How to Create a Personal Cookbook
Whether you've spent a lifetime creating your own culinary delights, or you have a collection of family recipes that have been passed down through the generations, putting together a personal cookbook isn't a difficult process. After you've published your cookbook, you may even want to sell copies to the public, or give them to family and friends as gifts. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Gather your recipes. Separate them into categories, such as deserts, entrees, etc. You will need to write an introduction, chapters, end notes and definitions or references you wish to include at the end of your text. Use a binder to organize your work initially. For each page add a recipe and notes, family stories associated with the dish and perhaps a photograph of the final product. Once you're satisfied with your preliminary version, it's time to create a more professional-looking volume. Remember that the title and cover design is most often what attracts someone to a book, so try and think of an interesting and memorable title and design.
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You can type up the pages of your cookbook and send it to a publishing company, or you can design your own on a graphics program such Adobe Photoshop and bind the book yourself. You can even upload your cookbook to Amazon's Kindle.
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If using Photoshop, open a new document and set the width and height requirements of your cookbook. The resolution should be at least 200 pixels. Select a background; white is best in this case. You will be repeating this process for each page of your cookbook, so it's best to add a number to the name of each document you create, such as "Cookbook 1".
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Use layers to add different elements (text, graphics, photos) to your page. You will see the layers panel in the lower right-hand corner of your screen, essentially the layers look like stacked boxes. Within each layer you can add separate elements, like text on one layer, an image of a cake on another and so on. Using layers allows you to make changes and apply effects to each element without altering work you've done on the other layers of your document.
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Choose a font type (or types) for the text of your recipes. Use the "text" tool to create text on each page in a text box. If you wish to change text you've already added, simply click on the text box and type in your changes or ad a filter effect or alter the color. Name and save your document as a high resolution JPEG. Save all the pages of your cookbook to a CD for printing. You can go to a print shop or an office supply store like Staples to print your cookbook.
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