You know how everyone always asks that question, "What would you grab if you were having a house fire?" There are always several things that flash through my head but for years now there has been at least one solid answer to that question that never changes. The Betty Crocker Cookbook. It's been featured on my blog often so you may be familiar with which one I'm referencing. It was my Grammy Brown's and then my mom's. The pages are yellow and the ones that get used the most are covered in pencil scribbles. I like to try and guess if the handwriting is my mom's or my grandma's because they look so similar to each other, and even my own, the older I get. Many of the holes have been reinforced with those circle stickers you find at office supply stores. The photography is hilariously wonderful. And the best part? The dated phrases and intros:
"Make somebody happy today - bake a cake! A chocolate cake for the man in your life. Or the white cake with peppermint frosting for 'the girls' coming for bridge. Bake a sponge cake for grandma, as lovely light as the kind she used to bake. Bake a cake - have a party. Bake a cake to take to a party. Bake a cake just because you feel good today."
It's priceless.
All of it is priceless really. Sure you can go buy the updated, modern versions of this book at any bookstore, but does it have the charm? I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't take hardly any daily photos this week. But, I did grab my camera for a couple quick shots of some strawberry pancakes. The Betty Crocker recipe for Favorite Pancakes is the one I grew up on and the one I still make today. This recipe along with some of my all time favorites come from this book. (southern biscuits, banana bread, homemade mac n' cheese, cocoa chocolate cake, sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, and Mexican wedding cakes.) Yum. What would you grab if there was a fire?
