Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Is there a compulsive cookbook buyer's hotline I can call?




I did it again, God help me. It was Saturday - Valentine's Day - and there I was standing in Strand book store smack in the middle of the cookbook section. Everything went blurry, and then suddenly I found myself out on the street again, holding a bag filled with...wait for it...THREE cookbooks.

This, after a New Year's resolution that I wasn't going to buy anymore until I cooked from every single one I already own. (Though clearly I was under some sort of chemical influence when I made this resolution...as that would literally takes years. In fact, if you're into cookbooks, I'd become BFFs with me, fast. You could find yourself inheriting one of the world's most vast, if not random, cookbook collections going.)

Anyway, the thing about Strand is, they have every single cookbook known to man, many of which are on sale. You just have to have the patience and tenacity to endure the tight quarters filled with sweaty browsers and occasionally risk your life by climbing one of the ladders to reach the books closer to the 14 foot ceiling. And while I'm not necessarilly a competitive person by nature (just as anyone who's seen me attempt any sport besides horseback riding or aerobics - anyone), when it comes to hunting books, I am a falconer. Lord help anyone who goes after a book I'm interested in - I'll take you down.

The above picture is actually an old one of me and my friend Ryan in Cannes last year. I have no memory of what we were doing, but I thought it was a fitting image for this post. It looks like he's trying to save me from something...like buying another cookbook.

1 comment:

Miss Meat and Potatoes said...

Forgot to tell you what the books were:

The Newlywed Cookbook
Martha Stewart's Quick Cook (her 80's outfits were too incredible to pass up)
The Relaxed Kitchen