It's a hugely daunting project because A. how do you decide if a recipe is a keeper? Some are obvious but others are borderline and B. I cook a lot. I bake even more. I have a lot of recipes. This is going to take forever.
But I know I'll love it when it's done and I kind of like that I'll have them all in one place and ready to go when my kids are grown and leaving home. I'll just make them their own (very manly) recipe binder and wherever they go they will have the closest thing to mom's home cooking right there with them (and they will totally have the skills to cook everything in there because I will have taught them). Plus now my recipes will all be in the same font and format and that suits my crazy ADD organizational side just fine.
As I was typing out pages and pages of recipes my mind wandered to another category of "keepers" I've been pondering. I'm a very devoted patron of our local library but lately I've been thinking that there are a few books that I'd like to own copies of for our personal library. I'm almost 500 pages into the 1000+ page behemoth that is Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind and I'm already looking forward to reading it again. That's probably a good sign that I should own my own copy. I got Jane Austen's Persuasion because, well, it reduced me to a puddle of sighing goo when I read it. Books like that should just always be on hand.
So, my burning question: what are your keepers? What recipes will you be passing to your children? What books have a special permanent place in your library?
And FYI, the very first recipe in my binder is for these waffles. Deeeevine. Unfortunately, our waffle maker went to that great Waffle House in the sky this weekend while only HALFWAY THROUGH a batch and I just about threw myself to the floor in despair. They are that good. And now I'm scrambling to find myself a new waffle maker.
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This book. The whole thing.
http://www.amazon.com/Betty-Crockers-Cooky-Crocker-Editors/dp/0764566377
Every recipe is so, so good. I think this book used to be out of print, so I guarded my copy quite jealously, but seeing the price on Amazon it must be either a newer edition than mine or a reprint.
http://itwasamazing.blogspot.com/2008/06/mommas-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
I have a similar project that I want to do. I am sick of walking all the way to the computer, memorizing a few ingredients, and then walking all the way back to the kitchen only to find that I can't remember if it is baking powder or baking soda.
I have so many keepers too. I demand a list of yours when you are done : )
Oh how I would love a digital copy of your keepers. I'm trying to decide which of my books to keep and which to chuck before the move.
I'm about to tackle Gone With The Wind myself for the first time - it's our August book club selection. Let me know if you want to come share your insights! We always welcome visitors and new people. :)
As far as keeper books, I don't re-read very many, but that doesn't stop me from keeping them just in case. I guess my tentative rule of thumb is that if I would give a book five stars on Goodreads, I'll keep it. If it's a book that I feel my kids MUST read some day, I'll keep it. If it's a book that I love to lend out because it's so good and I just want to share the joy, I'll keep it. I'm like you - I use the library a lot, so there are books that I'd like to own but haven't got around to buying yet. There are also PLENTY of books that I own that I could probably do without. (But I like having shelves full of books.) Some of my definite keepers are everything by Jane Austen, the Harry Potter books, Wild Swans by Jung Chang, The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith ... and lots of others. I also tend never to get rid of classics.
Oh books. How I could go on and on (and on) about you. And I didn't even get to the recipe stuff. (Another time maybe. :)
Isn't Gone with the Wind the best thing ever? I've read it several times - my copy was so dogeared (no idea where it is now).
Holy cow, Kayla, I'm in the process of doing the EXACT same thing here at my house. The typing...oh the typing! Binders and page protectors have already been purchased. I can't wait to see your recipes!
Mmm...Gone With the Wind. My first read actually caused me so much pain I haven't been able to read it again, but it's made 5 moves with me, so maybe someday.
P.S. While it appears not to be a very original idea (I've heard about it in many places since), I was really jealous of my roommate who had a book like that from her mom, complete with annotations: *the recipe calls for pork but we always preferred it with chikcen, etc. I don't think you'll regret doing this.
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