We are so excited to report that our Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software has inspired one of our customers to publish her second recipe book and sell it on Amazon.com.

That’s right! High school English teacher Kathryn M. Carriere of Houston, Texas, published her second recipe book in July called Spirits for the Mind and Body: 2101 Cocktail and Alcoholic Beverages‎. It is a whopping 548 pages and features the classic Celtic design template from our Matilda software.

Kathryn says she discovered the software after she published her first cookbook, 74 Great-Tasting Chili Recipes‎, which is also available on Amazon.com. That cookbook was one of her biggest challenges, she says, because she wanted to prove something to herself and to others. With the support of a close friend and two colleagues, Kathryn climbed her Mt. Everest. Once the 164-page book was completed, she was energized, enabled, and empowered to do more. 

“However, I realized that I could do better. That led me to Matilda’s software and the second book. I tried the demo of Matilda and it was what I was looking for in terms of helping me organize my cookbooks the way I wanted them. The third book is now completely done (but not published yet), and I am working on a fourth book.”

Using the recipe template in Matilda for her second recipe book, Kathryn was able to categorize her beverage recipes into clear sections to make them easier to find, such as: Beer Mug, Brandy Snifter, Champagne, Cocktail, Collins, Coupette, Highball, Irish Mug, Old-Fashioned, Pousse-Café, Punch Bowl, Red Wine, Shot Glass, Whiskey Sour, and White Wine.

Kathryn’s first book took 3 months to get published, but only 6 weeks for the second book. She used an on-demand publisher (Trafford Publishing), which included marketing to Amazon.com as part of the package. Now she hopes to “continue writing cookbooks as well as writing novels and travel essays on places that I visit.”

We certainly do wish Kathryn well on her next publishing endeavors! You know, we would never have heard of Huckleberry Finn, Robert’s Rules of Order, Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Ulysses, or Walden, if the authors hadn’t had the courage to self-publish. You roar girl!

Happy Cookbook Authoring,

Matilda

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.

The final product was a family cookbook containing more than 100 pages.  Instead of printing a multitude of copies at substantial expense, Colette printed one copy of the family cookbook.  This sample was used for display so everyone could see the beautiful family cookbook she created.  One lucky family member walked away with this printed copy of the family cookbook as a door prize given away at the catered family dinner on Saturday night.

Other family reunion activities included a family Tug-O-War, and a horseshoe tournament (with prize awarded). “Our mantra for the weekend was ‘If the kids are happy, then the adults are happy’!” Collette writes.

In addition to the action-oriented activities, the family held a raffle to win prizes/gift items donated by family members, such as:

- Photo albums
- Old photographs reproduced onto collector-style plates
- Family reunion aprons
- A family reunion art-quilt made by an aunt that included old family pictures on it

So, what about all the other relatives who were disappointed that they didn’t win the family cookbook door prize?  Colette made copies of the cookbook (in pdf format no doubt) and burned CDs for everyone. That way the family members could carry the memento easier while traveling, and they can print the family cookbook at their own expense later (if they so choose).

The CD label was customized with a wedding and 25th anniversary photo of Colette’s grandparents (which also appeared in the family cookbook, along with Colette’s collection of old family photos).

“Everyone was very happy to have them in their own family history records,” she writes. “Our family reunion was a huge success, and I was so pleased to have played a role in it.”

Colette, we are so very happy that Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software helped make the family reunion a bit more special. Thanks for sharing some of your great ideas for family reunions with us.

Happy cookbooking,

Matilda

Relay for Life is a fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. There are Relay for Life events all over the United States and it is a very worthy cause. Our school participates in our county event and we usually raise approximately $5000 as a school. We are hoping to increase that amount by selling our cookbook this year. Our county generally raises somewhere between $75000 and $100000 for the cause. It is a wonderful event and a worthy cause. I will provide you the link: http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/ to the organization.

Again thank you very much! We are loving your software and the ease with which we are creating a memory for our school.

Thank You,
L. Maria Cox
Assistant Principal
Harrelson School
Puryear, TN

We’re happy to help out, Maria!

If you are planning a Relay For Life cookbook fundraiser, or a cookbook fundraiser for any worthy project, please email us with your plan. Maybe we can help!

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.

Randi was kind enough to send us some suggestions for improving our high altitude cooking tips. By popular demand, she has written a cookbook about high altitude cooking so that others may find palatable success high above the ocean. If you would like more in-depth high altitude tips, please visit her website at http://www.themuffinlady.com/.

Meanwhile, here are some excerpts from her email:

Dear Matilda and All at Cookbook People:

Please allow me to communicate a few differences between your high altitude cooking tips and mine. I mean absolutely no disrespect at all. MY goal is to help others find palatable success at high altitudes. Most of your tips are worthy and based on scientific information, but MINE are based on decades of experience high above the ocean.

I have been baking and adjusting recipes in the mountains of Colorado for 32 years to date in elevations between 5,000 and 8,000 feet. Many of my cookbook recipes originated from family members at sea level, and were adjusted for higher elevations accordingly. Several are actually more than 100 years old, and “to DIE FOR.” (Bless Great Grandmothers!).

I hope these adjustments help your readers.
Enjoy,

Randi L. Levin
The Muffin Lady
Author, Publisher & High Altitude Food Specialist

www.themuffinlady.com

Dear Randi: I am delighted that you gave us permission to include your additional thoughts and comments here on our website! The table below shows our high altitude tips placed side-by-side with Randi’s suggested comments, which we will be including in our upcoming software update.

Since I’m gushing, I’d like to also thank Violet U., a customer who entered in over 500 recipes in our software and needed a little customer support. One of The Cookbook People, Erin, was able to get her fixed up and on her way.

Well, Erin was completely surprised when a few weeks later we received this gorgeous hand-crocheted blanket in the mail in gratitude! The handiwork is amazing–completely flawless. And it’s obviously pretty comfortable, as you can tell from Erin’s son, Louis.

Thank you, Violet, from all of The Cookbook People! It means so much to all of us that you took the time and effort to put together such an amazing blanket for Erin and her young family.

Here’s a little snippet:

…the service I’ve received is outstanding, and I would recommend the product without ever having used it – based on the relationship that I’m building with the company through their website, blog (hilarious) and the customer service representative that I’ve been in communication with.

Thank you so much, Jaime!

We’re a small but fast-growing business, and your contributions there really contributed to our bottom line!