One component of the farm show that Dick and I attended last weekend included antique dealers displaying their wares. Table after table up one aisle and down another… row after row beckoning visitors to take a closer look… to discover that special little treasure that would find a home… to be lovingly placed as a memory of the day… just one day in a lifetime. I was drawn to a simple, brightly colored, magnetic board spelling out the word cookbooks. The second "o" in the word "books" was missing, but I found a replacement in my craft stash… smaller in size, but no matter.
I displayed it by… what else… my coookbook collection. Above it, on the side of my pantry, I posted recipes that I plan to try in the future. I chose ones that use skills in upcoming lessons in my Cultured Dairy and Cheesemaking eCourse – Ricotta & Spinach Frittata (ricotta cheese), and Baked Manicotti Bundles (cream cheese and mozzarella)… recipes from my March 2011 Clean Eating Magazine, and Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna (ricotta cheese)… recipes from my March 2011 Real Simple Magazine. Because my mind is beginning to switch gears to spring, I also posted a Chive Goat-Cheese Souffles recipe to test and expand my seasonal (spring – chives) recipe collection.
A row of cookbooks sit atop an old library card catalog that holds my time-worn, handwritten recipe card collection The shelves in the cabinet above hold more cookbooks. Inside the cabinet door, I taped food preparation instructions that I use frequently so that I can refer to them easily. After the preparation methods and quantities for making foods such as soaked muffins and soaked oatmeal have become second nature, I will replace the instructions with other healthy cooking methods I want to master. I also post abbreviated instructions for foods that I make regularly such as sour cream, buttermilk, butter, and yogurt.
Whiteley Creek Homestead 
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