Why is everyone so intent on telling us ...........

If you're a "mad" collector of books, like me, then in amongst all your bookcase shelves, you're bound to have some cookery books. There'll be favourites that bear the imprint of spills and dogeared corners, and there'll be those that look as though they've just come home from your bookstore.

In my case those that still look new, even though some of them are more than 40 years old, are much more than a guide to creating and making special meals, whipping up a favourite cake or even just throwing some ingredients together to form a "comfort food" need. They have become favourite picture books that I take down from the bookshelves when I feel a little low in spirits, and I can quite happily become engrossed for hours on end, merely looking at the photos, appreciating the recipes themselves, and realising that the photos in themselves provide me with pleasure. I may wish that I will use the recipe to recreate what appears in the photo, and I may not. I find that indulging in day-dreaming is sometimes nice too.

Most of my "old" cookbooks don't have pictures though, and this is where imagination takes over, as well as memories of the fun and joy of cooking and baking for my family. A number of my books were published during and after the second world war, and while the ingredients were in many cases hard to find, the main staples formed the basis of much cooking. Surprisingly, one was able to easily change a basic recipe with a little forethought, and the usage and combination of many spices that gave flavours and textures to the food cooked and prepared that today seem boring and uninteresting. But this is where food retains its individuality and its appeal. I even remember I had a recipe book that gave 365 recipes for minced steak (when minced steak was almost the cheapest meat to buy), and they were all different. I know, for when things were tight during a recession back in the early 1960s, I made every one of those 365 recipes, and they were definitely not boring.

I've noticed lately that restaurants quite often include some of the "old-fashioned" meals. Take for instance - steak and kidney pie; lamb shanks; roast and yorkshire pudding. Then there's bread and butter custard; junket; golden syrup pudding served with custard. I even saw on the menu last week at a local "pub", brains. I've got to admit I've never eaten them, but it certainly looked as though a lot of people were eager to try.

But why is everyone so intent on telling us that we shouldn't eat this and shouldn't eat that? Food is something personal, and while I can accept the fact that "healthy" food is what we should be aiming for, this doesn't take away the fact that there are times when we need "comfort food". Just watch some of the Nigella Lawson tapes or DVD's and you'll see what I mean. Go back a bit further and watch the 2 Fat Ladies - well, yes, I have to agree that some of the meals prepared in duck fat and such wouldn't meet my own individual taste,but there were lots of recipes that I felt (and I'm sure other viewers felt as well) I'd like to taste. Go back further still to our very own Margaret Fulton who made, and continues to make, a big impression on our food and how we prepare and serve it.

But we don't need to go back to find recipes that fulfill all our expectations and needs. My favourite at the moment is David Herbert - he even quotes many of his recipes as being handed down from his mother, and aunts. I know there are countless cooks and chefs who write books that when published are big and heavy (and are priced accordingly), but sometimes I think it's the simple little newspaper cutting from the 1930s or 1940s that give me such pleasure in producing in my own kitchen.

And speaking of cookery books, I have two absolutely favourites. Both are scrapbooks - one which my mother started in the early 1930s, and my own which I began in the 1950s (and I have to admit I still add to it whenever I find a tempting recipe).