Passions Journal Recipe: PHRC3AF [Diary]

The Moleskine Passions Recipe Journal is a well made diary sized (5"x8") notebook printed on medium/light weight acid free paper with 240 total pages. It contains sections for most typical areas of cooking; Appetizers, First Course, Main Dishes, Deserts, etc. plus several unlabeled sections for the owner to personalize. In addition there are weight, measure and temperature conversion charts, produce and fruit harvest/ripeness charts, food information charts and sections for notes, event or party planning. The cover is cleverly embossed with kitchen utensils and includes an elastic strap to keep the journal securely closed. Also included are three handy attached bookmarks and an expandable pocket in the back which contains the two sheets of stickers (for personalization) that come with the journal.

The pages for recording your recipes have limited space for writing, you'll need write carefully and small to fit most recipes on a page. The pages are not removable and pages cannot be added or moved around. The print in the book (charts, tables, etc.) is nearly microscopic. I found it very hard to read anything in the journal. As well the current and recent prices listed here on Amazon make this a very expensive and hard to justify choice.

I have to be honest - I already have quite a collection of Moleskine notebooks and love them all. However, I will say that I found this recipe journal to be the perfect companion. I consider myself a home cook with a penchant for collecting, organizing and categorizing my recipes into favorites folders within Firefox. However, it isn't always safe for my computer on the kitchen counter.

The pages in the recipe journal give you enough room to record a standard recipe if you don't mind keeping your handwriting pretty small. I had to shrink mine a bit after a few of my longer recipes had ingredients squeezed into the margins. I found the space for rating the recipes - 0 to 5 stars - a little unnecessary. If I think a recipe is worth anything BUT 5 stars, I'm not wasting any Moleskine pages on it at all.

Loved the blank tabbed pages in the back and the adjoining stickers - there are LOTS to choose from - that let you create your own sections. However, the actual layout of those pages isn't really conducive to writing more recipes. You get a page split up into smaller sections horizontally and none of the nifty layout from the pre-labeled recipe sections.

I should also mention that the wine pairing space provided didn't get much use. I actually took it upon myself to LOOK UP wine pairings for some of my favorite recipes though, and to that end at least I've been prompted to learn something about wine/food.

All in all, this is a great companion for any foodie who has an appreciation for Moleskine's craftsmanship. If you ask me, sure beats having a tin full of index cards or a box full of clipped recipes.

Assuming I eventually fill up my recipe journal - I've just begun - I would definitely buy another one. Lets me take ownership of recipes and add my own variations.

I really love the Moleskine Recipe Journal, I come from a family that loves to cook, but we each have our own twist on the same recipes. This is a great way to collect all those recipes you love in one place and to change them however you want! I would say it's deserving of a 5 star rating except there aren't as many pages of the full recipe layout as I would like - the last half of it is divided into 4 blank sections - a little smaller than the size of a recipe card. These sections are great for small recipes or notes, but I would much rather have more of the in depth pages that sold me on this journal in the first place.