Sunday, March 13, 2011

Where do you keep yours?

 

Recipes, that is. I have spent a great deal of time this year sorting and organizing and I have discovered many wonderful things that I had forgotten all about. I became the “keeper” of things my parents no longer had room for as they downsized. “Let Carol have it” was their way of  holding on to what needed to stay in the family. Now I am trying to decide what I need and what I need to pass on.

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These notebooks belonged to my grandmothers and contain recipes given to them by family and friends. The recipe below came from my great-grandmother Hanley and was typed onto an index card by my Gram Lane. There are lots of typed cards in the book and I remember the typewriter that was always on the end of the dining room table.

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The book is well worn and there are spills on the pages.

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cookbook

Above are pictures of a cookbook sponsored by the bank, the pharmacy and other businesses – an early community cookbook. Below is a mosaic of recipes from the notebooks of both grandmothers.

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On the left is my mother’s recipe box. Mine is on the right. At one point we both had the same recipe box and there was a spoon rest to match as I recall.

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We collected recipe cards along with the recipes. I had started canning and found labels. I must not have used them because most of them were in the drawer!

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Now where are my recipes? Most of them are in my Documents in a folder called My Recipes. Many have appeared on this blog.

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Where do you keep yours?

I am joining Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Be sure to stop by and see what everyone has done.

25 comments:

Donna said...

Hi, Carol! It's nice to make your acquaintenance! And friend of Vee is a friend of mine, that's for sure! So you live in Maine? We've visited there about a half a dozen times over the years. Beautiful state!

I had to smile when I saw a picture of Ina! I adore here cooking shows! LOL, hubby does the cooking, but I like to watch!!!

I hope to make myself at home here and learn a bit about you! I dabble a bit with fabric and needwork, but I've gotten myself into photography in a big way in the past couple of years.

Maggie said...

Hi Carol,
I don't have any handed down recipes like the ones you show in your post.
I have a recipe journal that I used to stick them into but nowadays I either have them in my PC or bookmarked in the books they appear in.

Brynwood Needleworks said...

Hi Girlfriend:
I've slowly been adding my favorites to my computer, too. Takes a while, but it's so convenient to just search and pull them up on the laptop.

Can't wait to see which napkin holder you snag. I think the shop over next to the market on Osprey and Hillview has them. I might have to go and take a look. Of course, a computer search is always fun, too. (Let our fingers do the walking!)

TTYS,
xoxo
Donna

Anonymous said...

I have a large basket on top of my refrigerator and many of the recipes in that basket are printed off the internet. No recipe cards for me.

DI

Mary Bergfeld said...

Carol, what a treasure. All but a handful of mine are on the computer. You've reminded me I really should finish the job. My recipes all date from the early years of my marriage and don't have the sentimental value that yours have. Have a wonderful weekend. Blessings...Mary

Unknown said...

Hubby (bless his little peachy heart) computerized ALL of my vast recipe collections. We are scanning all of Mother & MIL recipe cards for everyone in the family to receive.

Happy St. Paddy's day ~
Have a beautiful week ~
TTFN ~
Marydon

CSN GIVEAWAY ENDS 3/17

Vee said...

I am so delighted that you've met Donna. You will love her photography and tips. Plus she is a lovely person!

Oh I'm feeling your pain and your joy with this post. I have so much of this all around me these days. Something must be done that I know. I'm thinking of taking the best recipes and making them into a family recipe book using as many of the original copies as possible. My daughter is actually thinking that she'd love that project so I'm going to delegate and help where needed. It's just so hard to get.rid.of. recipes written by a grandmother or mother or anyone in the family. I know that you know what I mean.

All the best to you!

Vee said...

THAT I know...sometimes I'm so unclear. :D

Pam said...

Carol, it looks like you have a great collection of recipes! I use the "Living Cookbook" program and am slowly adding my family recipes to it. It's wonderful to have them all in one place!

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

I have my grandmothers' old recipe book, and many recipes written on cards, envelopes, clipped out newspaper recipes... most with her handwriting on them, and I love that. I also have a binder full of recipes I've collected over the years.

podso said...

Carol. you and I are often on the "same page" going through all this family stuff. I almost did a post on my recipe file, as I did quite a few years ago. Now I am processing mom's among her other things... or... did my sister take that? I feel like I'm just beginning to process it all -- physically and mentally/emotionally. But I know what you mean--finding a recipe you haven't thought of in awhile is like finding an old friend.

dotsie

Lynn said...

Well, I have binder and dividers... but everything is just tossed into the binder right now. At least I see all the different recipes as I shuffle through looking for something:@)
If you want to put them on the computer but still keep the special memories of the handwriting you might want to look into a scanner.

Shirley said...

I have a couple of recipe boxes plus a binder with many of the hand me down recipes. It is something that I don't want to lose. I thought about the computer, but it is so much easier to have them on the counter in my kitchen. I am learning some of the polish recipes that came from my husband's ancesters. I have a few recipes that I wish I had written done that my mother use to make. One was what she called a dump cake. Have a great day. Your Missouri Friend.

Jane said...

I just love the old handwritten and typed recipe cards!! I know it is so much more convenient to type and store recipes in the computer but there's just something about an old stained, yellowed recipe card that appeals to me.
I am not a cook or a baker so I don't keep many recipes. The few I have are stuffed in a recipe file box....hate to admit that I haven't looked at them in years!
Hope you're having a wonderful Sunday.
Jane

Carol @ There's Always Thyme to Cook said...

I love the old books with the recipes! I have an old marble notebook of my Grandma's. Old and worn, my treasure! And I have some of her recipes framed and hanging in my kitchen on display. But mostly I put them all on the computer and I've blogged about them so my kids can always get them easily. I made a cookbook of their favorites at snapfish! I really enjoyed your post, made me smile, I love the old recipes :)

Anonymous said...

Carol this is great collection of recipes, I lake it!
Kisses and happy new week dear.

Jenn said...

Those hand or type-written recipe cards are so nostalgic. I haven't had those in a long time, all of mine are filed in my laptop as well under recipes. My mom still keeps hers the way she always does... all worn-out in a box complete with the satins. :-) Love your post!

LindyLouMac said...

Hi there this is my first time joining in with Monday Mosaic and I am now hopping around viewing all the wonderful blogs that join in. Those old recipe books look fantastic I would love to own them!

A Bit of the Blarney said...

I have recipes in boxed, books, baskets and the ones I don't need to have the recipe for I can still remember. Don't have any store on the computer. Wonderful post! Thank you! Cathy

A Garden of Threads said...

Great mosaic Carol. I also had a collection of my Mom's and Grannies recipes, I have downsized it to just a folder. It is with all the recipe books in the kitchen. Love the wooden recipe box.

Candace said...

I love the mosaic! I, too, have become the keeper of all things that needed to be "kept" in our family. I have a huge tub of recipes that need to be organized and a box of my mom's recipes that she had collected over the years that she handed down to me. I,also, have a folder like yours on my computer where I'm slowly adding the recipes. It was going to be my winter project but life intervened. Now that spring is promising to make an appearance up here. It's going to have to wait some more, I think.

Snap said...

Carol, how wonderful to have the recipes from all the family ... and in their original form! what a treat and what a lot of work to put them on your computer! well done!

Life Images by Jill said...

What a treasure - to have these old recipes passed down through your family. A treasure indeed. So much more interesting than having them on computer. And sometimes, this is the only way we keep the handwriting of those past. Thank you for sharing with us.

Gardening in a Sandbox said...

Recipes from Mothers and Grandmothers are such treasures. It is like they are still there looking over your shoulder while you cook. My son and his girlfriend gave me a recipe organizer a couple of years ago. I have not used it yet. My recipes are just all over the place. V

Rettabug said...

Carol, you are so lucky to have these wonderful treasures from past generations! Preserve them any way you can & be sure to label them on the back so future generations will know exactly who 'Mom' was.

I have a very old cookbook that belonged to my 85 yr. old DH's mother. In the front cover, long ago, he scribbled a note to her, asking that she wake him up in time for Mass. He's always been a devout Catholic. He must have been about 9 yrs old when it was scribbled in pencil. A real treasure!

I framed my Mom's handwritten recipe for her Christmas cookies, just to be able to save it & see her writing...done in pencil, too.

Most of my own recipes are in two Master Cook programs on my computer & also saved on thumb drives as back up.

Have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day, my friend! I'm cooking the whole meal, too.
fondly,
Rett

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