A Few of My Favorite Things . . .

A teacher should never have favorites. Right before I left teaching in 2001, I had favorites. I kept them in my heart and tried not to let it show in the classroom. But I really did care for J.R.. and A.K. more than the others. And see, to this day, I dare not admit aloud their names. 

The good thing about collecting Raggedys and recipes is you CAN share your favorites with others. So here are my favorites:

"The Originals" - this Ann and Andy were given to me by my maternal grandmother the Christmas BEFORE I was born, nearly forty years ago. Throughout my childhood, the two of them rarely left my side. A flip though my family's photo albums will prove this -  some part of one or both of them is in nearly every candid picture snapped by my parents. Long after other girls discarded their dolls, these two dears remained my confidants for they were who I addressed my journal entries to. (And still do to this day.)  They even had the distinct honor of sitting in the front pew of our wedding. These days The Originals are spending their golden years sitting on the top shelf of the spare bedroom closet - away from harmful sunlight, kitties, and kids. 
The following cookbooks contain my favorite recipes:

The Joy of Cooking, 1975 edition. My late mother gave me a copy of JOY when I moved into my first apartment. I have to admit I would be hard-pressed to name a favorite recipe from this book. The reason why I love it so is ALL the in-depth ingredients, techniques, and substitutions it has taught me over the years. This JOY (and the '98 and '06 editions) have prevented many a kitchen disaster! 

America's Test Kitchen's Family Cookbook: this would be my "deserted island cookbook". I am a huge, huge fan of ATK (as I'm sure you will see in upcoming posts) and this book contains MANY Matzke family favorites from
their magazines and TV shows. 
Cookwise - I think Shirley Corriander and I were separated at birth (and by a few decades.) She explains all those "science of cooking" questions I wondered about in high school chemistry and physics. I love to re-read the chapter on "The Wonders of Risen Bread" almost as much as any favorite fiction book! 
Good Eats - We've been watching pre-recorded episodes of "Brown" (Andy's toddler name for A.B.) during Friday night pizza nights for almost seven years. I am a visual learner so "Brown" makes all those lessons Shirley taught me in "Cookwise" come alive. Every single time I add yeast to a batch of homemade bread, I see Good Eats sock puppets!
Recipe Keeper - contains my favorite recipes given to me by family and friends plus ones clipped from magazines over the years. After many years of haphazardly sticking them into other cookbooks, I compiled them all into this handy binder in the fall of 2009. We had just lost Mom in July of 2008 and I would be sent into a terrible panic every time I couldn't locate one of her recipe cards. I especially look forward to sharing with you its contents in upcoming posts.
(The Raggedy blanket is also a "favorite" but we'll save it's story for another post.)