I would NEVER buy myself a cookbook unless it has lots and lots and lots of pictures in it. Actually I have never bought a cookbook in my life. But my mum gave me the old South African Cook and Enjoy it, which I love - it is very funny in places (though probably only to me), and has all the dishes I grew up with. Also the measurements are in cups and spoonfuls, which makes it much, much easeier. I don't like beans and/or lentils so much, because they make you . . . well nevermind, but so I don't ever want one of those cookbooks. And vegetarian is alright, but no seed-eating-egg-avoiding-fun-killing vegan recipes for me, thank you. I bet they all start with 'Pluck one living . . . ' anyway.

"Microwave Cooking for your Baby & Child" was like a Bible when my kids were babies. I made all my own baby food (who knows what's in those jars?) and this book was chock-full of great food combinations. Other than that I'm not really the cookbook type. When you're vegetarian people give you cookbooks all the time as gifts, for some reason.

whoa, like this new background, when did it change? (see how long it's been since i visited!) i like cookbooks period. but my husband does all the cooking (he loves it and i am one lucky babe). i think his fav book is a cajun one called pirate chest or something. he never follows the recipe exactly and the stuff always comes out good. (now i'm braggin' on him, he'll never cook again!)

Chris is also a good cook - we always fight over who's cooking, because the one who doesn't cook has to do the washing up, and we both HATE it.

Ten Talents and Diet for a Small Planet. Plus the Farm Vegetarian Cookbook and the Tempeh Cookbook. My favorites.

Do you cook, Terry?

I would love to take a peek at the tempeh one; I could use some inspiration besides stir-fry and tacos!

I do cook on occasion.

I like that in a man.

I love to sit a read cookbooks! I park my caboose down on Tattered Cover's second floor and peruse and peruse... But I don't use them in the kitchen. More like inspiration for me. Welcome back vacationers!

And welcome back to you too! What have you been up to, stranger?

two of my fave cookbooks are The Joy of Cooking and Unmentionable Cuisine...

Do they have nice, juicy steak recipes? I don't eat meat every day, but I could never become vegetarian. Nothing like a big juicy steak to cheer me up when I'm feeling bored.

My favorite recipe for cooking steak requires the burnout oven at a foundry. the oven runs at 1000 degrees C. Recipe calls for a steak two inches thick and frozen solid. Place steak on moldfork. stick steak into center of oven, being careful not to touch sides, top, or floor of oven with steak. Count to ten. remove steak. Eat.

OOOH, yes! I like a steak who whispers that soft 'moo' in my ear every time I take a bite. YUMMY!

Specially when It's also charred black and crispy on the outside. MMMMM can't be beat!!!!

Yes, like crisps with raw flesh in it! Have you ever had biltong, Tim?

I don't think so. However, I was known to eat some strange things when I was drunk. What is it?

?? Biltong is a typically African thing - a dried meat snack. Sort of like meat crisps, but softer, and spicey. But not as one knows it over here or in America. I have no way to describe it, but I'll be sure to bring you some next year, because I'll be in Africa for 4 weeks before coming over. You'll love it!

I'm sure I will, Sounds like jerky!!

Jerky? How can you say that?? It's not jerky at all! What's jerky?

Strips of spicy meat with most of the water removed. A Native American idea. It was common over here in Leif Ericson's day @ AD 1000, and has been ever since. I like it very much though, and I look forward to trying your version, Riette.

Okay, I'll bring lots - you'll be hooked! But I'd like to try your version too, if I may.

For sure, Riette. We can load up on it for the trip to Mexico.

Cool! But we musn't take a gun to Mexico. I don't want to go to jail for 5 years.

Specially not a Mexican jail, Riette. I don't own a gun. I don't need a gun.

Good! Neither do I. I saw a horrible programme about it on TV last night though, and thought: I do NOT want this!

Riette, I would not want to be in any jail. I for sure don't want to be in a Mexican jail.

No, me neither. I like having a loo that flushes.

I like views that aren't framed by bars, Riette.

Yeah! And in your case keeping your backside close against the wall will get pretty uncomfortable too....

Riette, I'd sleep that way.

I'd make SURE of that if I were you. Because you know how sperm builds up with men - and as far as I know they don't lock men and women up in the same cells, not even in Mexico! And those guys, they don't care WHAT kind of a hole they can find in their desperate need to relief themselves of the hydrostatic pressure!

Riette, they'd also have to be bigger than I am. In mexico That is practically non existant.

ha-ha!!! But the bigger the better, remember!! And they can always stand on top of each other to be able to reach such an exotic thing as you!

That still leaves them a little weak thru the middle, Riette.

Let's hope so! And let's not go to jail. Let's go to the desert instead.

Will do Riette, ASAP.

ASAP?? After Some Alternative Prowling?

As SOON AS Possible, Riette.

ha-ha! I know! But I knew you were going to correct me too, and I like it so much when you get strict like that! ha-ha!

Riette, You are such a tease!!

And you're such fun to tease!

Well I'm glad you enjoy it so much, Riette.

Christopher Kimball, founder and editor of Cook's Illustrated magazine, grew up on a small farm in Vermont. During the summer he worked as a farmhand, milking cows and fixing equipment. Yet what Kimball remembers and cherishes most about those long, balmy summers was a gathering place called the yellow farmhouse. Here, all the farmhands converged for pound cake, molasses cookies, and a wealth of other hearty home-cooked foods. In "The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook," Kimball shares his passion for these farmhouse foods in a series of recipes and stories. For a taste of what the book has to offer, Christopher Kimball wrote a special essay for Amazon.com, summing up this place he called home. ****** A Place to Call Home by Christopher Kimball We all need a place to call home and, for me, that place is the yellow farmhouse. It was part of a large New England farm originally owned by Fred Bentley that had three large barns, a corn crib, a sap house, an outhouse, a pigsty, and a small yellow shed that was used through the 1950s and '60s as housing for the farmhands. It was the home of Marie Briggs, the de facto town baker, as well as Floyd Bentley and his cousin Junior Bentley. Dinner was served promptly at noon each day, all the farmhands crowding around the table for a roast, baking powder biscuits, milk gravy, potatoes, boiled greens, homemade anadama bread, and a good dessert: pound cake, molasses cookies, or, once in a great while, a fruit pie. The parlor was a busy room, never empty of visitors at any hour, really the town center for many decades. It is quiet now, although I remember the stories told in the small parlor, tales that filled the room with a special cadence, a flash of wit that spoke to the uncertainties of country living. Perhaps I remember most fondly the smell of that small parlor, the ripe scent of yeast, molasses, fresh bread, green wood, maple syrup, wood smoke, and pickled meats, a heady perfume that seeped into the wallpaper and floorboards and that remains today. It was a dark, still room, even in summer, since the closed windows were often steamed from the simmering water on the stove. It was a world submersed in half-light, visitors appearing suddenly from the outside without warning, the sun at their backs, their approach having gone unnoticed. The "Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook" was brought to life with the notion that good food must have a sense of place. Each recipe is born with a story to tell of a cook, of a town, of the lives of those who sit around the dinner table enjoying the food and the company. But the foundation of the book is an investigation of the best methods of making classic country recipes such as apple pie and apple crisps, roast turkey, pot roast, buttermilk baking powder biscuits, lemon meringue pie, chicken fricassee, mashed potatoes, potato salad, coleslaw, strawberry jam, chocolate chip cookies, and much more. I figured out how to bake a pumpkin pie with a crisp crust, make an apple crisp with a truly crunchy topping, make a tomato sauce in 10 minutes that tastes fresh and lively, cook up perfect rice every time, make pie pastry that is easy to roll out and doesn't shrink when baked, and make a roast that is fall-apart tender and juicy. I have included more than 300 carefully tested recipes, including a 40- minute Whole Wheat Soda Bread, Country Meatloaf, Raspberry Rectangles, Hermit Bars, Blueberry Boy Bait, stews, soups, preserves, breads, etc. I sought out simplicity of method and good taste above all, streamlining methods, pulling back on cream and sugar where necessary, but retaining the hearty flavors of American country cooking. I also tested plenty of cookware for this book with actual ratings of specific brands, including hand-held mixers, inexpensive chef's knives, cookie sheets, muffin tins, loaf pans, saucepans, graters, and instant-read thermometers. (Hint: cheap supermarket cookie sheets work better than more expensive brands, and I found a $12 chef's knife that is almost as good as the $85 models.) In addition to the recipes, you'll also meet a cast of characters, from Floyd Bentley, who was painted by Norman Rockwell in "Breaking Home Ties," to Rob Woodcock, who was known to harvest Christmas trees with a shotgun, to my neighbor, Jean, who once invited my wife and I over for a dinner of woodchuck and squirrel. You'll be invited to attend our annual Ox Roast potluck supper in August, march along with us in the July 4 parade, sing "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" at our Old Home Day celebration, and go swimming at the Baptist Hole just behind the Methodist Church. But "The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook" is also about lessons learned from a lifetime of country cooking and a childhood in a small New England town. We each had our work to do and we knew how to do it. It has always been that way on farms. Nobody stops to say "good job" or to slap you on the back. When Marie's bread came out just right or her baked custard was light and tender, it was simply eaten along with the rest of the meal and quietly appreciated. This is the unwritten code of the farmhouse: an expectation of hard work, a reliance on others to do their jobs, and an interest in the well-being of the community. In hard times, these were necessary traits for survival, but now that times have changed, I think that we could do worse than to take a moment to stop by the yellow farmhouse, take a seat at the table, backs warmed by the old green Kalamazoo, and share the food and the stories. Marie and Floyd and Junior wouldn't have thanked you for stopping by but they would have nonetheless been glad of your company. Featured in this post: "The Yellow Farmhouse" by Christopher Kimball http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316496995/thespring To try out four of Christopher Kimball's fantastic recipes-- Buttermilk Baking Powder Biscuits; Rich, Thick Chocolate Cookie; Master Recipe for Quick Tomato Sauce; and Blueberry Boy-Bait--go to http://www.amazon.com/yellow-farmhouse-recipes

�drooling shamelessly� The James Rizzi cookbook I got for Christmas from my husband is incredible. Full of typical New Yorker recipes, really easy to understand instructions, and great results. My favourite is his Devil's Burger recipe. The weird thing is that the book was only published in German!!!!!

too cool!

But why would a New Yorker's cookbook be published only in German, do you think?

not sure...think if I wrote a Texan one, we could get it published in Afrikaans?

Absolutely!! As long as every dish includes meat, that is.

pretty much guaranteed...

You are saying that Afrikaaners like their meat.

Afrikaners don't consider it a meal unless it includes meat.

what?!?!? no big tofu eaters over there?

I must say that I agree with them on that point. Tofu is ok, but it is not meat.

No, Stacey. I have not found a single vegetarian restaurant in Namibia. Or a single vegetarian, for that matter! I mean, I like meat, but $hit! They eat it for breakfeast, lunch, dinner AND inbetweens! And they just don't understand why they die of heart attacks before they turn 50....

*laugh* I bet the average length of time spent constipated is rather large...

�guffaw� Not constipated, it has more of a spout-$hit-effect! The thing is the meat is just so good there, I end up eating it all day the first two days. Then I spend 4 days on the loo, which is usually enough to convince me to stop. And then I'm okay for the rest of the holiday!

Excuse that visual, but it's the truth.

I was going to say that if you are having a problem with constipation, you are cooking the meat too much.

so, what are you going to say instead?

I, for one, was going to say constipation hits all sorts of people for all sorts of reasons, and sometimes not just in the stomache either!

Oh. What insight! Ah, great! Now lemme see, where's da friggin' dictionary....?

"The Choy of Cooking" cookbook series by my favorite chef, Hawaii's own Sam Choy.

I'd like to check out the cookbook written by City Slickers'"Cookie": "You ain�t gonna be gittin� no nouveau almondine sauce, flambeed, sauteed city food. The food�s brown, it�s hot, and there�s a lot of it."

Back to the original question - which one can I not live without...the one I learned to cook as a child with: The New Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking-school Cookbook. It was first published in 1896 and unfortunately is now out of print. My son wants mine when I no longer need it. Of course, he learned to cook using it, as well.

Fannie Farmer is the All-American standard, predating Betty Crocker, Aunt Jemima, Mrs. Butterworth, or Poppin' Fresh.

It is the perfect book for the new Bride. It starts with how to set a table then how to make appetizers, cocktails and so on through the entire meal. I wish they would reprint it...I think it is splendid and refer to mine often.

A person called Fannie sets the standard for newly-weds? Fannie, newly-wed, newly-wed, Fannie .... yes, something about it works....

And, GLAD to hear to yours often, Marcia!!! ha-ha!!!

And, GLAD to hear you refer to yours often, Marcia!!! ha-ha!!!

Fannie is the diminutive of the feminine Frances...In the old days. So it is not quite as suggestive as it appears

Um...Ree...it is the book to which I refer often...not THAT part of my anatomy! (Other people seem to watch THAT for me *lol*)

HA-HA!!! No, I know - but how'd you expect me to resist???

I would have been severely disappointed if you had resisted...You made my day with your comment. (...you have *never* disappointed - you are always delightfully funny...)

FILTHY minds think alike!

*lol* ...make that "creative minds" think alike...and I will agree with you *grin*

There is nothing creative whatsoever about my mind. It is all destructive.

Oh My - time to cheer Riette and have her smile light the room once again. There is everything creative about your mind from the tenderness you show toward innocent little fuzzy animals (and husbands also fall into that category) to breath-takingly creative art...and I personally know of your compassion and empathy as well as your sturdy backbone. I am all appreciative of your being - creative or not!

Selecting Cookbooks Consider these guidelines when purchasing your next cookbook. -Ask yourself "Will I really make these recipes?" -Research books online. Sites like Amazon and Barnes and Noble are great places to do this. Read the reviews and the comments from people who bought the book. -Go to a bookstore or library and examine the cookbook, even if you're going to order it online. You can't judge a book by looking at the cover! -Don't jump on every cooking trend bandwagon that comes along. Collect books on a variety of subjects and styles. Don't forget about the classic works that you don't own. -You can find some great cookbook values at used bookstores, thrift shops, and yard sales.

Clearing up my books and stuff. Here's a list of the cookbooks that I not only own but use (well, when I get off the computer that is!) and am fighting house male to retain. Maggie�s Cookery Books BRITISH Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen � Elizabeth David Recipe Book � Wives Fellowship, Lebanon Missionary Bible College Walthamstow Hall 150th Anniversary Cook book, 1838-1988 (Hannah�s boarding school) The �Metro� Recipe Book 1930s The Farmer�s Wife Book of Farmhouse Food � Zena Skinner Traditional Scottish Cookery - Theodora Fitzgibbon Traditional Scottish Cookery � Margaret Fairlie Cornish Recipes The Complete Book of Home Preserving VEGETARIAN Vegetarian Dinner Parties (menus from around the world) The Vegetarian Cookbook Modern Vegetarian Cookery � Walter & Jenny Fliess Julian Graves Cookbook Simple and Speedy Wholefood Cooking Vegetarian Chinese Cooking CHINESE Ken Hom�s Quick and Easy Chinese Cookery Ken Hom�s East meets West Classic Chinese Recipes INTERNATIONAL The Book of Jewish Food � Claudia Roden International Cookbook � International Museum of Cultures, Dallas The Wycliffe International Cookbook The Best of Scandanavian Cooking The Best of German Cooking Classical Gambian Recipes Australain Women�s Weekly Potato Cookbook Diet for a Small Planet MICROWAVE Good Housekeeping Complete Microwave Cookbook The beginner�s Guide to Microwave Cooking Best-Ever Cook�s Collection Microwave

My favourite cookbook to read is The Book of Jewish Food which is a mine of information and fun stuff too. The one I can never find when I want it becuase it keeps getting nicked and therefore didn't get on my book list is 'The More with Less Cookbook'

Love that last one! I need a copy I think (can't imagine whose 2 daughters are running off with it?!) Why has no one come up with one called "Creative Nuking"????

probably for a very good reason LOL Actually I have a horrible feeling More with Less has fallen apart again and got thrown. I think that was my third copy. Any requests for recipes from that lot?

Hmmmmm. Ones you particularly like and taste really good would be nice =)

I think this is an ad or something masquerading as information: Essential Mediterranean Cookbooks These are just four of the many wonderful books written about the vast subject of foods from countries on the Mediterranean Sea. -NICK STELLINO'S MEDITERRANEAN FLAVORS by Nick Stellino (Putnam Publishing Group). A great collection of recipes from the popular PBS host. In this volume Nick goes beyond just the dishes of Italy for which he is best known. -MEDITERRANEAN COOKING by Paula Wolfert (Ecco Press). The author of three works on the region, Wolfert spotlights the lighter and healthier side of the area's cuisine. This book is geared for the intermediate to advanced home cook. -TAPAS: THE LITTLE DISHES of SPAIN by Penelope Casas (Random House). The savory appetizers of Spain are featured here in over 300 recipes. -THE MEDITERRANEAN KITCHEN by Joyce Goldstein (William Morrow & Co.). This is an easy-to-use book for anyone wishing to explore the simple, but flavorful foods of the region.

Thnx Marcia, on this note does any one have a delicious spinach dip recipe & willing to share it with me?

Yup ! Mine is very good and I'll post it on Food 42 - Spring's Cookbook!

This isn't really a favourite cook book as such - but more a collection on a website of an enthusiasts passin for awful cookery.... "They're not really recipe books. They're ads for food companies, with every recipe using the company's products, often in unexpected ways. (Hot day? Kids love a frosty Bacon Milkshake!) There's not a single edible dish in the entire collection. The pictures in the books are ghastly - the Italian dishes look like a surgeon got a sneezing fit during an operation, and the queasy casseroles look like something on which the janitor dumps sawdust. But you have to enjoy the spirit behind the books - cheerful postwar perfect housewifery is taught in every book. Sure, you'll fall short of the ideal. But what's an ideal for if not to show up your shortcomings?" Anyway, go look at http://www.lileks.com/institute/gallery/ for a laugh...

I love cookbooks. I collect them actually but I'm not much of a cook. I really love to look at pictures of food. So if there are no photos I'm not much interested. I have the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook from the early '50's. It is really fascinating to see how people's tastes (pardon the pun) in the food they prepare have changed.

Did you look at that site I posted Carys??? From what you said you should enjoy it I think. Some of the pix are quite funny when you consider what was 'normal' then and how we view things now ..... Funny about collecting cookbooks and not really cooking much! I'm like that too ...I have a nice collection (there's a list of them here somewhere....)and despite the clearing out we're doing (in prep for Africa trip) I efuse to let them go to the junk shop ....I'm not much good at/interested in everyday cooking, but give me a complicated dinner party - and I'm quite inventive!

Maggie, I do like the new site. I'm sorry about taking so long to get back here. I lurked a bit here in the public mode for a few months. I always thought it would be fun to post -- but I'm going to be erratic about it. I won't be able to get here as much as I would like to. But the food and culture site is interesting and I like the pork chop recipe. I'm glad you understand and share the pleasure of collecting cookbooks. The funny thing is many people that do collect them aren't really people who cook much. I've known some people that love to read cookbooks, yet almost always eat out or send out for food. Where are you going in Africa? There is a topic for African food. Yours I think. I'll enjoy looking around there to see what types of food and food info are posted.

Hi Carys, if you look at the african cultures topic in the cultures conference, and the Mali topic in the travel conference you'll see more about what I'm doing and where I'm going. Yup, I'm going to Mali for approx 5 months researching in schools. I'll be in email contact so I'm going to email Marcia with my news and thoughts and experiences, and she'll post it in Spring for me. But do feel free to email me (sociolingo@hotmail.com)!!!! I'm sure I'm going to get lonesome. As far as cookbooks are concerned (getting back to topic), I'm going to be sure to take my Wycliffe International cookbook with me. That's an update of the old 'jungle camp' cookbook. It has lots of interesting recipes and survival stuff in it. I keep having to buy a new copy every few years as mine wears out. I also use the 'more with less' cookbook all the time. Although I'm British I almost always use American cup recipes now. I cannot imagine being without my set of cups and spoons. So they'll go with me too. I have a new pressure cooker to take (did you know you can keep meat fresh for days by cooking it and then bringing it up to pressure and leaving the cooker unopened each day). I think with those two cook books I can survive ... I expect to do more entertaining this time as we repay all the invites out we had last visit ....So I'm going to have to think about that in my planning of what cookbooks to take.

I didn't know that about keeping meat fresh for several days. Thanks for the email addy.