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Renting Cookbooks📚

Renting Cookbooks📚

Vale C
September 08, 2024

My favorite thing about the public library is the ability to hold all the new cookbooks and rent them instead of buying them. 🙌 It’s a great way to try out all the latest recipes without cluttering my shelves with more cookbooks I might not use again. Whenever a new cookbook I’m excited about comes out, I reserve it and head over to pick it up once it’s available.

This week, I decided to challenge myself by cooking only from the cookbooks I’ve rented from the library or have at home. 📖 It’s a fun way to declutter how many books I have and finish testing the recipes I’ve been eyeing before returning the books.

The first thing I do when I get a new library cookbook is skim through the recipes and compare them with ones I can find online. Anything that’s easy to save digitally goes straight into my Paprika app. 📲 The recipes that aren’t available online get flagged, so I know I need to try them before the book’s due date! ⏳ And the best part? If a cookbook doesn’t impress me or I’m not a fan of the recipes, I can just return it.

But if you’re just getting into cooking and wondering which cookbook to start with, I think there’s one book you should buy: the America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook. 🍳 My mom gifted it to me during my junior year of college, and I’ve cooked hundreds of recipes from that book over the years. It has so many basic recipes that rarely go wrong, and it helped me gain confidence in the kitchen.

I’ll never forget that in my first year of owning the book, I learned how to make my first monkey bread, baked ziti, fettuccine alfredo, French silk pie, and classic coconut cream pie—all from scratch. 🍋🍝🥧 The book doesn’t just give you recipes; it explains the science behind cooking, making you a braver and more skilled cook with each dish you try.

Recipes Made So Far This Year:

Goal: To try seven new recipes each week 🗓️, aiming for 365 this year!

Number of Recipes Made this Week: 8

Number of New Recipes Tested as of 9/1: 302

Weeks Achieving Seven or More New Recipes: 34 out of 35 ✅

This Week’s Recipe Test Summary

Impress Someone🌟

Matcha Granola from Make It Japanese: Simple Recipes for Everyone: A Cookbook🍵🥣

My sister first introduced me to matcha back when she moved to San Francisco. She was so excited to take me to her favorite café and have me taste matcha as we lay on a mat. Ever since, I’ve loved matcha! So when I saw this recipe while reviewing the cookbook, I was excited to make it. And after I tasted it, I loved it! I saved some for my sister and took it to her—she loved it too! She said it’s a 20 out of 10 and thinks I should sell it, adding some white chocolate chips while I’m at it. 😂 Note: My mom had a bite and thought the matcha was a bit strong, so if you aren’t a big fan, maybe this isn’t for you. Check out the recipe below! 👇

Would Make Again 👍

Heart-Smart Baked Oatmeal from Skinnytaste Simple: Easy, Healthy Recipes with 7 Ingredients or Fewer: A Cookbook🍌🥄

As you might guess, I’m not a big meal prepper, but this seems like a great breakfast to prep for my future kids one day. It tastes like banana bread oatmeal! 😋🍞Check out the recipe below! 👇