Nikas Culinaria

[This article was published on the Paper Palate blog in the Well Fed Network]

When the Well Fed Network was given an opportunity to review the russel+hazel Recipe Binder Set, I had to try it out. The best way to describe this concept is that it is like Levenger for your kitchen. Instead of messy food splattered index cards that get lost or not used because they are in an unorganized and intimidating pile, this system has a home for each and every card.

In this set, you get five different types of items.

Two spiffy and sturdy binders with this interesting rubber band looped around the front cover. I think that this rubber band is meant to hold the current recipe card in place on the outside. You can then prop up the folder and the recipe card stays safely out of the cooking chaos. These binders hold all of your recipes and related materials that you have tamed with their system.

You get section tabs that separate your recipes into 14 categories:

• appetizers+beverages
• bread+pastries
• salads+dressings
• soups+sandwiches
• vegetables+side dishes
• pasta+rice+grains
• fish+seafood
• meat+poultry
• cakes+cookies
• vegetarian
• cassaroles+one-dish meals
• outdoor cooking+grilling
• family+favorites
• entertaining+parties
• bonus empty tab
• one measuring equivalents 1/2 sheet

Your recipes, which you have lovingly changed and perfected to your own personal tastes and needs, can be recorded on the supplied 7 1/8 inch by 4 3/8 inch cards. Each card has space for the recipe, the date recorded, notes, preparation time and how many it serves. These are good reminders for recording a recipe. You need to have a sense for how many you can feed and how long it will take so that you can plan effectively.

Two recipe cards can be slipped into a full page size binder sheet that you then put into the correct section of your binder.

Finally, for those of you who are really organized and like to plan your meals for the week, there are week-at-a-time menu planning sheets. Each day of the week has a line for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and there is a column to the right side of the page where you can build your shopping list. There are several headings on this list, including: fresh produce, dairy, butcher, pantry, and bakery. This shopping or market list is removable by micro-perforation, handy for when you run out the door to go shopping.

Why would you want to be this organized?

Its simple - you can save a lot of time and money by planning your meals and stocking your pantry when long term storage dry goods go on sale.

I know that how you organize your kitchen and recipes is a very personal thing. Some of us inherit this from our mothers or grandmothers, some of us muddle through developing our own way, and some of us never really get around to it.

Its my sense that this sort of activity, writing down and saving recipes, is done by people who really value and treasure these momentos. Some of you are lucky enough to have recipe books and cards handed down from grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Those are precious things. With a system like this, you can lavish your own recipes with the same love and then hand it down to your children and grandchildren.

Needless to say, this would make an excellent gift to those people you know who cherish and collect recipes.

It is hard for me to evaluate whether the price-point on this system is sufficiently accessible to all our readers. I think I will leave that up to you.

To review, this set includes:

• 2 slim binders (in white/charcoal or blue/red) with dry erase interior and recipe card holding rubber band
• set of 15 section tabs & 1 measuring equivalents sheet
• Recipe Pages, 40 pages
• Recipe cards, 50 cards
• Menu Planning Sheets, 60 pages

Price $110

Where to buy:

• russel+hazel order page

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