Ah cookbook meme, I knew it will not be long before I will be tagged. And not once but twice, first by
Lady Charlie’s Cookshop and today by Market Man of Manila. But before I go on I will write about the cookbook I created when I was young.



When I was in my early 20’s and struggling between jobs to pay rent and live day per day, I couldnt afford books. But my friends would lend me theirs and sometimes the American family I used to babysit gave me magazines. I would copy the recipes and cut the one from the magazines. This is a writing book I turned into a cookbook. I cut a page from a magazine if not mistaken an advert of a pre made chinesse sauce. Inside I made drawings of knives, pots and pans. I wrote subject FOOD.

So lets now move to our cookbook meme.

1. Total number of cookbooks I own.
Between mine and my husband’s we have over 90 cookbooks in our shelf but am sure there are more either at the magazine basket or under the bed, bed side table.
Also we have 3 boxes of our things arriving from Norway and some of our books are still on the way.

I also buy and collect food magazines, Saveur, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit,Cooks Illustrated

BBC Good Food, Waitrose Food Illustrated, Food & Travel,
Swiss Food Magazines: Salz & Pfeffer, D’Chuchi, Le Menu (so Koch die Schweiz)

French: I could barely speak but THURIES GASTRONOMIE. it’s a great magazine for innovative French cooking

Magazines with food related issues like Conde Nast Travels and Decanter


One of our favourite cookbook. For me because of its stunning photography as for my husband because he shares Keller’s view on cooking itself. For those who understand food this is a brilliant book and for us this is our dream to have a meal at the French Laundry one day.

2. Last cookbook I bought.
– The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America – Michael Ruhlman.Not a cookbook but it’s a book how one becomes a good chef. It will also make you appreciate the labour of the kitchen crew.

-Culinary Artistry-A. Dorenburg Van Nostrand Reinhold
This is not a cookbook as well , it’s about matching food with the flavour, decorations etc. I always believed successful chef are visually artistic.

The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection Michael Ruhlman
What drives a good chef? Passion, dedication? There is an interview here about Keller’s dream his visions and what made French Laundry a success.

3. Last food/cook book I read.

I just been reading Flavours of the Philippines by Glenda Rosales_ Barretto

I take books to the bedroom and one is FOOD MANIA. An extraordinary visual record of the art of food. Got this at the British Museum just couldn’t resist it.

4. Five (cook) books that mean a lot to me.

1)Time Life Books on Good Cooking – Cakes and Pastries & Patisserie

Both books are about 20 years old but it has all the fundamentals of baking with great illustrations.
These are my Bible. It guided me how to make pies, cakes. There was a time in my life I need to supplement my earning, I baked cakes and this has helped me tremendously.

2) Food Lover’s Companion
Its not a cookbook but a list of definitions on food, wine and culinary terms. Even has a guide has to pronounce foreign words. I carry this everywhere and helps a lot with this food blog too.


Delia Smith’s Summer & Winter Collection, Roux Brothers Patisserie,French Country Cooking, Cooking for Two,Easy Sushi, Conrad Gallagher’s One Pot Wonders, Kenneth Lo’s New Chinesse Cookery Course ( he owns a brilliant Chinesse restaurant in London at Chelsea)

3)My mothers photo copy of Philippine Fiesta Recipes by
Leonarda Belmonte and Perla del Mundo
A great reference, sometimes my sister and I go through the pages and check the Filipino food we never tried nor cooked.

There is another here (photocopy and binded) no title except on the first page it says FIESTA FARES.
The recipes are in alphabetical order. It starts with ARROZ A LA CATALANA.I don’t think my mother finished copying the actual book it ended with Sweet Meat Tortilla.
Must be over 20 years old.

Can I make it 5?


5. Cooking in Switzerland by Marianne Kaltenbach.
My connection to the country of my citizenship , a real gastronomic tour through Switzerland.
Whenever I have this missing Switzerland thing, I open the book and try to experiment on Swiss food. Sometimes I just dream….

5. Which five people would you like to see fill this out in their blogs?

Stel our Beloved Master Chef of Boston

Thess of Eets Makelijk

Anyone??
yes I didnt forget her but thought she has been tagged earlier but I do want to know whats on her shelf, knowing she has a wide knowledge of food and cooking. I am sure she has lots of books on plants and herbs too knowing her dream to own a big farm one day…. so lets include

Stef Foodie.

So readers lets soon visit Stef and see whats on her collection.