Class Cookbook: A Fabulous Memento

Last year about this time, my young neighbor Jessica came to my door. She asked if she could have one of my potluck recipes for a cookbook she was making for her classmates. She was a senior, and thought it would be fun to create a class cookbook for her classmates to use in the future.

Jess thought a class cookbook would be a fabulous memento of her last days in high school. Plus all her high school friends could write their fond farewells in the cookbook.

Class cookbook instead of a yearbook

In my day, your friends wrote on the pages of your high school yearbook. I don’t know what kids do now, but back then your “status” was made by how many people signed your yearbook. You would “save” whole pages for your most special friends to write a poignant dedication you could look over throughout your lifetime.

Jess planned to get recipes from each of her friends to include in her class cookbook. But she needed a few other good, sensible recipes to round out the selections and categories. To fill out the gaps she was asking for recipes from people she felt had good taste. (Flattering to be included in that category.)

Most of the recipes Jess had for her class cookbook were not fancy or expensive. There was lots of really good, quick college dorm fare. A fabulous memento indeed!

Organizing a class cookbook

I gave Jess a few of my favorite, easy recipes to add to the ones she had already collected for her cookbook.

I also made a few suggestions on how to organize her class cookbook. I suggested she added some photos and also some information about her friends.

Jess told me she was entering all the information in Word, and she planned to make copies of the class cookbook for every friend who wanted one.

Oh my.

I just couldn’t help myself! I gave her a copy of Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software as an early graduation present. And off she went to finish this fabulous memento of her last days in high school!

Happy Cookbooking,

Erin