I've been cleaning out my recipe file. Maybe "file" is an incorrect term.
Instead think of the thickest three-ring binder you've ever seen...three,four inches at the spine. Now imagine that filled with hundreds of pages from the slide in photo album era. (The ones that you aren't supposed to store photos in because it sucks the life out of photos...yes, I recycled them and punched new holes into every stinking one of them because the current holes did not line up.) Imagine each of the double-sided, double-pocket pages holding two to three recipes. Now. You got the picture, right?
How many recipes do you think I actually use?
I'm guessing 10.
Most of my cooking is toss, whip and create on the spot. Do I actually need seventeen lasagna recipes? I know how to make lasagna with my hands tied behind my back and a blindfold on. I may tweak ingredients. Honestly, it's a little or a lot different every time I make it, but, I have yet to use any of those recipes I've amassed.
My file is so huge because I can't stand the clutter of lots of cookbooks (probably for the same reason above). So I save recipes from the cookbooks...just a few from each, and get rid of the book. I do have a few cookbooks but they are either nostalgic or unique and I rarely open those either.
Oy. But I'm telling you. It feels good to cull those pieces of paper that inspire guilt and tension.
Also this is another sign of fall. My crazy-meter is telling me to start cleaning crevices and crannies so I can be company ready for the holidays. Yes. I did go through my recipes last year, too. This year I'm being brutal though. BRUTAL!
