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Cookbook Keepsake
By Karen Gifford
When the holidays roll around and you find yourself feeling very nostalgic you can bet you are not alone. We all long for the comfort of our past, trying to hold on to our memories by adopting traditions that we follow from year to year. As we grow older we realize that things change, people come and go, and the reality of this can be bittersweet as time passes and our past starts fading further away. Why not adopt a tradition of sharing these comforting memories of your parents or grandparents etc… with your loved ones at holiday time. They will cherish these memories and your efforts to keep them alive and close to your hearts.
At Christmas time, for instance, instead of rushing around town and the shopping malls, frantically circling the parking lots waiting for someone to pull out, and then fighting against time and the stampede of holiday shoppers, why not dig deep into your imagination instead of your wallet to come up with something that truly shows you care. In my experience there is nothing more special then receiving a handmade gift, something special and personal. It shows that you have put some thought and love into coming up with the idea instead of just dishing out cash for meaningless gadgets that will be discarded or forgotten by Valentine’s Day.
This year I decided to gather all my mother’s handwritten recipes that she had stuffed in a kitchen drawer and shoved in between pages of old cookbooks, and assemble them into a homemade cookbook to share with my family. The result was not only teary-eyed joy and heartfelt gratitude, but also a useful keepsake that will last forever to be passed down from generation to generation.
I used some of my computer skills to scan the recipes into my computer. I then organized the recipes into categories (appetizers, desserts, main dishes etc…). Then I printed the pages out on good quality paper and decorative background paper. On some of the pages I inserted pictures of my mother and other members of the family. Try experimenting with adding pictures that strike a memory of that particular recipe, such as a picture from Thanksgiving, or Christmas on a holiday recipe. On a recipe labeled "Dad’s favorite desert" I inserted a picture I found of my father eating desert. Use your imagination. If using plain paper add fun borders or backgrounds. Add personal comments like "Mom always cooked this for my birthday". This can be a very fun and rewarding project, and I also found it to be very therapeutic.
When you are happy with your pages and have them all in order, insert them into a special hardcover recipe album to keep and protect your recipes. It will be a valuable addition to your cookbook collection. You can choose from a variety of decorative covers. Select a different design for each person according to their own style, or follow a theme and make them all the same. It is a gift from the heart that will be appreciated and will last forever.
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| Some other articles by Karen Gifford | An Old Friend
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