THE book

I have a treasure trove of cookbooks. I can sit and browse through them for hours. I even have one that I will probably never make a single thing out of, but I love the chef and the food looks so pretty..... but my secret weapon is... MY BOOK.

Not just any book... a book full of old favorite recipes that have been tweaked and made to suit my tastes... peppered with new stuff that sounds good and I have yet to work my magic on.

There is only one rule for THE BOOK. Its a very simple rule that I have found to serve me well. **** The recipe has to fit onto an index card.*****

Some are hand copied out of cookbooks or magazines. Some have been cut and pasted. But all fit onto an index card. The theory is if it has too many ingredients or too many steps to fit, then it is too complicated for my everyday life.

Now don't get me wrong... I do cook complicated dishes that have 20 ingredients. Just not everyday. (Actually I don't cook everyday, but you know what I mean). But THE BOOK has everything I need in it. Appetizers, breakfasts, soups, meat dishes, desserts, drinks, and even some all natural beauty product recipes.

I used to have all of these cards in an index card box. But when I wanted to browse for something to cook, it was kinda disorganized... hard to compare more than one recipe without pulling them all out. So a few years ago, I bought a thick 3 leather bound 3 ring binder meant for photographs. And I bought an insane amount of 4x6 photo pocket pages ( 4 to a page). And I sat down to organize. Thus THE BOOK was born.

I don't have any fancy labels or category dividers. Everything is organized in a system that makes sense to me. Food gifts are first- like Cookie Mix in a Jar. Followed by Appetizers and Snacks. Then Breakfast, Soups and Sandwiches. Main Dish Meats come next, all beef together and so forth. Veggies trail behind, with Breads to round it off. Desserts, which I have to admit, is the largest section comes before Drinks. I know where everything is and can flip back and forth while I make up my mind on what to serve on any given day.

Some recipes are 20 years or more older. Some just got a place in THE BOOK this week. Some have been made so many times I really don't need the card anymore because I have it memorized. Others have yet to be experienced. About once a year I go through them and toss out the ones that are no longer make the cut. Things I haven't made in a few years or that I have found a better recipe for.

THE BOOK is the heart of my kitchen. And it is like that special blanket you carried around as a child (and my 8 year old still does), it comforts me to thumb through the pages. Many of my recipes have wonderful memories attached to them. And the ones that are new... I have high hopes for them... So I guess it is fitting that THE BOOK is actually a photo album on steroids.

But don't try to steal my BOOK. The secret recipes are somewhere else entirely!!!