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Keeping A Recipe Notebook

Inspire Your Cooking Skills

Were you born a natural chef or are you picking up cooking for the first time at college? Have you pinned or bookmarked recipes on Google but forget they even exist?

Let’s face it: convenient frozen meals can be a life saver. Whether you’re running between classes or working late at the office, those one-hit-wonders can serve us in a pinch. And I’ll be the first to say that the chefs behind frozen lasagnas have truly upped their game. But after a night or two the beef tastes bland and the pasta feels dull.

So why settle? Have you ever walked by a restaurant that smelled so good you felt like you were tasting the meal? Or maybe you’ve caught a whiff of the neighbor’s grill and felt a rush of excitement at the possibility of steak or simply a good burger.

Good food offers us a taste of the beauty and richness of life. Food naturally brings people together and stirs up conversation. It transports us to Grandma’s kitchen and Maine in the summer; it connects us with our kitchen garden and early lettuces in Spring, or transports us to our month in Paris and the corner brasserie. Exploring food gives us a sense of adventure – and learning to cook it ourselves? Twice the fun.

Try A Recipe Journal

A recipe journal is a creative way to make cooking far more easy and way more fun! Discover new dishes and perfect your favorite recipes to enjoy any day of the week! It is a personal archive of your top  recipes from friends, family or the internet. Choose when to journal and which foods to capture without the stress of keeping a daily journal!   

Handwritten recipe in a journal with hydrangea

Food Is Friendship and Family

Like any journal, it is an opportunity to learn about yourself and learn about others. Pick up a few more journals and start them together with friends. Once you’ve traded your first recipe, you’ll be hooked.

After all, who doesn’t love tracing personal growth and preserving happy memories? Think about it for just a second: how many times does a certain food stir up nostalgia for happy nights with friends, annual holidays, a special person’s birthday, or a family tradition? For me, one taste of banana cream pie brings me back to summer evenings with my mom; green curry to an August dinner date with my friend Liz.

How Does It Help Me?

Keeping a recipe journal is practical, fun and personal. 

A recipe journal will save you time and energy. It is your go-to resource for quick dinner ideas after a long day of classes or a late day at work. Easily organize your meals and shopping trips for the week.

But it’s more than that: keep a recipe journal to see how your cooking skills have grown and how your tastes have evolved over time. Give that new recipe a try!

A recipe journal is a creative, fun way to treasure moments in your life and the lives of older friends and family who might inspire you with certain recipes. Plus, the personal, handwritten element takes this journal up another level.

What Do I Write In It And When

Your recipe journal is a little window into what makes you, you. It’s your personal playlist of foods to match with that quiet, peaceful morning or that bumping dinner party.

It is your curated collection of favorite recipes – the finest of the finest, the best of the best. Collect top recipes from your friends and family. You know that friend with the amazing banana bread recipe? Does your grandma have the world’s best artichoke dip? Did you just stumble across a killer 7-layer-dip recipe on google?

Write these recipes down on Sunday afternoons or as you wind down before bed. You’ll thank yourself the next time you make food for an event. With space to write notes beside each recipe, you can note any changes to the recipe and record little memories associated with that food. Perhaps you have discovered that the naan bread needs a few extra minutes to get that perfect golden color. Or maybe you want to remember that outdoor dinner under the string lights where you first tasted those fish tacos.

Even more, you can quickly add variations to the recipes to work around allergies or personal preferences: “No walnuts for nut allergy.” “Add mint to this cocktail;”  “Drizzle with lemon for a lighter taste;” or “Stir in pineapple and walnuts for a tropical twist.”

Another cool approach is to make a list of dishes you want to make in the future. Maybe you don’t have time for that complex bacon-wrapped pork pie recipe, but you know you want to try it at some point. Create a page for these recipe goals for the next rare, delectable weekend you find yourself with nothing to do. Instead of wondering what to do or floating in and out of boredom, cooking that recipe will give you a sense of accomplishment at learning a new skill and the confidence to know you can whip it out at your next gathering of friends.

Does It Make A Good Gift?

Yes! A recipe journal is a great graduation gift for your son or daughter as they head to college. Give them a head start by writing a few recipes for their favorite home cooked meals or desserts. They’ll be reminded of you each time they taste that personal comfort food. 

Newlyweds will also enjoy building a recipe journal as a couple. It will be a fun way to share recipes and see how their tastes have influenced each other. Plus, it’s a great date night idea: try out new recipes together and laugh as you look back on that soupy lasagna or weird zucchini dish you tried together.

Are dear friends moving away? Write down that perfect appetizer board you enjoyed at their house or that BBQ recipe you all enjoyed at a summer cookout.

How Do I Get Started?

Step 1: Treat yourself or your friend (or both!) and order the journal that fits your style. Trust me, you’ll love it.

Step 2: Customize this template of key headings for each page to suit your personal flavor:

  1. A Fun Title – maybe associated with a memory
  2. Category (Breakfast, Lunch, Snack or Dinner)
  3. Time and Difficulty (Easy, Medium, Hard)
  4. The Ingredients
  5. Cooking Instructions
  6. Other Notes or a Story for the Recipe

Here is an example  (feel free to spice it up by drawing in colors and pictures as you like):

You'll Love Your Recipe Journal

For any of us who like the idea of journaling – the organization, the nostalgia, the personal reflection – but rarely find the time to journal, this recipe notebook will give you a creative boost and a lovely health and wellness plan— you’ve curated a collection of home cooking for a lifetime. 

While it’s fun to branch out now and then, we return to our favorite dishes again and again. With a recipe journal, you’ll have recipes for your favorite Sticky Coconut Chicken and Aunt Camille’s Lemon Bars right at your fingertips!

Celebration, delight and a collection of good food are just a page away.