Cook Book Challenge

Some girls buy shoes, others buy handbags…

Me – I buy cookbooks.

I’m obsessed.

I have a shelf full of them and not a week goes buy without me wandering into a bookshop or browsing Amazon for the next addition to my family of books. 

It’s important to point out though that this isn’t an indiscriminate obsession. I’m very selective. I believe in good chemistry and occasionally love at first sight. The book has to make in immediate impression, but also has to have at least a whisper of practicality.

Like any good antipodean I have a fairly healthy collection of Woman’s Weekly cookbooks, and like most people my age I also have a smattering of Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Bill Granger and Marie Claire. There are books with Pictures and a few without (although I’m very visual… so pictures of what my efforts are supposed to look like at the end are very helpful.. and quite often necessary). Some were gifts and some I made traveling family members lug here from Australia in dribs and drabs (thanks mum and sis!).

I also boast an impressive collection of food related magazines and articles that I have kept over the years. To add to this just recently I have cultivated an enthusiastic interest in a few great food-blogs (see links).   

However, there is one serious drawback with this obsession. Just like the woman who is obsessed with shoes but doesn’t have enough events at which to show them off, I have a comprehensive collection of recipes that I am yet to use. I mean seriously – what’s the point of having all these books if I haven’t yet experienced their delights!!

So with that I have decided to start my own Cookbook Challenge. For the next six months (October 2009 to March 2010) I am going to select a recipe from one book, magazine or food related internet site each week to cook and I will record my efforts here for all to read! This challenge is primarily about putting to good use my wonderful collection of recipes, while sustaining a hobby that will keep me occupied during the deepest darkest months of the English Autumn/Winter!

Hope you enjoy ……… see you next week!!