cookbookcollecting.com

Cookbook Collecting

Andrea's Shelf of Recipes & Stories

A home for Andrea's cookbook collection: the books, the stories behind them, and tips for fellow collectors.

from Andrea's kitchen

A kitchen counter by a window with vintage cookbooks, an open cookbook on a stand, a mixing bowl, eggs, herbs and a gingham towel
The shelf by the kitchen window

Contents

  1. Chapter 1Welcome3
  2. Chapter 2On the Shelves9
  3. Chapter 3From the Blog17
  4. Chapter 4Collector's Tips25
  5. Chapter 5Get in Touch31

Chapter 1 · Welcome

Hi, I'm Andrea, and I collect cookbooks.

This is where I share the cookbooks on my shelves, the recipes I bake from them, and the stories tucked between their pages.

— Andrea

Chapter 2 · On the Shelves

Five kinds of cookbooks live here.

Recipe for:

Vintage & Antique Cookbooks

Pre-1960 classics with cloth covers.

Recipe for:

Church & Community Cookbooks

Spiral-bound fundraiser books full of family recipes.

Recipe for:

Chef & Restaurant Cookbooks

Signed and first editions from famous kitchens.

Recipe for:

Regional & Michigan Cookbooks

Local flavors and hometown recipes.

Recipe for:

Advertising & Brand Booklets

Recipe pamphlets from flour, gelatin and appliance makers.

Chapter 3 · From the Blog

Fresh from Andrea's kitchen.

Latest from the blog, newest first

Baked cake in its pan on a cooling rack
Fresh out of the oven
Post:

Southern Living Zucchini Bundt

Date:
October 2026
Filed under:
Baking

From Southern Living 2002 Annual Recipes: "Chocolate-Zucchini Cake," makes 8 to 10 servings

A chocolate cake with a garden secret, baked in my classic Nordic Ware Bundt pan and gone before lunch at the office.

Read more

Every collector has a few books she reaches for again and again, and my Southern Living Annual Recipes volumes are near the top of that list. The 2002 edition promises "every single recipe from 2002," and flipping through it is like opening a time capsule of Southern kitchens. This time I stopped at a recipe the book sums up perfectly: "No one will guess the surprise ingredient."

That surprise is zucchini, three whole cups of it, grated and folded into a rich chocolate batter with toasted pecans. If you've ever had a garden overflowing with zucchini in late summer, this is the cake for you. I jotted "Sept. 2026" in the margin so I'll always remember when I first baked it.

I used my traditional Nordic Ware Bundt pan, well greased and floured, and the cake released beautifully, every ridge crisp and clean. It baked up tall and golden-brown on top, and once it cooled I gave it a snowy dusting of powdered sugar. The crumb is incredibly moist and tender, deeply chocolaty, with little flecks of zucchini and pecan in every slice. You'd never know there was a vegetable in it.

I took it to work, and it disappeared fast. Everyone loved it, and more than one person asked for the recipe. My kitchen helper supervised the whole bake from the kitchen floor, hoping a pecan or two would fall his way.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 (1-ounce) unsweetened chocolate baking squares, melted
  • 1½ cups vegetable oil
  • 3 cups grated zucchini (about 5)
  • 1 cup pecans, chopped
  • Powdered sugar for dusting

Method

  1. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  2. Beat the eggs at medium speed with an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar and beat until blended. Add the melted chocolate and oil; beat until blended.
  3. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Fold in the zucchini and pecans.
  4. Pour into a well-greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  5. Cool in the pan 15 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Prep 15 min Bake 1 hr 15 min Cool 15 min

Cover of Southern Living 2002 Annual Recipes
The book: Southern Living 2002 Annual Recipes
Recipe page listing the cake's ingredients
The recipe page
Recipe method with Sept. 2026 handwritten in the margin
Margin note: Sept. 2026
Chocolate batter in a Nordic Ware Bundt pan
Batter in the Nordic Ware pan, flecked with zucchini and pecans
Chocolate-zucchini Bundt dusted with powdered sugar on a glass cake stand, a cut zucchini in front
The surprise ingredient
Close-up of the Bundt dusted with powdered sugar
Turned out and dusted with powdered sugar
The Bundt with a slice on a plate beside autumn candles
A slice, with a little autumn décor
A golden retriever lying on the kitchen floor
My kitchen helper, on pecan patrol

Chapter 4 · Collector's Tips

Five things worth knowing before you buy.

Method

  1. Editions

    Look for first printings

    Check the copyright page and the number line.

  2. Condition

    Condition matters

    Note the dust jacket, spine, binding, stains and any loose pages.

  3. Hunting

    Know where to look

    Estate sales, library sales, thrift stores and church rummage sales are great hunting grounds.

  4. Storage

    Store them well

    Keep books upright, out of direct sunlight, and away from kitchen heat and humidity.

  5. History

    Keep the extras

    Handwritten notes and tucked-in recipe cards add character and history, so keep them with the book.

Chapter 5 · Get in Touch

Have a cookbook to share or a question about one?