Ever since I started cooking from a written recipe I peered into a cook’s language for perfecting “the dish.” A well-written, concise recipe assures me that it has probably been vetted.
However, with the advent of multi-media based recipes, it’s a crap shoot to know exactly how the recipe unfolds.
This happened to me in second grade when I bought a copy of the “Betty Crocker Kids Cook!” I was making brownies and came across the task to “stir by hand.” My mom had been distracted for awhile, and came back to see me [with great laughter] with my hand in the bowl stirring and shaking my head that “a spoon would have been so much better.”

In most cases current recipe layouts are fine, but when trying to ready the recipe I was always perplexed at how the ingredients appeared. The amount of the ingredients should not be the first entry! Not very convenient, and especially hard if you want to make a quick shopping list.

---

So I decided to create my own format—about 30 years ago, and is used throughout this site to make it more like a Dewey Decimel System in libraries. Simply — as you read from left to right, it tells a better story: (1) you see the base ingredient, next (2) is the amount, and in parentheses approximately the amount of produce , etc. to have on hand to create the recipe], (3) how to prepare it, and lastly (4) in [brackets] any substitutions that may work or special notations.

In descending order the ingredients list has the order by which to prep and add to the mixing bowl or skillet.

In this way, you can quickly organize a shopping list. Here’s an example

• whole kernel corn – 1 (15 ounce) can, drained
• creamed corn – 1 (15 ounce) can 
• cornbread mix – 1 (8.5 ounce) package [I used Trader Joe’s]
• sour cream – 1 cup [I used Greek-style yogurt]
• salt – 1/2 tsp [or more if your canned corn is salt-free]
• pepper – 1/2 tsp
• chili flakes – 1 tsp [optional; to taste]
• bell pepper – 1/2 cup, [red]
• butter – ½ cup, melted
• eggs – 2 large, beaten

Note how easy it is to put a shopping list together or to check your pantry. Like anything new, it takes a little getting used to, but trust me, when comparing with current recipe formatting, it helps make cooking easier.

And maybe I won’t have you “stirring by hand” within this trove of recipes!

©2025 B. Hettig