A Collection of Family Recipes: YOURS!
It's the season of giving, and I've been thinking a lot about presents, particularly for my sister, Jennifer. This past summer she got married. What could she possibly need after four bridal showers and wedding? I've finally decided to give her a collection of family recipes.
I've learned from experience that a project like this can be overwhelming. It's best to start simple. A full-on cookbook is more than I could handle. If I had to assemble several dozen recipes, this project would never get finished.
My plan then is to put together a small collection of Thanksgiving recipes. Jennifer loves Thanksgiving dinner, and my Aunt Flossie has been cooking it for the last 30 years. The collection I envision will have all those family recipes: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes (yes, she needs a recipe for this), gravy and cranberry relish.
There are lots of companies that will help you publish a cookbook of your own, but I'm not that ambitious. I'd like to make a small book of five to ten recipes with photos.
I'm particularly excited about this project because I've heard so many sad stories about family recipes disappearing. I don't want that happen to ours. If you've done a similar project, maybe you'd like to share your tip. If you haven't, maybe you'd like to do this with me. Wish you had a recipe collection of your family's Thanksgiving meal? How about a collection of Christmas cookies? Or all dishes you enjoy over Christmas? Won't you join me?
--Tracy Schneider
ShanaBanana on November 22, 2009 at 02:29 AM
I did this last year for my niece and nephew. My plan was to come up with 6-10 recipes for dishes of my Mom's that we had at every big family gathering and to use scrapbooking techniques to put them together in a cute way.
It quickly became something much bigger as everyone had a favorite casserole, salad, dessert of her's that they thought should be added. I ended up with 70 recipes and had the books spiral bound at Kinkos. There will probably be a volume two in a few years.
It ended up being an emotional project for me as my mother died in 95 and the project brought back lots of great memories. I wish you the best on your project.
Tracy Schneider on November 22, 2009 at 09:46 AM
ShanaBanana, thanks for sharing your experience. I love that you encouraged family members to suggest a favorite dish. What a wonderful way to connect and reconnect with everyone. Did anyone suggest a dish that you hadn't thought about in years? It's fascinating how food triggers such deep memories.
I know this will be an emotional project for me too. My aunt's recipes are the same as my mother's and grandmother's, so this experience will unearth a whole slew of great memories. I never thought to use scrapbooking techniques, but by doing so I bet you were really able to personalize your recipe collection in a wonderful way. What a special gift!
John D. on November 22, 2009 at 02:05 PM
That is a great idea. Lasso the family chefs and get their recipes. You should probably give every cook in your family the recipes to insure they go on.
I just wrote about a recipe not going on here: http://whilemysautoirgentlysweats.blogspot.com/2009/11/lost-legacy.html
HopeSew on November 23, 2009 at 05:49 AM
I like the scrapbook idea too, but I'd be careful not to make it so pretty that she'd be afraid to use it in the kitchen. Sheet protectors? Lamination? And maybe the binding should be something that's expandable so she can add recipes. That would help you keep to your limit of 10 recipes that you'd supply.
This sounds like a really cool, thoughtful, and valuable project. :)
Cricket on November 23, 2009 at 06:42 AM
I have been doing something like this for our family for several years. It started with my own collection of family recipes as a gift for my new sister-in-law, but then the whole family wanted a copy. I now update it every other Christmas--asking for submissions of new favorites from family members--and the "book" has grown to nearly 50 pages with an increasing number of requests from extended family.
I initially printed it on my home printer and inserted the pages back-to-back in sheet protectors, which I put in slim 3-ring binders with space for cover and spine artwork. Updates were then done by giving people new pages to insert in succeeding editions. Last year it got too cost-prohibitive to print that many copies with the ever-increasing number of pages, so I converted my file to PDF and burned them to CDs. Many of my family members say they prefer that option, and I'll create the next edition that way next Christmas.
Martha on November 23, 2009 at 08:32 AM
"Recipes Remembered" is the name of the cookbook I am finally publishing of my mother's recipes. She died in 2005 and left a cooking, especially baking, legacy as well as 4 large boxes of recipes. The book is 96 pages and includes pictures and stories of Mom. Most recipes have an intro with her children's memories of that particular recipe. Each child and grandchild is represented with either a picture or memory. I included a few legacy recipes (my grandmothers' and great-grandmothers' recipes). There is a genealogy in the back. I created it in Publisher and am having it professionally printed. (Kinko's quality was too poor for a family heirloom and the printer was less expensive!) This started out as a few recipes but the project kept growing. Here is one granddaughter's memory of Mom:
“I would just sit there and watch her strong arms and hands mix and knead whatever she was making. We wouldn’t even have to talk because it was very entertaining just to watch her. She would get so serious and concentrate so hard on her creation.”
Tracy Schneider on November 23, 2009 at 10:01 AM
Thanks, John D. for passing along your own lost recipe story. I wish I had that recipe for your Dad's fluffy potato pancakes too!
I so appreciate all of your comments these last few months, HopeSew. I love the idea of lamination. And the expandable pockets may very well encourage my sister to keep this tradition going. Brilliant!
Cricket, you're well ahead of the curve! Thanks for your insights. A searchable database of recipes on CD is a great idea.
Martha, "Recipes Remembered," with its photos, stories and recipes will be a cherished gift for all who receive it. Thanks for sharing your story.
Diane on November 23, 2009 at 10:11 PM
I noticed today at Tuesday Morning they had some scrapbook kits for making a family cookbook. If you have a program like Print Artist or scrapbook software, check that for a cookbook template too. Might as well go for easy. LOL Everyone is going to want one. An internet rubberstamping group I belonged to traded recipies a couple times with everyone making and decorating a page or two and making enough for everyone. We all sent our pages to the hostess and then she sent us each a set. I put mine in page protectors and it's really gorgeous. Although if you have recipies written out by family members, I would just have them color copied because it's so heartwarming to see a loved ones handwriting and the splotches from years past.