A kitchen journal is for making notes to oneself on making family meals/menues, cooking notes, recipes notes, pantry management, etc. or other things that come up when in the kitchen and you wished you had written it down somewhere to keep on hand - this is the journal for that!
A kitchen journal can be used to record family favorite meals and foods - it is easier to serve a lot of wht the family likes instead of having food go to waste. But there are those times when the healthy foods must be on the bable. This can include what is liked for breakfasts, lunches and suppers, favorite dessert type recipes, special meals, and for those in college or away from home, when they call asking for a recipe for or something like that, you know where to go to and get it right away without spending a lot of time searching. This is also a good idea for family members and extended family members that have food allergies or special diets that need to be addressed. A journal can also keep track of all those school lunch menus that are not as healthy as what you can provide for your children in a lunch box.
A kitchen journal can also keep track of the times when seasonal items come into the stores or local farmers markets - you know the first of the veggies or fruits, and you can also jot down pricing and poundage, where the best markets are - the time they are there like from May to October what times are best to go to get the best deals, etc. It helps so you can round out your cooking around what the seasons have in the way of produce or fruits.
A kitchen journal is also a necessity when it comes to tinkering with a recipe - we all know because most have done such - like subbing oils, shortenings, margarine, butter, sugar, dry ingredients. It will help to write down the org. recipe then your version so you have it on hand and dont have to try to remember what you did the last time you made that recipe and switched it around. It is also a good idea to write down new recipes tried from cookbooks and where the recipe can be found at ex: cookbook name, page and such.
A kitchen journal also works well for planning hospitality meals - such as carry in meals for shut ins or helps when planning for a dinner party at the home. Things can be jotted down that worked well or didn't work well so your track record gets better for the next dinner party or for a quick meal to take to someone who is sick.
A kitchen journal is a nice gift to give to one's daughter, son, niece, etc. as a part of their hope chest, as they leave home for college, jobs, marriage, etc. and can be incorporated into a family journal cookbook as they start off on their own. A 3 ring binder with folders that have pockets built in, 2 full page transparent plastic sheets to protect pages, and then of course add the recipes on lined paper and have some blank pages so new recipes can be added and also add dividers with sections such as Beverages, Snacks, Main Meals, Crockpot Meals, Vegetables, Salads, Breads, Desserts, etc.
Just getting in the habit of keeping a kitchen journal will be a joy to write down a note or two about how one's day went in the kitchen and sort of keeps a daily or weekly diary of events, menus, recipes, etc. that have wonderful and would be used again.
Kitchen Journals can be self created - you can use the computer software programs - hey they are there and there is life beyond the internet, to make them up - even Windows Word has clip art that can be added for a personalized touch. Write down all the things you think you would like to see in a kitchen journal then go about creating it on the computer. One of my favorite programs is Microsoft Publishing - I can do a lot of creative things with that program and build onto a basic journal, adding more pages, redesigning color schemes, adding and subtracting graphic arts - I have folders and folders of clip art I saved from internet searches - but I do have Print Shop and Print Master and can export pictures, etc. from them. You can do a christian homemaker theme, or a modern cook theme, or a crash course cooking theme etc. whatever is your fancy. I have created pages with small borders, lined pages, graphic art, etc. and the good thing about this is if you have a computer with a CD burner, you can burn a copy of this for someone else, at least the shell so they have it to try out, and even for yourself so you have a backup copy should the computer crash. Also a kitchen journal makes a great craft or charity bazaar item to sell.
Especially if the notebook is spruced up with a fabric cover - plain or fancy. The notebooks usually the 1-1/2" to 2" style are the best and make a master set of copies that are laminated for future copy use. You can get unlimited themes going with a creative imagination.
Hope to hear if any of you will try doing a kitchen journal !!
