Over the weekend it became apparent that I was going to have to do something about the banana situation on the counter. Not even the ants were going to take them away (although the ants seem quite impressed with our honey despite the fact that they can't get out of it). I like banana bread, but not really enough to eat a loaf of it, and since Jordan and I are only living with animals right now, this didn't seem like the recipe to make. I made muffins a few weeks ago, so that wasn't going to cut it either. Luckily this is not 1950 and I do not have to rely on the limited recipes in my brain or on my shelves.

Thanks to Pinterest I found a recipe for banana bread biscotti, which was just perfect since what I wanted to make was biscotti, but I was feeling pressured by the bananas. Biscotti is a slight pain since you have to keep baking it and cutting it and rotating it and then frost it, but it also has the bonus of being a low pressure food. As in, I don't feel pressured to eat it immediately because it's going to go bad. Unlike the original bananas, biscotti lasts for a while, so I can relax and enjoy it when I feel like it. Here's the recipe if you're interested.

The real truth behind it not being 1950 has only recently infiltrated my recipe organization. This is due mostly to the fact that I don't cook and so I don't think about it. However, I have lately been cooking more and even if you cook very rarely, you are still cooking rarely, and in some cases this means your need for a helpful system is even stronger. So I'm going to share mine. It now seems rather obvious to me. However, I haven't always done it this way, so apparently it really wasn't obvious.

There are a confusing number of things out there on the internet to help you with stuff. This makes life complicated. I like to focus on the things I use frequently and try and tweak them to do new things. So my recipe storage method uses Pinterest and Evernote. I use both these applications for multiple purposes. There are a few main differences which can help you to decide what tasks to use them for:

Pinterest

• visual
• not super permanent
• not super easy to find something specific

Evernote

• more text based, although you can save images as well
• permanent and in your control
• taggable and searchable

Once I thought this through it became clear what to do with recipes. I use Pinterest as a cookbook. I pin anything that looks slightly interesting. Then, when I'm looking for kitchen inspiration I can browse through the different categories to find something interesting.

Yes, I have a board just for biscotti.

Once I have made a recipe and determined I like it, then I save it to Evernote. This way I can find it easily when I need it and also I don't have to worry about the online post being deleted or lost. I've also slowly been collecting family recipes as I've needed them and added them as well (sharing is possible through Evernote, but you have to subscribe so I haven't used that). Now if I'm looking for a recipe I've made, I know exactly where it it. My old laptop has been demoted to cookbook status. I just leave it in the kitchen. It also has the useful feature of running as many timers as I want.

All my recipes safe and in one place.