Sorry I didn't make myself clear. Our consumer organisation was criticising companies that were making their products appear environmentally friendly when they either weren't or they had a token benefit while still having undesirable aspects, and some of the claims were irrelevant or downright ridiculous anyway. Can't remember exactly but there were products that never contained the bad ingredient "b" and wouldn't logically require bad ingredient "b" that were being labelled "guaranteed b-free" just because "b" was in the news a lot. The dolphins were being put on products that had nothing to do with dolphins, oceans, anything like that. One product was promoted as producing an environmentally-friendly by-product which wasn't. It was nothing more than an exercise in feel-good marketing with absolutely no substance. Makes people confused and cynical. I've been interested in environmental issues for about twenty years. Lately it has become fashionable. In some ways that's making things easier for me but in other ways it's not. A lot more information out there, a lot more products. A lot more research. When we were looking for a new house we saw a couple advertised as solar- passive. One was tri-level with the two storey side almost all glass, the other was single level with lots of glass along one side. They had the "solar-passive look" that's for sure. One faced east, the other west. I don't take the realtor's word for it, I carry a compass. I think we are at a turning point. We can take it seriously or we can indulge in a feel-good exercise. When people who make a profit or are funded by our taxes to spread the environmental message treat it as a fashionable feel-good exercise I am concerned.

I have a copy of, "the NEW Fannie Farmer-Boston Cooking-School COOK BOOK", 1953. My father, in his retirement, took on the care of several Summer homes in Southern Maine. He would check on them during the winter, board up windows against storms, uncover rose gardens when the time was right, deal with emergencies...that kind of thing. During the Summer, when people were in residence, he was sort of a general, all around handyman. His largest client was old money...there was a beach named after the family, a road named after the family, and a huge home, loaded with antiques that had been the original furnishings. An elderly Black woman came up every summer from South Carolina to be their cook for the season. Little bittie thing, set in her ways and stubborn as heck, but since she'd been cooking for the family for decades, she knew what they liked and how to manage them. I had been separated from my father at age 5, and when I found him again in my early 30's, I went out to stay with him and my stepmother for a year to get to know them. He took me down to meet Marguerite. She was a kick, and we got along...several years later, when she knew that she wouldn't be able to make it up again the next season (or ever), she gave my father her Fannie Farmer for me. It still has a bunch of book marks in it, some with shopping lists, some with her name, some with cryptic notes I can't decipher, all in the same, slanted hand. I actually use the book quite a bit, but I don't disturb the bookmarks. I sometimes puzzle over the marked pages, wondering which recipe she had marked... I also have my mother's copy of "The Complete American-Jewish Cookbook",1952. It has a separate section of Passover recipes. There are no pork recipes, naturally. Generally, the cookies and bread recipes are good. As for unique...I have an Ethiopian cookbook...the only one I've been able to find. "Exotic Ethiopian Cooking-Society, Culture, Hospitality, & Traditions. I've only made a couple of dishes out of it. I love Ethiopian food, and when I found out how much Nit'ir Qibe (purified herb & spice butter) is used in most of the dishes I love, I realized why I love them. For example, in dishes made from 1 pound of ground beef, it is not unusual that they contain a cup of butter. A typical lentil dish pairs 2 cups of lentils with 2 cups of butter. No wonder I love it!

Well, I'm going to buck the trend here. (What else is new?) I adored Julia Child, but when I was 21, I had no interest in taking on that level of book. It was too intimidating. And I've never used my Joy of Cooking, which I didn't even consider buying until I was in my mid-30s and felt l "should" have a copy. It's probably a godsend if you entertain formally or have a family to feed, but it's never suited my style or circumstances. As much as I dislike her on TV, Sara Moulton's "Sara Moulton Cooks at Home" is a good cookbook - simple recipes but appealing to a younger, move novice cook than the "old standards". The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (the version edited by Marion Cunningham) or Marion Cunningham's "learning to Cook" are both good. (The second one is written for adults in spite of the misleading name.) And the Martha Stewart publicantion we were talking about recently "Everyday Food" now has a cookbook out that looks good. The one I probably depended on more than any other when I was a new cook were Betty Crocker and Better Homes and Gardens. I still have my BH&G.

Thank you all for the varied responses. I'd rather not single anyone out for their responses. I can't write my whole life story here, however taking all the comments in context, I want to clarify a few things. My son has been a blessing having moved in when I'm facing a very difficult life situation regarding my husband. Due to Covid, visitation is so difficult at hospitals and rehab places. I'm frankly depressed over what has happened with my husband of 50 yrs, and very lonely and scared he won't come home again. My husband is a physician and always worked long hours and was rarely home until very late when our kids were growing up. I basically raised my daughter and son alone. Their father would come home, many nights after they were in bed. Medicine was his life and his patients were very important to him. I accepted that from the very beginning. My husband never cooked or had any interest in it. He was happy opening a can of tuna and having that. He could scramble eggs, that's it. Our son is very much like him. A very hard worker and very kind. He is very much like his father. He has a very concrete type of thinking, unlike my daughter who is creative (a writer), MSW, great cook, gardens, etc. My son is so opposite. However, he is very kind and loves working with people and helping them get on their feet again (just like he's facing. He helps me in so many ways since moving in and I realize he's facing his own problems. I thought learning the basics of cooking might be something he should learn to help him not depend on always getting take-out or frozen dinners. Yes, he knows how to microwave, make sandwiches, frozen pizza's, etc. He doesn't know how to cook at all. I thought recipes which were easy to understand without having prior knowledge of various techniques would be a good way to start him cooking. I'm sorry if I made it sound like he's a burden to me, not at all. I just see it as a way to make him more comfortable about tackling cooking a simple meal. He seems to enjoy the time we work together on simple things. But, I also realize (didn't before this) that he's uncomfortable about chopping, breading, mixing eggs, simple things. I don't cook 3 meals a day at all. I don't for myself, certainly not for him. He buys his own cereal or whatever he wants, he does his own shopping. He likes to buy ham or turkey and makes his own sandwiches. My question was not about a son who was taking advantage of me. Just a simple question about a cookbook. Not sure how people thought somehow, my son was taking advantage of me. He's not in any way. He's been so helpful in other ways and company for me during a very difficult time. Now you all know more about my life than I really wanted to explain. I was asking for a simple cookbook for a adult who I thought could benefit from making a few simple dishes for himself when he moves out. That's it. Thanks for the names of cookbooks. I will look them up and order a few. Jane