Cookbook Journaling

Things that I think are awesome:

1. Handwritten recipes.
2. Recipes with notes, dates, stains, etc.
3. Cookbooks with writing, notes, dogears, etc.
4. Any and all kinds of journaling.

Which is why I've started "Cookbook Journaling." When I get a new cookbook, I print out a label to stick in the front where I record the name and page number of the dishes I prepare, along with the date I prepare them. At first I would record every time I made something from the book in the front, but I've changed that to only recording the first time I create that particular dish to save space.

Then on the page of the actual recipe, I record the date each time I prepare that item, along with notes. I record recipe specific notes such as choices that I made, hints for next time, what I made to go with it, etc. I also often record personal details, like why it was chosen, what the occasion was, who was involved, what else was going on, etc. 

It's fun to see my own little culinary history in the pages. Give it two, three, five, ten, fifty years, and my most used cookbooks should become quite the gastronomical scrapbooks!