My first real cooking experience was when I was six and was given an Easy-Bake Oven® for Christmas. But in order to bake that cake I had to follow the “recipe.” That is I had to pour the mix into a bowl and measure the correct amount of water, stir it up, pour it into the pan and bake it for the correct amount of time.
As I got older, my parents and both of my grand-mothers taught me how to cook different things. My dad taught me to make milk gravy, something my mother could never quite get the hang of doing.
As I grew into an adult and had a family of my own, I learned to cook different things by searching cookbooks for different recipes. Over time, I developed my own style of doing things. I found not all recipes are the same, as I’ve illustrated in some of my previous posts. I have also learned that not every cook cooks the same way. This is one of the reason why I have a shelf full of cookbooks, a file box full of recipes, and a notebook that contains printed recipes from the web. I also search many websites for different recipes. 
Cookbooks are wonderful things. They not only contain these wonderful recipes, but many also give advice on how to make something, contain photographs of what the end result should look like, lists tables of conversions, and have information about ingredients. When getting a new cookbook, I do look at the recipes, but I also read about the techniques used.
My favorite cookbook is the “Joy of Cooking." This book is a kitchen bible of sorts. Yes, it does contain many recipes, but it also gives great technique as well. I’ve learned a lot from reading this book and in my opinion every kitchen should have one.
In the comment section below, please feel free to list your favorite cookbook, comments or other suggestions.
I loved easy bake, and I'm not afraid to admit it.
ReplyDeleteOne of my sisters got it for a christmas, and I eventually convinced her to let me try something she made. I tried it, liked it, and she made stuff for me all the time afterwards.
Just a short, quick story I had to share.
I like the look of your blog, too!
With you mentioning Easy-Bake Oven, it brought back some good and fun memories. It was so easy to bake and this made me feel independent. I don't really get the time to cook because I am always running back and forth to places, when I get the time I would love to try some of your recipes. When I read your blog, you give great visuals to engage readers and I continue to look forward to your future posts. I love how you changed your background to fit the theme of your blog.
ReplyDeleteIt might be odd to admit this, but I also fooled around with an easy bake oven. The cake was incredible.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had the opportunity still (I do, but I live in the dorms) to mess around in the kitchen and make something. I'm often quite reserved with making food, so I stick to the same four or five things. However, the variations between those select few is enormous. If I ever want to add a bit of flavor, I'd glue myself to the internet for an hour and look at the hundreds of recipes out there for an egg.
Uh-oh, you missed some:
ReplyDeleteAs I got older (COMMA) my parents and both of my grand-mothers taught me how to cook different things. My dad taught me to make milk gravy (COMMA) something my mother could never quite get the hang of doing.
I was quite curious to see where the link to Easy Bake Oven would take me.
Dan's idea for hundreds of recipes for an egg is a good one.
Looks like we have some of the same cookbooks. Grace is also fond of her Joy of Cooking volume. I think the Gooseberry Patch series is her favorite (http://www.gooseberrypatch.com/). I tend to go with the Internet.
Dr C
Fixed and thank you. Dang, I'm not sure how I missed those. I will have to look into the Gooseberry Patch series.
DeleteI received my first cookbook at my wedding shower. Even though I have accumulated many over the years, that first one remains my go-to. It's The New Doubleday Cookbook (Anderson & Hanna). It is just a good, basic, kitchen essential cookbook. I also love the yearly Southern Living cookbooks.
ReplyDelete