My Favorite Things

An Apron for Every Season

I love everything vintage —  This is me in one of 50’s Christmas aprons I made with  crazy cat-eye glasses, pearls and little hats…Our theme last year for Christmas, White Christmas — Sisters, there were never such devoted sisters…..

Farm to Table Cooking

Gardening and cooking fresh from my garden has become a passion, as of late.  I’ve always wanted to be a good gardener, but life has away of getting in the way.  I wouldn’t change running to all of the ball games, plays, concerts and school activities of my children, but now that they are both adults, it does give me time to pursue some of my passions.  Farm to Table is a “hot movement” right now, but it is how we’ve eaten for thousands of years, until the dawn of processed foods.

Not everyone has the time or a place to garden, but you can still enjoy those wonderful fresh flavors by visiting your local Farmer’s Market.

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From WikiPedia:
Farm-to-table (or farm-to-fork) refers to the stages of the production of food: harvesting, storage, processing, packaging, sales, and consumption.[1] Farm-to-table also refers to a movement concerned with producing food locally and delivering that food to local consumers. Linked to the local food movement, the movement is promoted by some in the agriculture, food service, and restaurant communities. It may also be associated with organic farming initiatives, sustainable agriculture, and community-supported agriculture
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Resources to find fresh foods if you can’t or don’t like to garden like me….

USDA Farmer’s Market Directory
Local Harvest — Farmer’s Markets
Community Table

Filling the Wine Jug

“I love to cook with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food I am cooking.”  Julia Child

At one point in my life, when I first moved back out to our family farm, I decided I would start a winery.  Well, come to find out, you need a lot of money, a lot of time, and then it really should be good wine.  I apparently need a little more instant gratification, 5 years to wait for the grapes and then close to 2 years before you can drink it…I decided I’ll just do it for fun…So I make about 5 to 10 gallons of wine a year.  The grapes you see here are Frontenac grapes developed by the University of Minnesota and make a pretty decent red wine.

Here are some good links to help you get started…

• My notes for making wine from multiple sources
• Winemaking Step by Step Instruction by Skedsmo
• YouTube Video — 7 Steps of Wine making — pretty short and not as detailed as I’d like but a good view of the equipment and steps.
• Fruit Winemaking Class Part 1 from Midwest Supplies
• Fruit Winemaking Class Part 2 from Midwest Supplies
• Fruit Winemaking Class Part 3 from Midwest Supplies
• Fruit Winemaking Class Part 4 from Midwest Supplies
• How to Make Your Own Wine Part 1 — a short video — an easy one to follow
• How to Make Your Own Wine Part 2

One More Tablecloth

Each time I buy a vintage table cloth, I tell my husband, that I am investing for the future…he doesn’t really buy it…but there are some very valuable tablecloths out there…so he should not mock me….look for collectible information to come soon.

Pretty Pictures

Photography is a family tradition.  We have many good photographers in our family, mostly amateurs,  but several professionals.  I am still learning and having lots of fun with the cannon EOS Rebel SL1 my handsome, husband, Eric bought me for Christmas  last year.  I’ve just become a bit of an Instagram addict so you can also follow my pictures at https://instagram.com/farmgirlcookn/.

My father was a wonderful photographer, with 12 kids in our family it was a challenge to afford this hobby.  His best advise for new photographers still tickles me…throw away the bad ones…makes you like like a much better photographer.  Boy, that was hard in the days of film when you had to pay for even the bad ones.  Yeah, for digital…

My other piece of advise, from my sister, a wedding photographer, that she got from an old pro.  “If you take a thousand pictures, thirty will come out!”…  So take a lot of picture and throw away (delete) the bad ones!!!

Vintage Campers

One of my goals this summer is to buy an old trailer, learn how to upholster and create a cute guest trailer at the farm….This could get interesting..

The trailer above is one my niece, Kim, decorated for their camper rental business in Billing’s Montana — Happy Campers.  She opted to go with a new “vintage” style camper since they were renting it out and needed it to be dependable.  She did an awesome job of spiffing it up…

Vintage Cookbooks

I collect all kinds of vintage cookbooks.  I do have a rule that if I try 2 things out the cookbook and they fail or are so-so — the cookbook goes…I don’t have time to spend on less than average recipes.

Cookbook Resources

How much are your cookbooks worth?  Check out this website This is a nice site that let’s you put in your cookbook and provides you with a great deal of good information about the book, average price, notable recipes, and collectability ratings and factors.

Abebooks.com — A guide to collecting cookbooks  — Check out the Top 10 Most Expensive Cookbooks Sold on AbeBooks

1. Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volumes 1&2 by Julia Child – $7,500

First editions of both volumes of this classic cookbook, this copy was inscribed by coauthor Simone Beck “Bon Appetit to Madeline Julia Child” and also by Child “Bon Appetit Julia Child.”

2. Les Diners de Gala / The Dali Cookbook by Salvador Dali – $5,000

Published in 1973, this beautiful book was designed and illustrated by Dali. This copy was also signed by Dali in felt tip.

3. Le Patissier Royal Parisien, ou Traité élémentaire et Pratique de la Pâtisserie ancienne et Moderne, de l’entremets de Sucre, des Entrées froides et des socles by Antonin Carême – $4,528

The first book written by the man credited with the creation of haute cuisine. First published in 1815, it contained 32 plates and was bound in sheepskin. This book laid the foundations for the modern kitchen.

4. The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse – $2,875

A first American edition of Glasse’s classic book. First published in 1747 in England, the American edition was adapted slightly for recipes suited for Virginia’s warmer climate.

5. Modern Cookery in All Its Branches by Eliza Acton – $2,712

Described in the book’s subtitle as “Reduced to a System of Easy Practice, for the Use of Private Families., In a Series of Receipts, which have been Strictly Tested, and are Given with the Most Minute Exactness.” Acton introduced the now-universal practice of listing ingredients and cooking times for recipes.

6. American Cookery, or, The Art of Dressing Viands by Amelia Simmons – $2,505

First published in 1796, this was the first known cookbook written by an American, and contained the first printed substitution of American cornmeal for British oats. Only four copies of the first edition are known to exist. This was a later edition.

7. Le Viandier de Tailevent by Guilaume Tirel – $1,950

Published in two volumes, this association copy was signed in pencil on the half-title by the famous chef and owner of El Bulli, Ferran Adrea. Tirel (1310-1395) was the cook to the Court of France around the time of the Hundred Years War and Philip VI’s head chef. This book contained the first detailed description of “entremets” (a small dish, dessert or action which signals the end of a course during a meal).

8. Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child – $1,795

First edition presented to the Pasadena Star News at the book’s launch party in Pasadena, Child’s home town. Inscribed by Child and coauthor Simone Beck.

9. La Cuisiniere Bourgeoise by Menon – $1,751

This was an anonymous translation of Menon’s La Cuisiniere Bourgeoise (the French Family Cookbook) that was originally published in 1746. This is arguably one of the most influential cookbooks in history.

10. The Cook’s Own Book by A Boston Housekeeper (aka Mrs. N.K.N. Lee) – $1,750

This classic American cookbook was published in Boston in 1832. A complete Culinary Encyclopedia for cooking meat, fish, and fowl, and composing every kind of soup, gravy and pastry preserves.