Collections - Part 2

I thought I would share my biggest collection......................................my cookbooks.

They are spread all over my house and seem to be breeding like mice. Each month I rotate the ones that I am going to cook from, I then put the 'chosen 'ones on my kitchen counter for easy access:

This is where my cookbooks live, in the bottom of my dresser. This is the top shelf:

and this is the bottom one:

But to be honest I don't think they like their little home, they always seem to escape. I seem to find them all over the house. These ones managed to get up to the bedroom:

and these ones found their way to the living room...........

When you look closer at my little collection you can see that I have got some rather odd ones:

and some that are works of art in the own right - I love this one:

just wonderful old English recipes with the most beautiful illustrations:

Over the years, I have been trying to master the art of Indian cooking:

and Australian cooking:

and New Zealand cooking:

and of course English cooking:

But if I had to choose just 3, these are the ones I would choose.............

I just love Mary Berry, she is a fabulous English cook, her books are amazing. There are photos for every dish, categorised by cooking time. I picked this book up on Amazon marketplace for $1.99.

I am thoroughly taken with this book from Trisha Yearwood, I have cooked a jolly amount of her recipes and have been thrilled with the results. Southern cooking seems to be quite similar to English cooking. Lots of stew, casseroles and one dish meals. I am love with her chicken pie, it has now become a firm favourite of mine.

And lastly my Prue Leith's Cookery Bible:

Really boring to look at, hardly any photos and it is so big and heavy:

but AMAZING all the same. Think of anything you would like to cook and I bet you it is in here. She has a cooking school in Kensington in London, it is spectacular. I did an evening course there in my early 20's and loved every minute of it. It was on a Thursday night and I used to dash over there from work. It was life changing for me as this is where I learnt to cook.

I know, I know, I have rather a lot of cookbooks. Maybe I am a cookbook-aholic. The problem is I still want more. I am currently coveting a Barefoot Contessa one, I keep picking it up in Target and then putting it down, knowing that I don't really need it. I also want that Julia Childs French cookbook, the big blue one and I hear on the grapevine that Trisha Yearwood is bringing out her second cookbook on Mother's Day. It is just far too exciting on the cookbook front, too many books and not enough cupboard space to store them!!

Collections

I love a good collection, I always have. When I was younger, I used to love watching the 'Antique Roadshow' and in later years 'Cash in the Attic'. I was fascinated at all the weird and wonderful things that people collected. I admire the passion and commitment it takes to have a great collection.

I have collected things in the past, I dibbled in a pig collection, I dabbled in a snow globe collection but none of them lasted. I got fed up with the clutter and obviously wasn't committed enough.

As I look round my house, I realise that I do have collections, collections that have evolved unconsciously over the years.

I thought I would share my biggest love, my 'Emma Bridgewater' pottery. My love affair for her wares first began when I got married. I decided her 'Blue Toast & Marmalade' would be a perfect addition to my wedding list. I then started going to her factory sales, friends started buying bits as gifts and my collection just grew. It is now spread out all over the house:

In the china cabinet:

Near the sink:
In the storage chest:
In the larder:
I got these out for Christmas:
On the kitchen counter, (holding tea bags and sugar):
On the plate shelf:
On the other side of the plate shelf:
Finally, in the kitchen cupboard:

The majority of bits that I have bought are now discontinued. This is good and bad. It is bad as I am neurotic about it getting broken. It is good if I ever wanted to sell it. The prices that some of my pieces are going for on ebay are obscene!!

Although I must say that since living in America my EB collection has sort of stopped growing. I have not seen it for sale anywhere in Colorado. You can buy it online from a few shops and I can obviously order if from England, (they do ship to America but you have to pay about $40 just for the shipping!!!). But the main reason is the price, in England it was quite expensive but not too bad. Here, once it is converted into dollars, I just can't bring myself to buy a thing!!!

Maybe Father Christmas will leave a little something in my stocking!!! (hint, hint Prince Charming!!!)