Wednesday 17 February 2016

The old cookbook


My temper was frayed much like the pages of a much loved well read, frequently used book.

I wonder whether books think this way too for I am reminded of one that had been in the family for many years.

It was the Country Woman's cookbook dating back fifty years of more that my wife had picked up in a second hand bookshop so many years ago and was often given to new brides for tips on the basics in the culinary arts.

We have an expression in Australia that when something or someone goes missing that they have gone "Walkabout" which is an aboriginal term for one member of the tribe going off on their own to do their own thing in this vast country of ours.

Almost every home had a copy of this book and it would be supplemented by an assortment of recipes either cut out of the newspaper or magazines or even written in pencil and stuffed between the pages much like a turkey when stuffed too.

So I was looking for and couldn't find one particular recipe that was man friendly and flexible in it's interpretation as we do tend to take short cuts but sadly it was no longer on the bookshelf as it too had gone walkabout.

Image found at www.booktopia.com.au

10 comments:

  1. I still have a bbok quite similar to yours ... My parents got it 70 yeRs ago as a wedding gift. It has so manyextra recipes stuffed between pages that i keep it tied with a ribbon to keep everything in.

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  2. Sorry your book went missing. In my family, it's a Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook that is handed down, i have my grandmother's copy.

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  3. The recipes in my book, the ones with the spills and splotches are the best ones. Lovely story.

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  4. This is just lovely, so homie, so nostalgic

    Thanks for dropping in to read mine

    much love...

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  5. I love that expression (to go) 'Walkabout'…. something open-ended, yet with the inference that from engaging in such an act, one can find new purpose.

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  6. we all get squeezed when things go unexpected!

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  7. Mine is my Betty Crocker cookbook, that my mom gave me about 35 years ago when I got my first apartment. Nice story!

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  8. In our family it's the Better Homes also. I don't think my mom has here anymore but my sister and I each got our own when we moved out. Great basic resource. Great memories.

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  9. We all need that special collection of recipes. Sadly my daughters will inherit a hodgepodge mess of a pile!

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  10. I have one identical to the one my Mom used, and also an updated version with today's products that weren't available then. Sadly, in my case, it is I who have gone "Walkabout" and rarely use cookbooks for meal preparation anymore. :-)

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