Do you ever use a cookbook anymore?
@GardenGerty (160488)
United States
December 4, 2010 4:53pm CST
I have lots of cookbooks, but I usually go online when I want a recipe. I then print them out, and keep them loose.If I use them a lot I memorize the recipe. I also have things I cook, like cornbread, without a recipe.
I just went to get a cookbook to get a recipe for a friend online here, to go with my other discussion. I had forgotten how much this particular cookbook feels like an old friend. It is a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, the old red plaid one. It is the first cookbook I ever bought. I was given one or two before I got it, but my Mother in law used this one a lot, and I had to have one. The recipe I looked up was for Breakfast Cocoa. I am remembering making this from scratch. Have you ever done this?
1/3 C regular baking cocoa, 1/3 C sugar, dash of salt. 1/2 C. water. 3 1/2 C milk. 1/2 tsp vanilla.
In a heavy sauce pan stir together cocoa, sugar and salt. Stir in water, bring to a boil for one minute.Add milk, continue heating until hot through, but do not boil. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, and serve.
I may do this tomorrow.
Does reading old fashioned recipes make you nostalgic?
13 people like this
51 responses
@celticeagle (165954)
• Boise, Idaho
4 Dec 10
And the ingredients you used to be able to get. I can't find any decent vanilla anymore. And cinnamon. It is so weak and doesn't smell like the old cinnamon I used to get. And chocolate. Dark chocolate is waxy now. It's all in the ingredients they use. If you dont have good ingredients it is all lost.
2 people like this
@Christmas2006 (1661)
• United States
5 Dec 10
You can buy watkins vanilla at WalMarts! Also you can order any of your watkins products direct through watkins. Funny I should come across this because I was just haveing a little fittie with Watkins because I couldn't find my pumpkin pie spice! and they have the very best puddings and gravy mixes...yes I am a watkins dealer too. although I think the end of January that may come to an end. As for the cinnamon, I get it at Sam's Club called Tone's. No one could tell when I used it and when I use Watkins. It is very good!
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
4 Dec 10
You might get better cinnamon in a health food store. Watkins vanilla would be your best bet, and I think you can get it online. Wal Mart even carried it for awhile. Or Mexican Vanilla. We have it in Wal Mart in the Hispanic foods section. Used to you had to know someone who would buy it for you and bring it back from Mexico. We actually have a Mexican food store in town now.
1 person likes this
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
5 Dec 10
I've actually made my own vanilla with vanilla beans and vodka, haven't used it yet, tho, because my husband has bought a bottle of the cheap stuff.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
4 Dec 10
I never go online for a recipe. I don't use recipes much but if i do i go to one of my cookbooks. Have a good night, GG.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
4 Dec 10
I really should use my cookbooks more.
1 person likes this
@SerdaYilmaz (1)
• Turkey
6 Dec 10
Whether online or from a cookbook it's difficult to decide if a recipe is real and tried. There are so many bogus recipes out there! I spend some time deciding if the recipe is reliable.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
6 Dec 10
Welcome to mylot. Serda. Hope u enjoy it as much as i do.
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
5 Dec 10
Do you know the name of the cookbook you were looking for? What was the recipe?
1 person likes this
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
5 Dec 10
Hi GG! I don't know which discussion came first this one or
your other "old fashioned foods" one. I do get nostalgic for
things from the past all the time. I call my Mom sometimes to
ask her about her recipes and she looks them up because she
isn't sure anymore. My Mom, God Bless will be 81 and is
gorgeous, looks like my sister (I'm 58 and she looks younger)
has all her faculties, but doesn't cook anymore. I still love
to cook her and my Grandma's recipes. You have me so in the
mood to cook or bake even though it's 10:40PM and I have to get
up early tomorrow to go Christmas Shopping with my bestest GF!
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
5 Dec 10
The other discussion was first, then Carol asked if I had the cocoa recipe, so I got out my book and wrote this discussion while I was at it. Hatley has just reminded me that I have a recipe for biscuits that I want to use. Masihi made me think of the cookbook my mom so very badly wanted to replace, before we knew about searching on the internet. I should be in bed, but I am here instead.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (222364)
• Chile
5 Dec 10
I almost never use cookbooks anymore. The web has so many recipes and they are so easy to see! Once in a while though, I check for some weird recipes at the Joy of Cooking. I love that book. I feel it has just about everything! I add a bit of cornflour in my cocoa and use cinnamon and clove instead of vanilla. It´s probably the spanish way.
Take care!
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
5 Dec 10
I think we call cornflour "cornstarch", and it would make the cocoa a little thicker and creamier. I know we can buy Mexican cocoa mix and it does have cinnamon in it. I love cinnamon and cloves with chocolate.
1 person likes this
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
5 Dec 10
I actually have a binder with my best recipes in them, stuff that I know which works out well for me. I have a few cookbooks, one that belonged to my husband's great-grandmother, I forget the title, but it's dated 1948, I think it's called The American Woman's Cookbook or something like that.
You can find old recipes online as well, I know I've found some old ones for homemade marshmallows (but I lost everything when I reformatted this computer) I now write everything down in my binder in large print for easy access.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
5 Dec 10
I get some really awesome recipes on Gather, another paid social site. Generally we do not do recipes here on MyLot because they do not always make for a discussion. I do once in awhile in context of a discussion post a recipe. I think I may go to A Libris and look for an old cookbook my mom lost in a fire. I love the combination of old and new, books and the internet, new recipes and traditional ones. When I print out recipes or techniques I put them in sheet protectors now to keep them clean.
1 person likes this
@Christmas2006 (1661)
• United States
5 Dec 10
I never use online recipes. The only cookbooks I use are the Better Homes and Garden, I have a collection of them, including the red& white plaid book! I gave one of them to each of my girls when they graduated high school and to my daughter n law when they got married!
2 people like this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
16 Dec 10
Yeah, going through Mum's old recipes a tear sometimes...especially when I find a handwritten recipe in her beautiful writing or one of the hospital Auxiliary Cookbooks where all the country women would donate their recipes and their names would be there too.
I have found Mum's amazing recipe for sweet and sour sauce that she would make whenever we had fresh fish. I've never tasted sweet and sour sauce that comes anywhere close to being as good as Mum's.
Sometimes I go online but I reckon I mostly use my own books or cards I've collected over the years.
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
16 Dec 10
There are a lot of memories that go with the tastes in the old cookbooks.
1 person likes this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
5 Dec 10
I do because there are some recipes that I know where they are and in which book I can find it in. I don't remember recipes like you do though, even if I were to make it over and over again, I would be afraid I'd forget something..lol
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
5 Dec 10
Cookbooks can be like old friends. good to have around.
1 person likes this
@bwaybaby (903)
• United States
4 Dec 10
I'm at college and don't cook often, so when I do I normally just check online. When I have my own place I think I really want to start cooking, and I plan on using a mixture of recipes found in books and on the web to create a collection of meals that I really like. My parents still use cookbooks- my dad loves to cook, so we have a lot of them in the house.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
4 Dec 10
I think they have set you a good example, by still cooking.
1 person likes this
@sulsisels (1685)
• United States
5 Dec 10
Hi H.. I love cookbooks. I have a fairly large collection that I've been putting together for years. I especially love the old ones. I have found some really neat ones at yardsales, thrift shops and even at the library when they have a sale. I have the red plaid book too and actually think it was one of my first many years ago. I also have a real old copy of The Joy of Cooking which was my Grandmothers and found many of Ukranian recipes in her handwriting. The only problem is that they are written in Ukranian so I have only translated a few of them. She was a wonderful cook and I think thats where I inherited my love of the same. Even though people use the internet for recipes these days, I have a feeling that the cook book will never go away completely. At least I hope not until I get mine published!!! Happy cooking...J
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
5 Dec 10
The way I understand it, when my grandmother was a girl, she was an orphan, and lived with her grandmother. They provided meals for the railroad when it was in their part of the country. My grandmother was a really good cook, and so was my mom.
1 person likes this
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
5 Dec 10
I do not use cook books as much any more as I really do not invest too much time in cooking like I use to. But occasionally I will and find that I have a great time doing so, as it feels like I am venturing into an unknown area.
But then when the meal comes out superb it gives me a great feeling that I accomplished something great that day. I too should do this more often but since it just my boyfriend and I at home sometimes we are so busy that we eat like mice and move on. LOL
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
5 Dec 10
I think we will always cook even when we are alone. Right now my son lives with us, and he was responsible for almost all the cooking and housework when he was married. (and he does not know how to cook, LOL) He appreciates the fact that I cook.
1 person likes this
@hippiemomdiaries (815)
• Philippines
5 Dec 10
I do use a cookbook sometimes, specially when the dish is really new to me. I don't really follow cookbooks to the letter. I make some improvisations here and there because there are certain required ingredients not available or hard to find in our country. I substitute it with locally available ingredients that almost have the same taste as of that indicated on the cookbook.
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
5 Dec 10
Hubby says his dad, who was a military cook, always said that recipes were just suggestions.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
5 Dec 10
I do get recipes online frequently. Especially for cuisines that I do not often cook. I also will check out library books to get recipes.
1 person likes this
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
6 Dec 10
My favorite cookbook is a old red and white plaid one. My mom gave it ot me after I married it was one of hers and since I liked and used it so much she gave it ot me. I loved it and cherished it but loaned it out to someone in my stepdad family and they refused to give it back.
so my mom ended up buying me one of those 3 ring ones till we could find another one like I had. 
The three ring was okay but nothing like my other one..and thankfully we found it again..
I use my cookbook more when I am cooking stuff I don't prepare often. But if it is the simple stuff I make month after month I don't use it. I will look up recipes in the book but if I don't find what I want..how how I want it I will go online and search and print it off and then put it in a binder for safe keeping and later use.
so my mom ended up buying me one of those 3 ring ones till we could find another one like I had. The three ring was okay but nothing like my other one..and thankfully we found it again.. I use my cookbook more when I am cooking stuff I don't prepare often. But if it is the simple stuff I make month after month I don't use it. I will look up recipes in the book but if I don't find what I want..how how I want it I will go online and search and print it off and then put it in a binder for safe keeping and later use.1 person likes this
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
7 Dec 10
I could spend hours drooling over recipes..lol..but they always make me hungry so I end up eating...with my mom it has the opposite effect she can be hungry and look at them and then be fine.
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
7 Dec 10
Yes, the wonderful Better Homes and Gardens. Mine is a binder style, and the recipes are great. I do a mix of using recipes and cookbooks and just going with my instincts. I like to read cookbooks for inspiration.
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
5 Jun 11
Well, it has become quite rare a lot of times to where people would be seen buying a New Cookbook and using them to cook something when anymore it is so easy to turn on a Cable channel and catch a cooking show which gives you all the directions on how to make something, or go online to find your favorite type of recipes as well. I know personally it is easier to just find what you want when you want it without having to search thru some cookbooks.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
5 Jun 11
I am wanting to compile a family cookbook with some of our favorites. I think it will be fun.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
5 Dec 10
hi GardenGerty I am stuck here waited on hand and foot, and cooked ofr. I miss not cooking the most. I still hace that red plaid Better Homes'abd Gardens cookbook and used to swear by it.Yes I have that cocoa one tool and I wish I had the recipe I used to use to make biscuits as I had memorized it. but the last time I used that it came out awful do
I do not know if Ihad the amounts wrong or if I had a baking powder cab that had lost its ability to make things rise.If and when I get into ou
own apartment again I am going to get a new recipe for baking posder biscuits.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
5 Dec 10
Now see, my favorite biscuit recipe has cream of tartar in it. I think it is in the red plaid book as well.
1 person likes this
@luvandpower (2048)
• United States
6 Dec 10
I have a few older cookbooks from older relatives. I never follow a recipe straight from the page though. I believe that a dish should always be experimented with for perfection.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
7 Dec 10
Some people say that recipes are mostly to be viewed as suggestions, rather than rules.
@luvandpower (2048)
• United States
8 Dec 10
Very true, you never can make the perfect chili, just near perfect.
@myswirlyagelessmind (379)
• Philippines
2 Jun 11
My mom has a lot of cookbooks as well, and we still use them to this day because the recipes are all tried and tested by our family. These days however, it's just so much easier to go online to search for new recipes, we just write our favorites down so we don't need to constantly use the computer.:)
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160488)
• United States
5 Jun 11
I will print out a recipe that I like from online. Then if I want to change it I will write it on the copy and personalize it.
