My Cookbook Reading System

I have a system when it comes to reading cookbooks I’ve borrowed from the library.  First, I go through the book and mark every recipe that looks mildly interesting.  I mark these pages with strips of sticky notes.  I got this giant cube of sticky notes at a conference several years back and I cut each little sheet into 3 strips for bookmarking.  Then, I go through and look at the marked recipes and unmark recipes that with closer inspection seem like I’ll never make: the ingredients to obscure, etc.  Finally, I copy either by hand or on a copy machine the recipes I’m most interested in, the recipes that are still marked with my little sticky strips.  The ironic thing about that whole process is that I’m notoriously bad at following actual recipes.   I mostly use them as sources of inspiration rather than actual instructions.

I often do this entire process in my favorite chair next to the wood stove.  The cube of sticky notes sits on the arm of the chair, where Meggy also likes to sit.  Imagine, my surprise when I came in Sunday night to find Meggy ready to mark cookbook pages:

I’ve been working my way through my stack of library books and the ones I purchased at the library book sale a few weeks back.  Soon, I hope to share some of the goodies with you all.  In the meantime, here are a few goodies I’ve enjoyed online:

• Life is such an amazing balance of hard, hope, and yearning at the same time, isn’t it?  I know I feel it often, but I don’t always convey it well, but I know it and I feel it, often.
• Knit dish towels, seem like a great thing to go into Christmas gift baskets with knit washcloths.  They look super easy too, even for the novice knitter like myself.
• Speaking about knit washcloths, I’m going to be trying this patchwork dishcloth soon.
• I don’t have any blueberries, but you can bet when the 6-month no grocery challenge is over, I’ll be making Blueberry Buckle Muffins.