Sunday, August 1, 2010

The Blank Cookbook

A friend gave me a lovely gift yesterday.  It is a blank cookbook.  That might not sound all that great to some of you, but I think it is a wonderful gift.

Let me explain.  I love to cook.  I really love to cook.  I like to look through cookbooks, but I nearly never follow recipes.  Once you know what flavors and textures complement each other, and what general amounts to use, you don't really need to follow recipes.  I feel like cookbooks are only designed to give you a springboard for your creativity in the kitchen.

My friend wrote a sweet note to accompany this gift.  She suggested that I might write down my recipes so that I could pass this along to my son and his future spouse.  The other sentiments she expressed were equally beautiful.

I love the idea of giving my son's wife a recipe book filled with our family favorites.  I think I'll include more than just recipes though.  Perhaps I'll include photographs of the family enjoying these meals, notations about how we celebrate holidays, maybe even a letter.  A letter expressing the joy I feel when I serve meals for this family.  Why the joy?  Because our family's meals aren't just to nourish our bodies. . .the time we spend around the dining table nourishes our souls.  The meal brings us together, but the love keeps us there.

Of course, I'll have to share the story of the friend who made it all possible.  Thank you, my friend, for a beautiful gift that will live on long after I'm gone.

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