Oh, What a Find!

So last Saturday I was out on an errand and decided to treat myself to what my husband calls my "shiny places" for a bit of fun. "Shiny Places" are places that you just loose time in, the phrase coming from the "deer in the headlights" type of hyponosis that happens in a place that I enjoy... i.e. craft stores, bookstores and in this case, an antique shop.

I'm not in for antiques for the sake of antiques.... the older I get the more nostalgic I get.
I wasn't looking for anything in particular but then I found it.

 

                                                THIS!

This is my mother's 1961 Betty Crocker Cookbook. This is the golden chalice, the sword in the stone.



My mother bought this cookbook when she was in high school. Not only did she learn to cook out of it but so did I and my nieces. Why is this cookbooks so spectacular? Well, because it was written almost like a storybook with inserts about housewives long forgotten who submitted these recipes and what they loved about it.





It has helpful hints and directions on purchasing food and preparing food.

 

SERVE WITH A FLAIR!

 

But perhaps the reason I love the books so much is because like all cookbooks (and I collect LOTS of cookbooks), it shows a snapshot of a particular point in time.













APPETIZERS!

NEW ADVENTURES IN COOKY MAKING!



 

Cookbooks offer us a glimpse in time as to what life was really like and what was valued and cherished. Memories of mom or dad cooking something not only to fill our bellies but to build memories. As Louise Fresco said:




Food, in the end, in our own tradition, is something  holy. It's not about nutrients and calories. It's about sharing. It's about honesty. It's about identity.