The Anticipation

I just ordered my copy of Cook This Now by Melissa Clark, and I can’t wait until it arrives.

I wasn’t going to buy this cookbook for two reasons: I have plenty of cookbooks already and I’m trying to stick to my budget (sorry, January—you were an expensive month).  But then my friend a asked me if I’d gotten my hands on a copy of it, and she reminded me of how wonderful Melissa Clark’s other book is.  Last night, I stopped by Barnes & Noble just to take a peek at Melissa’s new book, and I was reminded of the most wonderful feeling in the world: that moment when you settle into the couch with a new cookbook and plenty of time to sink into your treasure.  I love that feeling of starting at the introduction of a brand-new book; I am practically giddy with excitement over the delights that await me in unexplored pages.  And with a favorite author like Melissa Clark the feeling is even better because you just know it’s going to be terrific fun.

Cookbooks really are one of my great pleasures in life, and it hardly seems fair to deny myself such a thing.  After all, I’ve taken up wine-drinking, and that’s hardly an inexpensive hobby.  A new cookbook will last far longer than any bottle of wine, and it won’t make me tipsy either, not unless it instructs me to open the liquor cabinet and start mixing.  I also feel it’s important to support the careers of food writers.  It’s tough to write recipes for a living—tough and delicious, but still, it is work and I want cookbook authors to keep doing what they do.  While I would like to keep my cookbook habit under a modicum of control, I don’t want to abstain altogether.

Also, just from looking at the January chapter of Cook This Now: Double Coconut Granola?  Something about tofu croutons?  Yes, please!  I’ll have one of each.  At Barnes & Noble, I stopped myself from skimming more than a few pages because I don’t want to spoil any surprises or ruin any of the fun of diving into new cookbook pages.  So I’m just going to wait, ever so impatiently, for my new book, and I’ll tide myself over by flipping through my old cookbooks for some new recipes to try this weekend.