Cookbook browsing ....
I once read that a very senior editor in a top publishing house once told me that it is considered good going – a downright success, even – if the consumer cooks two recipes from a cookbook they buy. Two! (Margaret Fulton's daughter writes about cookbooks: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/nov/05/whats-the-point-of-cookbooks-hope-love-and-beauty-but-not-cooking).
I have a determination to not let that happen. I love cookbooks. And I want them to be an active part of my everyday-ness. I love to browse them, just like I might a photograph album.
In sharing my browsings, I hope you too will occasionally get a cookbook down off a shelf. Or from your eReader. Flick through it. Maybe read a recipe or two. Be inspired by them.
But remember, recipes are not reality (like a photo, really). They reflect the author's intent, and that is not always to have you cooking easy, healthy and delicious meals for yourself and your family. Plus, and its a big plus, It is a competitive world, and everyone wants to put out a cookbook. Choose wisely.
So, push and prod those recipes into something that uses what you have or are prepared to purchase, without moving too far away from intent and flavour profiles (unless you are comfortable doing so ).