> How It Came To Be
This Recipe Book was first printed in December 1983 as a Christmas
present to member of the Dale Leipper family. After review and
additions, it was printed again on February 3,1983. The introduction
to the February 1983 edition is as follows.
The idea of putting together our favorite and remembered recipes
has been on the back burner for a long time. It had been held back by
such problems and typing and typesetting. A way around this problem
was uncovered when Mom (Virginia Leipper) suggested using a computer
and word processing system to help put together the collection of
recipes.
The person identified in the title of the recipes may be either
the person who discovered the recipe or the person who has become
associated with the recipe, the person whose collection was the
source of the recipe, or maybe the author of the book in which the
recipe was found. There is no intent to violate copyright or ignore
due credit in this collection. It is for our family use only, and the
sharing of recipes we remember and like.
Each recipe is listed in the table of contents. Each ingredient
used is listed in the index. The numbering leaves room in each recipe
category for additions. Categories may be found by using the edge
markers
This book is an evolving collection of recipes and cooking ideas.
If you find additions, corrections, or if you have any suggestions
please let us know.
> Third Edition 1997- 98
In December 1997 Bryan and I decided to update and enhance the
original recipe book. This came about in part when Mom and I decided
to bake cookies for Christmas. Her original recipe book was beginning
to look bedraggled and she had added a lot of clippings, notes, and
other stuff.
We have made many changes, added recipes and expanded it to
include favorite recipes from a broader spectrum of the family.
The third addition was sent to each of the primary family members
for Christmas. Copies of the book were sent to Mari Stitt, Dana &
Chris Lovelace, Isabelle & Rod Stitt, Karen Grosse, Barbara &
David Grosse, Jeannine Rupert, Roberta Jonilliones, Janet Smith,
Anita Leipper, Aurora Leipper, Dorothy Higgins. It is our
contribution to the collective family memory and history.
> Fourth Edition 2003
2003 is the 20th anniversary of this family recipe
book. The motivation for this edition came from Janet Smith. She
requested a copy as a wedding present for her daughter, Brittany.
This edition includes photographs of family gatherings. Over the
last two years Bryan and I have been doing archival scanning of as
much family history as we have come across. This edition contains
some of the results of that effort.
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The earliest recipe books we have so far come across are two
from the 1800's. Both are from the Harrison side of the family.
This one is a collection of recipes cut from newspapers and other
sources and pasted on the pages of the Missouri State Agriculture
Annual Report. The page on the right, the Kidder, Mo, March 27,
1895 is the original text on the page. The rest are recipes that
were pasted on.
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Another Harrison family recipe book was done much the same way
in a journal. It dates from the 1930's
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> Splatter and Tatter Test
This is a rating criteria Bryan and I came up with to help
determine whether or not a recipe should be included in this book.
Basically it was determined that the more splatters or spots on a
recipe and the more worn the page or card the more often the recipe
was used thus indicating that the cook considered this a favorite
recipe. There are also entire cookbooks that can be rated by these
criteria.
In the Dale and Virginia Leipper family the 1950's version of
Betty Crocker is a prime example. The binding is now taped together
and several of the divider tabs have long since worn off. Some pages,
especially in the cookie section rate at least a 10 splatter.
These are samples of recipes with a "10" on the Splatter
Test.
> Mechanics
The first editions, printed in 1983, were printed on a Radio Shack
TRS 80 Model I using Newscript wordprocessing software and a C ITOH
8510 dot matrix printer
The current printing in 1998, was done with Describe word
processing and printed on a HP 5SI Laser Printer. Images were scanned
using Impos.
This book was put together by chapter, each chapter being it's own
file. We used the master document function in Describe to combine all
the chapters and to create the indexes and table of contents. Using
this method enables us to work on and review the chapters
individually. This also facilitates the printing of individual
chapters without the need to reprint the entire document (handy when
I get additional recipes from family members). Printing in booklet
format meant that the number of pages for each chapter had to equal a
multiple of 4. This is why some chapters have more extra pages
(Notes) at the end than others.
E-mail has made the job of putting this book together much easier.
It has made this project truly a joint family effort. We were able to
share ideas, get feedback and comments, and add recipes throughout
the development of the book. We have been able to receive recipes
from family members and import them directly into the recipe format
without the necessity of re-typing.
2003 Update
The wordprocessing program used to create the Family Recipe Book
has been an "orphan" for years. It has become increasingly
difficult to update the book and fix any bugs. Although Bryan has
been reviewing and experimenting with several newer wordprocessing
programs, we have not yet found one with all the features we would
like for this recipe book. In order to preserve the original look of
the current book as much as possible we decided to write it to Adobe
Acrobat PDF files. In addition I have been converting it to html
files. This will make adapting it to a newer wordprocessing program
easier and will also facilitate uploading the book on the web. This
will make it more accessible to all family members and maybe even
facilitate and interactive exchange.
Special html adaptions
To differenciate various components of this document the following
fonts were used
Elements in this type of font are antidotes from the 1800's home
management book found in the Harrison recipe collection.
Hints
for the Well - Food, especially bread, should never be eaten hot.
Comments in this type of font are notes provided by various
contributors to the book.
Before bread machines I used to make this all the time. It
is really good. Now I make it just for the enjoyment of making bread
the long way - DLL
Special web features
The web version of this book includes photo galleries. In the 2003
print version collage picture pages were added as well as including a
photo at the beginning and end of each chapter.
> Whats Next?
1997 comments
With the fast pace of technological advances there are lots of
possibilities for future editions of a family book. These include and
interactive web sites and use of digital photography. Maybe a version
with color pictures and graphics. Any suggestions ideas, and comments
are always welcome.
2003 comments
We are in the process of adapting the recipe book to upload on the
web. We have added pictures - black & white in the print edition
and color on the web. We are also now considering the possibility of
creating a discussion forum for family recipes using the book as a
structure and starting point.
What's next? I have thought several times that this book was
"done". It now appears that it truly is a work in progress.
As new ideas and new capbilities become available the book seems to
evolve. I'll just wait and see what happens next.
> Acknowledgements
We wish to acknowledge the following people for their
contributions to this book.
Virginia Leipper formatting suggestions, content selection,
editorial review
Mari Stitt formatting suggestions, recipe identification,
encouraging contributors
B.J. Neighbours editorial review
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This is the cookbook that the Dale Leipper family grew up with
and learned to cook from - DLL
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> Final Comment and Suggestion
In the process of compiling this book I have again realized the
importance of documentation. I have run across numerous recipes that
I would dearly love to know where they came from but there is no
date, no name, or any other identifying information. So - as a
suggestion for those of us who share recipes, I highly recommend that
when you pass along a recipe that you include your name and date at
the very least. If you have any other information regarding the
recipe pass it along also. This significantly increases the value of
the recipe - after all, who knows where it may end up. Finding those
recipes that do have names or other information is like going through
a scrap book. They bring back a lot of good memories.
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