TasteBook has set up an easy program to help you create your own beautiful cookbook. I will take you through the steps and show you how easy and fun it is to create your own personalized cookbook from TasteBook.

First we will create the design, once we have finished that, we will begin to organize our recipes and get ready to write. When we have finished adding our recipes or other recipes we've chosen from TasteBook's recipe library we are ready to order our personal cookbook. Your personalized cookbook comes with a custom cover and title, 10 chapters and up to 100 recipes for $34.95 is the perfect which makes this the perfect addition to your kitchen library or a great gift.

Being a cook and an artist I am all about visuals. Sometimes I know exactly how I want something to look and other times I need to play around with my options, trying this image or that color till I get it right. Creative freedom is the first item you come to when you sign up for TasteBook, and they make it fun. I thought I knew the desired look of my first cookbook using an idea I had tucked away in the back of my mind, and I say first cookbook as I have more ideas for personal cookbooks floating around in my head before I finished my first one. I couldn't make up my mind with their style options and when it came down to making a decision, I just had to decide knowing I would have plenty of other opportunities to create another look with future projects.

Now signing up is free with TasteBook, you can play around with your options before you even get to the check out. This gave me ample time to get comfortable, see if I really liked the whole idea of creating my own cookbook before I made my purchase, a tool I appreciated from the makers of TasteBook as it gave me the sense of not being rushed.

TasteBook gives you approximately 40 options for cookbook covers, when you have decided on the image, click a button and enter your title so you can get a preview of your book. Don't like the image, click on another and try again. Create a personal cookbook at TasteBook.com
couldn't be more fun as the create options they supply would suit the style & taste of every cook.

My title for my first TasteBook is "A MATTER OF TASTE", which is the name of my blog on food, so choosing a name was easy for me. If you want your title in another color than the one that appears with your first peak at "your new best selling cookbook", click on the title and choose another color for your print as they have about 12 colors to choose from. I must have tried at least 50 or so combinations, turning the book with a click of the mouse to get a preview of the spine of the book featuring the title. Bottom line for me was making a choice knowing full well this is the first of many TasteBooks I plan on creating.

Once you've made up your mind, you can go on to organizing the recipes and collections. I got started on this and then went back to change my cover once again, it is easy to do and it is a joy to move in and out of the TasteBook program, novices won't be intimidated as they make this fun and a snap for all.

Okay, have your design now we are ready to move on to organizing our recipes!

This is the part of the process that can take some time, depending on how organized you are or how many of your own recipes you want included in your cookbook. It is important to take the time to sort through your recipes, group them together before you begin to Get Organized.

Turning your recipes into personal cookbooks at TasteBook.com
is fun, organizing your treasured recipes before you begin makes creating you own cookbook easier. Each cookbook comes with 100 credits, which means you can include 100 recipes. If you don't have that many of your own recipes no need to worry as you have a lot of options to choose from.

First you can engage a friend or two to sign up and you can all share recipes amongst yourselves as a group, this will save time on typing the recipes and is great fun for friends, churches or family projects.

You are also given the opportunity to use recipes from featured authors in addition to being able to browse the 25,000 available recipes from Bon Appetit, Gourmet and other world renowned chefs. They also give you the option to connect to your Epicurious account and download recipes from there. I plan on using 50 of my credits to begin with using my own recipes, knowing that I will add the other 50 recipes sometime in the near future. You can also begin choosing one of the many guest cookbooks available, most have 50 recipes to get you going, you have 50 more recipe credits to use for now or at a later date.

At the top of the recipe page I am given an option to enter a photograph which is one of the best parts of the TasteBook. I can use an image of the food or better yet an image of one of my children in the kitchen helping me bake the cookies of the recipe that is being featured. Food and fellowship is a big part of the fabric that keeps our family together. Being able to personalize my cookbook in this manor and then give the cookbook as a gift makes the TasteBook a treasured item for my kitchen and that of my loved ones'.

I entered the image of the Frittata I took at home using my digital camera, followed by the information needed to create my first recipe entry. You fill in the boxes; they ask you for everything from ingredients, to instructions, prep time, cook time and even a place for notes making transferring your recipe a snap.

One last step before previewing your recipe, decide the chapter your recipe belongs in. I chose Brunch for the Frittata recipe, other choices range from Vegetables, Fish, Appetizers, Desserts to Everything Else, 10 chapters in all. Save your entry, preview it; make any changes if necessary and you are ready to go on to the next entry for your cookbook.

Now a cookbook in my home would not be complete without a chapter dedicated to the canine tasters in our house. My premiere taster"Scout" who you can learn more about on my blog "A Matter of Taste" loves homemade dog biscuits. So does his sister "Peri", with peanut butter oat fire hydrants at the top of their list. This is a fun way to include your pets & their images in your personal cookbook. They will be glad you thought of them, If they are anything like mine they will gladly volunteer to be the taster of your doggie treats. Besides doggie biscuits are easy to make, they are good for them and smell great.

Now that you have created a literary wonder in the food genre, you are ready to view your masterpiece and decide how many to buy!!! After putting in the fun time creating my book, I have decided to bless many of my family members with my first cookbook "A Matter of Taste".

I secretly asked my mom & sister for favorite family recipes to include, as well as asking my three daughters for some of their favorite recipes that I made while they were growing up. I know my three budding cooks will cherish the love and thought I put into my cookbook along with the photos that I've chosen to accompany the recipes.

The cookbooks come finished in a professionally looking binder when completed. Since I decided I want TasteBook to just include family recipes, I ended up using all my recipe credits for my first book "A Matter of Taste". My family has enjoyed most of the recipes I'm featuring, often asking me for copies of them over the years. This is an easy, fun and truly special way of saying "I Love You" in my home.

Even with today's modern technology, it is hard to imagine how TasteBook manages to deliver such a fine worthwhile product for just $34.95 a copy. Not only is the cover professional and well crafted, but inside the binder are 10 organized chapters, with 100 cherished photos and notes to accompany our family recipes.

For the home cook seeing your work in print is exciting and the makers of TasteBook have gone over the top in allowing "home cooks" and aspiring "cook book authors" to see their efforts in print.

If you are ready to get started, just click on one of the links I've provided for you to be on your way to creating your very own personalized cookbook with TasteBook.

Here is my idea for my next masterpiece. A cookbook featuring favorite Christmas recipes. I am going to start now early in the year, so that by September I will be done with my second masterpiece, which will be another welcome addition to my family cookbook library. Besides who can resist "moms favorite sugar cookies".