recipes

my friend, abby, records her recipes in a plain ol' blank journal. she does it to keep them all in one place, and she has a strict policy that only those things that have been tested and approved by the family get recorded. this way, every time she cooks/bakes from it, it's a winner.

i've got my grandmother's recipe box in my kitchen - an old wooden one with all kinds of recipes, mostly typed on her typewriter. a few in mom's handwriting, an occasional one in maw maw's. mostly what's in maw maw's writing, though, are the personal edits she's made to previously-typed recipes. on her fudge recipe, she notes she adds at least 6 more ounces than the original 12 called for.

her white cake has mathematical equations worked out for the quantities of ingredients based on whether you want 2, 3, or 4 layers. this is cool to me.

i've been thinking about both ladies' methods these past 2 weeks and broke out a new journal tonight just for food. i searched the internet for digital ways to organize recipes; i thought about reorganizing my recipe box and trying to do better at keeping it well-arranged. but i like the journal idea. and i like the thought of it being in my own handwriting (versus a digital version that seems less personal).

ellie helped me (watched me) put together a peach crisp (cobbler-like) tonight after dinner, and i like to think that in years to come, she'll want to thumb through and pick out recipes from her childhood that she can replicate. and for her to read it in my handwriting makes the passing down of recipes all the more personal, i think. and i imagine for some recipes, she'll (and kaleb, too) cringe when thinking of the time i forced them to stay at the table until it was all gone. this one's for you, mom:

abby's book has a tabbed-off section for desserts - she just picked a place about 1/3 of the way from the back and placed a tab. since my husband rarely skips meals but NEVER skips dessert, i started from the back and am working my way forward with desserts - this way i won't run out of room because i sectioned off too little space for sweets. and as of now, i've got about 8 main dishes and sides recorded, and i've got just that many desserts to balance things out :) maw maw makes note of where all recipes come from - someone's kitchen, a magazine/newspaper, etc. i like this. i've done the same. and i've tried to anticipate a someday failing memory and left little notes as to where/how i knew certain people (one woman i worked with in the recovery room in fredericksburg...i won't remember that when i'm old and gray!)

so i've got a lot of writing to do at the moment in order to catch up, but once there, i'll process through a recipe at a time as i come across new ones. and when i'm feeling less inspired to hunt pinterest and other internet places for food suggestions, i can pull out the journal of trusty food and pick one at random.