$50 Cookbook

My cousin in law at in all weathers recently posted a book review that reminded me of a cookbook a bought a couple of years ago.

When I was little my mom made the best pancakes and waffles. Although, waffles, not often enough...ahem. Anyway. She also made amazing cornbread. My favorite! All her recipes came from this one particular cookbook titled Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. It is a binder style book and the front cover looks like a red and white checkered picnic blanket.

Once when my parents were on vacation, their trailer caught on fire. {My uncle had a grease fire while he was staying there, but he was able to put the fire out and not get hurt thankfully} In the fire pictures melted off the wall, and this cookbook was charred. So every time my mom brought out this cookbook to make a recipe she would carefully turn pages so that she wouldn't damage the book further. And it was always "it's in the burnt cookbook" or "hand me the burnt cookbook". That's how we identified that book.

As I got older, I would even make some of the recipes. The cornbread, much to my delight, is so easy I don't know why anyone would buy one of those awful box mixes. {I'm quite the cornbread snob.}

When I was moving to our house in college, my mom wrote out some of the recipes for me to take. I really used them after I got married and moved into this house. I treasure these recipes not only for the memories, but also because they are written in my mom's hand.

Favorite Pancakes!

Everyday Waffles {and yes you should eat them everyday!}

A few years ago, probably when I realized through scrapbooking that damaged paper is not going to survive archivally-speaking, I decided to look for another copy of this cookbook to have. And also just because I really wanted my own copy. Needless to say, it was hard to find. BH&G has put out this cookbook several times! And I think there is even a brand-new New one floating around. But I wanted the old one with the old recipes and the old pictures. In the binder style. Finally I found one (with the same copyright date) on some old book site. I could buy it along with a BH&G Garden Book for fifty dollars. I ordered it. I am glad that I did, it's in really good shape and it brings back so many memories, even though the edges aren't torched.

A few weeks later of course I found one for three dollars at a garage sale, but who's counting?