Cook Books and Cooking Influences...

Before I came away to Wales, I took a few photos of my cookbooks...


This shelf is a double layer....

...and the other two are single layers...

...However, this is not the extent of the cook books I own!!! There are a couple of Carrier bags full that are on loan to friends, and a tub up in our loft room that is probably 2/3 full of them too!!! Plus the ones on the book shelves in the lounge!!!


I wonder, do I actually need so many?? Probably not!! Am I addicted to them?? Definitely!! Do I use them all?...NO!!! So why keep buying them?? The ones most used tend to be the oldest...ones that my Mum bought me when I was a student starting to fend for myself...they may be old, but I really think they are the best...Another one that I use a great deal is the note book that Mum started for me as I left home at 18...she filled it with all the recipes of hers I liked and were (at that time) easy enough for me to cope with!!


I still use it to this day, and have added to it over the years...with recipes of my own...I went out and bought two notebooks myself a little while ago with the intention of doing a similar thing for my two children for the time they eventually fly the nest...why not pass on mine?? Two reasons, there's only one and I have two children...and most importantly, it's mine from my Mum...and I don't want to give it away, it's way to precious!!! My Mum was and is the biggest influence on my cooking style...in her time she has lived in Malta and Singapore as well as UK...she now lives in Greece, and I still call her and get her to email me recipes that she's made for us on holidays, or passed on by friends out  there...She has a huge repertoire herself, and I have regularly tapped into that knowledge as I have grown up...I hope that my children will use my knowledge in the same way!!


Of course there are chefs and cookery writers that I admire and dip into their books from time to time...but these days the internet is also a huge source of information on the cooking front...one that I regularly consult for ideas and information on techniques etc...but ultimately I don't think you can beat the experience that comes form helping and watching your Mum, or Nan, or other family member...our kitchen at home when I was a teenager onwards, was truly the hub of our home...even my friends would come and sit there, chatting to Mum as she prepared and cooked our dinners...and I know that she gets my two helping out or making cakes whenever she comes to stay, or when we go to hers...Thanks Mum xx