Journals for Foodies

As a writer I'm a keeper of many journals. I have a journal for story ideas and a journal for spiritual writing and yet another one for travel. But my food journal is my favorite. For the past year I've kept a record of most of the meals my companion and I have shared at home. Leftovers don't warrant an entry but delicious weeknight suppers do, and evening soirees (especially the successful ones) warrant lengthier accounts.

I love flipping through the pages and remembering the grilled arugula pizza that was inspired by our trip to Italy, the pumpkin cookies I baked last September that needed more pumpkin pie spice, the sketches of the designs on the gingerbread cookies I made last Christmas. Not only is my little book now loaded with practical tips for "next time," it's a scrapbook of the many meals we've shared at the table (and sometimes, in front of the t.v. if we're fighting--heh heh).

Of course, you can use any old journal for your food-related memories, but there are some cool ones out there designed specially for this purpose, like the one from Wishing Fish I've featured here. Williams-Sonoma has one too, but it's a bit stuffy for me! My suggestion: Find one at a stationery store or bookstore with beautiful photos of food on the cover.