Be it Resolved that April is Cookbook Exploitation Month

Like so many of us, I have a lot of cookbooks. I do try to weed them occasionally (when I worked in a public library, I was the type of librarian who loved getting rid of unused books), but I just counted and I have over thirty, plus an accordian file full of both tried and untried recipes collected over the years.

I recently came across this Casual Kitchen blog post, declaring that April is Cookbook Exploitation Month. The idea: pick an underused cookbook from your collection, and vow to cook at least once from it each week in April.

Well, my vote is in, and I will be using Cooking Light Annual Recipes - 2006 edition. I spent some time flipping through it, and I like that it is rich in indexes! Aside from the usual alphabetical index, there's also a menu index which seems to reflect regular features in the print magazine, such as Simple Suppers, Casual Entertaining, Vegetarian, and Global Kitchen. Another index lists the recipes by title, and yet another groups the recipes as they appeared in each month's issue, organized by the article or feature that they appeared in. I think that may wind up being especially helpful for me when I want to cook seasonally.


So far my complaints are two: lack of photos (though there are some, and at any rate should be expected in an annual compilation!) and that there is not a good way to find all the vegetarian offerings, which are what I would use for lunch group. Still, I've already bookmarked a couple of recipes, and am bound to find more! I will probably start with Polenta with Spinach, Black Beans, and Goat Cheese. Hmm, or maybe I'll do Orecchiette and Arugula with Creamy Ricotta Sauce. OR Pasta Risotto with Fennel?

So many ideas!