Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I keep my iPad in a cheap plastic baggie (gallon size, no closure), on a cookbook stand. You can use the touch screen through the baggie and the iPad stays clean.

Thank you for the tip. I had no idea it would work through a layer of plastic (I need to test my cheap no-name tablet, I also hope it doesn't overheat in the baggie).

I half-write the instructions in note form out of order, then put it inside a recipe book that's only thematic connection is "food I also like". Then, I never look at it again.

With internet recipes, I quite often remember about half the title, which is why I end up making things with ridiculous names - they are the only recipes I'll be able to find again.

I searched the Chowhound boards for recipe organizing solutions and to see if anyone had votes for or against various computer-based programs, online or otherwise. No unanimous favorites, as everyone has different personal requirements for their cooking needs.

One of the more interesting tidbits I learned about is an online site called Eat Your Books (at www.eatyourbooks.com). This is an enormous cookbook indexing site, with the recipes (ingredients only) from something like 60,000 cookbooks indexed -- you construct a "library" with recipes from blogs, magazines, and cookbooks you actually own, making your collection a monster resource.

Cons:
* The free version only allows you to add 5 items to your library, meaning that the only way for the site to be worth it is if you pay for a full-fledged "membership" (monthly $2.50; yearly $25).
* There are only about 40 vegan cookbooks that have been indexed (though tons are listed). You can actually index cookbooks for yourself/the site, but you have to be a full member to do that.
* The indexed blog options are very limited.
* You can add personal recipes only as a member.

The potential for this as a tool to really dig into your cookbooks kind of blows my mind despite its limitations. Has anyone tried the full blown version?

lizzielove, i actually had an idea to do this with vegan books before i googled and found eatyourbooks. of course it'd be a long time before anything happens, because i have other things ahead of it in the queue, and i would never charge for it. that's ridiculous.

It would be awesome if EYB were a free resource. It is *such* a great idea, though. I would love to parse all of my cookbooks at once for ingredients on hand, and give some of them more use than they've gotten. Supercarrot, you should dooo it!!