Cooking for me has always been therapeutic. In my personal expansion of that therapy, I have evolved to be one of those people that reads cookbooks in the way that most people read novels, which has led to an expanding collection. I grew up in a family filled with PHENOMENAL cooks. Recipes and moments shared with these people have a very strong grasp on my heart. Yet, for my growing collection of cookbooks, I can only count a handful of recipes I use out of each of them to have my own special moments with those around me. As we begin 2018, I have decided (admittedly, at my husband’s request) that I will cook from each cookbook I own this year. And I thought, why not write about it?
The Goal:
As of January 4, 2018 I am the PROUD owner of 61 cookbooks. The basic goal is to cook from each cookbook that I own at least once by December 31, 2018.
Quick Math in my head- 365 days / 61 cookbooks… that’s a cookbook every 5.98 days. (okay, that math may have been on my phone, not in my head). Crap.. I’m already behind schedule.
The additional, elongated, drawn-out version of this goal is to leverage the books that I have already enjoyed reading so much and find ways to incorporate them into my life and make memories out of food, the way I grew up doing. I cook dinner nearly every night and have a tendency to get in ruts with food. Working a full-time job but finding dinner important, it’s just too easy for me to run into Publix and get the same thing over and over that I can make with my eyes closed. Food is meant to be enjoyed, and there are always stories behind recipes. I aim to spend time with each of these books, and share with you my experience in cooking from them, and what I took from the stories they shared.
The Books:
I’m not going to give the exhaustive list here, but the highlights include:
A handful of regional, fundraiser, church, and local cookbooks (most have been given to me by my Uncle and they formerly belonged to his mother, so I am completely unaware of what awesomeness they contain)
Several older versions of Southern Living Cookbooks, including a few specialized, focused books
Some canning cookbooks
A Thai cookbook (true story, no idea where this came from. I might have stolen it from my mom).
Pioneer Woman, Trisha Yearwood, Giada de Laurentis, and several other Food Network Stars that I appreciate.
“Mastering the Art of French Cooking” (Guess I get to have my own Julie & Julia moment).
The Challenges:
A notoriously picky husband whom will have to eat what I cook (or go to Burger King and have it his way, but that is obviously not the goal)
Baking = not my forte. Since I have 3-4 books solely focused on baking, this could get interesting.
Restricted diet – I have given up eating a number of things in an effort to be healthier in 2018. On Day Two of The Julie/ Julia Project, upon completing Julia Child’s recipe for Quiche Lorraine, Julie Powell wrote “Oh Sh*t, I’m going to gain 50 pounds this year aren’t I?” Well, not this girl. Luckily, I have 61 books I can pull recipes from so I won’t have to solely focus on French Cuisine. Unluckily, most of them are heavily influenced by southern cooking & cuisine (don’t hate, I like Buttah ya’ll). I will have to get creative on this front.
So, there’s the goal. We will be having our first post tomorrow morning with breakfast!