By using your scrapbooking techniques, you can develop an interesting recipe scrapbook or journal to use currently and to preserve cooking memories for future generations. My aunt saved recipes in a notebook, handwritten and frequently with notations of the person from whom she acquired it.
I’ve began to consider making a scrapbook or picture journal of some of the recipes, photocopying them in her handwriting, then attaching it to the page of a scrapbook. Illustrations and photos could accompany these, perhaps with journal entries about the person whose recipe it is.
Grandma Coon’s Recipes
With the recipes Auntie noted as Grandma Coon’s, I could post a photo of this lady. I have one of her with her husband and son (my grandfather) in front of their farmhouse. There’s another of Grandma posing for a photographer.
Since the scrapbook will consist for family information and pleasure, I’ll include some details about Grandma, gleaned from family research, my grandfather’s writings, and memories told by my mom.
Nanny’s Recipes
These recipes were referred to as “Ma’s Recipes” by Auntie and my mother. I always called her Nanny. So I can include my memories of food prepared and served at her home and at ours when she visited.
I have numerous pictures of this lady, both as a young woman and as the grandmother I recall. They will add interest and memories for my family.
Other Relatives’ Recipes
The list could go on, since I’ve collected, over the years, recipes from relatives on both my mother and father’s side of the family. There are cousins, aunts, and close family friends.
“And don’t forget yourself,” my daughter often reminds me when we’re collecting family memories and pictures. This would include the picture my mom took of me holding the first loaf of bread I baked….all by myself when I was eight years old.
Do You Have Family Recipes for a Scrapbook?
Almost everyone has recipes memories they could include in a scrapbook. These might trace back for several generations, or they may be recipes you’ve collected and found favorites.
Do you have recipes you accumulated in your travels? My daughter asked for a Sweet Potato Biscuit recipe where she and her husband dined on their honeymoon. This could be included on a scrapbook page along with a photo of their trip.
We have family favorite acquired on a backpacking trip into the mountains of Wyoming. The outfitter’s cook created a dish of sausage, potatoes, cabbage, and onions that tasted delicious after a day of trekking at 10,000 feet. He didn’t have ingredient amounts, so we, by trial and error, came up with a version at home that tasted almost like his.
The list could go on and on and will make for a fascinating scrapbook. Look for recipes in your family and life...create your own recipe memory scrapbook.
©2005 Mary Emma Allen
(I write, journal, and scrapbook from her multigenerational home in Plymouth, NH. If anyone is interested, Iwill teach workshops in scrapbooking your family recipes and memories. E-mail me at: me.allen@juno.com )
