In my efforts to downsize and organize the things I received from my parents, I came across my mom’s recipes. I’ve always wanted to do something with them, especially the classics that myself and my brother’s loved.
So I decided as I sorted through the recipes that I’d make a cookbook, and then I could share it with my brothers and cousins. Because many of my mom’s recipes came from her mom, they are genuinely family recipes.
So the plan is to create at least one recipe each week and then put the recipe and photos of the final outcome into the book. One thing I discovered as I sorted through the recipes is that many of the recipes are dessert recipes. So this may end up being a dessert cookbook. I’m not sure my waistline will be able to handle it, but I guess we’ll see.
I had a few recipes that I wanted to create right at the beginning, so this week’s was Cherry Cha Cha. As I told one of my cousins about the book, she immediately said it was our grandmother’s (Nanny’s) recipe.
As I made the recipe, I took a photo of the handwritten recipe and then of each step as I created it. I wasn’t quite sure which photos I’d want for the book. In this case, the handwritten instructions weren’t that clear (I had to phone my brother to ask what he thought the various layers were), so I didn’t include them in the cookbook this time.
For my book, I decided to use one of the predesigned books at FOREVER, which you can find under Create and Print and then under Design and Print photo books. I chose the standard book, not the lay flat, and picked the 10×10 size. The book’s name was Classic Cookbook in Color, but I could have picked the larger 12×12 size, and I could have opted for the Classic Cookbook in Black & White.
I do have FOREVER Artisan, and I could have used the program to create my book, but I thought I’d try the predesigned one. The difference between Artisan and Design and Print is that with Artisan, you can use a lot of different digital art to create your book, so it will truly be one of a kind, but the predesigned looks quite good, and there is flexibility in the design, that I will tell you about later.
What do you think of my first recipe?
There won’t be the dotted lines as you see here; this is just a screenshot of the page where I inputted the information. Those dotted lines will either go away in some cases or be replaced by a solid line.
I like the Classic Cookbook in Color because all the time I’m creating the page, it’s autosaved. Once I finish typing the recipe and putting the photos in, I can leave the book, and when I want to create a new recipe, I just have to look in my projects, and it will be there waiting for me to add to my book. If you read the details for this book, if you have your recipes in Word, you can copy and paste them into the book and add any scanned photo you’d like.
There are 40 template pages, so there are plenty of choices for the right layout for your recipe, and because it was created with family recipes in mind, there is plenty of room for text to tell the stories of the recipes and some of the family traditions. If you decide to change your page layout, you can; after you’ve started the page, you can also move the pages within your book. If you want to add a QR code that links to a video or another album in your FOREVER account, you can also add them to your page. So there is lots of flexibility. You start with 21 pages, but you can add more pages, and your book can be 99 pages in total if you want.
My book is called Cooking With Family, but the name may change. This week’s recipe I’ll be creating is called Double Fudge Pudding, and as soon as I can find the Pineapple Delight recipe, that’s next. See, I told you there were a lot of dessert recipes.
If you don’t already have a FOREVER account, please accept my invitation HERE. You’ll receive 2GB of FOREVER Storage for your photos, video, and other media and $20 to spend in the next 60 days. I’ll also be your FOREVER Ambassador, and I can help you preserve your digital legacy.
If you want to try Artisan, there is a 30-day FREE trial offer. Or, if you decide you want to dive in, go to the DEALS page, as there are often discounts.
#family #genealogy, #familyhistory #recipe
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