Perhaps you are the family member other family members contact when they have a question about Aunt Betty’s apple crisp or Uncle Johnny’s barbecue sauce.  You are the one with custom recipe cards and have vowed to make your own family cookbook with the beloved family recipes.

Does that make you the family food historian? Well, perhaps.

Review our 10 point family food historian character profile and see if you fall into the family food historian category: Read the rest of this entry »

There are as many reasons to make a cookbook as there are people. The 10 reasons to make a cookbook listed below are some of the top ones our readers and cookbook software users have told us:

1. Everybody loves my food.
Friends tell me I’m a great cook and that they would like to have my recipes. If I type it up once, I can print it a hundred times!

2. I need to get organized.
I’m tired of looking through 10 cookbooks, 5 drawers, a recipe card box, and under the refrigerator for all my recipes. Read the rest of this entry »

I like to use the brand names for ingredients in my cookbook recipes. Not because they are necessarily any better than the generic brands, but because they often produce a better recipe result, and therefore, make family recipes more consistent.  Twenty years from now, if someone makes one of the recipes from your family cookbook, will they really get the same taste from a “cherry flavored gelatin” as they do from cherry Jell-O?

For example, if I want to make Tres Leches Cake, I will always use a certain brand name product (Eagle Brand) because I like the taste better. Believe me, I have experimented with assorted sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and whipped cream for the Tres Leches Cake ingredients, and there is a certain combination that is unbeatable together (and guess what, they all are the brand name products). Read the rest of this entry »

Last February I got a nice handwritten letter from a friend’s grandson who was studying the history and geography of major cities in the United States. He asked most politely if I would send him a postcard from my town so he could pin it up on the classroom bulletin board with postcards other students were getting from around the country.

This was such a brilliant class project that I couldn’t help but admire the teacher for coaching the students so well, and also for providing a wonderful activity and lesson that will be remembered long after the school year ends. Read the rest of this entry »

Chocolate banana split cake

Two of my favorite flavors are chocolate and banana. I don’t usually eat them together, but one day last week I had a desire for a nice slice of chocolate cake. There were two bananas on the counter (sorry, banana trees are for monkeys), so I thought why not make that Chocolate Banana Split Cake my cousin, Jean Brown Craft Batts, raved about a few years ago.

It just so happened that the local ladies club was having a dessert social that day and had invited members to bring a favorite sweet to share. Thank goodness! I really didn’t want to have to eat the whole Chocolate Banana Split Cake by myself. Read the rest of this entry »

Many of my family recipes were tucked away in cardboard shoeboxes on well-worn recipe cards until I developed my cookbook software. The margins of the recipe cards were often decorated with cryptic comments and sage advice regarding the taste, texture, and preparation techniques that gave the recipe its unique place in the repertoire of our family’s cooks.

Such comments are wonderful insights from the past for anyone trying to recreate the family recipe, so make sure you include these observations and advice when creating your own cookbook. (In my Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software, scanned recipe cards can be included as a photo within the recipe page, thus retaining the “flavor” of the original.) Read the rest of this entry »

Soon there will be traditional tailgating parties and potlucks to contend with as the crisp air of autumn beckons neighbors and strangers to gather for one common cause — football.

If you are lucky enough to volunteer to bring a dessert, you can’t go wrong with these delicious but easy mini-tarts that get their quickness from ready-made vanilla wafers. I don’t know where the recipe originated, but here are two slightly different versions that are sure to please hungry game-goers, game-watchers, or other gathering crowds. Read the rest of this entry »

Remember those first few days of the new school year when teachers would ask students to write an essay on “How I Spent My Summer Vacation?”

Although kids these days may not be interested in such an assignment (due to its lack of texting possibilities), they might enjoy helping create a family cookbook based on all the places they went and all the food they ate during their summer vacation break (done on the computer using cookbook software, of course). Read the rest of this entry »

My dear friend Ruth has a way of irritating me like no other person can. I’m always the uptight one, but in contrast she is so mellow that she doesn’t even mind if I talk about her to strangers on the Web. That’s probably why we get along; the yin and yang of our 50-year friendship.

But now I think Ruth has overstepped my limits. She has volunteered me to make a family cookbook using my cookbook software for someone she met while waiting for her Fluffy at the dog groomers.  Can you imagine that? Read the rest of this entry »

Like many family cooks who have visions of making a family cookbook using old original family recipes, family photos and family history, assembling my first family cookbook was quite a project. 

Typing sometimes complicated instructions into my family cookbook format took me hours. I was always searching for the odd symbol or term that made the recipe more distinct from the run-of-the-mill recipes often found on the Internet (mine excluded, of course). There had to be a better, more automated way to expedite any future family cookbook projects. 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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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:

Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

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!

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 »

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 »

I’ve had a lot of people ask me, “Well how do I print and bind my recipe book after using your software?”

We used to send you to a photocopy shop, but that entailed a lot of hassles. We’ve now built The Cookbook People Store, where we offer our new Easy Bind Kits. Here’s our recipe book store.

There are several nifty things about the Easy Bind Kits:

• The spines bind by clicking closed and they can un-bind by un-clicking. That means you can add new pages to your book or take pages out easily. It’s got the flexibility of a three-ring binder with the sleek look of a spiral bound recipe book.

• It includes two clear plastic sheets to put over your front and back cover. That will keep it clean, while still displaying your covers.
• You can print it all out right from your own home printer!
• We offer nice discounts if you buy more than one.

Why did we build a whole store front just to sell two products (our recipe book software and the Easy Bind Kits)? Here’s a little secret: We plan on filling it out over the coming months with a variety of similarly clever products to help you make family recipe books.

Thought I’d put these all in one place to make it easier for our legions of cookbook software customers:

1. Will I be able to add new recipes down the road?
Yes. As long as you have the software, you can make and re-make your cookbook as often as you want. Add more recipes, delete recipes. It’s your cookbook.

2. Do I have to buy printed books from you? If not, where do I go to print them?
We don’t print the books. You are in control. Here are some instructions. Basically, you can get a kit to bind them yourself or take them to a copy shop.

3. Is there a downloadable version I can buy?
Sorry. Only on CD for now. It’ll probably only take a few days to get to you. In the meantime, start collecting your recipes and information on people.

4. Can I do a front cover with my own photograph?
Yes. It’s a feature we’ve just built in.

5. Does it work with a Macintosh?
No. But it’s very easy to copy and paste recipes into the software. If you know somebody with a PC, you can do most of the real work typing it into your Mac, then emailing the recipes to them for copying/pasting.

6. Do I have to use just one template? Can I mix and match?
Yes! Do half in Patriot and half in Fruit. Or just do the Salads in Patriot and the Soups in Fruit. Make half of them in small type to cut printing costs, and the other half in big type for those with bad vision. You have a huge amount of flexibility.

7. Can I copy and paste recipes in off the internet/email/Word/etc?
Yes! We give you one massive field that you can paste your recipe into. That allows you to format the recipes any way you want, and it makes it extremely easy to copy and paste.

For more information on ordering Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software, click here.

I’m very excited about these four new features we now build in to Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software.

1. Change Type Size: Type size for Recipes, Contents, Biography, Family Tree and Birthday Calendar goes as small as 6 point to as large as 14 point. 6 point is great for those wanting to cram as many recipes as possible on every page. 14 point is better for those of us with poorer vision.

2. Custom Front Cover Photo: On the Print screen, select “Edit” next to Front Cover. Follow the instructions there and select a photo. Choose “CustomFrontCover” from the drop-down list in Print.

3. Turn Pictures: If your picture is sideways, you can now right click on it and select “Rotate 90 degrees” from within Matilda.

4. Recipe Builder: Horrible at typing? Don’t know how to put in the degree symbol? Recipe Builder lets you point and click to write part or all of a recipe.

I hope to get the changes integrated into the How It Works section of our site soon. This is just sneak peak.

Visit the How It Works section of CookbookPeople.com.