My last
article talked about preserving family recipes and putting them into a printed
recipe book for family members. There
are many great uses for this type of unique gift. Think about family reunions, or a wedding
gift for family members.
Your mother
was a great cook and she had all those great recipes written down on scraps of
paper and shoved into a box but not organized, how will you ever get them put
together in an organized way? When you
decide to do a family recipe book there are steps that need to be taken to
ensure the book is organized and functional.
Here are some of the steps you should follow:
1. Organize your old recipe cards, cut
outs and those scraps of paper.
2. Put them in categories such as: meat, poultry, desserts, appetizers, side
dishes, etc.
3. Scan all these items. Put them into folders labeled like the
categories above.
4. Then create another folder for the
stories and pictures of how your family enjoyed the various recipes.
I talked
about these steps in my last article, so now we need to discuss actually
organizing the Family Cookbook Project.
We all long
for the welcoming sight of a buffet table simmering in familiar dishes at a
family gathering. Sights, sounds and
smells motivate us when we are getting ready for a family meal. The second helpings, the full stomach and the
laughter of good conversation that we remember long after the holiday
meal.
Here are a
few suggestions on how to really begin organizing all those recipes into a
Family Cookbook Project.
·
You
want to have everyone organize and scan THEIR recipes, take photos if possible
·
Discuss
with family members how you want to organize the book
·
Will
you combine the duplicates into one recipe or pick out the ones thought best
·
Create
a family history with photos of the dishes and who originally cooked that dish
No matter
how you decide to produce the cookbook, someone needs to organize it. It can take a lot of time, be loads of work
on the part of the organizer, but also become a rewarding experience for the
entire family. As a group make some
decisions like the following before going further.
·
Determine
the size of the project and set deadlines weeks ahead.
·
Set
up reminders to follow-up with each contributor.
·
Will
you want to produce a printed copy of this book?
·
Decide
the number of recipes you want submitted from each family member.
These are
great tips and there are more in this series.
Stay tuned for more information and further breakdowns of the various
steps that are outlined in this article.
