It’s family reunion time again here in the United States and Canada. I can already taste my mom’s peach cobbler. I can’t tell you how many times I called my mom and said, “Mom, I just need your recipe for your homemade cake and ice cream.” It’s been a slow build up of recipes over the years, but it subsides every time I ask for another recipe.
Many of the recipes are actually from my grandmother, who passed them down before she passed away many years ago. You know, I can still remember baking oatmeal raisin cookies with my grandmother even though it’s been almost 35 years since I last had that opportunity.
Now that I have a grown son and daughter, my wife and I, who both love to cook, really wanted to pass the recipes on to both of you as well. Many of these recipes that they grew up with and now that they have children of their own, are just starting to request. My wife also has a recipe book from her grandmother on her father’s side. It’s too old and tattered now to use regularly, so it’s time to restore and update it.
So many wonderful kitchen memories…so many more that I have lost to time.
I wish the idea of a recipe scrapbook had been around when I was just a kid.
Recipe scrapbooks can be given to brothers, daughters, cousins, children, or just about anyone. An 8.5×11 scrapbook works perfectly here in the US and Canada and can be printed on any standard printer. They’re big enough to hold a 3×5 index card, a couple of photos, and any recorded memories you create. You can also use an 8×8 scrapbook and bind the recipes in a square format.
I think it is a great mix to combine your photos and recipes. Digital scrapbook templates are perfect for this. For example, combine a group family photo of your gathering at the beginning of the album with a signature page of everyone in the photo. This is a great way to start the album before the index page. If you have ordered recipes from all family members present, please place a photo of the recipe submitter on that recipe page with the recipe on the opposite page. I like to put a photo and lined journal page for memories on the left with the recipe, instructions, and photo of the finished item or cooking fun on the right.
Here’s another great tip I learned from my wife’s sister… help your reader with a shopping list at the bottom of each recipe or on the back of the recipe cards you use. You might also consider placing the actual recipe on one page of your scrapbook recipe book, and placing the shopping lists separately in the back or at the end of each section.
Note: While using recipe cards is great so you can remove them and take them directly to the market… my personal experience has shown that cards do go missing from time to time. They also add bulk to what is already a voluminous cookbook scrapbook. I have found that having the list printed at the bottom of each page makes it easy to copy it when needed and much easier to combine common ingredients for various dishes.
Another family recipe scrapbook tip is to create a bit of history with your recipes. If you are adding recipes passed down through the generations or from a family member who is no longer living, you may want to have the photos on the left, the recipe on the right page, and a little more historical information about the author on a third page. page. with even more photos. Most scrapbooks are highly expandable, especially digital scrapbooks, so there is room for many pages in an album.
If necessary, divide the scrapbook of family recipes into volumes by type of food or sides of the family tree.
Almost all cookbooks have a measurement chart and a conversion chart, so when scrapbooking recipes, it’s a good idea to add this information to the index before or after.
In addition to family gatherings, recipe scrapbooks make the perfect gift for a new bride, especially if the recipe comes from your husband’s side of the family featuring his favorite dishes he grew up with.
Whether the family recipe scrapbook is for you, your family, or a new bride struggling to cook for her new husband. The only ingredient that will make it worth its weight in gold are the memories you engrave safely within.
