Create a personal cookbook of family recipes

Create a personal cookbook of family recipes

On the day I married, the women in my family gathered some favorite recipes into a personal cookbook. It was extraordinarily special because they loved me, and had planned this out, chatting amongst themselves. Deciding who would put what…

Help was appreciated in the practical sense with my limited skills. Even more so was the sentiment.

As the decades drift on, this book has become treasured for another reason, unrelated to the food. The handwritten script is my connection to that young bride and those women who were setting her off into life.

Those words equip me with the details. But the directions are more subtle. A whisper from the women who loved this young bride.

Remember us who have been where you are. Stand in your kitchen and learn from me.

My Mom, Grandma, and two aunts.  Time has dealt blows we never would have imagined when their younger hands copied these words down.

Aunt Kim lost her battle with breast cancer, around my current age. Aunt Kathy has just won her battle with that same evil killer. We didn’t see that coming. My mom too battles the same disease.

I see that familiar script and I remember these three strong women, who insisted I grow into a strong woman also. And I am.

My Grandma’s script speaks comfort to me, reminding me of our special things and her dedication to being a haven for this girl, now a woman.

My Mom’s hand reaches across the miles and strokes my hair and whispers of traditions she established for this girl who needed roots.

And now, this girl, knows how to create them wherever she is.

How do I create a family cookbook?

Gather the recipes of your families.

Ask for them to be written in their own hand. Share them and create a simple book for new brides, and smile. For you’ll know the secret behind the seemingly simple words.

Send out your sons and daughters with a copy, connecting them to home (I did this for my own daughter’s wedding). If you don’t have one, start one.

The next step for me is to create new ways to see these recipes. I plan to follow the ideas for recipe dishtowels here. If you are fortunate enough to have a keepsake recipe, even a few hastily scratched-out measurements, that is enough to get started!

Since this gift was created 28 years ago, I was thrilled when my grandma found a copy of her own mother’s recipe card, casually scripted.  Great-grandma Toby would never have imagined, almost 100 years later, that anyone would ever treasure this! But, we do, don’t we?

These ordinary, mundane scraps? Let us remember this and give our own children and friends the same gift. ♥

What would you love to see written out from your childhood family kitchen? How could you display it?

Recipe resources you might enjoy: