At any given point I usually have at least three or four cookbooks in a stack by my bedside. This week’s selection includes Shelley Adams’ Whitewater Cooks: pure, simple and real creations from the Fresh Tracks Café, Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, Patricia Wells’ Vegetable Harvest, and my latest fun acquisition, Edna Staebler’s Food that Really Schmecks. Mennonite Country Cooking.
I tend to read cookbooks like other people read magazines. At night, and sometimes in the morning, I will go through each of them slowly, hovering over beautiful photographs and interesting stories, usually marking off pages with bits of scrap paper or sticky notes; highlighting the recipes I want to try next and making notes of some helpful tips and techniques. After a few days I will carefully put them back in their designated bookshelf or stack, and pick out a few more.
They are my escape. But also, my inspiration.
From these books, I have learned to become not only a better cook, but a more relaxed one. Cooking has become my way of de-stressing – a mindful practice that starts long before I enter the kitchen. It begins with the hunt for new and interesting cookbooks. And by new, I mean new to me. I prefer to find cookbooks in thrift stores, garages sales, used bookstores, as well as at garage sales and church rummage sales. I especially like it when someone has already marked off their favourite recipes with notes and suggestions. This way I know which recipes to try first.
I also enjoy attending cookbook launches where the author is present and I can purchase their latest book. I love hearing their stories first hand as well as learning about their personal journey with the publishing process. I am usually the one in the back with my hand up asking a bunch of questions. Which recipes stand out most to you and why? Do you have a favourite cookbook (other than your own), and if so which ones and why?
The last question usually leads me on another hunt if I don’t already have the cookbook they mention. From them I have learned about highly respected cookbook authors such as Patricia Wells, Paula Wolfert and Judy Rodgers. And sometimes the answers are surprising and fun. Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Yotam Ottolenghi when he came to Vancouver to promote his latest cookbook Simple. When I asked him what his favourite cookbook was, without hesitation he said “Nigella Lawson’s How to Eat.” I have a few of her other cookbooks, but not this one. So a new mission is afoot!
Yotam Ottolenghi Book Signing 2018
And all of this has further deepened my love affair with cooking and cookbooks.
With so many recipes and cooking information available on the web, I am often asked why I still bother to purchase cookbooks. My answer is simple, I don’t believe that print is dead. Especially when it comes to cookbooks, new and old.
Although you can go online to find just about any recipe, it doesn’t give the whole story. A digital search works just fine when in a hurry as it is efficient and practical, but it lacks the piece that provides the context and the extra bits of information that I love so much. And where would I put my sticky notes?
Working on cataloguing my cookbook collection.
Good cookbooks evoke a sense of place and time, providing us with a picture of how people live. They preserve traditions and recipes, capture stories, and are entertaining. They also encourage us to find our own voice in the kitchen. This has certainly been true for myself.
I will continue to add to my rather large collection of cookbooks while also finding new and wonderful recipes to try. There is always room by my nightstand for at least one more!
There are currently three stores, all a 100% volunteer operated and each one has its own committee that oversees daily operations and their own team of 60-90 volunteers. All stores rely completely on donations and it is estimated that net revenues generated by the three HOB stores cover approximately 35% of the total operating budget of the Vancouver Hospice.
Each store has its own unique focus that aesthetically reflects the community in which they are located. The original 
Louise Delancey and Pam Donald are two long time HOB Thrift Boutique volunteers who passionately believe in giving back to the community and in supporting the Hospice Society, each bringing in her own set of skills to the process. The store, which looks like an upscale boutique, is well organized with everything being grouped by colours and always with in-season items. “I like to stay on top of current fashion trends,” says Donald who helps to manage all the donations that come in. “The number one thing that we sell are tops and scarves…but women also get excited by our large selection of shoes and handbags.” And then Louise Delancey’s job is to then let people know what has come in and about all upcoming events and sales.
The newest addition, HOB TOO FURNITURE (3458 Dunbar St.) opened July 2016. Only a few doors down from HOB TOO, this store carries larger pieces of furniture as well art, carpets and lamps. There is always an eclectic selection of items based on what is being donated. Long time volunteers Janice Copeland and Marg MacLennan enjoy coming in for their shifts as they never know what they will find as it is always changing.
So make sure next time you are over on the West Side in Vancouver to take the time to pop in to one of these wonderful thrift shops and don’t forget to say hello to the volunteers who make this neighbourhood a fun thrift shopping destination.
