I’d rather sit down with an old cookbook than any reading material. The older, the better. I’ve downloaded free internet old cookbooks and that’s what I shop for at garage sales and thrift stores. On vacation at Williamsburg, you know what I bought. Our German exchange student’s mom sent a cookbook but it was in German before the age of google translate but it has nice pictures, lol. Even old home economics textbooks are fun. Many times, community published cookbooks have the person’s picture or an interesting write up on why they submitted the recipe. There are 4 generations of such in the kitchen cabinet. Others may come and go but my grandmother’s old Betty Crocker will always be with me.
Yes, many cookbooks are good for just READING.
I mentioned Gladys Taber; here is a post from Susan Branch’s blog (Susan is another person who writes lovely cookbooks that are also great for just reading) on her visit to Taber’s Stillmeadow Farm (you have to scroll down a bit, to get to the Stillmeadow part):
-JT
If you love cookbooks, try the Book of Cury, a medieval cookbook that is free on Kindle. I spend a lot of time writing and thinking about medieval history and this book has helped my knowledge. Our ancestors ate a very varied and exotic diet.
“I’d rather sit down with an old cookbook than any reading material. “
Same here. I read cookbooks for fun. The older ones with a historical note are the best.