It's All in the Books

I go to the old cookbooks to this day when I need a recipe. That's where I find the best ones. If I search online, I type in the recipe but I add 'grandmother's' to the search-- grandmother's mac and cheese, grandmother's coconut cake, grandmother's lemonade...

My favorite oldies are the Better Homes and Garden red check, the church cookbooks, and good 'ol Betty Crocker. Of course, getting my hands on Grandmother's hand written recipes are better than anything else. I put together a family cookbook years ago and gave them out at the family reunion. That book has recipes spanning back from my great-grandmother to more recent favorites of everyone in the family.

People today are going for the healthy options and changing all their recipes to fit the mold or going all the way and throwing out the old recipes. Not in this house. The old recipes are my favorites and the tips are timeless. The old recipes were just fine but, because the ingredients were better back then I simply buy the purer, organic ingredients and keep the recipes as they are.

I have several older books- readers and novels. I like having old books around the house. They remind me that a simpler, more honest time did exist. And I'm not just talking about childhood but a time when people were easier and kind. A time when you could take someone at their word. A time when life was a little slower because people took the time to do things right and well. They took time to talk face-to-face with their neighbors and people they passed on the street. They spent time with one another sitting around the table instead of yelling at traffic while rushing from one activity to another.

I'm looking forward to the time I will spend in the kitchen with the grands. I even have a couple cookbooks for kids. I think they'll enjoy looking through the books and comparing them. One is a Betty Crocker from the 950s, one is an American Girl book Baby M's mommy used, and one is a more recent book I picked up at a school sale.

I was surprised at all the illustrations of boys in this one. I thought for sure it would be filled with girls. The boys were not just on the pages featuring foods like hotdogs either. This one has great tips and instructions, too. The color pictures do nothing to make the food look appealing, however. 

How much fun we will have comparing the drawings and finding similar recipes to compare.

This is my favorite cookbook for kids. I definitely expected the pictures to be all girls because, American Girl. Duh. The pictures are fantastic in this one and so are the tips, instructions, and definitions. Y'all see that banana split up there? I want that. NOW. 

They may as well learn early the things they can't help but love because of being in this family- cooking, music, reading, football, and humor. Being crazy is in there too but we don't always mention that one. Ha!

This one is kooky and has crazy cartoon characters in it instead of boys and/or girls. There are some awesome looking snacks in there but I am not fond of the presentations. It does look like something kids would enjoy, though. 

One of the things I love most about the Betty Crocker and the American Girl books are the baking/cooking tips and definitions. Sometimes I forget when I'm explaining things that I understand already but the ones listening do not. The tips and definitions in these books are fabulous.

Please notice the page in the middle, left square. It's Kitchen Manners. Very cool.These books outline utensils, pots, and pans. They define simple terms we know but kids don't like, bake. They cover safety, too.  

Once Baby M and Baby R become Kid M and Kid R, we'll be in the kitchen. We'll try some of the recipes in these kids' cookbooks but we'll also learn the same way I did. The way my grandmother taught me. These kiddos are going to be some good cooks when grandma gets finished with them.

What's your favorite thing to cook with your grandkids or kids?

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