Merry Christmas!
Yes, I’m still up – have been working on the cookbook. But I finished the work necessary for a proper Table of Contents and an Index – woohoo! Tomorrow, or rather later today, I can put the finishing touches on it and print the new pages off.
YAY! It’s Christmas! *dances around joyfully*
Yes, I’m still up – have been working on the cookbook. Cookbook? You have mentioned this before. What is this cookbook?
Many years ago – I think in 1992, I came upon this idea to make a cookbook of recipes from both sides of the family. Gramma Anderson was getting on a bit and I wanted to be sure to preserve her family classics. And I knew there were many other top notch recipes out there. So I put my computer skills at work and with recipes from folks (and time spent watching and measuring things as Gramma worked) got a nice cookbook made. In 1996, I made a calendar of family dates and photos (it looked so grand then, but by today’s standards is pretty pathetic). In 2000, I decided to revamp the family cookbook with some new recipes and a new format. The new version is modular, so you can add new recipes without having to print the entire book again. (It’s in a small 3 ring binder and the sections are numbered seperately: Appetizer 1, Appetizer 2, etc Dessert 1, Dessert 2, etc.) Last year, I had intended to update again, and did get a few recipes before the holiday season, but with work and all, I was just unable to make it go. This year, however, I had the entire week off before Christmas. No excuses this year, I figured. So I hounded my family and friends and got some new recipes (plus the ones sent last year) and today I finished it – whee! 52 new recipes in all! (22 were desserts – which was already the biggest section in the cookbook.) Tomorrow morning, mom and I will head off to Troy in search of a place that will do copies (ie see if Staples is open) and then I’ll cut and punch holes and collate. Then I’ll stick the pages (about 40 half sized sheets) in envelopes, whack on a bit of wrapping paper, and Instant (snerk) Christmas Present! One of my intentions with the 2000 edition of the cookbook was to make a CD-ROM of the recipes as well. That bit hasn’t come to fruition yet, but with my new ToC and Indices, it’ll be pretty easy to set up. Should also be getting a website going on it too. One thing about my cookbook (indeed, about any endeavor that I work on) – it’s chock full of Page Fillers. If I had a bit of space on the bottom of a page, I’d stick a Page Filler there. I’ve been making Page Fillers since I was in high school. Last year when I failed in my attempt at updating the cookbook, I made Page Fillers Magnets for everyone. You can see some of them still on the website above.
My fave recipes are slowly making their way onto 3×5 cards in a recipe file box. That’s how my mom did it, and it’s good enough for me. They’re not all from within the family; they’re just things I happen to like, and things I can actually cook. And a few of them were hand-written for me on the cards by my (maternal) grandmother, who died in 1988. So they’re extra-precious. Your cookbook project does sound way cool.