How to Bind A Family Cookbook

If you like to cook, chances are you have a lot of recipes that are cluttering up your kitchen. Or perhaps there are special recipes that you and your family enjoy at special events such as birthdays, Christmas, and so on. It can be a lot of fun to create a family cookbook so everyone can make and enjoy certain dishes as well as preserve special recipes for future generations. Making a family cookbook is easy as long as you have a computer, printer, and a comb binding machine. Just follow these steps:

• Type up your recipes on your computer. You can use a word processing program for this or something like InDesign if you want to get fancy. Be sure to choose a font that’s easy to read, such as Palatino. You will also want to add some visual interest to your cookbook by including family photos as well as pictures of some of the dishes and/or ingredients. Also, design a cover for the cookbook so it will be easy to recognize.
• Once your cookbook is typed up and laid out, you will want to proofread it. That way, you can be sure that the recipes are accurate and free of typos and grammatical errors. You might want to have someone else also go over the cookbook to spot any errors you might have missed.
• Now that your cookbook is ready, it’s time to print it out. You can do this at home with your laser or ink-jet printer. Or you could have a third-party print the book for you. (Keep in mind that involving a third party is costly.) If you print the cookbook yourself, be sure to use good paper and check to see that your printer cartridge has enough ink or toner to finish the job. (The covers should be printed on thin cardstock for durability.) You will want to print out several copies so you can share them with family members.
• Once the cookbooks are printed, you will need to punch holes in them with your comb binding machine. Be sure to read the machine’s instruction manual to find out how many sheets you can punch at one time. Punch the holes and then use the machine’s comb selector to find out which comb you should use. You can usually use a comb selector just by sliding your document into the various slots and finding out how thick the document is.
• Place a comb on the machine’s comb opener and open it up. Then, start sliding the tines of the comb through the pages of the cookbook. Close the comb when you’re done and remove the book from the machine. Bind your other cookbooks and empty the machine’s chip tray when you’re done.
• Finally, you can distribute your cookbooks to your family members. You might want to give them away on a special occasion such as Mother’s Day, Christmas, or Thanksgiving. It’s a great way to commemorate the event.

Making a family cookbook is a fun activity and it’s a terrific way to preserve not only recipes but special memories. Try making your own family cookbook today.

(Note: this post originally appeared on the Howitoo.com blog.)