How to Live in Joy
Day 18: Rediscovering my love of reading old cookbooks
This piece is part of a 30 day series on finding joy every day in my home during lockdown here in Oregon. Things are slowly opening up, however we are still spending most of our time at home. We are finding little ways to enjoy our time and finding opportunities every day to find joy. I want to share with you the ways I have found to live in joy in the hope of sparking joy in your life as well.
Yesterday as I took a day off of writing I rediscovered the joy of reading old cookbooks. I wanted to relax in the evening and the other two books I was reading are not light reading. So, I decided to crack open James Beard’s American Cookery. This book is well loved. It is a hardcover, 877 page book and the cover has fallen off. There are many stains and spatters all over it. The sign of a well used and well loved cookbook!
I am in love with food. I always have been. I have a healthy obsession with it. Growing up I was lucky that I had free reign in the kitchen and was allowed to create anything I wanted. I learned with a little children’s recipe book that my mom was given when she was a child. My first recipe was “cinnamon toast.” I then gradated to lemonade, salad and then to more complicated dishes.
In my teen years I did a lot of the canning, jam making and baking in the family. I made my way through complicated Julia Child pastry recipes and looked forward to creating amazing dinner parties and celebrations with my skills. I loved making special cakes for my relative’s birthdays. One I remember is when I made a banana cake for my sweet grandma Marion’s birthday. She was nearing 90 years old and it was a very special time. She loved a simple banana cake with whipped cream icing and fresh bananas. It’s one you rarely see, but when I do, I remember her.
Lately I have found myself using my cookbooks more and more, rediscovering the joy of cooking new recipes out of them. I find that although I can find lots of recipes online, I have started to prefer using my old books. I can find what I need without scrolling or trying to avoid ads or videos. I can go down memory lane and remember the time I last made a recipe. I can feel and touch and experience the recipe in a very tactile way. I can imagine the original cook developing this recipe and the joy they felt when they created something delicious.
I have a long history of reading cookbooks, cover to cover. To me they are a fascinating adventure. The heros and heriones are flavors and ingredients. The instructions bring the story of the dish to life. I read through every detail. I imagine myself making the dish. I can see myself tasting it. Savoring each bite of delicious food. And, in the future being able to share this dish with guests.
What I particularly love about this James Beard cookbook is that it has a history of the dish written in several paragraphs before the recipe. The particular person famous for the recipe will sometimes be mentioned as well. For example, there is a recipe for Jeanne Owen’s Corn Bread. It is described as “The finest cornbread I have ever eaten” and that she was “a brilliant cook and a stalwart disciple of the art of good living.”
With each recipe I read, I am transported to another realm. I love to think of the people enjoying this dish around their family tables, just as we enjoyed our dinner tonight out of this cookbook. It is such a joy to create food as it nourishes us, sustains life and brings us such joy!
Cooking and enjoying food to me is much more than just creating “fuel” it is creating an art form that we can enjoy with all of our senses. When we eat a meal together as a family, we are creating memories and bonds that last a lifetime. Each recipe, one day at a time brings us to a place of happiness.
With lots of love and light,
Trista
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I wish joy and abundance today to Suntonu Bhadra who shared his daily joy even in the midst of lockdown in this beautiful article yesterday! Thank you for taking on the challenge!
Here is his lovely article:
