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Making a Personal Cookbook

© Jennifer Pitt

In my kitchen, I keep everything that I regularly use for baking stored together on one side. Even though I keep a couple of recipe files, (one in a recipe card box, another on my computer), I like to keep copies of my family’s favorite recipes together in a notebook. I like to call it Jen’s Personal Cookbook. I figure it will have to do until I can actually get one published!

If you have to hunt and search for that recipe you made last month that your family keeps raving about, then you may need to create your personal cookbook. The materials, which you’ll need to create your own personal cookbook, are simple and not expensive.

All you need is a notebook or binder of choice, tab/dividers, a hold puncher and (of course) pages of information. The notebook binder can be big or small; 1” or 2”….it doesn’t matter. My suggestion would be that if you know you are going to constantly add to it, go ahead an invest in one that will hold quite a lot. If you feel that the recipes you already have are basically the only ones you’ll be preparing and won’t increase in volume then you may want one of the thinner type notebooks. Also, if you want one that will be more portable and less bulky, one of the miniature ones may be for you.

If you don’t already a lot of recipes you can obtain them via various sources. Magazines are a good source to begin with. I have found some good recipes in magazines. Not only in baking and cooking magazines either. Magazines geared toward women, homes and cooking supplies usually have some type of recipes in them. I’ve even found recipes in my quarterly auto insurance newsletter! Regardless of the magazine, if there are food advertisements it’s quite usual for there to be a recipe somewhere nearby.

Another source of information may come from what you are doing right now, surfing the net. A lot of sites offer “Printer Friendly Pages”. Which basically mean you can print out the page without the borders and ads.

A couple of good sites to obtain printer-friendly information are:

www.foodtv.com
www.recipezaar.com (bonus: prints the “Nutrition Facts” on the right side)

Some sites of baking products will send you (free of charge) recipe booklets. You may be interested in the ones listed at http://ker-ching.com/Free_Stuff/Cookbook... Although be warned as these are not geared towards baking only but cooking in general. The following are direct links to website offering free brochures with baking recipes.

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