Cookbook Confidential

Artwork by Adelina Lirius

I have a reading secret!  As you know (because I've told you), one of my favorite sections in the library is the nonfiction section.  I love the history, the biographies, the nature guides, the fairy tales, the drawing books...but there is one special nonfiction guilty reading pleasure I have that isn't on any shelf...

MENUS!

I love, love, LOVE looking at menus!  One of my greatest delights is to walk down the street in a new city and read all the menus I come across (they are usually posted in the restaurant windows)!  When I can't travel, I go online and research restaurants and imagine what I would order!  A good menu is fun to read.  It is well organized, has appetizing little lilts of language and descriptive prowess.  And when I can't read a menu, I love to read...

COOKBOOKS!

I didn't really know how to cook until I was in my twenties and someone explained to me that cooking is really a reading skill.  I have found it's true:  if you can read carefully and follow directions, you can cook!  Appreciate that writing cookbooks well takes a special skill, too:  you have to be very clear and detail-oriented and put things in a sensible order.

Old recipes in families are sometimes written down in handwriting from grandparents and are very beloved, like the people who wrote them.  Even though book care is important, you can tell when a recipe or cookbook is good because of the oil stains, dried frosting and gravy drips that come from being used often in a lively kitchen!  I bet someone in your family has a cooking specialty or a recipe that is so delicious that it is made again and again!

Here are a few of the books on my kitchen table when I eat breakfast:

La Bible de Sauces by Jerome Ferrer.  The title, in French, means "sauce bible."  I got this book in the city of Montreal in Canada and when I saw it, I was so excited I hopped up and down, because it is all in French and very hard to find in the United States.  It has over 1,000 recipes in it!  In the unlikely event I ever retire, I will make as many sauces as I can.  Meanwhile, sometimes I look at it to brush up on my French.

Speaking of French, I enjoy my big, honking copy of La Cuisine de France by Mapie, The Countess de Toulouse-Lautrec. That means "French kitchen." I read a lot of fancy French cookbooks and menus even though I mostly eat Mexican and Asian food, isn't that funny?  I got this one at a used book sale.  It's from the 1960's and has recipes that are unusual to me, like fish with bananas and roast Argentinian rabbit (which Grabby Bunny does not like at all).  I don't usually cook from this book because so many of the recipes are so ambitious, but I do like to read it and think about how cooking and eating change with the times.  Besides, wouldn't it be fun to be a count or a countess, like the author?  You can call yourself that, nobody will really know otherwise these days.

Leave Me Alone with the Recipes:  The Life, Art and Cookbook of Cipe Pineles edited by Sarah Rich and friends is a mix of a cookbook and the life story of a woman who not only liked to cook but liked to draw pictures of food!  If you have ever been lucky enough to go to a farmer's market, maybe you noticed that food can be very beautiful.  Have you ever tried to draw a fruit or vegetable or a loaf of bread like Cipe did?  Food sits still, so it makes a very good model.

Did you know there are lots of good cookbooks just for kids?  They usually have really clear instructions and not too many ingredients.  I'm sure you could be a better cook than I was at your age. Just make sure you that you have an adult's permission to work in the kitchen, learn with an adult nearby and please be extra careful around stoves and knives (which aren't too dangerous once you learn to use them, but they are part of why you need a grown-up's help at first). Then have a look at these:

Pretend Soup by Molly Katzen.  Read the E-book here.  The author ran a famous vegetarian restaurant called The Moosewood.  If you have never ever ever used a cookbook before, this is a great place to start.  Anyone can cook using this book, even kids in kindergarten, because it has clear pictures for every step. You barely need to know how to read! If you like it, she wrote two more:  Honest Pretzels and Salad People.  

Another good place to start to learn to cook is by using the books by Deanna F. Cook (isn't that a great name for a cook book author?),  Cooking Class and Baking Class.  Her directions are so clear and there are photographs to help guide you.  It's like going to a fancy cooking class in a book!  

 

Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls is old-fashioned, but you know I like things that are oldies but goodies.  There is a sensible mix of recipes, from basic sandwiches to imaginative celebrations, and the cakes inside will make you want to throw a party!  There are lots of very clear step-by-step illustrations.  You can impress and delight your family with what you learn in this book.

Maybe you have noticed in your remote learning adventure that when you really dive into something you are really interested in and go deep, all the subjects are connected.  Cooking is tied to history, travel, culture and adventure, math (for measuring) and science (cooking and baking are chemistry in action!) and our relationships with animals and everything that grows.  In the coming week, I will share with you more books about food and the people who prepare it.

Meanwhile, please consider taking the school library Cookbook Challenge, or share a photo of yourself with your favorite cookbook or recipe!  And remember, reading is all around us, not just in chapter books.

Happy reading and eating!