Cookbooks

There is something nostalgic and self-reflective about revisiting my old cookbooks that have been gathering dust on my shelf. Recently I decided to flip through them. As I went through I found notes I had written marking recipes that had once been favorites. I saw recipes with new eyes and taste buds as our eating habits have changed over time. Things that I had looked over before are now things that I want to try.

As the kids have grown, and life experiences have happened, we have been able to expand horizons and discover new tastes we enjoy. Up until our son was about 8 years old, appetizers never fit into our meal plan, and now we regularly make them at home or order them when we’re out. Living and traveling in Europe for three years introduced us to cheeses we have grown to love and are now staple finds in our fridge.

But the old favorites come back into view as well. The recipe for graham crackers that my son loved so much that he picked it for his contribution to his preschool classroom cookbook. Or the Jewish recipes that have introduced me to parts of my culture that I knew nothing about.

Food has become a way for me to share new experiences and new knowledge with my family and myself. And now that I see some new things in our old books, it is like getting a new cookbook all over again.