The Buttercup Bakery

The Latest Addiction Sweeping The Nation!

Okay guys 'n gals, we need to have a talk. This is very important so I need your FULL attention. That's right, TV off, silence the kids, put the dog in the garden and focus.

We need to talk about a very serious problem that's sweeping across the country. The world even! By this point, I believe it may already have reached pandemic proportions and is a huge threat to your time, your money and possibly even your relationships. This is an addiction that simply must be addressed. Recipe collection.

Okay, I know it sounds pretty tame, but hear me out. Yesterday, excitement overwhelmed me as I headed off with my (very patient) husband to the 20% off sale at Waterstones. First off, they NEVER have a sale that applies to everything in store. EVER. Secondly, it was the perfect opportunity to invest in a new cookbook. Yes, that's right. Invest. Because I do see every new recipe as an investment.

'Not ANOTHER cookbook!' my husband cried.

'What do you mean, ANOTHER cookbook?' I was hurt. Wounded even! Does he not realise the absolute, all-encompassing brilliance of cookbooks?

'Babes, you already have a bookshelf full of them in the dining room. You've run out of space for other books in the spare room, and you rarely make any of the recipes anyway! What's the point when you can get them all for free online?'

After I'd finished giving him what we affectionately call 'the evils', I calmly pointed out that there is no such thing as 'enough' when it comes to recipes; that I may not directly use the recipes themselves all the time, but that they serve as inspiration for the recipes I create and intend to sell as part of my business. Oh, and that there must be some room somewhere. Has he checked his wardrobe lately?

Of course, he's sort of right. I've always been a bibliophile (that's a fancy word for someone who spends too much money on books they don't necessarily 'need'). But my recipe craze has reached epic proportions of late. I have a large recipe box, stuffed with recipes torn out of magazines. I have shelves and shelves of cookbooks, which I puruse from time to time, searching for inspiration, but otherwise don't often reach for. And I have now happily agreed to take my (lovely) mother-in-law's cookery magazines off her hands when she's finished with them.

The last of those was met with yet more cries from my husband of 'NOOO!! Not MORE recipes!!!' As my mother-in-law cheerfully handed over the latest 4 from her own collection.

Despite this, I did go and buy another cookbook yesterday afternoon from the Waterstones sale. Marian Keyes' 'Saved By Cake', since you asked. It was £3 off on top of the 20% sale! What was I supposed to do? Hmm?! Anyway, I've done my usual thing already of poring over all the recipes in detail, then sticking a little post-it tab on every page where there's a recipe I want to try. It's a running joke with my in-laws that I do this and that with catalogues I fold the pages over to mark the recipes. But it's very efficient! Honest!

The truth is, I probably should stop. Do I really NEED another cookbook? Or another cooking magazine stuffed with recipes? Honestly? Probably not. But it's cheaper than gambling and it's healthier than drugs (don't do drugs, kids). So for now, I guess we'd better start looking at building another bookshelf. I wonder if there's space in the shed??