This is my paired down bookcase.

Baking Adventures Through Uncertainty A Professional Baker's Culinary Journal

I am a healthcare person who has "dabbled" in cooking to feed my four kids and husband through the years and has collected, donated, purchased more and more cookbooks than one can ever need, through the years. Now that the kids are leaving the house, we are packing up and moving into a smaller house and I need to decide what stays and what goes.

When most of us were laid off from our professions during the start of the pandemic, I thought that I could finally clean my house and rid the clutter and donate. That didn't happen as I realized that I needed to be out of the house to mentally function as I was spiraling down quickly. Being a healthcare worker, this was the first time that I was ever laid off from a job and was told that I was "customer service".

I found myself working happily behind the front counter of a bakery inside a local grocery store and I was so happy. Not because of the management; but, I liked to make people smile when I handed them treats and I enjoyed the interactions with the customers.

This led me to becoming a student at a pastry school and I have never been happier. However, being a baker has led me to a lot of baking failures and questioning the steps/processes in recipes, questioning myself, daydreaming when I should have been thinking of the correct steps rather than relying whole-heartedly on a recipe...

This is why I am creating this blog. I want to finally decide what cookbooks to keep, learn to be intuitive with all recipes and not just rely on the recipe (since many leave out important details!) and have fun along the way.

Please come with me on my journey. Remember that these recipes may or may not have been correctly made as the recipe creator wanted: it is my poorly read interpretation of the recipe but I did try my best. Also my reviews are just my opinion of the recipe and the book and you may like the recipe/book better than me. What I write is my opinion only!

The Culinary Journal: Recipes & Reflections From My Book Shelves to my Stove: Rediscovering My 129 Cookbooks and 12 Specialty Cooking Magazines or Donating Them. I am documenting my culinary adventure

Introduction: Cookbooks, Curiosity, and a Little Honest Reckoning

I’m not entirely sure when my cookbook collection became… substantial. My best guess is that it started with curiosity. I’ve always been drawn to the stories, the photography, and the glimpse into other kitchens, cultures, and family traditions. If a book could pull me into that world, I was sold.

Truthfully, I didn’t always intend to cook from them. Many of these books became something closer to companions—beautiful, inspiring, and full of possibility. But more often than not, they found a permanent home on my shelf rather than in my kitchen.

And now, here I am again—with another collection that has grown just a bit too large to ignore.

So, I’ve decided it’s time to change that.

My goal is simple: I will prepare two new recipes each week from my cookbook collection. I will follow each recipe as closely as possible, making thoughtful substitutions when needed—whether due to cost, availability, or dietary needs. Afterward, I’ll share the cookbook title, the recipe name, a photo of the finished dish, and my honest impressions.

Out of respect for the authors and their work, I won’t be sharing full recipes here. Cookbooks are labors of love, and if something speaks to you, I wholeheartedly encourage you to support the author by purchasing the book.

Why This Matters (At Least to Me)

Like many people, I’ve found it incredibly easy to turn to the internet when I want to make something. It’s quick, searchable, and endlessly available. But for me, that convenience has come with a trade-off.

Too often, I’ve spent more time searching than cooking—opening multiple books, not finding exactly what I had in mind, and eventually defaulting to an online recipe. And while there are many excellent recipes online, there have also been times when the results felt inconsistent or incomplete.

Ironically, when I teach baking classes, I often encourage my students to use well-tested recipes from cookbooks. They tend to be more thoroughly developed and clearly written. And yet, I haven’t always followed that advice myself.

This project is, in part, my way of closing that gap—of practicing what I teach and rebuilding trust in the books I’ve chosen to bring into my home.

The Purpose of This Blog

This blog is my way of bringing intention back to my collection.

Each recipe I make will be an opportunity to evaluate not just the outcome, but the experience:

• Was the recipe clearly written?

• Were the ingredients practical and accessible?

• Would I make it again?

At the end of each review, I’ll give a simple, practical rating:

Pass – This book earns its place on my shelf. I would return to it and cook from it again.

No Pass – While it may still be beautiful or inspiring, it’s not one I need to keep. This could be due to style, usability, or simply because I have other books that better meet my needs.

A “No Pass” isn’t a criticism of the author—it’s simply an acknowledgment of what works (or doesn’t) for me in my own kitchen.

A Moment of Honesty

I love cookbooks. I love discovering new authors, hearing their stories, and imagining the meals behind the pages. But admiration alone isn’t a good enough reason to keep every book I own.

So this is my commitment: to finally do what I’ve said I would do for years—cook from these books, learn from them, and make thoughtful decisions about what stays and what moves on to someone else who might enjoy it more.

Because cookbooks are meant to be used, not just collected.

And it’s time I started treating mine that way.

Here's to Cooking...