Day 206/365

Today it’s all about using your journals for recipes, my two favourite things!  I’ll explain my own hacks for transforming a journal to a recipe book, appropriate books to use and some other fun tips!

As you can see, my two most beloved recipe books, above, are suited for different purposes.  The large one stays at home, on the shelf, while the little one is a take-along collection of my most favourite recipes.

This small recipe book is perfect to fit in a backpack, and travels with me when I’m away for long periods of time.  It’s coptic bound, so it lays flat when open, which is perfect for leaving it open on the counter while gathering ingredients (I think all cookbooks should be sewn using the coptic stitch, it’s so practical!).   

I started this book way back when I was first in art college.  I collected recipes from roommates, a few of my Mom’s best meals, and guessed ingredients from my favourite dishes at restaurants.  It’s one of the first books I handbound for myself, not a school project.  This was an important step to realizing the immense satisfaction of incorporating my own handmade items into my everyday life.

I have always loved to cook and this robust little coptic book of recipes, started in Toronto,  has gone around Europe with me.  It’s pages are filled with delicious things like traditional Florentine Ribollita, my grandma’s oatmeal date cookies, my mom’s chilli, and the BEST tomato spread for crostini from an elderly Florentine man named Giovanni.  The binding is as strong as ever and the pages are all intact – handmade is made to last!

Once the little book was filled, I needed another book.  This time I went larger, and was more organized than my younger, college-going self.  There are tabs and pockets and sections, it’s all very practical and well thought out!  Bonus: it’s made from a reclaimed cigar box.

Top 4 Tips for Making a Journal Recipe Book:

-Make category tabs by folding cardstock in half and adhering to the sides of pages.  You can do this with glue, but it’s more fun with washi tape that runs the length of the page!  You can make tabs to categorize by meal, ingredients, allergen-free recipes, or even seasons! (ie. Cookies, Meatless Entrees, Beverages, etc)

-I also liked to make a title page on each tab page.  You can draw a picture, use fancy writing.  You could also make a mini index here, listing recipes as you add them to each category.

-If you’re binding your own book, incorporate the odd pocket page to collect recipes on pretty paper, or in a loved one’s handwriting.  You can fold up your own pocket page, or just use opened envelopes!

-In my smaller recipe book I used scrapbook paper for the covers.  I also found fun foodie papers and inserted them at random in the pages: chocolate chips and KD! (Total college-kid food, I know!)

What’s your favourite recipe?  Feel free to share in the comments below!