Sometimes simple food is the best. The clever cook is one who adds spices, herbs and other inexpensive ingredients to simple food and ends up with a glorious dish that even food snobs cannot resist.

Often called international street food or peasant ethnic food (I hope because of its basic close-to-the-earth goodness), many of these savory simple food dishes are made of common staples such as grains, root vegetables, and tough scraps of meat that do well with patience.

Here are some of my favorite international simple foods:

Italian
Pasta with chopped tomatoes, chopped basil, olive oil, & freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Mexican
Beans & rice with cilantro and salsa.

Thai
Pad Thai noodles fragrant with lime juice, garlic, chiles, tamarind, and chopped peanuts.

Indian
Grilled chicken legs marinated with yogurt and at least seven spices.

Chinese
Hot Pot, a shared soup made with meats, seafood, tofu, greens, other vegetables, and condiments chosen by each person at your table.

Vietnamese
Bahn Mi sandwiches of cold cuts, pate, cilantro, shredded carrot & Daikon radish slaw, on crusty baguettes.

Arabic
Hummus sprinkled with sumac on pita bread.

Some of these simple food dishes are stunningly good and deserve a spot in your family cookbook. They were developed by budget-conscious cooks with inventive culinary skills passed down through many generations, and are indeed worthy of remembering. (I know I do at every opportunty!)

Happy simple food cookbooking,

Matilda

When adding biographies and family stories to my family cookbook, I always follow the basic principle of KISS (keep it short & simple).  To do this, I try to focus on one topic at a time when telling a tale, and avoid everything my subject discusses that is off the topic. This can be hard to do, especially when the subject rambles or hopskotches through years of a life well-lived. Read the rest of this entry »

I stumbled across a fascinating food pairing website the other day that I just have to share. It is a great resource for anyone who likes to cook, from professional chefs to food contest competitors and home cooks, on down to youngsters who are just beginning to explore the pleasures of culinary combinations.

The food pairing website was developed by a group of Belgian scientists who want to inspire new food recipes and groupings, and also to provide suggestions on what might be good substitutes for a particular ingredient when it is not available (or if one has allergies).

To test the food pairing website, I entered “pumpkin” in the search window, and read with some curiosity and amazement the result (noted below), which is based on scientific flavor and taste combinations that might be compatible:

Pumpkin can be combined with -
- Dairy: Butter, Cheddar and Gruyere
- Meat: Chicken cooked, San Daniele ham and Chicken roasted
- Chocolate, coffee, tea: Dominican Republic white chocolate, Tea black and Vanuatu milk chocolate

The search result on the food pairing website also comes with a visual “flavor array” that shows the relationship between the main ingredient and other ingredients that are compatible based on their flavor profile.  Some of the compatible food suggestions are quite unusual, and your imagination can certainly be creative.

Check out the food pairing website:  http://www.foodpairing.be/

Hmm, how about steam-grilled pumpkin slices over honey-drizzled basmatic rice garnished with grated Vanuatu milk chocolate? I’ll have to think about that before I add it to my family cookbook.

Happy cookbooking,

Matilda

Somewhere in my notes I had stashed away a scrap of paper scrawled with the words: October – Family History Month. The note was meant to remind me to suggest how great it would be to have a Family Cookbook Month instead.

Family Cookbook Month could be even bigger than Family History Month. Along with tracing one’s ancestry through the popular genealogy websites, families could get together to discuss favorite family recipes and preserve them in a family cookbook.

Families could use a cookbook software (mine immediately comes to mind) that already allows users the ability to include a family tree, complete with photos and biographies. Read the rest of this entry »

Is there a section in your family cookbook devoted to the age-old fundraiser known as a bake sale? If not, you might want to add these 5 tips for bake sale success into a new section devoted to such events, along with recipes for your favorite easy-to-make bake sale goodies.

With schools and churches having bake sales for fundraising, now is also a good time to review what makes a successful bake sale. Following are my 5 tips for bake sale success: Read the rest of this entry »

Once I had a potluck dinner party and no one brought anything. I was puzzled, in that I had specified the type of event in my invitation, both written and verbal. Guests said they didn’t know what to bring, and they knew from previous events that I would have enough food for an army anyway.

Guess what? That was the first time I had decided to stay on budget, not go overboard with last minute changes of mind and menu, and made just what the recommended per person serving amounts were. I made a very large pan of Lawry’s famous Sour Cream Tortilla Casserole as a side to barbecued steak and chicken.  I was horrified (mortified) when one guest asked if I had another pan made in the oven, since she didn’t get any!  (Everyone apparently assured her that I had more.) Read the rest of this entry »

During this week prior to Yom Kippur (High Holy Days), I am reminded of the many Jewish congregations that have put together sisterhood fundraising cookbooks for their charitable causes.

One sisterhood fundraising cookbook I ran across years ago included a light-hearted look at Jewish life and culture, with many funny stories from members of the temple sisterhood interwoven between the recipes. It was called “Chicken Soup,” (not to be confused with the best-selling Chicken Soup series), and most of the recipes fit into the following categories: Read the rest of this entry »

If you haven’t poked around our website lately, you’ll be amazed at all the great things we offer to increase your enjoyment of Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software.  Bet you didn’t know that we now have beautiful gift bags that make wrapping and presenting your home-made family cookbook as a gift much easier!

We have standard size beautiful gift bags that accommodate our half page recipe binders and recipes boxes quite nicely. And, we also have large size beautiful gift bags that are perfect for the full-size recipe binders, recipe boxes and other items that need a little more room. All the designs are beautifully finished, and some even coordinate well with the existing binder and recipe box patterns that we carry. Read the rest of this entry »

There are many types of cooks. Some cooks are wonderful at creating new and unusual dishes with what’s in the pantry. Other cooks are more dependent upon recipes and products that are on the grocery store shelf. Still other cooks prefer the crafter method of making everything themselves (it definitely is one sure way to know exactly what you’re eating). Read the rest of this entry »

Hard to believe that we are nearly into the Labor Day holiday! The calendar pages for 2009 are flipping so fast that it seems like we are all in cartoon. If you plan to have a few friends and family members over for a Labor Day BBQ, why not make it a labor-less Labor Day BBQ?  After years of hosting labor-intensive parties, I got smarter, so here are my 10 tips for a labor-less Labor Day BBQ: Read the rest of this entry »

Whew! Is it me, or is there a heat wave going around that just won’t quit. Or, do we blame these hot August nights on global warming even though Neil Diamond’s been singing about these hot August nights since the early ‘70s.

Nevertheless, these hot August nights can certainly be trying on nerves. There are several ways to cool down on these hot August nights, and here are some of my favorites, in no particular order: Read the rest of this entry »

Can you imagine getting reacquainted with people you once played with side-by-side in the school yard, or worked with on projects at former employers?

With the popularity of Facebook and other social networking sites coming into the homes of everyday mainstream Americans, it stands to reason that social networking reunions with former classmates and workmates may suddenly become as popular as family reunions. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are looking for a really nice gift for someone special on your Christmas list, then we have a wonderful Christmas gift idea that is perfect for the cook in your family, a good friend, or special boss.

We mention this now because it is August, and our summer will soon be a whooshing memory. I was going to bring up this really nice Christmas gift idea in July (aka a Christmas in July column), but, well, I forgot. So, here we are.

Our really nice Christmas gift idea for someone special first involves purchasing Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software. This is the anchor point to the really nice Christmas gift. Read the rest of this entry »

Your kids who live with their Dad or your grandkids are coming for two weeks this summer, and you want to keep them engaged with a different kind of project that will be fun and memorable. How about making a recipe book for kids using your Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software?

A recipe book for kids can be a great keepsake of their summer vacation, and a great show-and-tell when classmates or teachers ask “what did you do on summer vacation.” (Not many children will be able to show their own personalized recipe book for kids.) Read the rest of this entry »

Generally, when we entertain we serve fresh food to our guests, preferably food we have made ourselves with help from our family cookbook. Serving leftovers to guests isn’t part of our normal thinking, even though our ancestors didn’t think twice about serving leftovers to guests.

But what if friends drop by unexpectedly and you have an abundance of food in the house that you really would like to consume because you are leaving town for a few days?  What if they arrive late at night, and no store is open for buying groceries? Would serving leftovers to guests be a problem for you (or your guests)? Read the rest of this entry »

Ruth came over the other day to see our lovely recipe box assortment that I was bragging about. “Crowing was more like it,” Ruth wisecracked as she turned over the recipe box we aptly named Chicken with Checkers to inspect its interior and exterior.

After her examination and seal of approval, Ruth said she really liked all the pretty recipe box designs, and as usual, came up with a wonderful suggestion. Read the rest of this entry »

We got a lovely note about family cookbooks at family reunions from our software user Colette Surovy of Canada. Colette’s family reunion was held July 3-5 with a grand 165 people attending from all over Canada and the United States.

Colette made a family cookbook for her family reunion using Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software. She collected recipes from family members approximately four months in advance and had a wonderful response from her enthusiastic relatives. Read the rest of this entry »

No matter where you are in the Northern Hemisphere during the summer months, the hottest days can make you wish for a cold winter day again.  Iced beverages and lighter meals are the order of the day, and cool summer salads that take the heat off in the kitchen fit the bill perfectly.

Lettuce is the mainstay of most summer salads, although it isn’t a necessity to have lettuce in your cool summer salad. For example, I like the nutrient properties and the taste of raw spinach. Here are some of my favorite greens for making cool summer salads 7 days a week: Read the rest of this entry »

Grandpa Joe’s banana splits by the river in summer.
    Auntie Marie’s enormous Cranberry Fluff served once a year at Thanksgiving.
        Cousin Linda’s hot French fries with tartar sauce on a cold beach day.

Such memories of food and family may not be yours personally, but you can relate to them because you may have many similar memories of your own. They are a precious link to another era, when life was seemingly less complicated. A time softened by reflection, and where relatives become oddly appealing with the passage of time.

Preserving the essence of such memories in a family cookbook is becoming very popular these days as we seek comfort in familiar, less-tech touches to our daily lives. Many of us are choosing to preserve both heirloom recipes and family genealogy all in one place — in a family heritage cookbook. Read the rest of this entry »

Situation: Late for dinner / No hostess gift
You are going to be late for a dinner party this evening, and you forgot to pick up a hostess gift, too.  What do you do?

Solution:  Notify the hostess / Make a gift cookbook!
That’s right. Call your friends and sit down at the computer. In the time it takes your husband to remove his dirty yard work clothes, take a shower, shave and dress, you can make a fabulous hostess gift that is both personal and clever. Read the rest of this entry »

Suppose you gave a party and nobody came.

You would be hurt, insulted, and ticked-off all at the same time. Your time and money would have been wasted when you were just trying to be friendly, sociable, and sharing.

You did include an “RSVP” on your invitation, but nobody replied.  And you didn’t have time to chase everyone you invited to confirm their attendance. So you forged ahead creating the party, only to be stood up by everyone but the family. What happened?

INVITED GUESTS

Your invited guests probably didn’t realize “RSVP” meant they needed to let you know they would not be coming (due to the playoff games, obvious conflict, or some other obligation or event they would rather attend). Sometimes they don’t respond because they don’t want to commit to a schedule in case something better comes up, such as sailing on the lake, or a fast trip to Cancun.  Maybe their poor behavior is just a lack of etiquette training. Read the rest of this entry »

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My favorite brunch is very easy to put together, and is perfect for a special occasion such as Mother’s Day. There are no crowds, no lines, no reservations to contend with, and no enormous check to divvy up among the kids. Dress up the table with flowers, real china and linens, play some piano or harp music in the background, and your Mom will think she’s having a 5-Star Mother’s Day brunch experience.

Here’s the menu and instructions for your 5-Star Mother’s Day brunch at home. It’s a great menu to include in your family cookbook. Feel free to improvise with your Mom’s favorite tastes, as desired: Read the rest of this entry »

At least once a week I like to have a vegetarian dinner using fresh vegetables and fruits for the meal.  One day last week I didn’t feel like running to the supermarket, so I decided to use some squash that I’d neglected in the fridge for a few days. It was still in good shape, so I grated it and made up some squash fritters.  Here is the simple recipe, written down as I completed each step: Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever thought about what makes a good cook?  Most of us know really good, even great cooks, but what makes them that way?  Aside from the creative aspect, I believe good cooks are natural chemists, able to dream up, combine ingredients, and fulfill their expectations without too much hesitation. 

Sometimes a good cook with an idea for a recipe experiments many times until the recipe becomes what the good cook envisioned. I call this the scientific method of cooking. True cooks never give up when it comes to creating a vision. Read the rest of this entry »