Cookbooks I Have Loved

Keep your romance novels, I'd rather settle down with a good cookbook. It's not that I don't enjoy good fiction, it's just that I have so little self-discipline and am inclined to consume a book while neglecting all other responsibilities including things like sleep. It's ridiculous! It doesn't even have to be all that good. So I don't allow myself to indulge all that often. Cookbooks, however, make good reading and I can put them down. Cookbooks not only make good nighttime reading, they also can take you on great adventures in the kitchen.  Delicious dishes are just a recipe away!

While I'm always looking for a new cookbook, there are some that stand out. Splattered and worn, they have been beloved teachers and dear friends. Here are some of the cookbooks I have loved:


Betty Crocker's Cookbook
I received this book from my mother at one of my wedding showers. She had used a Betty Crocker Cookbook for years and she got me the latest edition.

Living in a Dry and Weary Land

There are a few bloom on the hibiscus
A brave daylily blooms in spite of the heat
We are living in a “dry and weary land.” The heat has been brutal and oppressive. There has been no rain for weeks. The garden whimpers. Even with watering, it is not pretty.

Sourdough Blueberry Pancakes Are Quite Good

Sourdough is an ancient way of causing a rising or growing action in dough or batters through fermentation. Before commercial yeast was available this is how most bread was made. Many pioneer families depended on sourdough as did the Yukon gold miners who were even called "sourdoughs." Since sourdough is a culture that is "fed" flour and water, it can be sustained for many years. Claims are made of sourdough maintained for a hundred years or more. 
Sourdough Blueberry Pancakes make a lovely weekend breakfast.

My sourdough is nowhere near that old, but I am thinking that I've kept it going since sometime in the 1990's, perhaps even earlier.

Our Family Game is Scrabble!


It’s Sunday afternoon at the Epp home. The morning church service is over and the evening service won’t begin until 7 p.m. Dinner (likely pot roast with potatoes and carrots eaten at noon) and dishes are done. Yes, naps may also be on the agenda for the adults, but first let’s get out the Scrabble game! Not everyone wants to play, but we have extra racks in our game so that the game is not limited to just four players. Grandma Schroeder always wants to play and so does Mom. Dad might if there aren’t any pressing chores. My brothers are good for a game and my sister usually plays as well. The in-laws have not all received the Scrabble gene so they may or may not play. In the box is a list of two-letter words and there are a couple of dictionaries stacked on top.