Several years back, my cousin's daughter, Alison, took on the task of creating a family cookbook. With the help of her mother, Alita, the cookbook is much more than a house for family recipes, it is also a home filled with memories that are brought to recollection via pictures and copies of hand-written recipes.
Alison and Alita chose a cookbook publishing company for their book and asked me to design the cover and chapter dividers. Their creation was originally planned for family members, but became so successful that eventually Stories and Standards has three print runs.
A cookbook like Alison's is a wonderful way to keep a family (especially those whose members are scattered across the country) close by preserving family lore. And this can be done on a smaller scale, too. For instance, another friend (and frequent guest blogger) Gladys also made cookbook that she presented to her grandson's bride. Gladys' version was her own hand-written copies of her tried-and-true recipes and family favorites. She bought a three-ring binder that had a clear pocket on the front for inserting a custom cover and put the recipe pages in clear sleeves. Again, I was asked to design the cover.
All of these women have inspired me to finally make a family cookbook so that I can get the idea out of my head and into print. I have no idea what the cover will look like, but I am sure that during working on the project, inspiration will shop up.
My cookbook idea is somewhere between the highly involved and simplistic versions. I am not sure how I will go about printing if I am successful. I am considering having a small run printed at Staples or Office Max, or printing the pages at home and filling three-ring binders with the printouts.
Would your family appreciate a cookbook that features their recipes? If so, why not give the idea a try? They would make fantastic Christmas gifts, making next year's shopping much easier :)
Marcheta *let's go!
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