Create a Family Recipe Book

Mum has a big binder of newspaper clippings, scribbled notes and torn pages from magazines. This will be the basis of our Family Recipe Book. Family consists of her, myself and a bunch of relatives in England that I haven’t seen since I was three. But, no matter .. it’s important to me to have her banana bread recipe, my borscht, and her black forest torte written down in a safe place.

For the first time since completing my recipe book, I used it and made muffins.

They tured out yummy and the book held up.

done. I’m up to date. I don’t have anymore Recipes to add to the book right now.

I’ll just have to keep it updated, that’s all.

working on this again this week.

I found a bunch of recipes and I’m getting some page protectors into a binder.

Then I’m just going to organize them by ABC.

I started last year adding two pages per month. This years’ goal is to add three per month-some of those not necessarily being recipes, maybe fun trivia or some interesting tidbit.
Speaking of, I need to add the three pages per month to my list :0)

Without 43 Things, I’d still be “wanting” to do this but doing nothing about it. Well NOW, I’ve started doing something about it. There are several steps in this plan, the first being I need to organize what I’ve got!

This long weekend, I found a cool stripey binder sort of like this one. I got all my scattered recipe printouts into the binder, marked the “good” ones so I know for sure which recipes I’ve tried, and replaced my TWO old awful recipe boxes with ONE beautiful Mary Englebrecht large box. I also started sorting through my clipped recipes and was ruthless in discarding recipes that would no longer suit us – too much fat, too complicated, too many strange ingredients, etc. I recopied some recipes that I love onto new big beautiful cards.

As soon as I make my way through the entire pile of clipped recipes, the next step will be to transfer recipes that are on old small or dirty cards onto new large clean cards. I’m even considering getting a small laminating machine so I can laminate the cards and make them spill/spatter-proof!

Next, I will tackle the dreaded “small recipe booklets” that I have collected over the years. I may dismantle them and salvage only the best recipes if there are just a few decent ones. Or, if I am going to save the whole book, I’ll stack them together and go to Kinkos to have punch-hole bindings put on them so they are all together unified as their own recipe book. :)

I will end up with two definitive personal recipe sources – my binder and my box – and organize/narrow my cookbooks down to fit into one cabinet. Then it’s on to the “family” part of this recipe madness!

I’ve been thinking about this for some time actually, so I’m glad I found it on someone else’s list. In 2008 I’m going to make this happen!

I’m craving a sense of family these days. I live near my step-brothers and their families, and that is great. But my dad lives farther away than I’d like, and my mom & step-dad live across the state. So do my sister and my brother.

I’d like to create something that could bring us together, without even being together. I think this recipe book could be it. When I cook something, like Joe’s Special, I think of my dad. When I make salsa, I think of my step-dad. When I make chicken enchiladas, green been casarole, or a fantastic salad, I think of my mom.

I wonder if there’s anything I cook that makes them think of me. I hope so. But even if they just learn what I cook through this recipe book that will be a great first step. The same will go for my sister. I have no idea what she specializes in: cooking? baking? My brother Gary specializes in garlic…but I’m sure he’s got more in him. I make a great peach pie, so I think I’ll put that recipe in.

As Christmas approaches, I’ll be spending even more time with family. I can’t wait. And I think I’ll ask for a few recipes from each person. Perhaps by next Christmas I’ll have a great book, full of good things, to remind us all of those we love the most.

smoked salmon is prefered
parsley
oregano
5 eggs, beaten
lemon juice of a 1/8 lemon or lime
salt and pepper
cracked pepper flakes

it’s taken me a while to start on this goal. I need to gather more of what my grandmother cooked for me during my vacations at their house.

more to come…

every woman in me family for 3 generations has written her own recipe book and passed it on the the next generation. so not only do you have fun writing it and all your favourtites ready at hand, other will be greatfull for your work too!