I have a new oven in my kitchen. For the first time in my life......almost. When we married 30 years ago we inherited an old one which we used till it died, many, many years later. Then we bought a new one and had the pleasure of using it for a short time before moving to The House in the Woods. Here there were already one in the kitchen, an old monster, but it was kind of built in, so we decided to use it as long as possible. My new oven were carried down into the basement where it spent a few years. Then Øystein bought his own flat and the oven went with him.
My dream of a new one did not die, but still we said to each other - the one we have can live a little longer.
An old, overaged oven is nothing to be fond of, and finally a couple of weeks ago we bought a new, a Norwegian Beha with an induction top. Saturday Terje removed the old one and built in my new wonder!
Can you guess where I spent my day yesterday?
Yes, I spent the day in the kitchen, baking and cooking. With recipes from my head, but mostly recipes from the recipe book which has followed me for more than 30 years.
I bought this green book a year before our marriage, and have used it ever since. Worn, stained, it contains memories from a long life. Turn the book around and start flipping the pages from the backside, and you will find the Christmas recipe section.....
In February though, we better start from the front; Snickers Cake, a recipe I got from my Icelandic sister in law, yes, the one with the Michael Jackson chocolate cake...... I made it, friends started to ask for the recipe and soon it was a hit all over Norway.
Sitronfromasj, a lemon dessert was the first recipe I got from my mother in law. I have made it hundreds of times over the years. A family favorite.
Friends visited my kitchen and left favorites in my recipe book. Here is a French cake my friend Marie-Noëlle made the summer of 1981 when she stayed with us for three weeks.
But I couldn't dwell with the old recipes too long. The new oven called out my name. Bread and pastries were made, and as we had the kids home for dinner, together with my parents, alot of it is already eaten or it followed the kids home when they left.
I am thinking of making a recipe book for the kids, with our favorite family recipes. There are so many possibilities these days with photoshop and all these companies offering to make books from your photos and writing.
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Do you have a handwritten recipe book? How do you keep track of your favorite recipes? Your favorite kitchen memories?
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A couple of weeks ago Ilva at Lucullian Delights sent out a request to show our cookbooks. This post is my reply to her request. Thank you Ilva for the idea.
Ever since I wrote this post about Carolyn and her recipe book, I have wanted to show you mine:
You find the original post here
Thank you Carolyn for all the inspiration you gave me, and keep on giving.
