Decluttering my cookbook library while gobbling up Brussel sprouts, Blackberry Buckle, and the best Noodles Romanoff casserole I’ve ever eaten.

Quarantine continues to serve as a great motivator when it comes to my cookbook challenge to edit my vast cookbook library and declutter recipe books that no longer interest or inspire me, or don’t perform the way they should.

As of today, I have decluttered 73 cookbooks from my library and passed them onto others to enjoy by giving them away, donating, or selling them at my local used book store for credit. I decided to keep 3 cookbooks since my last blog post and declutter 5 cookbooks that no longer have a place in my kitchen.

Cookbooks I’m Keeping

KEEP: I made Roasted Brussel Sprouts and a delicious Blackberry Buckle from the Chelsea Market Cookbook. I used frozen blackberries. I think the recipe would perform better with fresh berries but I gobbled it up all the same. Chelsea Market is located in NYC. This cookbook contains recipes selected from the various eateries.

KEEP: The Hummus recipe in the In A Nutshell cookbook appealed to me because it calls for a fair amount of cumin. I loved the tanginess it added to the hummus, and will definitely make it again.

FOR SURE KEEP: Not only is The Spice Islands Cookbook chocked full of yummy recipes, but it also contains some very sweet illustrations. It’s from the Spice Islands brand of spices that have been sold in American grocery stores for decades. Each recipe features one or more spices from the range.

I made one of the best dishes I have ever eaten from this cookbook, Noodles Romanoff. So scrumptious, I made it again a few days later. Sour cream, cottage cheese, and parmesan based sauce topped with panko bread crumbs and paprika and baked. Delicious!

A couple new discoveries

I’ve been searching for the best brown bread recipe and have baked up a few loaves this year. I tried the Einkorn Sourdough Brown Bread recipe from Jovial Foods. The recipe is listed on their website. It was okay. I don’t know if I’d make it again. I’m certain there are tastier recipes out there that I have yet to find.

The Benedictine Abbey of Regina Laudis in Connecticut was founded in 1947. The Abbey is featured in Michael Pollan’s Netflix series, Cooked.

Sister Noella Marcellino, an artisanal cheese maker with a doctorate in microbiology has been making raw milk cheese in a wooden whiskey barrel since 1977. I bought some from a market near the Abbey to try. It’s nutty and pungent but not overpowering. The cost is prohibitive though. At $33 a pound, it would make for a pricey cheese board.

Cookbooks I’m Decluttering

PASS: As much as I love potatoes, I found this cookbook to be uninspiring and decided to pass it onto someone else.

PASS: I wanted so much to love this cookbook. It’s beautiful for one thing, and I have a few other Donna Hay cookbooks that I enjoy. So I’m disappointed to be disappointed. I made crispy chia and panko tofu and a spelt bread loaf from this cookbook. Neither was enjoyable. I could try other recipes but that defeats the objective of this challenge; to only keep cookbooks that I truly love and use.

PASS: I’m passing on this Shaker Cooking cookbook because I made two recipes and the measurements were completely off. It’s an interesting cookbook but I can’t be bothered with recipes I can’t count on.

PASS: Crepes are on my Top 10 Favorite Things To Eat list but I have other recipes that make me drool, namely Nigella’s. I will donate this for someone else to enjoy.

PASS: This cookbook came with my pressure cooker. Using my Fagor pressure cooker has become second nature to me now so I feel comfortable decluttering the recipe book it came with.

Let me know in the comments below if you have a favorite cookbook of 2020.

My cookbook declutter series to date

Decluttering My Cookbook Collection

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