On My Cookbook Shelf

This little cookbook shelf is tucked into a corner of the kitchen whose counters are currently housing gallons and gallons of turnip ferments. This is, of course, near the dirty dishes awaiting their run through the sink and the basket of eggs brought in by little hands just last night.

While I’m not much of a recipe-follower, I do grab books off the shelf regularly, either for inspiration or reference to a specific concept or food. I’ve used all of these books regularly over the years and thus they have stayed, some for a year or two, others for nearly a decade now, in my cookbook collection.

Some of these I’ve picked up at thrift stores, some have been sent to me by publishers, and a couple come from authors I have come to know as online friends. All of them have been useful at one time or another. Most of them have a strong traditional food or homesteading bent. Many of them have inspired my own recipe development and the ways in which we feed our family every day.

Though this collection is ever-changing, here is what currently resides on my cookbook shelf:

• How Can It Be Gluten-Free
• Delicious Ways to Cook Beans and Grains
• Tassajara Bread Book
• Brown Eggs and Jam Jars
• Nourished Beginnings Baby Food
• Classic Sourdough
• Preserving Food Without Canning and Refrigeration
• Soup Makes the Meal
• Nourished Kitchen
• Super Natural Cooking
• Making Sauerkraut and Pickles at Home
• Root Cellaring
• Fresh & Fermented
• Whole Grain Breads
• Natural Canning Reference Guide
• Stocking Up

As odd as it feels to say, I do keep copies of my own cookbooks and reference them from time to time. Simple Food for Winter houses most of my very favorite seasonal soup and stew recipes. I don’t reference 100% Rye as often these days since I am working more and more with gluten-free fermented breads, a few of which can be found in Traditionally Fermented Foods. I suppose I’ll have to make space for that one in the next couple of months and I’m looking forward to delving back into the sourdough baking, ferment-making, and kvass drinking all over again.

Do you have any cookbook recommendations?