@mypacks.net> wrote:

>crank out the same 40-50 meals ad infinitum? I'm about ready to donate those books and settle for my usual repertoire.

I should do the same really, I have quite a few cook books and never
look at them, especially since I can look up recipes on the Internet.

The only exception for me is Mastering The Art of French Cooking Vols
1&2 by Julia Child. The only two books I refer to these days.

[Julie Bove]

"Sqwertz" <swe...@cluemail.compost> wrote in message
news:15x11nxh70z51$.dlg@sqwertz.com...

> I download a lot of the recent, popular cookbooks from the Internet.
> Flip through them, then delete them after finding nothing of value.

> I'm not one to cook from recipes, but sometimes I see a good idea -
> such as combining beets and blue cheese in a salad (which I'm eating
> right now - with bacon bits, red onion, and toasted pine nuts) but I
> certainly don't need to keep a book on the shelf or on my hard drive
> just for that.
>
> -sw

That's mainly what I use recipes for. To get ideas. That and cook times.
I don't cook a lot of meat so I often have to check that to make sure.

[Julie Bove]

"koko" <ko...@letscook.com> wrote in message
news:v3cjjatf19lls7hu9...@4ax.com...

> On Thu, 23 Apr 2015 17:35:22 -0700 (PDT), Kalmia
> <tween...@mypacks.net> wrote:
>
>>crank out the same 40-50 meals ad infinitum? I'm about ready to donate
>>those books and settle for my usual repertoire.
>>
>>Some were gifts, so I feel bad ridding myself of them.
>
> When I give someone a gift it belongs to them, it is no longer mine.
> They should feel free to do with it what they want, and I tell them
> that when I give it to them. If I give you a gift, and it brings you
> pleasure to re-gift it to someone that would like it more, then do it.
> That's a gift given twice.

I try hard to only give things to people that they will want and use but if
for some reason they don't, then I don't really care what they do with it.
I might also give a small, inexpensive gag gift, if the main gift is a gift
card or money. I actually tend to give money more often than gift cards,
unless they asked for a specific card for some place. Seems these days,
people just buy what they want or need so there isn't much of a need for
gifts.

[Julie Bove]

"Janet B" <nos...@cableone.net> wrote in message
news:h5djja5675bhvs98q...@4ax.com...

I've had people give me specific cookbooks because they noticed that I
didn't have them. Such as ones for grilling or steaks and chops. But the
reason I didn't have them was that there is no interest in those things.
Husband and daughter actually love steaks but only if made rather plainly.
I have tried making things like Steak Diane and they didn't go over well. I
do like to make complicated dishes but this family just doesn't like to eat
them.

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 4/24/2015 2:04 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>
> "Sqwertz" <swe...@cluemail.compost> wrote in message
> news:15x11nxh70z51$.dlg@sqwertz.com...


>>

>> I download a lot of the recent, popular cookbooks from the Internet.
>> Flip through them, then delete them after finding nothing of value.

>> -sw
>
> That's mainly what I use recipes for. To get ideas. That and cook
> times. I don't cook a lot of meat so I often have to check that to make
> sure.

We have quite a few books, but no longer buy any. We still go back to
them, but most times, you just type an ingredient or a recipe name and
there are hundreds to choose from in a click or two. Just one of the
ways the internet has change how we do things.

[graham]

I like to read some of them and quite often you come across them on the
remainder table and they are as cheap as a magazine. Then I'm tempted.
However, I avoid books where there are umpteen recipes for salads. It's
one thing to eat a salad as a filler but I don't like cookbooks where
they are also used as a filler. As for baking books: if the recipes are
in volume measure and not by weight, I don't even bother to browse
through them.

[Cindy Hamilton]

On Friday, April 24, 2015 at 12:49:48 PM UTC-4, graham wrote:

> However, I avoid books where there are umpteen recipes for salads. It's
> one thing to eat a salad as a filler but I don't like cookbooks where
> they are also used as a filler.

Salad isn't a filler. It's What's For Dinner.

Cindy Hamilton

[spamtr...@gmail.com]

I do not want to be drowned in recipes. In cook books I have made notes
over the years. I do not have the same functionality with the internet.
Nor do I want to take the trouble to save and annotate recipes on the
computer.

[Brooklyn1]

Was for dinner last night and will be again tonight... perhaps graham
has never been exposed to more than a few leaves of iceberg. My
salads typically contain more than 20 different ingredients, including
meats, cheeses, pasta, beans, eggs, and other items along with many
different veggies... and I've never used a recipe to prepare salads,
nor do I measure, I simply keep adding until my big 24 cup SS bowl is
full, plenty for four servings, produce stays fresh in the fridge for
4-5 days or longer when misted with vinegar and/or citrus juice. I
like what's known as a "composed salad", I prepare all the fresh
produce, then arrange produce with meats, cheeses, eggs, beans, pasta,
etc. on a large plate prior to serving.. each person adds their choice
of dressings themselves... about half the time I prepare dressing,
otherwise it's bottled. I prepare much fancier salads in summer when
my garden is producing.

[Nunya Bidnits]

"Brooklyn1" wrote in message
news:014ljap6tan0tsf46...@4ax.com...

> I prepare much fancier salads in summer when
> my garden is producing.

That's when you have the really good greens, before things start
to bolt, which is pretty damned early around here these days.

I don't know if you can get away with it in your climate, or
would even need to being in a cooler zone, but sometimes I
overwinter lettuce greens under a row cover made with hoops of
pvc pipe and clear contractor plastic sheeting in a location
getting plenty of sun. It gets hot early in the year around here
so I wanted to do something to extend the useful greens growing
season. Some species like Oak Leaf, radicchio, some romaine, and
endive did extremely well, even during some tough winters. That
way I can get greens early in the season, and can harvest them
as cutting greens for a while before they need to finish growing
up ahead of bolt time.

If I wait until spring to put in leaf green bedding plants,
there's not enough time before bolting to make it worth doing
the work. Best case for spring planting is to seed directly in
the ground very early, thin whatever survives, and use them as
cutting greens instead of letting them grow full. Overwintering
produces fresh garden greens much earlier, and there's no
grocery greens that can ever taste as good.

MartyB

[Ophelia]

"Cindy Hamilton" <angelica...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:81bceb6e-5028-4024...@googlegroups.com...

For us salad is usually a side dish.

--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

[Ophelia]

"koko" <ko...@letscook.com> wrote in message
news:v3cjjatf19lls7hu9...@4ax.com...

> On Thu, 23 Apr 2015 17:35:22 -0700 (PDT), Kalmia
> <tween...@mypacks.net> wrote:
>
>>crank out the same 40-50 meals ad infinitum? I'm about ready to donate
>>those books and settle for my usual repertoire.
>>
>>Some were gifts, so I feel bad ridding myself of them.
>
> When I give someone a gift it belongs to them, it is no longer mine.
> They should feel free to do with it what they want, and I tell them
> that when I give it to them. If I give you a gift, and it brings you
> pleasure to re-gift it to someone that would like it more, then do it.
> That's a gift given twice.

Agreed! That is a very nice way of describing it:)

--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

[Ophelia]

"graham" <gst...@shaw.ca> wrote in message
news:Iuu_w.54151$B_....@fx06.iad...

> On 24/04/2015 10:07 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>> On 4/24/2015 2:04 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>>>
>>> "Sqwertz" <swe...@cluemail.compost> wrote in message
>>> news:15x11nxh70z51$.dlg@sqwertz.com...
>>
>>
>>>>
>>>> I download a lot of the recent, popular cookbooks from the Internet.
>>>> Flip through them, then delete them after finding nothing of value.
>>>> -sw
>>>
>>> That's mainly what I use recipes for. To get ideas. That and cook
>>> times. I don't cook a lot of meat so I often have to check that to make
>>> sure.
>>
>>
>> We have quite a few books, but no longer buy any. We still go back to
>> them, but most times, you just type an ingredient or a recipe name and
>> there are hundreds to choose from in a click or two. Just one of the
>> ways the internet has change how we do things.
>
> I like to read some of them and quite often you come across them on the
> remainder table and they are as cheap as a magazine. Then I'm tempted.
> However, I avoid books where there are umpteen recipes for salads. It's
> one thing to eat a salad as a filler but I don't like cookbooks where they
> are also used as a filler. As for baking books: if the recipes are in
> volume measure and not by weight, I don't even bother to browse through
> them.

Yes I agree! I am very fussy about getting new books now. I had a massive
clear out when I retired and only kept the ones I loved. I can't say it was
easy because it wasn't but now I am pleased I did. There were very few
that I missed and now I don't remember any of them at all. Most people say
I still have a LOT of cookery books but it is nothing compared to before:)



--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

[W. Lohman]

On 4/24/2015 1:32 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
> 95% of cookbooks are pure crap - recipes with no real
> narrative

That's a stupid and hopelessly blanket indictment, Shu Mai.

Buzz off, ya crankwit.

[Cindy Hamilton]

It very often is here, too. One of my common dinners, however,
is a bed of romaine lettuce topped with sliced, grilled
chicken breast and dressed with balsamic vinaigrette.
I've got a repertoire of about half a dozen main-dish salads
(plus ones that I just invent on the spot), but I return
to this over and over like an old friend.

Cindy Hamilton

[Ophelia]

"Cindy Hamilton" <angelica...@yahoo.com> wrote in message

news:a12e05a3-d0c5-4722...@googlegroups.com...

:) That is what happens with favourites:))))
--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

[jmcquown]

I purged a *lot* of cookbooks when I was moving from west Tennessee to
South Carolina. I still have more than I need but I do refer to most of
them from time to time. Mostly for inspiration. :)

One that I will *never* get rid of is an autographed copy of [Julia
Child] 'Julia's Kitchen Wisdom'. It was a gift from Margaret Suran, a
dear elderly woman who used to post here.

Jill

[Jeßus]

On Sun, 26 Apr 2015 09:26:46 -0400, jmcquown <j_mc...@comcast.net>
wrote:

What a wonderful gift. I wish we still had Julia Child around now, we
need more people like her around now more than ever.

[W. Lohman]

Amen.