As most foodies are – we love talking about food, making food, reading about food – pretty much anything to do with food. I’m especially fond of cookbooks. I’ve been collecting them for a long time. And although I have a lot of new cookbooks by my favorite food bloggers, I absolutely love older cookbooks.
I once was at an Estate sale and happened upon a table of cookbooks. As I was looking through them, I found a gem! It was a binder filled with notes about recipes, newspaper clippings, favorite recipes, recipes for dinner parties, etc… I asked the person running the Estate sale if it was a mistake that a lifetime of kitchen notes was in the pile of cookbooks and she said the family didn’t want it… what?!?!!? I gladly paid the $1.00 for it and it’s now in my collection.
Recently I met a new co-worker at my job (Hi Tom!). And soon after he started I was assigned to work on a project with him. We of course started learning about each other and after I mentioned that I’m a food blogger on the side he said his Mother wrote a cookbook…..at the age of 90!!! She just passed away last year at the age of 98. It definitely goes to show – you are never too late to start something you are passionate about!
I asked him about the cookbook and if he could please bring it in so I could read it. Once he told me the title – I was a fan! “I Can’t Cook with My Sneakers On” – apparently Ms. June Stat liked to dress up before entering the kitchen. My co-worker said that you knew she was going to get to business in the kitchen based on what she was wearing.
He also mentioned it was ironic that she wrote a cookbook because she tweaked recipes so many times, she never made the same dish twice!
This is the cover of the book – it’s spiral bound and the best part is the bottom has a kind of stand so you can prop the book on the counter and flip through the pages – super clever June!
I’m sharing a few recipes that sound amazing from her book.
What a treasure this cookbook is to her family. Lots of memories and a lifetime of fun in the kitchen. Thanks to my co-worker Tom for sharing your mother’s stories with me as well as her love for cooking. I so enjoyed reading all these recipes – and especially love the “notes” she added for each one.
If you have older members of your family – ask them to write down a few of their favorite recipes before it’s too late!
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