My favorite cookbook

Here's a twist: The cookbook we use is one we assembled ourselves. It's a 3-inch-thick, three-ring binder, and we have recipes culled from newspapers, magazines, and the Food Network website in it. The recipes are sorted by type, and each one is encased in a page protector for easy storage and easy post-cooking clean-up. Best of all, the contents of the cookbook are ever-expanding!–Lisa Schmeiser, Alameda, Calif.

My favorite cookbook is Extending the Table: A World Community Cookbook (1991) by Joetta Handrich Schlabach, commissioned by Mennonite Central Committee to "promote global understanding and celebrate the variety of world cultures." It has "people food" recipes from all over the world. None of the recipes need expensive ingredients; many are vegetarian. With every recipe comes a pronunciation guide to the recipe's native name, a bit of local culture and food traditions, substitutions for ingredients that might not be available in the US, and, occasionally, a local prayer. The book really invites you to try out its recipes and flavors of faraway places. –Ineke Justitz, Moorhead, Minn.

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