How to set up your own cookbook

step 1. Preserve your handwritten family recipes, which may become heirlooms for generations to come, by laminating them. This an inexpensive way to rotect against drips and torn edges.

step 2. Sort all your recipes into categories, such as appetizers, salads, side dishes, meat, fish, poultry, pasta, vegetarian entre'es and desserts. Throw out any recipes that are incomplete or illegible or that have lost their appeal.

step 3. Incest in large 3 ring binders that will fit your recipes. Insert subject dividers labeled with your categories and plastice page protectors that will hold your recipes (two per page, one for the front and one for the back).

step 4. Refine the categories in your recipe binders according to how you cook: For example, if you're vegetarian there's no need for a meat section. If you've got a sweet tooth, divide your dessert recipes into cookies, cakes, pies and tarts. If you entertain, make a section for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres.

step 5. Tackle your recipe cards: Instead of jamming them into a card file, add them to your binder. Get clear page inserts that accommodate index cards (these will fit standard size recipe cards) or use double sided tape to attache cards to a piece of paper, then slide the paper into a page protector and add it to your folder.

step 6. Digitize your collection with recipe software if you have the time and energy. You'll need to input all your recipes by hand (unless you already have some saved to your computer), but you'll be able to easily search your collection, export shopping lists, create weekly menus and run nutritional analysis. Check out programs such as Cook's Palate (cookspalate.com) LivingCookbook.com and AccuChef.com.

step 7. Clean up your cookbooks. Arange them by topic (Italian, soups, desserts) instead of by aurthor or title. Donate the books you dont use. When you try new recipes, mark the book with notes ("add olive oil last" or "too dry") that willhelp you in the future.

Hello Kpriincess

Excellent idea. I will have the wife come in and read this. She would love a project like this.

I am glad that this post found it interesting to you. Let me know how your book comes out.