It began with my mom’s tattered recipe folder

This falling-apart mess held together with packing tape is a treasure that I’ve held close since bringing the recipe folder to my house from my mom’s after she passed away over twenty years ago. It was a fixture in the kitchen I grew up in, where my mom turned often in search of something to cook for dinner, or ideas for next week’s dinner party. She had only a couple of cookbooks—in which she scribbled and taped other recipes as well. But it was to this big accordion folder that she most often turned before beginning to cook.

Everyone’s version of this treasure is different, just as each of us is different based on the paths of our lives and the experiences we’ve had eating and cooking with family and friends. Whatever version yours might take, I just want to be sure that you have a collection of recipes that are meaningful to you. Whether you’re starting with an old dusty recipe box with nearly indecipherable recipe cards, starting with a handful of miscellaneous recipes from here and there unsure what value they have, or perhaps you’re starting from scratch—it’s a starting point. On this site I’ll be sharing stories, insights, doses of nostalgia, practical tips, and other content intended to motivate others preserve recipes that mean the most to them.