I don’t know when I decided I wanted a curated collection of cookbooks, but that’s what I’m about these days. Since I graduated high school and set out on my own, I’ve been collecting a myriad of gifted and impulsively purchased cookbooks. When I got my first apartment, my mother gave me a copy of Better Homes & Garden’s New Cook Book (a staple in my family). I mistakenly loaned that copy out years ago and never saw it again. Perhaps to fill the void, I started collecting an assortment of cookbooks that have mostly collected dust on a shelf. Some are complete novelty cookbooks, some are only filled with recipes I seem to hate. For while, I even had that Gwyneth Paltrow cookbook (you know the one) with the impossible to find and afford ingredients.
When moving into my current home, my husband and I had to purge a LOT of clutter and unwanted items. Downsizing is difficult, but necessary at times. One of the many items we needed to cut down on was our book collection. No grand, Beauty and the Beast style waited behind our front door. Just two IKEA bookcases that were on the verge of busting. A surprising amount of books in our possession fell into the Cookbook genre. I couldn’t believe how many unwanted cookbooks we’d acquired over the years, yet sorting and purging them was still tough and we probably kept more than we should have.
I decided I wanted a more relatable set of cookbooks in my collection. Only books that I really connected to and cherished. Since then, I’ve added a few special books that I’d like to hang onto forever. I’ve given others away to friends and family in hopes they can serve those households better. Cookbooks feel so magical in nature. Like all spell books, they hold the key to what ails you, be it a broken heart or runny nose.
Here’s a snippet of my current shelf faves. What’s on yours?
- The Book of Kitchen Witchery – Cerridwen Greenleaf
- Kitchen Witchery – Laurel Woodward
- A Tea Witch’s Grimoire – S.M. Harlow
- Mastering the Art of French Cooking – Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck
- Eat & Make – Paul Lowe
- Better Homes & Garden New Cook Book (14th edition, I repurchased recently after finding it at a used book store)
I plan to make updates to this list when the right book falls on my lap and into my collection. Until next time!
a practical home 