Clutter or Heirloom

Two of my dearest friends (members of the Posse) have recently downsized, and while neither one of them could be accused of nagging, they are both insistent.  “Get rid of the clutter, Anne.  Now!” I listen, and know, of course, they are referring to my cookbooks, and I am trying.  I am trying.  However, this week I did wonder if the books should be considered clutter or instead cherished possessions.

Admittedly, there are a lot of cookbooks in my home, and I have tried to purge some of them.  About twenty years ago at my husband’s suggestion, I wrote “LOVE AND BREADCRUMBS,” a narrative collection of my favorite recipes and gave the book to family and friends as a Christmas gift.  Since that was two decades ago, unfortunately, I have since added to the voluminous collection.  That may have been a mistake, but because of what happened this week, I am no longer certain.

The evening of the third Monday of the month is when we visit our young friends at Madonna Heights.  Jackie has been doing this for the past thirty years and Eleanor and I have only recently joined her.  Jackie is my daughter’s age, but is Fairy Godmother, sister, friend and surrogate Mother to all the young women who enter and leave the small RTF house on the sprawling grounds in Dix Hills.  Eleanor travels from New Jersey bringing with her an abundance of joie de vivre, amazing sense of adventure and rollicking sense of humor as her monthly gift.  Jackie brings food, crafts and more love than could ever possibly be assessed.  I bring cookies, and that is the reason for this story.

National Grid and I have had extreme difficulty in rendezvousing for meter readings.  A long story, and probably neither one of us is to blame, but when I received a phone message saying they would be at my home Monday sometime between 11 and 4 to install a new meter, I knew I must remain at home. Then I realized I also had to bake cookies, and I had not shopped.  The refrigerator was not quite barren, but limited.  Only two eggs and one stick of unsalted butter was on the shelf.  Panic began to set in, and I remembered the small hard covered book on the pile of items to be discarded.  Maida Heatter’s  “BOOK OF GREAT COOKIES” had always been a favorite of mine throughout the years, but now the cover was torn, and I thought my favorites had been included in “LOVE AND BREADCRUMBS.”

Since I had ample time while waiting for the National Grid representative, I began to search for a recipe with limited ingredients.  To my absolute delight, I found Aspen Oatmeal Bars on Page 111.  This wonderful recipe calls for only 5 ingredients; butter, sugar, baking powder, salt and oatmeal.  The cookies were mixed, baked and ready within an hour.  And like all of Ms. Heatter’s recipes, they are incredibly delicious, and I believe all of our young friends at Madonna Heights agreed later that evening.I think now my problem is to determine how much of what others may consider clutter qualifies instead as a cherished item.  Maida Heatter’s book was originally published in 1977, and possibly could now be considered an heirloom.  I must confess, however, it is now (minus its tattered cover) again on my bookshelf and will remain there.