If you have a pile of recipes that you need to enter into familycookbookproject.com but are not looking forward to having to spend your days typing, there is an easier way. You can dictate your recipes using speech to text software built into your phone or computer. Your recipes are turned into text that can be edited and then cut and pasted into the Add a Recipe form in your editor account.

There are several very easy ways to dictate recipes.

Mobile phones – If you use an iPhone, simply open up your notes application and create a new note. Next, look at the bottom right corner of your pop-up keyboard. You’ll see a little microphone. Click on this and you can start talking and the software in the phone will change your words into written text.

You might have to do some editing because it does not always get it right, but it still can be a great timesaver.

Microsoft Word – while typing is certainly the most common way to create documents, you’re not limited to using the keyboard. Word will let you dictate your writing using voice recognition. This works on both a Mac and a PC.

Make sure your computer has a microphone attached. This can be built-in like on a laptop or a separate microphone you plug into the computer. Make sure you are in the home tab of a word document and then look for the microphone icon on the right side of the menu bar that says dictate.

Remember to speak clearly and speak punctuation out loud as you go. For example you can say “new line“ if you want to drop down a line. When you finish a sentence, you just say the word “period”.

Dedicated application – There are also other commercially available apps that you can use to dictate your recipes. However, with the simplicity of your mobile phone or word processing software, I don’t know why you would need it.

Dictating your recipes can be a great timesaver. Once you have the text in a document, then you can simply cut and paste that recipe into the Add A Recipe form and you are good to go.

By the way, this entire article was dictated on my iPhone. Good luck!

Bill Rice is Founder and Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect, preserve and share food memories by creating their own printed personal cookbooks. He is the author of The Wellfleet Oyster Cookbook and the Cape Cod Cocktail Cookbook (Available on Amazon), both created using FamilyCookbookProject.com. He is also editor of the Donovan Family Cookbook, now it’s third printing and is an avid genealogist tracing his family back to the 1600’s.

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A lifetime of feeding our families can generate a wealth of tried and true family recipes. The recipes that everyone loves at holiday gatherings and the everyday meals that we used to feed our kids. All of them are special and need to be written down for future generations.

In years past, our mothers and grandmothers used recipe boxes and index cards to keep track of their recipes if they ever bothered to write them down. Unfortunately if someone wanted a recipe, someone would have to find the recipe card, and hand write a new copy so that recipe can be shared.

Today, computers and the power of the Internet allow us to create online cookbooks that can be printed and easily shared with friends and family members.

A family cookbook allows us to choose which recipes were most important to us and tell the story behind the recipe. Which holidays was it used for, how did you get the recipe, who’s favorite recipe was it?

Recipes are not just a set of instructions, The best recipes tell the story of the food and the family behind it.

Here are some tips for starting your own family cookbook from the Family Cookbook Project.

Get others involved – Everyone in the family has their favorites, so ask them which recipes they would like included. You can even invite them to contribute and enter those recipes directly into the program to save you time and effort.

Set a deadline – Everyone is busy and will wait until the last minute to contribute recipes. That is why setting a deadline at least a month into the future is a good idea. That way people have something to shoot for and give you a reason to contact them to remind them that recipes are due.

Select a cover that stands out – People will judge this cookbook by its cover so make sure it reflects your family’s personality. You can include a photo or pick a design that is meaningful to yourself and the family.

Include photos – Photos make a cookbook come alive. Showing images of family members, past and present, helps put the family in the family cookbook.

Read the recipes – As editor, it is your responsibility to check the recipes for typos and completeness. If a recipe lists an ingredient, make sure it has an amount and is included in the directions as well.

Print extra copies – Ask all of the family members if they want a cookbook before placing your print order (or give them as gifts for the holidays), but be sure to order a few extra copies. Once people see the physical cookbook, it’s amazing how many additional people will want a copy.

A family cookbook is a rewarding project that brings a family together and is a reminder of one of the important elements that help bind us together – memories of family meals, the food that was served and the people who made them.

Bill Rice is Founder and Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect, preserve and share food memories by creating their own printed personal cookbooks. He is the author of The Wellfleet Oyster Cookbook and the Cape Cod Cocktail Cookbook (Available on Amazon), both created using FamilyCookbookProject.com. He is also editor of the Donovan Family Cookbook, now it’s third printing and is an avid genealogist tracing his family back to the 1600’s.

Follow Family Cookbook Project on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest!