Do what you love...

This week I got a call from one of my best friends... Ruth. She has a passion for photography and has talent that I am in awe of (www.photographybyruth.com). I watch her work hard and she somehow finds the energy to do what she loves. It has caused me to think, more than once... what is my passion? What would I love to do more than anything else? I have several things I really like and enjoy. Cooking/baking, gardening, reading, horses, and movies are all at the top. My husband calls me 'farm girl' and I guess I am a city girl who is a farm girl at heart. I love to do a little of everything which makes me a jack of all trades but a master of none. For the purpose of this blog, I am going to focus on just one of the many...

I love to read cookbooks. They are great short stories! I especially love to read old community and church cookbooks. These little gems are filled with recipes by home cooks and contributed to a cookbook project. Some of these books were done as a fundraiser, others just for the purpose of sharing recipes among neighbors and friends.

I've made a hobby of buying these little cookbooks at yard sales and thrift stores. I even get them as gifts! I have books from Washington, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Montana, Wisconsin and several other states. The publish dates go back as far as 1953 and I'm always on the lookout for even older ones. I read through the books, always thinking I am going to try some of the recipes, then place them on my 3-shelf bookcase in the kitchen. I think its time to pull them off the shelf and try some of the recipes. Let's see where this takes me...