Farmhouse Kitchen-My Favourite Cook Book

I have always loved cook books. When I was a little girl, my mum had a cook book which I used to copy the recipes out of and re-draw the photos. It kept me entertained for hours and I always dreamed that some day I would write a cook book of my own.

It was the Hamlin All Colour Cookbook and I remember my mum making a clock face cake out of it to much applaud. It is actually written by the queen of baking herself, Mary Berry in the 1970’s-many moons before the Great British Bake Off propelled her back into our hearts and minds.

I wanted to do food technology at school but unfortunately, only on either person chose it as an option so it was not run as a GCSE that year.

It is that one cookbook however which sparked my interest in food so it came as a bit of a shock recently when the other queen of cookery, Delia Smith said she thought cookbooks had had their day.

Indeed for years, at Christmas, my mum would lament that all she ever wanted was a Delia Smith cook book. We always forgot when it came to Christmas and birthdays the following year but I am pleased to report that Mrs C now has her Delia book.

While internet search engines have their place-like when you are making batter or you need dimensions for a recipe, for inspiration and old-school food porn, you can’t go wrong with a stick paged, egg spattered, trusty old cookbook.

When we moved to the farm and we had the kitchen installed, one of my requests was a shelf for my cookbooks. It is not my only self, some get relegated to the book shelf but why better way to have your recipes at hand than in the place where you will use them the most.

My most trusted ones are:

Joanne Wheatley’s Home baking

Jamie Oliver Jamie’s Great Britain


Mary Berry’s Baking Bible

Delia Smith’s Christmas


Nigella Lawson Feast

I can’t ever see a time when I won’t want to flick through the pages of books with beautifully taken food photography and lists of ingredients.

My blog has helped me achieve many things-one of which was being included in a cook book but I am still hopeful that one day I will write my very own.

Until then, I will just look lovingly at everyone else’s.

*There are some affiliate links above. If you click on them, I get a small amount of money for which I can buy more cook books.

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