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:
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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 »
In case any of my dear family cookbook making friends out there have noticed, I am much better these days in giving you something to think about on this blog we call Matilda’s Family Cookbook Kitchen.
We have been crazy with getting our upcoming cookbook software update tested and completed, but now I have a few more minutes to chat. (No, I still will NOT say when the update will be ready, but when it does come out it will be even more fantastic!)
I know sometimes that you may be too busy or might forget to check back with me every day. So, we have made it easy for you to see our updates via RSS with one click on your toolbar when you are connected to the Internet.
RSS means Really Simple Syndication, which in non-geek terms means you will get an automatic update whenever I have posted some new information on this blog. You will be able to read the new posting, and make a comment back, if you like.
Try it! All you do is click on the “Subscribe to Blog – RSS” link to the right of this message. When you see the prompt box, click “Subscribe.” Through the magic of electrons, our blog feed will automatically be downloaded to your computer and appear in your toolbar favorites center, which is indicated by a yellow star.
Every time you go surfing on the Internet, you can click on your star and see what’s happening in Matilda’s Family Cookbook Kitchen!
Best of all, it’s FREE!
Here’s an email I just received from a one of our customers who is making a fundraising cookbook for Relay For Life. We’re giving them a small donation: Read the rest of this entry »
I am so grateful for all the nice comments we receive here at The Cookbook People.com in reference to my easy-to-use Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software. I recently received a wonderful email from Randi Levin of The Muffin Lady Inc. in Colorado who has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the special art of high altitude cooking. Read the rest of this entry »
I did something this week that I never thought of before. Twice, as a matter of fact. I liked the first result so much that I had to try it again, and I am considering adding the easy recipe to my family cookbook.
You see, my local market discounts less-than-perfect produce in addition to day-old bakery items. I’m not proud when it comes to saving money. Especially these days! So, when I saw a several-pound bag of very ripe nectarines (marked down to the price of two nectarines I might add), I immediately snatched them up. Roasted nectarines with crumbled graham crackers, walnuts, and vanilla yogurt seemed like a wonderful dessert idea. Read the rest of this entry »
One powerful feature in using my cookbook software to preserve family cooking traditions is the ability to standardize family recipes that have been handed down for generations. Standardize the macaroni casserole so beloved by your grandfather? Sacrilege!
Not really. Let me explain.
Standardizing family recipes can be the single most important way to preserve the taste of the dishes over time (aside from creating the actual cookbook, of course). Read the rest of this entry »
If you are including family photos in your family cookbook, you probably have a few family members who are delaying your project because they don’t have a photo of themselves. You know the ones; they always look like a scared rabbit with the whites of their eyes showing (or with their eyes half-closed).
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Here is something that will haunt you until you make it. A week ago I saw a restaurant review in a local magazine, and the food writer was all agog at the neighborhood bistro’s version of pig candy. Now, pig candy has been around awhile, but I was intrigued that such a foo-foo place had it on the menu, let alone was becoming the talk of the town.
Pig candy, for the uninitiated, is simply cooked bacon topped with caramelized dark brown sugar, and a little chili powder or paprika, if desired. Read the rest of this entry »
How many of us really follow untried clipped-out recipes? I will try to follow a new recipe the first time exactly as written. I have a tendency to get creative and want to step out of the box, perhaps too often, so following a recipe exactly is pretty taxing for me. But, out of respect for the recipe’s creator, I will follow it, but only once.
After that, I am inspired to take license and go with the flow. Perhaps I don’t have any nutmeg to enhance the lobster thermidor. Well, allspice might just do. Or, maybe that particular day I prefer a different twist by adding jalapeno peppers to a cream cheese spread instead of the usual olives (because I forgot to stock up on them last time I went to market). A creative approach can often improve a timid recipe and make it outstanding enough to include in your family cookbook.
What kinds of creative spice substitutions can be successful? In general, it seems spices that we naturally associate with sweet dishes (cinnamon, nutmeg, Chinese 5-spice powder) can most likely be substituted for one another. Likewise for the savory-dish herbs, such as oregano, thyme, or marjoram. Of course, only your own taste buds will know for sure, but don’t be afraid to experiment. You may have a family winner to star in your next cookbook software creation.
I just read the most interesting article in the New York Times about great chocolate chip cookies and a fabulous chocolate chip cookie recipe. Three secrets bits of advice I hadn’t thought of, but they’ll definitely be going in my own family cookbook: Read the rest of this entry »
Just because you’ve efficiently typed all your recipes into your computer doesn’t mean you have to toss out the grease- or vanilla-stained recipe cards they are written on. If they are scribbled in your own writing, well, go ahead. However, if they are written in your Mother’s hand, or that of your Grandmother’s, keep them.
Put a 5 x 7 envelope in the back cover of your cookbook and place these precious bits of personal history in them to preserve from further deterioration. Nothing brings back the memory of a treasured recipe, or the person who used to make it, than seeing it scribbled down on a piece of brown bag or paper towel in the original author’s handwriting. Trust me, one day you’ll be glad you saved those recipe cards, no matter what shape they may be in. Any comments?
