Cookbooks Are Better Than Scrapbooks

Did you know that Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady of Song and queen of jazz vocals, collected cookbooks? After she died in 1996 twelve cartons of her cookbooks were donated to the Schlesinger Library on the Radcliffe campus at Harvard University.

I read an article years ago about how Ella loved to collect cookbooks from where ever she went. What I remember most about this article was that it talked about how she wrote in her cookbooks. She had a grading system for recipes she loved, liked or hated. Additionally, she'd write a note about when and with whom she made a certain dish. She noted celebrations, dinner parties and casual get-togethers. When books were borrowed she'd encourage the borrower to make notes as to their feelings about the dish, if they changed anything and how it worked, in addition to where they served it and with whom. The end result was a wonderful collection of memories set amongst a collection of recipes that span the globe and many decades.

After reading that article I started doing the same thing in my own cookbooks. I forget to do it from time to time but have decided to make more of a concerted effort going forward. It really is cool to pull out a recipe and have a reminder of the last time you used it. Parties, family celebrations and meals with good friends are all recorded among my recipes.

Why am I musing on cookbooks today? Could it be that I started the Fat Flush Plan yesterday and am sitting here sipping the 27th ounce of the 64 daily ounces of unsweetened cranberry water I have to swig back today? Hmmm...there may be a connection.