Rookie Cookery

Recipe Holder of Pure Genius

I'd love to be one of those cooks who never has to consult a recipe.  But when I do need to follow a text,  I want to do so in a way that is convenient, legible, accessable yet out of the way of mixing bowls, chopping boards and the like.

Here's my solution (pictured above). I use a litttle page holding device called the Page-Up paper holder, found in many office supply or stationery stores.  (A close-up image appears at the end of this post). The page is held aloft on the counter top,  and is barely as wide and deep as the page itself, thus freeing up valuable counter space. 

While this will work with most normal-weight paper, I keep my recipe pages in clear plastic sleeves, to protect them from wear and the inevitable splatters of batter, grease and smudgy fingers.  The plastic sleeve adds enough structure to aid in holding the page firmly in place. When I am done with the recipe, I simply return it to my recipe binder (which will be the focus of another post soon). 

In the past, I have tried the acrylic shields that will hold an entire recipe book. In practice, I found them unweildy, not fully protective of the book, too small for some of them,  and a real hassle in the case of recipes that required the turning of a page in the cook book. Other than that, they are fine.  (rim shot).  Oh, and they take up WAY to much counter space.  I try to keep my recipes to one page, but should it continue to the other side of the page, it is easy to turn around the clear plastic sheets and view the other side.

So there you have it.  This system works well for me. Got an idea or trick to share for holding your recipes? Leave me a comment! Better yet, take a picture and blog on it, and I'll post a round up of ideas here on this blog for all to enjoy. Who knows, maybe you'll convert me to your method.

My little holder is s sporty leopard print style, but you can find them in solid colors and other designs to match your decor here.

Tasty new Appetizer in the blogosphere

Here in Sacramento, California, one of my weekly rituals is to scour the local food section in the newspaper, including the articles by local food and restaraunt critic Mike Dunne.  Mike always has something interesting to say, so I was delighted to see that he has recently started his own food blog,  which he calls Appetizers.  Mike is also an expert on wine, and frequently shares his insights about what is worth a sip or two.  Welcome to the blogosphere, Mike!

Food Blog Freedom

One of my very favorite things about the internet is the fact that as an amatuer food blogger, I can read and enjoy other amatuer food bloggers completely directed by my own personal whim and interests. Sure, I like Food TV network and other large, corporate offerings. But the freedom of the internet means that there is a level playing field for all of us to participate--whether it is Giganto Food Company or an individual Mom in Sacramento, CA, or a guy in the midwest somewhere who like to grill.

If  the major Internet Service Providers like AT&T, Comcast or Verizon get their way,  your freedom of choice about which internet site to enjoy will become a thing of the past.  Right now they are lobbying Congress hard to make it legal for them to interject "gateways" between you and the internet, so that they choose what parts of the web you will be allowed access--and which will incur an extra fee for the "privilige" of access.  In other words: your freedom of information and acccess on the web will now be sold to the highest bidder. And you know that will be the death of the web as we know and love it.

If it weren't for the freedom of the internet, would any of us have heard of the Amateur Gourmet?  Could we find another one of Elise's wonderful family recipes and stories at Simply Recipes, or would we be stuck with Emeril and Rachael only?  And what about Kate and her reportage on High Fructose Corn Syrup over at Accidental Hedonist? Do you really think the major ISPs, whose clients will become the major food industry, are going to make it wasy for you to find reportage like hers?

I think not.

Congress is not known for it's courage.  Unless they hear from each of us, and fast--they will sell us out for corporate moolah.  Don't let them get away with it. I urge you to sign the internet petition to Save the Internet now--and please, blog about it.  Share the link. Unless you are content to become part of the information ghetto where people have to pay just to find you.