Today I started to make bread and couldn't find my favorite recipe anywhere. I freaked out, organizing my drawer and still couldn't find it. Then I remembered my Grandma Jackie cookbook AND as I looked through it I thought that it would be fun to share on my blog.
My sister Alesha put it together. I took all the cookbooks down to have them bound. When I went to pick them up the lady told me, "I have done A LOT of cookbooks over the years, but THIS is by far one of the best I have seen" It's true, the book gives you a glimpse into the life of this great lady and cook.
Alesha and I went down to Grandma Jackie's house the day of the funeral. We took Lee's camera and photographed Grandma's kitchen and other things that just reminded us of Grandma. Then when Alesha put the cookbook together she used those pictures of Grandma's actual kitchen for the dividers. The cover is her kitchen and the title comes from the fact that she kept all her recipes in a drawer.
Just looking at that picture brings back so many memories. The owl salt and pepper shakers on the stove. The little broiler oven that I burned my fingers on I don't know how many times. Even that big window that Alesha put the title in. That's the window that her cats would come sit in and peek into the house from the outside. Oh how I miss my Grandma Jackie!
Besides the fun dividers, Alesha put in little stories of Grandma and her baking based off of family's memories. The majority of the recipes are in Grandma's handwriting. She ended the cookbook with a picture of Grandma and some advice that Grandma had written in her own handwriting.
One little part of it says, "Life is so short, enjoy every minute of it". So true because Grandma is gone now.
Anyway, just wanted to share this fun cookbook. Maybe someone will be inspired to take pictures of a kitchen of someone they love! What a treasure this recipe book is, and not just for the recipes.
Thanks again Lee!!!
That is amazing! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWow, what a great idea. I would love to have pictures of like those of my Grandma's house.
ReplyDeleteLooks a lot like the one I have of my Granny who died when I was 2.
ReplyDeleteMine is a lettersized binder I took from my Mom´s kitchen (who never was too much of a cook) and it´s deteriorating slowly. The only foto it has is on the inside front page. It´s of my Grandma with all of her 4 daughters, each of whom got a copy.
I was thinking of re-doing the book and re-typing all the handwritten recipes. After seeing yours, I reconsidered and will just copy all the handwriting!!
Thanx so much for showing!!
Needless to say, this is my favorite cookbook because it is so Mom on every page. Thank you Lee Belle for all the work you put into this. I love it!
ReplyDeleteLove this idea! Thanks for always sharing!
ReplyDeleteNow THAT is a cool gift...
ReplyDeleteOh, how I'd love to have a copy!! My memories aren't as every day, but I have many summer memories. I remember learning to make bread with you using Grandma's recipe.
ReplyDeletewhat a beautiful idea!!
ReplyDeletewhat a beautiful idea!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful cookbook and it's full of such wonderful memories. Thanks for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeleteIs there a way I can order one for us? Looks so nice and memorable too! Let me know. Thanks. melissacrowther at yahoo dot com
ReplyDeleteI am working on a very similiar project. Can you please tell me if you copied the recipes onto card stock, paper, or something else. What is the size of the paper? It looks wonderfully done. Thank you, Kelly Winters
ReplyDeleteIt was copied on half sheets of cardstock. I LOVE my book! Good luck with yours!
ReplyDeleteWhen my mom moved from the house she had lived in for 67 years, I took several of her hand-written recipes as keepsakes. I didn't know what to do with them, but now I do. I plan to make a recipe book using yours for inspiration and including photos and stories from my 7 brothers and sisters. Thank you for sharing and for your wonderful idea.
ReplyDeleteI have almost the exact story of my grandmother and her recipe "drawer". When she passed I snagged all the recipes from her drawer and put them in a safe place. I don't think anyone in the family even knows I have them. I have been saving the handwritten cards for years. I would like to make a recipe book for my daughter when she gets married some day and address it "from Grandma". I have been searching for the perfect way to present the recipes in a book of some sort, but I want the cards to still be preserved in her handwriting. Thank you for the idea.
ReplyDeleteJust saw this on Pinterest and followed the link to this page. This is so beautiful...what a keepsake. Thank you for sharing and for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I stumbled across this post on Pinterest. Just lost my mom a few months ago and haven't done anything with her house yet. I thought I would go through and take pictures of each room before we started taking things out of the house, but it never occurred to me to take pictures of specific cupboards, drawers or things. She has a drawer in the kitchen where she kept three vintage metal canisters that I love. I'm going to take a picture of that drawer and any other cubbies that have specific memories. I'm not sure I'm ambitious enough to do a cookbook, but I'm expanding my picture list as I don't want to lose those memories. Thanks for your post.
ReplyDeleteVery neat idea. I think I may do this with my recipes. At present I have a hand-written cookbook and I added a little story or information about the person who gave me the recipe. We lived on the farm for 30 years so I have quite a few. Now I think I will add a picture of them as well. Thanks for the idea.
ReplyDelete