I use recipes mainly for inspiration or reference, and I don’t have “a” cookbook that I’ve really worn out, but I do have a few that I really like. I make repeat visits to the original Moosewood Cookbook quite a bit, and I think “Hands Off Cooking” by Ann Martin Rolke is just brilliant. Her recipes allow you to just throw everything in a pan and walk away, which is great for a weeknight. My husband likes that one a lot, too – it does all the guesswork for him.

I didn’t start to learn to properly feed myself (still working on it, frankly) until I chose to eliminate meat from my diet altogether. Suddenly everything I’d grown up with was out the window, and I had to start over. I picked up “Sundays at Moosewood,” the Moosewood tome that details some of their “international” dishes (it’s divided into countries or regions of the world, and there are a dozen or so recipes “from” each country). I still have a handful of favorites in it I go back to, plus a couple of recipes I’ve been meaning to try for years but never have. But most importantly, it helped me break out of my habitual ways of thinking about food, and helped me realize that a wider variety of foods, flavors, and experiences than I had ever imagined was available to me even at the big chain grocery stores — no specialty markets required!

I’m not a vegetarian, for a variety of reasons, but I credit “Sundays at Moosewood” and subsequent Moosewood and vegetarian cookbooks with helping me eat much healthier than I had before.

I love the Joy of Cooking. I think it offers tons of recipes that are just what you mentioned… basic enough to offer a good jumping off point for some kitchen creativity. I was never interested in cooking when I was younger and had my mom around to teach me. I used JOC like a set of chemistry lab instructions for a few years to learn how to cook. When I discoved that I had lots of food allergies, I was forced into creativity in cooking. Now I just look at JOC for a general idea of ‘what to do with X’ and never really follow the recipe. It’s a great book, nonetheless. I love the “about” sections.

I love both of these for their explanations of why the recipe works and the included variations. Nigel in particular has helped me to become a much better cook over the years.