lazy_lurker's Profile

Two things have helped me to make full use of my 100+ cookbook library.

The first is cookbooker.com. This (free) website lets you keep track of the recipes you've made (from blogs, too), and read other people's reviews. It helps me to keep track of my favorites (and possibly even more important, avoid recipes with errors).

The second is EatYourBooks. I pay for a subscription - it indexes the major ingredients for recipes from cookbooks, magazines, and blogs. So if you wonder what to do with the 10 lbs of carrots your DH brought home from the market, this tool will let you find all the carrot-containing recipes, and you can select specific recipe types (e.g. soup).

I use the public library for most of my cookbook infatuation, and very selectively add about 2-3 books/yr to my library. I think, though, that I eat healthier foods, and teach my kids about cooking, so for me, its money/space well spent.

And cookbook clubs - are amazing. Mine has been going for 18 months, monthly dinners with a great group of friends, all courses from a single cookbook.

I say agree with strategy #1 -- own it!

I'm with Rebeca S, Sprouted Kitchen and 101 cookbooks.
But I'm definitely checking out all these other suggestions.

I prepared this for dinner tonight, having to sub in frozen peas as our local sugarsnap peas are not yet ready for harvest. Nevertheless, it was delicious. Fresh tasting, healthy, nutritious -- and even the teenagers liked it. I cooked the quinoa the night before, making this an easy mid-week meal. Oh - and I roasted the asparagus rather than boil.
It could use a bit more punch - such as pepper - and use plenty of lemon juice.

Sheesh... The water applied to the roots does make it to the leaves. Spraying can certainly help your plant, it does so by increasing the humidity in your plant's microclimate, thereby decreasing transpiration (water loss through stomata - little pores in the plant's epidermis).

To minimize chlorine, I fill my watering can after watering, and use water that has sat for at least a day.

The Coffee Blond Brownies from the Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook are amazing. The coffee cuts their richness and plays well the the caramel notes from the brown sugar. It is my most-requested recipe.

Anyone out there tried a Brand Alexander? Creme de cacao, brandy, and milk (1:1:2), shaken and strained. A shaving of nutmeg seals the deal.

The original recipe calls for heavy cream, but I'm quite happy with one made from skim milk.

I love my Hudson Bay Blanket, but never know where to stash it in the summer. Now i know -- on the wall. Lovely tour.

I'd very much like to do this in my new kitchen. As a short person, putting dishes in cabinets can require a footstool. This seems like a perfect solution.

@hmo - you have deep drawers, but do you keep your plates and other dishes in them?

Buttermilk panna cotta is amazing, and you can eliminate the cream, making it low fat.

@AnnaK -- yes I do go to Black Cherry Market, and I just noticed their licorice water this weekend! I also like the Pars market on Highland.
Small world!