Whenever I pass the candy counter in the supermarket and see Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, I always remember our dear friends in Australia. They love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, but can’t get them there.
Last year, I sent them a whole box full of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, hoping they would arrive without mishap, melting or other misfortune. They did! (My customs tag was a bit odd, but the bags of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in all sizes survived.) Read the rest of this entry »
As the summer winds down, some of my cookbook software blog readers may already be experiencing a different kind of “back to school” syndrome. The one where the kids are back in school, and you suddenly have time for those “someday” projects that have been swirling around in your head (you did write them down, didn’t you?).
With all the new-found time on your hands, maybe you can jump start your “make cookbook” someday project by inviting some friends over for a cookbook making party. A cookbook making party can be very entertaining, but without a lot of fuss. Read the rest of this entry »
Every once in awhile I get handwritten recipe cards featuring a recipe I have requested from a good friend or even a new acquaintance. I invariably file this card into my recipe card box for future reference.
Lately I have been including these recipe cards in my personal cookbook under the section heading “From Friends.” I do this especially if I have not tried the recipe, but want a quick way to find ideas when I need them. If I try the recipe and like it, I move it to the appropriate cookbook section, giving credit to whomever I received it from (see my copyright blog posted previously). Read the rest of this entry »
We received an inquiry this week from Mara Ruffino, who asks about copyrights and creating cookbooks. My answer is worth sharing with all of you since last month there was quite an online controversy between a blog and a food website that alleged one of its copyrighted recipes was being compromised. Here is Mara’s question:
Hi Matilda,
I am thinking about writing a cookbook and eventually publish it (not just in the family). I have been collecting recipes for a long time; some of them are my own and some of them “have no author,” meaning that I don’t know where I got them from. Therefore, I’m left wondering: how do copyrights work with cookbook recipes?
Thanks,
Mara Read the rest of this entry »
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We all have our moments, and today I had one that’s too good not to share. This morning I was thirstier than usual, and really wasn’t in the mood for a cup of decaf or green tea after my workout. So I thought, instead of just water, how about one of those cold, fancy frappe-type iced coffee drinks instead?
I’ve had these iced coffee drinks at the coffee bars. I’m a cookbook software entrepreneur, and I’ve been around long enough to be able to figure out how to do this simple iced coffee beverage and not have to run out to get one for around $40 dollars a gallon (and we think gas prices are high). Read the rest of this entry »
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This may not be a revelation to some readers, but soybeans taste good. Aside from mixed opinions about the benefits of soy, soybeans are high in fiber and protein. They have been used in China as food for more than 5,000 years. While I can’t fathom eating scorpions on a stick like some Chinese do (according to Summer Olympics TV coverage), soybeans aren’t half bad.
Yes, I know I am a decade behind on this soybean subject, but I think I’ve avoided soybeans because the name edamame turns me off. The name soybean doesn’t do much for me either, frankly. With the Summer Olympics in full bore, I got inspired to do some experimenting with soybean chili for small groups of TV-watching couch potatoes. Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s a handy guide somebody emailed to me years ago about how to tell if your fruit is fresh. Feel free to add it to your cookbook. (I should probably add it to our cookbook software!) Read the rest of this entry »
Create cookbooks and get organized! That’s right. You can create cookbooks and de-clutter at the same time!
Somewhere in the back of your mind you know there is a better way to organize all those recipes printed from the internet or clipped from newspaper food sections that you’ve been stashing away. Maybe you have a box full of them in a garage cupboard waiting to be tested, tried and perhaps tossed one day (I admit I still have one out in the garage). Read the rest of this entry »
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Cookbook templates are such an easy and fun way to create cookbooks for you, your family and friends, and even for those fundraising projects that inevitably come up.
Using a cookbook template is a tried and true results-getting process steeped in many crafting traditions. For example, sewing hobbyists use patterns. Interior decorators use stencils. Painters and muralists use outlines. So using a cookbook template to automatically format a professional-looking family recipe cookbook makes sense.
Here are 5 ways cookbook templates can help you have more fun making your cookbook: Read the rest of this entry »
Thought I’d throw in a little review of our site (and cookbook software) from the Artful Crafter. Click here for the full story.
The Cookbook People software includes database features. Don’t be scared away by the term “database”. The user interface is extremely user-friendly. You just type in the recipe and any info about its origin which you desire. Read the rest of this entry »
When you make your own cookbook, you are all-powerful. You have no one to answer to but yourself. Of course, if you plan to make your own cookbook and give it away, others may offer a few words of “helpful advice.” My answer to them is what my favorite author once said to his critics: “Where were you when the page was blank?”
When you make your own cookbook, you can have high standards. Yours. You have the power to include whatever you wish. Or, not. If you think Aunt Bessie’s lemon pie doesn’t merit a page in your cookbook (because it’s too sweet and the meringue sweats and falls, every time), you don’t have to include it. (If Aunt Bessie wants to make her own cookbook, send her Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software.) Read the rest of this entry »
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Don’t you just love to watch those television shows about different people’s lives? By adding biographical stories about relatives to your family recipe cookbook, you can create your own mini-series of sorts using characters from your own family history! Just imagine the amazement of family members when they find out Great Uncle Jack was a circus clown and a cross-dresser!
You probably know that many best-selling biographies (usually of the rich and famous) can span several volumes. In your family recipe cookbook, the biographies will be simple short stories about the people whose recipes are included in your cookbook, or about people in the family who loved the recipes. (Or whomever you want, really.) Read the rest of this entry »
As a child, I would love to read the scrapbook of poems that Aunt Sissy (my father’s sister) created from her poetry column in the local newspaper. Eventually, I came to have the scrapbook, and it brings back fond memories whenever I take a moment to reminisce. It is still one of my prized possessions, and one that I would never give away except to a family member.
Making a family recipe cookbook with my Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software is like digital scrapbooking in many ways. You add stories and photos to your recipes and family biographies. With our new feature of being able to print only one recipe per page, you can get even more creative and customize every page by adding your own special touches. Read the rest of this entry »
Thought I’d pass along a nice tribute to a Medal of Honor Marine fundraiser. Here’s the correspondence we’ve had with the organizer:
The fundraiser that we are attempting is a cookbook to be titled “Larry’s Own”. Cpl Larry E. Smedley was the youngest person in the Vietnam War to receive the Medal of Honor. He received the Medal posthumously, shortly before what would have been his 19th birthday. Read the rest of this entry »
Queen Elizabeth’s hats or Paris Hilton’s pooch may be considered “style” by some of the fashionista set. (I won’t venture to comment further, lest the wrath of the Internet come my way.) And, “style” is a word often used in music, film, television, art and literature.
For us family recipe cookbook makers, however, “style” is the consistency of how your family recipe cookbook will appear, particularly how the recipes will appear. Recipe consistency makes your cookbook easier to read and understand. Read the rest of this entry »
Summer’s bounty of fresh vegetables is always inspiring. Some of my favorite light dinners on hot summer nights are cold vegetable soups made early in the day so the flavors mingle and meld together. I love spending time outside in the patio sipping a cup of cool soup and munching some crusty French bread (slathered with brie cheese, if I get the chance). Hey, I never said these cool summer soups were non-fat dishes!
I have several recipes for cool summer soups, but here are my Top 3 favorites: Gazpacho, Vichyssoise, and Creamy Zucchini. These cool soup recipes have several things in common: They are easy to make; They are delicious; They share some common ingredients so you can shop for all three recipes at the same time.
Try these Top 3 cool soups for summer and see if you want to include one in your own family recipe cookbook:
After a lot of work by our development team, we’re now selling a new version of our software. I want to thank all the customers who contributed ideas. Some new features we’ve added: Read the rest of this entry »
There are lots of really good reasons to use Word. Making a family cookbook isn’t one of them. Here’s why:
1. It’s distracting. You will spend more time worrying about formatting your Word document than you will thinking about writing Cousin Dilbert’s Peanut Brittle recipe.
2. You won’t make your cookbook in Word consistently. Sometimes you’ll remember to Bold it. Sometimes you won’t. Sometimes the picture of the recipe is above it. Sometimes below it. With our cookbook software all the consistency is built-in for you. Read the rest of this entry »
Have you looked at your calendar lately?
Where on Earth has this year gone already?
I admit that mentally I am still somewhere in late May. My PDA, however, reminds me daily that we are smack on the verge of August. And that means we are turning the corner on, you guessed it, Christmas! It will be here before you know it.
If you are planning to create a family recipe cookbook as a Christmas gift, then I suggest you consider getting ahead of the game and start working now on putting your family recipe cookbook together using my Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software.
Here is a basic timeline to help you organize your thoughts and activities in time for Christmas:
August
Select your family recipes and type them into the software’s Recipe tab. You may also cut and paste them from other documents or websites. Read the rest of this entry »
A few years back I was remodeling my kitchen and I wanted to install a pizza oven. I thought it would be fun to make homemade pizzas for family and for parties.
At the time, there were very few options that didn’t cost a ton of money. All the so-called “designer” pizza ovens were not only thousands of dollars, but the cost to install them was also a bit outrageous. We are talking about pizza, not truffles and caviar (although those might be interesting toppings).
So, I resigned myself to the fact that I would not enjoy crafting my own pizza recipes after all. Sigh…
Suddenly, I realized I already had a pizza oven. It was called a barbecue grill! Mine happens to be gas-powered with a thermometer on the outside of the heavy lid. (It is very important that the barbecue grill unit be heavy duty because these pizzas bake at around 650ºF-700ºF, much hotter than your regular kitchen range oven.)
After a few tries Read the rest of this entry »
When we decode a cookbook, every one of us is a practicing chemist. Cooking is really the oldest, most basic application of physical and chemical forces to natural materials.
— Arthur E. Grosser (Professor of Chemistry at McGill University
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