Getting Lost In A Book…A Cookbook

I don’t have a ton of ‘free time’ but when a small window of time presents itself, one of my favorite things to do is to get lost in a book.  A cookbook, that is.

I’m not one to collect ‘things’; in fact, those who know me are well aware that my house and surroundings are the antithesis of cluttered.  However, I do have one thing I treasure; a cookbook collection.

A treasure trove of old like my grandmother’s 1950’s Vintage Better Homes & Gardens (red and white checkered) New Cook Book, classic (like Julia Child’s et al.  Mastering the Art of French Cooking, coffee-table worthy, like Thomas Keller’s French Laundry, or uber modern like Nathan Myhrvold’s Modernist Cuisine Series is merely the tip of the iceberg in the collection I’ve been building over the years.

Pouring through the pages, I’m transported to the French countryside, or perhaps  whisked away to Napa Valley in my mind… talk about  a source of inspiration about what to make for supper!

But wait!  How and why would I be perusing through tombs that are so clearly not Paleo?  Isn’t everything in Mrs. Child’s book heaped high with rich, cheese sauces and butter?  And isn’t the typical offering in Better Homes & Gardens based on fry this, breadcrumb that?

Yes, maybe so, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t wonderful, rich resources for ideas, technique and methodology.  Once you play around in the kitchen more and more and learn to be a savvy Paleo-izer, you’ll see that books of this nature come in handy time and time again.

I love preparing French (Paleoized) cuisine as well as that which hails from any other region of the world.  It’s a literal culinary adventure, without leaving your home city!

So, if you’re new to Paleo and doing your kitchen clean out, do NOT give your cookbooks away to the library.  With the exception of very few books, you’ll be happy you saved all of them as you refer to them countless times to come.