Day 11: Cookbooks and Recipes

What: Cookbooks and Recipes

Why: I would consider cookbooks and recipes to be a “collectible” item. I say that with full confidence that I used to be “one of those.” I read cookbooks like people read books. Call me weird, but it is true. Problem is, cookbooks take up a lot of space in an area that usually doesn’t have enough: THE KITCHEN.

I had a specific shelf at our old house where I kept all of our cookbooks. Over time, it started to overflow, which I knew was the breaking point. It took quite some time (only because I wanted to do it right), but I finally have my cookbooks and recipes organized as well as I can get them (that I know of, of course).

Do you have cookbooks that you only use 1 or 2 recipes from? Do you have hardcopies of recipes thrown all over the place? Do you have recipes that you probably will never use? Are you even overwhelmed by all the recipes and cookbooks you have? If you find yourself answering “yes” to any of these questions, read on!

How – Here’s how to organize your recipes and cookbooks:

1. Find all of your recipes and cookbooks (even the little paper ones, wherever they may be).

2. Let’s start with your cookbooks:

• Look at each one – do you use it? How many recipes? If you only use a few recipes out of it, copy those down on a recipe or index card, and donate the cookbook. It is NOT worth keeping a whole cookbook for a few recipes. It is time consuming to put recipes on cards, but it will be worth it!
• Do any of your cookbooks have family value? I would suggest keeping those that have your family favs or family tradition meals in them (if you use them).

3. Now your recipes (probably the most overwhelming…)

• Start by gathering them all. Again, time consuming, but go through each one and decide if you want to keep it or throw it away. If you have never made it, decide if you EVER will. Most often, you probably won’t – so just throw it away.
• Recipes are dangerous. I think they can feed into the inner “can do it all” thoughts – I think it is easy to have dreams of being a certain type of cook someday, but in reality, probably won’t be. We have big dreams of making these fancy meals or awesome desserts, so we collect and collect recipes, but never make any of them. We end up getting overwhelmed and then get depressed when we see all those recipes we want to make. It is time to work on this. I can almost guarantee you that if you throw those “want-to make” recipes away, you will NOT miss them. You will forget you ever had them.
• Now that the inner struggle is dealt with, now it is time to organize!
• My first suggestion is to buy a recipe album. It is like a picture album, but for recipes. You can typically buy them at your local bookstore. I prefer this method over a recipe box because even in a recipe box, you can’t see what the recipe is until you take it out. In a recipe album, you can see every recipe, make sure it gets filed in the right section, and with the protective sleeve, you don’t have to worry about spilling on the recipe and ruining it.
• Now that you have gone through each recipe and have bought a recipe album, you can now organize them into this album, which makes for easy access the next time you are looking for the special dish to make, or prize-winning dessert!

4. Cook or bake that recipe you rediscovered! That is what happened to me when I went through ALL of my recipes and cookbooks – I found recipes that I forgot about, but have had fun making them ever since.

Confession of the Day: I think Pinterest can be dangerous too. I will be the first to admit that there are absolutely AMAZING ideas and recipes on that website, but they can only feed into that “wanna be” struggled of being an awesome cook or baker. I would say just be careful. I rarely go on Pinterest because I know it is dangerous for me personally (may not be the case for you).

I hope you find more enjoyment in looking for the perfect recipe, now that your recipes and cookbooks are in order!

REMEMBER to SUBMIT YOUR FAVORITE RECIPE! I would like to start posting them! So when you find that favorite recipe, go under “Recipes” on the tabs and click “Submit a Recipe.” Look forward to hearing from you!