Sunday, November 23, 2008

fishing for ideas

Hypothetically speaking lah kan,
if I am compiling my easy peasy recipes into a book,
what (which or what kind of recipes) would you like to see in it
and into what categories should I divide them into?
Would you like pictures?

P/s
please take a moment to vote on my poll ------------------------>
p/p/s
If you think my recipes suck, please do leave a comment on why it does and how it can be improved.
Dont be a d*ck when people are trying to be productive.

52 comments:

  1. pictures are a must!!!! n ur photos are lovely

    suggestions for categories:
    1. breakfast
    -big
    -light
    2. lunch
    -quick
    -bekal
    -for guests/party
    3. dinner
    -quick
    -for guests/party

    4. snacks
    - morning tea
    -afternoon tea
    -supper
    -anytime

    5. dessert
    -cakes
    -pastries
    -puddings

    6.special occasions
    -birthdays
    -anniversaries
    -weddings

    7. children's special section
    -snacks
    -finger food
    -veggie disguise

    8.traditional
    - hari raya
    - aqiqah
    - housewarming

    hehehe

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  2. huyoooo
    I was thinking along the lines of:
    Carbs - rice, pasta, bread
    Dishes - to eat with rice or bread
    one pot meals - noodles, porridges, stews
    Snacks - sandwiches and other junk food like chili cheese fries.
    desserts - cakes, cookies, etc

    what do you think?

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  3. good idea! I noticed that you don't have a recipe blog.
    Kalau nak cari recipe, agak susah sikit..
    kalau Elisa put everything in a blog with a designated category, sangatlah mudah untuk orang2 yang tak terer cam neeza ni ;)

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  4. How about:
    Easy peasy lunch
    Easy peasy dinner
    Easy peasy dessert
    (first cookbook)

    great western dishes ala ala elisa
    (second cookbook)

    pas tu keluarlah 3rd, 4th etc etc

    pictures a must....

    he he then tunggu the money rolling...

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  5. Anonymous2:22 PM

    Hahaha...I was wondering when you will take a bite, hypothetically speaking...

    Since all your recipe's are easy peasy lemon squeezy, theoretically cannot lump them according to difficulty kan? How leh?

    Think bigger I would say..why only one book? Why not three? or four? :) If you build it, they will come.

    You can have a Easy Peasy Pasta book, Easy Peasy Snacks, Easy Peasy Malaysian Dishes...

    Push comes to a shove though..categorized them according to occasions are better, I mean..if you do want to look through a recipe book, how do you go about it? Through the index? Content Page? Flip through the pages until you see a picture that you like?

    Occasions are easier to group. Morning meals, Lunch meals, Get-Together meals, Dinner meals, Kiddie Meals..

    And pictures are a must. You have a good camera already and a tripod to boot..shouldn't be that hard to take good pictures...

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  6. Neeza,
    I dont have a recipe blog because when I started putting recipes in my blog, i did not plan for it to be this many.. maklumlah, orang malas dan tak reti masak..
    heh heh
    I'm thinking of compiling it into a book instead of turning it into a seperate blog, though. nanti takde bahan lak nak tulis dalam blog nih. HA HA

    Kak Alya,
    My problem is, I do not know how to differentiate Lunch and Dinner. To me, dishes dia sama aja..

    Firhad,
    Ya lor, you and kak alya have convinced me to make several books instead of one.. tapi kalau break them up, macam sikit pulak dah recipes dia.. :P
    Actually, when I look through a recipe book, I look at the ingredients, i.e. Meat, Vegetable, Pasta, etc.. coz it's usually look in fridge see what I have, then look for a recipe that uses that ingredient.

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  7. oh please! please! please! please! please!... put everything and anything u have, in whatever categories u wish!... ooowwhhhh the next jessica seinfeld and nigella is here... yippeee!!! and mouth-watering photos are a must!!! and i definitely want an autographed copy of ur book hehehehehe

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  8. ooopppsss... book(s) i mean, should there me more than 1... hehehe...

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  9. betul tu macam n.i. kata, dalam satu buku,buat je easy peasy recipes tajuk dia....cepat sket elisa nanti ada orang cedok tajuk easy peasy you ni...
    pas tu keluar 2nd book yang tak easy peasy ke plak...

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  10. Naj,
    aik.. dia pulak terlebih excited.
    ha ha ha!
    sabar mak incik...

    Kak Alya,
    boleh letak dalam satu buku (I think more value for money camtu) tapi dalam nya still kena break-up into categories/chapters no?
    Itu yang pening sekarang ni.

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  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. ***terdouble-post comment, so i deleted satu***

    hmmm... i would think categorize by ingredients. senang nak look up what bahan(s) the dish needs. tapi kalau nak cross-reference ngan what meal (i.e. lunch, breakfast, dinner, supper) lagi bagusss :)

    pictures are wajib by the way. i normally judge a recipe book by it's accompanying gambar(s). the more terliur-looking they are, the better :P

    p/s: sempat ke publish buku ni before january 2009? then can give me an autographed copy as a birthday gift hee hee hee

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  13. how abt easy peasy daily?? :P
    menu untuk 1 bulan gitu.. complete makan 3kali sehari mon to fri, plus dessert yg bs dibuat pas weekend.. hihihi.. mamanya pasha libur masak klo weekeend.. ;)

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  14. I was thinking; single person, family of two and family of 4 / 5; Then you've does like easy food, cake for craving, and family feast; and a MUST food for kids, photo's indefinitely; design it so it'll not like a magazine cook book but a cook book notes; which you've a site note, a mark of small writing, a smug of finger and taken photo (design it so it look like you bake/cook it);

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  15. Dear Kak Elisa,

    Writing n easy peasy cookbook's such a great idea!!! Categories? You can divide by meals or food categories (like carbo, protein etc.) or even by food types like fish, meat (red and white)... but whatever pun, mesti ada dessert section... Jangan risau, mesti ada orang beli punya... apatah lagi sekarang ni economic downturn, people will be looking to cook more and with your easy peasy recipes and valuable hints and tips, insyaAllah laris di pasaran. Semoga dipermudahkan Allah segala urusan...hehehe... Good luck!

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  16. Eh lupa pulak! Pictures are a must... lagi menyelerakan kalau ada pictures... biar bila orang tengok, terus terliur camtu...hehehe

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  17. For a start I suggest something like:
    In A Pinch - Malaysian dishes you cook with substituted ingredients
    (you blogged loads of those)
    In A Jiffy - quickies (cooking wise)
    Cant think of those elaborate and more time-consuming dishes (In Labour?)
    You will come up with something for Book One, I m sure.
    Photos a must. Snap them when they are still steaming or bubbling.
    Big hugs.

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  18. tak de suggestion
    cuma i pledge to buy 10 copies ....signed copies!

    boleh kan?

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  19. Gambar mesti ada.

    Whatever categories u choose must include alternative recipe mcm u selalu buat if tak habis can 'recycle' into another dish.

    Glossary of alternative ingredients heh.heh.if takde or tak suka certain ingredients boleh ganti dgn apa.


    Lebih kurang mcm tu lah.

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  20. kak elisa,
    i like your segmentations best. one book, rather than many. yup, pictures a must. perhaps special 'for kids'section or modifications to suit kids taste for each recipe as a footnote. good luck!

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  21. Anonymous5:48 AM

    Kak Liza,

    If ingredients are the main thing that decide what food you will cook, then categorized them according to it lah..

    Easy Peasy Meat..Easy Peasy Chicken..Easy Peasy Vegs..etc. etc..

    tapi kena la generalized for cookies and cakes..itu semua boleh taruk dalam one category kot.

    oh..another tip..if you are taking pictures, take hi-res pictures. Set the camera to use its maximum pixels, 10MP or 12MP ka..nanti kalau you want to put inside your book, you can put it as a full page. Kalau ambik gambar kecik, tak boleh nak enlarge dah. Full page close-up of a dish always entices people punya...hehehe

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  22. i will buy...

    categoprised buy ingredients and with nice picture accom[panying it ok..

    i kan suka membeli..:P whats new

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  23. babe ... I'm SO gonna order this book? can now?

    love that panna cotta recipe .. bila nak available ni.

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  24. Anonymous7:47 AM

    indexed using pictures only. lepas tu kalau dah teruja, baru flip the pages to look at the ingredients and how to's ..

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  25. hahahaha... excitement mesti ada, buku kena beli... masak ke tak, belakang kira... hahahaha... i hv jessica's book already... tgh nak kumpul nigella lawson's pulak... lepas tu elisa taufik pulak.. kan?kan?kan? hehehe

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  26. elisa..

    cepat2lah hasilkan buku..kalau tak org curik pulak idea nie.

    pics are must hv in a recipe book kalau tak, tak umphh!!

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  27. yepp
    i pun sokong u nak buat buku
    especially for busy mommy like me so easy peasy recipe yang quick, less-hassle,sedap,nutricious is definitely way to go. heeh :)

    kalau u buat e-book pun bule jual kat ebay tu, im sure banyak orang nak beli. lagi bagus kalau u letak step by step picture contoh macam videojug or youtube.

    good luck i dah vote.

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  28. Anonymous8:44 AM

    Yes yes yes!!
    I would like to see all of your recipes in a book! With pictures of course! You could have a section for savory and a section for sweets if differentiating between lunch and dinner is too much of a grey area.
    I don't see any way to make any improvements. I love that you add little tips or the story behind he recipe. I think that personalizes it and makes it even more special. I will most certainly buy a copy!

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  29. selective recipes, like say your sponge cake version,must have step by step pictures.

    i prefer my recipe book, straight forward, wthout the lacy trimmings of la-di-da.

    GREAT idea..ive an online service which coincidentally is a laboured project im working on. putting together our family pictures into story.they do marvellous work.can be reproduced in the form of hard cover album/coffee book..

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  30. elisa, if u think of compiling yr recipe... pls do it fast.. i have a friend... she cooks beautifully too... but alas one big local publisher literally CURI everything...yes recipes and pics of her blogs..

    i would buy yr series ofe easy peasy...

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  31. categorising by bahan is only good if you have lots of recipes for each bahan. Chef one does this.

    I think your initial idea the one that you put under aliya's comment is quite good.

    Have fun!!

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  32. alamak.. banyak lah pulak comments nak reply
    *takes a deep breath, flexes typing fingers*

    famy,
    nampak gaya I have to do indexing based on ingredients ;)
    Publish before january??? erkss... tengok lah dulu. I can only start lepas haji i think.

    diah,
    repertoire ku nggak sampai satu bulan deh.. gimana sih?? Aku jugak asik ngulangi lauk yang sama :P
    Kalau menu satu bulan, boleh jadi setebal encyclopaedia agaknya?

    hisham,
    wahh ini sudah bagus.. baru mintak pendapat dah dapat design concept :D
    sungguh menarik! but tengoklah dulu ada expertise/time to do that way or not. It would be a fun book though, kan? Seolah-olah you curi buku resepi dari dapur I?

    ina,
    Thanx for the encouragement. Semangat dah berkobar2 nih, cuma nak cari masa aje :P

    Papa,
    Great ideas for titles! I like "In a Pinch"
    haiyoh have to start korek recipes and make them again so that I can take pictures.

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  33. PakPayne,
    Signed copies?? boleh aje..
    cewah, buku belum buat lagi, dah ada sales! Ini sudah memberangsangkan!

    BF,
    Good suggestion. I guess macam I tulis dalam blog ni lah kan? Nampak gaya I've got to copy paste my culinary jam entries..

    Mynie,
    firstly, selamat datang (first time commenting, yes?). Thankyou for the suggestion. Good point!.

    Firhad,
    Looks like I have to re-cook most things and re-take their pictures sebab most of the pictures I have were pre-D40, so they only look good small.
    banyak nya kerjaaaa!!!

    Elin,
    I know you suka membeli. :) You are my target audience! :D
    Belilah banyak2 supaya boleh di hadiahkan kepada kawan2 seperti Cik Puan Daun dan si Nonah yang ada ramai anak sedara untuk di suap makanan (sebelum dia kawin dan dapat anak sendiri untuk di suap) mwahahaha

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  34. CikguGart,
    Aiyooorrkk sabarlah mak incik.. I baru tengah carik idea nih..

    toAJ,
    got ah like that?

    Naj,
    betulll!! saya alu-alu kan!! :D

    Zan,
    eh apsal semua orang warning pasal curi idea nih? buat suspen aje..

    Nisa,
    wah ini sudah advance dengan youtube bagai.. tunggulah I jadi celebrity chef dulu baru boleh keluar youtube.. ha ha angan2 lebihhh.. !

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  35. ben,
    I like my little stories too, but wouldnt it, like, be too self-indulgent? It would also make the cookbook really thick (and therefore more expensive to print) :P
    maybe just a few notes here and there eh?

    Swahili,
    You have an online service? You mean you make the books for people ke?

    Kak Olie,
    You're really making me nervous now. I wonder if I should take my recipes off-line..
    Did your friend sue those folks?

    Lolls,
    Tu lah dia.. recipe dua tiga aje, bercita2 nak tulis buku macam chef, kan? hee hee
    I think I have an idea of how to categorize them now ;)

    Thanx everyone for the feedback!!
    And thanx for voting on my poll.. there were a few cheapskates out there, but it looks like I have to come up with a book that is less than USD25 :)

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  36. eh what i meant is chef wan bukan chef one. aparaa

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  37. i want "Easy Peasy for the Lazy" and "Easy Peasy for the Busy", "Easy Peasy for Kiddies" and "Empty Your Larder Easy Peasy!"

    boleh?

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  38. Good luck on your recipe book idea. I'll be sure to get it for myself! Oh ada once ni my friend was given a recipe book as a wedding gift. She liked it very much purely because one of the sections had photos of some of the ingredients, i.e. how a galanghal/ginger/shallots/coriander/etc look like. Maybe you'd want to take that up?

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  39. kak lisa,
    i have a friend who's father is looking to publish books.i can pass u his email address but I'm sure u have ever willing publisher already..just my contribution..hehehe..

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  40. I'm sure many people gonna buy your soon to be recipe book. I pun suka your easy recipes. Tapi probably you kena define the easy peasy title , is it really easy peeasy for the novice cook (ie peole with no experience at all) etc. And what's the target audience? Either SAHM or working mum/dad with limited time.
    There is a cook book called "4 ingredients" sold here compiled by 2 aussie mums . This book has absolutely no photos at all! But best seller /no 1 spot for cookbook apparently. Their secret ingredients. Simple and cheap (compared to the celeb cookbooks here). Kat US pun ade versi 4 ingredients cookbook. Maybe somebody can come up with 4 ingredients cookbook Malaysia/South East Asia version pulak. JM2c.

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  41. Earthmom,

    I love your idea!

    Lisa,

    since you already have lots of ideas here, all I can say is go go girl!!!! Nanti I just tunggu the book keluar and signed by you :)

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  42. Anonymous5:31 PM

    I like Nazrah's suggestion. You MUST use your "easy peasy" phrase all over the book! Ah, whatever you may call it in the end, I tetap akan beli coz they really are easy peasy AND delicious!! And if can find short cut to culinary utopia, why not!!

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  43. list all your certs within the first page. i'm sure that would even add more credentials to it :)

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  44. easy peasy for real dummies..like me!!! hehehhe...

    elisa, I will sure buy your books of easy peasy recipe...but must have pictures ok..and the latest recipe that I really heart is the non-baked cheese cake...uuuuu...tak sabar nak buat...:)

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  45. Lolls,
    heh heh I tak perasan pun you typed Chef One, but somehow I knew who you meant :)

    Nazrah,
    adehh recipes I sikit aje, how?

    Leen,
    idea yang amat bernas. Next time I beli groceries, must remember to take pictures masa theya re still fresh ;)

    Pu3,
    At the mo I am looking at on-line self-publishing (i.e. Lulu or blurb), tapi kalau ada legit publisher lagi bagus! (Then I dont have to worry abt logistics and stuff).
    My email is elisa underscore taufik at yahoo.

    UmmFiArd,
    my target audience is anyone who wants to save time.. single or married tak kira.. "Simple recipes for simple cooks" gitew.

    Onee,
    Hopefully it's not hangat2 taik ayam lah ya... :P

    Saz,
    "Shortcut to culinary Utopia" :D
    hey I might just use that! ha ha

    mosh,
    certs??? what certs? On the first page I'm going to write "I am not a professional cook. I am a normal person who likes to eat, and is always finding ways to cheat out of slaving away at the kitchen"
    boleh?

    Mas,
    Tell me how your cheesecake turns out. So far I've got very good feedback for it :) So I'm sure yours will turn out yummeh!

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  46. Anonymous4:08 PM

    Kak Liza,

    Forgot one thing, for your recipes, maybe you want to put like a link on what to do with leftovers of that recipe..

    For instance, right at the end of an oatmeal porridge recipe page, you can say..if there's leftovers, make some oatmeal cookies! (see page X)

    so no wastage maa...

    I think there's no cookbook that teaches you what to do with the leftovers kan?

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  47. sis,
    i agree with ur brother's ideas on the leftovers... go go girl!

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  48. all your degree and postgraduate degrees tu lah. the ones lying idle is some drawer somewhere ehehehehe.

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  49. elisa, you may want to try tastebook.com.

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  50. Anonymous6:24 AM

    long time reader first time commenter, i've always loved it when u post the easy peasy recipes, no brainer, if u have a book out i WILL buy! yay! looking forward to it now! :)

    -anon-

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  51. Anonymous3:17 PM

    congrats elisa! i will sooo buy yr book! buat cepat2 !!

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