Once I grew up, and moved out of my parents home I yearned for that cookbook, despite the fact that its now held together with a rubber band. I even offered to purchase a "newer prettier version" in exchange for my mothers old tattered version, but she refused to trade...so I was forced to find one on the internet.
To my surprise there are 10 different editions of "Betty Crocker's Cookbook," dating as far back as 1950. And as my mom informed me when she wouldn't let me take her cookbook, the recipes have changed in each edition. My mothers edition was the last one before microwavable recipes were included. (I did not, and do not want the microwavable edition!) Apparently a lot of people agree with me, because my cookbook is now a very prized item in which people are willing to pay over $100 to get there hands on.
I really wrestled with the how committed I am to my cookbook, $100+ is an awful lot. But, in my daily debates, and online hunting I managed to find a copy on ebay that was posted in the wrong section. To my luck I was able to purchase the book for $40, in much better condition than my mothers version.
When the book arrived it smelled like beef stew, and was bookmarked with old coupons and hand-me-down recipes that were written on scratch paper.... as a nosey nelly I took note of each coupon, and what page they had bookmarked, trying to figure out who my previous book owners were...but all of there bookmarks were for recipes I would never make, like Cheddar Cheese Pie, or Hungarian Goulash....so in my head they are an elderly couple from the southwest, named something like Ed and Doris.
All I can say is that I am overwhelmingly grateful that they sold their cookbook rather than pitch it in the trash....I am sure I will cherish it for the rest of my cooking days.
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