Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook "Rescuer"


I call myself the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook "Rescuer". Almost all of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbooks you see on my hutch belonged to either Mother "B", Dorothy, my mother-in-law, Rosemary, my mother... or me! They are basically "retired" books. I love to read through them though and see how much the eating habits of Americans have changed. Wow! There is a huge, huge difference in the way we eat.. thank goodness. Gone are the rich sauces and much of the frying that used to go on in our kitchens.
I rarely can resist a Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook  in an antique store. I have to go through one page by page and if the former owner of the book has written any notes and drawn a star by a recipe, I have to have it! I invision a Betty Crocker-type woman in her Better Homes and Gardens kitchen preparing the recipe for a perfect family, waiting not so patiently. Oh well... it's only a vision and I do realize that the woman was probably a lot like me, desperate for something new, a little different and not terribly complicated... and something I already have all the ingredients for in my kitchen. The books usually cost only about $12, so it is not a major expense. I just feel that this faithful cookbook needs a good place to retire. Don't we ALL!

My cookbooks


I have this thing about cookbooks. If it's all neat and pretty... couldn't be all that good! Know what I mean? It needs to be stained with tomato, oil, chili powder, vanilla... the common ingredients for mixing up some favorite and tasty delight. I like to make notes on some of my recipes... when I prepared the dish and for whom.. and if it was someone's favorite. This particular picture shows a page from Cooking from the Heart and it is a recipe that belonged to my paternal grandmother, Mother "B".... who when I was a very little girl, would call "Bum Bean". She was a great cook! And in future postings I will feature a cookbook that my mother made just with Mother B's recipes. It's a lovely cookbook, full of great Texas recipes and old pictures. So be sure to check in periodically since I'm not sure when I will highlight this wonderful cookbook.


Monday, September 28, 2009

"Cooking from the Heart" by NJ and Karen



A little change of pace... Here is my all-time favorite cookbook! Cooking from the Heart. It's mine. My dear cousin, Norma Jean, and I compiled our favorite family recipes in 1988. "NJ" as she is known by, embroidered first name initials on each book. Amazing woman! I did the typing, using a new computer... my first one. My cookbook is falling apart as you can see, but although it's beauty has nearly disappeared there is so much on the inside. NJ's mother, my Godmother, and my own mother, illustrated the cookbook and contributed many wonderful recipes. NJ and I dedicated the cookbook to our mothers... the best cooks we've ever known!

The new look in the family room




This is how things looked early this morning... complete with the magazine rack out of place and my husband's breakfast plate still on the lamp table. Oh well.. that's life, right? Notice my new wood floors and my new rug? We still have to finish the flooring around the fireplace. I would like to say it will be marble, but we have yet to get the estimate. Will work on that today. I would never have put that white chair in this room but when the flooring men put things back, this chair somehow ended up there... and ya know... I sorta like it. It's very old and would need to be recovered, but I am considering it. It came from my grandmother's (remember reading about Jean?) home in Dickinson, Texas. She was so determined that I would inherit this chair that she wrote my name on the back in Magic Marker. Oh well....
Onward...

My "autographed" chair!
Not sure I want to cover this up...

Friday, September 25, 2009

China cabinet - help needed!


This is what the inside of one side of my china cabinet looks like. I think it looks boring. How do you have yours set up? I wish some of you in "blogger land" would post pictures of your china cabinet so I can get some ideas. Thanks!

Good News!

We are so blessed. Our daughter-in-law, Marcela, does not have cancer.
Thank you, God. And we thank everyone for your prayers. God is good!