​I am sure we can all recall some wonderful memories of visiting Grammas house or gathering with family during special days when everyone would bring a dish to pass. And we all had that one dish we hoped and prayed would be there.  Was it Aunt Betty’s famous deviled eggs, or Gramma Alice’s jello mold with fruit.  Maybe it was homemade Chicken and Noodles.  Whatever the case, there are meals that make us feel like we are home. In the safety and comfort of our loved ones.  I feel very fortunate that I have several recipes that have been handed down from my family – and some of them I still use on a regular basis. Others are more for special occasions.  But then I am sad when I remember that one of my grandmas did not write down any of her recipes. She cooked using the lil pinch of this and a tad of that measuring.  I really did love her cornbread and fried corn.  Guess I need to find out if any other relatives ever wrote down her directions.
So now that your mouth is watering and you are rummaging through the kitchen cabinets, let’s talk about how you can give someone the gift of love and family history all in one.  Make a collection of recipes from family (and friends) and put them into a recipe book.  Not the old boring typed out list of ingredients and steps to follow.  But scan a digital image of the handwritten recipe card, even with all the stains and creases in it – that way you know it was loved.  Ask family to send you photos of the recipes if they don’t have the means to scan it.  Or maybe at the next family gathering, you ask everyone to bring the copies of their favorite recipes and then YOU scan them all for your collection and then they get the original back.
Now you go back home and have all these recipes.  I use FOREVER Artisan 5 software to create a book easily and quickly – add the background papers, insert the digital files onto the pages, if I am lucky enough I can add a photo of the actual dish after it was made or maybe a photo of the cook who I got the recipe from.  Make it personal.  Add some comments and modifications in the margins as to how you change the recipe (for instance, I put oatmeal instead of bread crumbs in my meatloaf).  Some of the recipes will be handwritten, hard to read and fading – include the recipe card and then next to it, type out the info again so you don’t have to strain to read it while cooking.  Intermingle recipes from each side of the family.  Make it about sharing family history as well as some comfort food.
I recently put out a request to family to send me recipes from their kitchen.  When I got them all, I incorporated them into a book and then made multiple copies, we have 3 family weddings this year.  So guess what the bridal shower gift is?? A handmade book created by me containing some of the recipes the couple would have grown up on and will want to share in their new home!  I did personalize each book with their engagement photo on the first page but EVERYTHING else is exactly the same. So easy.  Let me know if you want help putting together your own recipe book, for a great gift to share with family.
I can smell the bread baking in Grandma’s house right now. YUM!!!

​I am sure we can all recall some wonderful memories of visiting Grammas house or gathering with family during special days when everyone would bring a dish to pass. And we all had that one dish we hoped and prayed would be there.  Was it Aunt Betty’s famous deviled eggs, or Gramma Alice’s jello mold with fruit.  Maybe it was homemade Chicken and Noodles.  Whatever the case, there are meals that make us feel like we are home. In the safety and comfort of our loved ones.  I feel very fortunate that I have several recipes that have been handed down from my family – and some of them I still use on a regular basis. Others are more for special occasions.  But then I am sad when I remember that one of my grandmas did not write down any of her recipes. She cooked using the lil pinch of this and a tad of that measuring.  I really did love her cornbread and fried corn.  Guess I need to find out if any other relatives ever wrote down her directions.
So now that your mouth is watering and you are rummaging through the kitchen cabinets, let’s talk about how you can give someone the gift of love and family history all in one.  Make a collection of recipes from family (and friends) and put them into a recipe book.  Not the old boring typed out list of ingredients and steps to follow.  But scan a digital image of the handwritten recipe card, even with all the stains and creases in it – that way you know it was loved.  Ask family to send you photos of the recipes if they don’t have the means to scan it.  Or maybe at the next family gathering, you ask everyone to bring the copies of their favorite recipes and then YOU scan them all for your collection and then they get the original back.
Now you go back home and have all these recipes.  I use FOREVER Artisan 5 software to create a book easily and quickly – add the background papers, insert the digital files onto the pages, if I am lucky enough I can add a photo of the actual dish after it was made or maybe a photo of the cook who I got the recipe from.  Make it personal.  Add some comments and modifications in the margins as to how you change the recipe (for instance, I put oatmeal instead of bread crumbs in my meatloaf).  Some of the recipes will be handwritten, hard to read and fading – include the recipe card and then next to it, type out the info again so you don’t have to strain to read it while cooking.  Intermingle recipes from each side of the family.  Make it about sharing family history as well as some comfort food.
I recently put out a request to family to send me recipes from their kitchen.  When I got them all, I incorporated them into a book and then made multiple copies, we have 3 family weddings this year.  So guess what the bridal shower gift is?? A handmade book created by me containing some of the recipes the couple would have grown up on and will want to share in their new home!  I did personalize each book with their engagement photo on the first page but EVERYTHING else is exactly the same. So easy.  Let me know if you want help putting together your own recipe book, for a great gift to share with family.
I can smell the bread baking in Grandma’s house right now. YUM!!!