For What It's Worth


Thursday, January 5, 2017

Randomness: use it or lose it - cooking magazines


L: magazines to sort R: left side are keepers/right side - off to the library
Bottom: copious use of post-it notes

I used to be a huge cooking magazine collector. I only subscribed to a few – I was more of a cash register impulse buyer. I HAVE TO make that delicious thing on the cover RIGHT NOW! Then I rushed home, flipped through the pages, marking every recipe that interested me, realized it might be harder than it looked and promptly forgot about it as the magazines piled up.

It’s a new year and something about it always seems to make people want to organize and clean out old things (must be the subtle hint from the stores putting all the cleaning supplies and storage bins up front every January). Anyhoo – I pulled out my stack and decided to purge the magazines that I knew I would never cook from. And turn it into a smaller stack that I will never cook from. 😜

It’s always fun to look back though to see what the food trends were. Some of the magazines were from 2009. Spinach was a novelty ingredient that was starting to be available in bags! Quinoa was sneaking it’s way in around 2012 and there seemed to be a big push for barley that never really panned out. Low-fat/low cholesterol were the healthy buzz words and then it shifted to fresh and seasonal the past few years with more international cooking influences as we all became more daring eaters.

I could see that I tended to be wooed by quick, one pot or casserole, crock-pot meals. Basically because, despite my love of cooking magazines, I can’t really cook. I’m getting much better and relaxed about it but I’m still someone who needs a recipe unless it’s for something I cook very often.

I also found a magazine (the Cook’s Illustrated) that had a nibbled corner by my Beau (my dog that I had to put to sleep last year). So I had to keep that one, of course.

And stronger than my cookbook/magazine addiction – I can see that I have a post-it note problem. I could probably fund a small nation if I spent the money there instead of on post-it notes. lol

Well, I thought I would share this with you guys to help spur me on- there’s still one more pile to go. And to be honest, I haven’t read in 3 weeks so I don’t have anything review. Bad blogger!

Do you guys collect cooking magazines? Or maybe beauty or some other kind? When I was a kid my mom saved every single National Geographic magazine. We had a huge wall in our basement FULL of them. Like a decade’s worth. Next to our Encyclopedia Britannica collection. Showing my age there!

22 comments:

  1. LOL...I do not collect magazines...but my husband does...I don't think he's ever thrown one out. I do have about 15 cookbooks on my hutch and I don't cook! lol.

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    1. Kevin used to collect Popular Mechanics/Science and gaming magazines but doesn't anymore.

      I haven't even gotten to the cookbooks yet! lol

      Delete
  2. Every fall season I buy an absurd amount of cooking magazines then find them again in March when we do our spring cleaning. It's a problem. There is something better about finding a recipes out of a magazine than from the internet - despite the fact that I never use them. Bleh.

    I can't believe you've got magazines from 2009! It must be interesting to see how America's dieting trends have you started. Make way for quinoa folks!

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    1. I tend to do that in the fall. I get in that nesting/comfort food mood.

      I even found one from 2007 after I wrote this!

      Delete
  3. I wound up collecting a small shelf of cookbooks that I never use anymore. I'm going to have to purge some soon I think!

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    1. Same here. I started with the magazines and I'll work my way to the cookbooks.

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  4. Nowadays, my cookbook is the internet. I really should create a system for some great recipes I'd found online, but I rarely have the time these days!

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    1. Same here. I have a bookmarked page for recipes but honestly, I forget about them too - or just cook it once and forget it.

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    2. Can I join the convo? :) I use online recipes a lot and eventually took the time to print most of them and use plastic sheet sleeves to make a notebook. I have one notebook for recipes I want to try (which is constantly changing) and one for tried and true recipes. I love being able to flip through them when meal planning. Not that I meal plan as often as I should but that's besides the point. Lol.

      I also have some of my 'usuals' on a recipe app (RecipeBook) so, if I'm away from home, I can still throw together a quick grocery list. The app is also cool because it sorts by categories, etc. and you can email recipes.

      Ok, that's enough of my blabbing :-p

      Delete
    3. Of course you can join in!!!

      I have binders too. One for printed recipes and another for clipped out ones. I need to go through those too.

      Lately I've just been bookmarking the ones I want to try - that way I can pull it up while I'm out shopping. If I liked it then I print it up later.

      Delete
  5. Oh yeah, that was me before we moved! I was also an impulse cooking magazine buyer with little follow through. AND to top it off, I worked at a gift shop with a huge magazine section for 10 years.

    Last fall I went through them and threw A LOT away and just kept a small stack that I'm more likely to use.

    If I'm being really honest, I probably don't even need those. I'm more likely to go online when I'm recipe hunting. I like seeing ratings, reviews, and suggestions to make it a tad bit better.

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    1. I got the bigger magazines down to 10-ish. I realized I have another stack of those smaller ones (about paperback size) so now I have to go through those now lol

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  6. LOL at your post its. Yeah. I understand. The cooking magazines, too. I've been going through mine the last few months and ripping out the pages I want to try or think I'll try and tossing the rest. Surprisingly few recipes have been kept. Ah well.

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    1. I did rip out recipes when there were just one or two I'd like to try - instead of keeping the whole thing.

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  7. Sigh, I should organize that horrible shelf that is recipes shouldn't I

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  8. I can't even open my cookbook cupboard in the kitchen for the fear of being killed by hardcovers. Stupid me starting storing them up top and then I added to the pile, last time I checked there's a corded phone and ice shaver in there with them. I just keep the door closed, that way I can pretend none of it is there.

    Shh, let me live in denial :D

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    1. Yeah - the cookBOOKS are next! lol

      And now that you mentioned your hidden ones, I realized I have a stack in the cabinet over my microwave with the old ice cream machine I don't use lol

      Delete
  9. I have many cook books but no magazines . I like seeing what is popular to cook :)

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  10. Oh gosh, I subscribe to a ton of magazines. No cooking ones because I really can't cook either. However, a lot of the magazines I subscribe to often have recipes in every issue so I have tried to save some of them for future use. I really need things that don't have a ton of ingredients and steps. The first because it's a lot of money to buy everything if you don't already have a stockpile of certain things and the second because like I said, I'm not much of a cook. haha

    -Lauren

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  11. I think the only magazine I have subscribed to is Weight Watchers, because the recipes are just delicious and easy. But I am more into Cookbooks.

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  12. I’m more of a cash register impulse buyer too. Lol. I usually go online when I need an interesting recipe, but there something so irresistible in cook magazines. Have you finished organizing your cookbooks and cooking magazines by now?

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