What’s for dinner?

Old recipe boxes
I’ve just consolidated my 30 year old recipe box with my mother’s 70 year old one. Hers is bigger and is a lovely wooden box which was handmade by her brother. The inscription inside the cover is Lois’ Gold Mine, and in some ways it is. I’ve enjoyed reading many of the recipes (lots with the names of the people she got them from). Like me, my mother tried new recipes every week. No food boredom for us!

Now, I hope to try a number of these old favourites (and soon to be new favourites) over the next years. Her Baked Alaska, Cardamom Bread and Potted cheese and crackers are high on my list.

Recipe books
Beside the recipe boxes, I have oodles of recipe books – don’t we all? I have my old childhood favourite, Betty Crocker (much more interesting than the old Commonsense cookbook which was the home science favourite when I arrived in Yass). It’s always good to look at the pictures while making a decision about whether to try that recipe or not.

I have been having a big clean up around the house, and these means books as well. The books I kept each contain at least 5 favourite recipes, and my absolute favourite book is a handwritten one that my mother started for me and I continued. However, when I feel like something different (perhaps similar to something I have eaten previously or just a combination of flavours I’m thinking about), I go to the web first, not to my books.

Wonderful Salad
Today, I was searching for a Spinach Strawberry Salad recipe with Raspberry Vinaigrette.
This recipe combines baby spinach, sliced strawberries, candied walnuts and goats cheese. It’s delicious, and I’ve eaten it in a Seattle restaurant many times. So I went to the web to find the recipes which would help me to recreate it.

First I searched for raspberry walnut vinaigrette and found many recipes, but most used raspberry vinegar which I don’t think I’ll find in our little country town today (I know I could have made one!), so I searched until I found one made with fresh raspberries. I’m sure that it’s better anyway. I then searched for candied walnut recipe. How easy it that? You can find links to these recipes below or click on the blog link and you will be able to easily get to all the recipes (and past articles that Kate and I remembered to put up).

Recipe search
This made me think about how frequently I use the Net for finding new recipes now. When I find a good one (using a Google search or a search on an individual recipe site), I bookmark it with a suitable title in a folder called Recipes. This is so important because if you only have one big list of Favorites it will take forever to find what you’re looking for.

Bookmark your finds
If you are using Internet Explorer 8 (and update if you’re on an older version), click the Favorite button and then Add a Favorite, and if needed Create a new folder. Then give it a good title (you may keep this folder in the Favorites area or create a subfolder as needed). This will return you to your original saving of the bookmark. Again give it a name which will allow you to find it again. Easy, isn’t it? It’s just like creating paper file folders.

If it’s a particularly good recipe, I may also save this recipe by copying the text (select and Control c) and pasting it into a word document (Control v). I also include the link where I found it so I can return if needed. Again this is saved into a recipe folder with appropriate name.

Other web recipes
I’ve been cooking lots from the web. Although I don’t necessarily follow recipes exactly, it’s nice to have a good starting point. For Christmas we had a cold watermelon soup that was wonderful and that recipe was from the web. We have also enjoyed Turkey Rissoles from BestRecipes.com.au, Roasted pumpkin, spinach and feta slice from taste.com.au, and the Sesame prawn butterflies from Cuisine.com.au and many more. All three of those recipe sites are proven winners with me.

New blog?
Perhaps I should start a new blog which contains all my favourite recipes, then I wouldn’t have to look in three places to find what I want. Later...

Happy new year everyone; I hope it’s a great one for you!

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/candied_walnuts/
http://foodpluspolitics.com/2008/05/17/raspberry-vinaigrette/
http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/Turkey-Rissoles-L1428.html
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/372/roasted+pumpkin+spinach+and+feta+slice
http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/Sesame-prawn-butterflies