Or, how to get out of the boring meal rut.
One of the best kept secrets of any long term cook is the stash of old recipes. Really. You might be tempted to say that the collection of Mom or Grandmom’s favorites is a great resource, but I would suggest that you take a leaf from Mom or Grandmom and check out their favorite resources. Old cookbooks.
I can hear you, but bear with me.
What we might call ‘vintage’ was state of the art in their day. They were the showcase of the latest method, available ingredients, and (believe it or not) fashion of their day. And all of that changes far more often than we might think.
Decades ago I bought a huge 3 ring binder cookbook from a favorite household magazine of the day only to discover that every single page required processed foods. Boxes. Cans. Freezer containers. You name it. It really was a reflection of the idea of how mainstream folks cooked at that time. It was worthless to me.
While the latest and greatest might be fun for a bit, I find I like to check out recipes from times where money was tight (sound familiar?), available foods were mostly seasonal, and the flavor profile was less In Your Face.
I love catching Glen And Friends on Sunday morning where Glen dives into a vintage recipe. He comes up with some seriously interesting stuff. He seasons it with Good To Know Information and tops it off with encouragement to play in your own kitchen.
I also like to browse the used bookstores and find some cookbooks that pique my interesting. I have also been indulging in some books and magazines via Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited subscription feature. I’ve been able to browse lots of cookbooks and magazines to find those that I want to own and weed out the ones I don’t.
Vintage recipes give me options that add something interesting to my meal plans and often don’t break the budget.
Happy browsing!
