Sunday, October 26, 2014

Cookbooks Tell Our Story + GIVEAWAY

Did you know that October is National Cookbook Month?  I was excited to hear this because I personally own over 30 cookbooks (plus two recipe boxes and one giant recipe "folder").  I love to cook and bake and I love how recipes and cookbooks tell stories.


I have gotten to know several Iowa bloggers through our love of food.  We all have our own style and preferences when it comes to food and cookbooks, but I think that is what makes this group so great.

Personally, for me, my favorite cookbook is probably my home church's 1998 Harvest Cookbook.  Because let's all agree, no one puts a "bad" recipe in a church cookbook!  This cookbook is full of this community's best recipes and it also tells the area's heritage through food.

Fellow Iowa Blogger, Jeni from Jeni Eats, is also a big fan of her church cookbooks too, for many of the same reasons that I do, and that they have so many "retro" recipes.  One of her other favorite, and go-to cookbooks right now is The Spoonriver Cookbook.  She loves how the recipes are so approachable.

Amy from Modern Rural Living, loves her newest cookbook, The Kitchy Kitchen.  She loves all the imagery in the cookbook and can relate to her as a blogger and You Tuber.

Jenny from In the Kitchen with Jenny, cherishes her family's cookbook that she helped her mother-in-law put together the year before she passed away from cancer.  This cookbook not only tells her family's story, but passes along her mother-in-law's traditions.  And another thing that makes it so special, is that the front cover has a copy of a water color of the family's home.

Michelle from Simplify, Live, Love, likes Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook.  Life is busy and making food ahead of time for your family is a must for Michelle and her family, as well as probably all of ours.  This cookbook includes a variety of recipes, ingredients and cuisines, while using less processed foods than the freezer meals of decades ago.

Kelli from The Sustainable Couple current favorite cookbook is The Elliott Homestead: From Scratch cookbook.  This cookbook teaches traditional ways to cook nutritious food.  Personally when I saw this cookbook's cover, I thought it screamed Kelli and her passion for whole foods.

Lastly, Iowa Blogger Wini from Chez Bonne Femme has wrote two cookbooks!  Her first, The Bonne Femme Cookbook looks at every day French cooking and her newest, The Braiser Cookbook, shares how to braise through several different methods and ingredients.  I highly recommend checking out her Pork Meat Balls with Dijon Cream Sauce recipe from her newest cookbook!



Doesn't this want you to get out your favorite cookbook or discover a new recipe tonight!  All of these great Iowa Bloggers, plus Ally from Ally's Sweet and Savory Eats and Kristen from Make the Best of Everything, have partnered up to giveaway a $150 Visa Giftcard.  This giveaway is open from today to November 1st.  You can enter by liking these blogs on Facebook and following them on Twitter.  Good luck!



What is your favorite cookbook?  Which one of these cookbooks might you buy with your $150 if you win?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

20 comments:

  1. Great post Val!! I can't wait to check out these other cookbooks! :)

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    1. Thanks! I'm thinking several of these look like great Christmas wish list possibilities!

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  2. The Kitchy Kitchen, From Scratch, & Not Your Mother's would probably be the ones I'd buy. They all look really great though. I love old church/family cookbooks!

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    1. Like I mentioned before, I think some of these would be great Christmas ideas!

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  3. The "Not your Mother's Make Ahead and Freeze" sounds good! I have a family recipe book my mother put together years ago. The fun part of it is that several recipes in the book are in my grandmother's and great-grandmother's own handwriting!

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    1. I love that the cookbook has copies of handwritten recipes! That is very special.

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  4. I'm a big advocate for books for holidays, so this will probably be a bookstore gift card for me. I'm in the 100 range of cookbooks, but I've been collecting longer than you! Of course my go to books are ones that are "collections" from the credit union and churches. I have a daughter who would the Not Your Mother's Make Ahead and Freeze".

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    1. I'm a big advocate for books for gifts too Dee. I think the "Not Your Mother's Make Ahead and Freeze" cookbook is sparking the most interest with everyone - sounds like something that everyone could use!

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  5. My favorite cookbook is from the 80's. Nothing beats childhood favorites! :) Every one of these cookbooks looks fabulous!

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    1. Childhood favorites are always full of comfort!

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  6. I would buy tricycles for my girls! Thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
    Erin

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    1. Tricycles - I like it! Good luck with the giveaway!

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  7. I love the cookbook that my aunt put together. Lots of classic recipes and everything from how to cook a turkey to soups and desserts.
    www.crystalcattle.com

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    1. Family cookbooks are the best. One of my go-to cookbooks is also my Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook - sometimes you just need a classic recipe.

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  8. This is a great post!
    I cherish my family cookbook and I love my fix It and Forget It cookbook.
    Have a great week!

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    1. Thanks Jen! I think family cookbooks are the best too.

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  9. I LOVE cookbooks!! I just won an auction basket from KCMR and was thrilled to see a cookbook in it. I obviously did not pay too much attention to what was in the basket when I bid on it but I am thrilled to add another one to my collection! Great post ---am going to love checking out these cookbooks!

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    1. I love getting a new cookbook! And I too think several of these cookbooks would be great to add to my collection.

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  10. Love the tractor approved meals. I'm currently dating a farmer, so I can just imagine this will be my life someday!

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