Every few days I’ve been working on a project that’s very near to my heart. In my family, we have a special cookbook. We call it the Hall of Fame Cookbook and it most certainly is.
The binding is cracked from years of being smoothed open. The cover is peeling from multiple pulls out off the shelf. The handwritten pages, complete with coordinating doodles made my mom (my favorite part), are stained from years of recipes. It’s no secret which are family favorites — some of the handwriting is almost not even legible anymore from the splatters.
This book is a strong representation of family for me. One of the heirlooms that I am priviliged to be in possession of. My job is to type each recipe to be made into a professionaly bound book. Not for sale, but for us, the family, to have always.
The original is an artifact. Pages of history and stories documenting the when and where each meal was initially created. The covers contain memories that belong to my parents. Stories written before my birth. Then there are recipes I remember — my first birthday cake, school party treats. Famous family dishes with our name built right in.
I cherish this book. More than a piece of jewelry or a handcrafted end table. This book holds my history — in recipes. I hope one day my children will turn each page and smile as they make their own memories from the pages in their grandmother’s handwriting, flanked by doodles of dancing, smiling shrimp and butter stains.
This is our history.
And I’m so proud of it.
17 comments
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May 26, 2009 at 9:26 am
Christy
This is so cool – I love this idea! My mom has a 3-ring binder of all the recipes that she’s collected over the years. And one year when I was a teenager, my maternal grandmother collected a few recipes from our extended family members and put them together on index cards in an old-fashioned recipe box. Each group is separated by another index card with a photo of the relative who donated them to the box and a little information about how we’re related. It’s one of the most treasured family heirlooms that I have.
May 26, 2009 at 9:41 am
Julia
that (and Christy’s comment above) is SUCH a lovely idea- what a special heirloom, you must be having so much fun typing it all up!
May 26, 2009 at 9:50 am
juliennejiggs
That is so cool. I want to do something like that for my kids! Especially including recipes for each of their birthday cakes!!
May 26, 2009 at 10:37 am
Cee
That’s such an awesome thing!
May 26, 2009 at 11:19 am
Stephanie
I did that for my Mom’s birthday last fall. It is a wonderful idea, and definately something that will be in the family for years….I found a great website that I used…tastebook…and they were awesome and printed all those recipies professionally in a binder and kept them in an online recipe box. And its really cool to look back through those recipes and all the memories associated with each dish, like you said your birthday cakes and family meals…Awesome thing to do for you and your family.
May 26, 2009 at 11:22 am
DevilsHeaven
That is pretty awesome.
May 26, 2009 at 11:40 am
Kathryn
This is something I have started to pass on a part of me to my children (working on that part of my family now). As my mother and grandmother have passed on significant pieces of jewelry (which I love and cherish), I wanted to start my own “thing” to be passed down through generations. I couldn’t think of better evidence than my love of cooking through my recipes. Never thought of adding an anecdote with recipes . . . I’m going to start that as well.
)
May 26, 2009 at 11:50 am
spamwarrior
Wow. I like that.
May 26, 2009 at 11:56 am
HKW
This is fantastic. So many memories are made in family kitchens!
If you’re looking for a professional publisher, I’d recommend Blurb.com and their (free) Booksmart software. The printing quality is great and you can add photos of the recipe or family photos if you like, along with the typed text. I’ve also used MyPublisher (also free software to creat the book) and the print quality is equal to Blurb/Booksmart but the price is much higher, especially if the book is over 20 pages. With MyPublisher, you can send the link to friends and family and they can view the entire book, with Blurb/Booksmart the link can be shared but only the 1st 15 pages or so can be previewed. Sorry this is so long – hope this helps
Have fun with the project!
May 26, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Jaxie
That has got to be one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard of. Make sure to get the pages laminated on the typed books so the splatters can be wiped off for years to come! The original must be amazing… I can see why you’d love it!
May 26, 2009 at 1:01 pm
MegR
You should scan the pages and use them as photography the book you’re doing … or background images on the recipe pages.
Such a fun project! Care to share any of these recipes?
May 26, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Anna at Hank and Willie
LOVE this. And agree with MegR–scanning the originals to use as art would be BRILLIANT!
May 26, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Kez
That is so amazing. What a fantastic heirloom.
May 26, 2009 at 10:36 pm
Britt
I have the same thing in my family and I definitely understand your attachment to it! It’s such a special book to me and my family!
May 27, 2009 at 9:06 am
La Petite Chic
What a neat memento to have! I cherish our family recipes too…they hold so many wonderful memories.
May 27, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Kat
That is a great idea! Can we see a photo of the original?
May 28, 2009 at 2:40 pm
humanbeingblog
One of my most treasured possessions is an index-card recipe for Frozen Banana Upsidedown Cake from my dad’s mom. When we went to visit every-other summer, she’d greet us with a pan of this delicious stuff. When she died in 2000, it was the only thing I wanted.