cooking NYT vs EatYourBooks

I have a spread sheet on Google Drive with two sheets: one with seven columns, one for each day, where I'll note what we'll eat per day, and one with most of our standard dishes, sorted by type and preparation method (so sheet no.2 is my source for most dishes in sheet no.1). And for ingredients I use an app, Grocery List Generator - you'll need to enter all recipes yourself, but it's hardly any different from writing a grocery list, and way less work once you built your repertoire. But we're not exploring much at the moment, so that helps.

I also used to have a spread sheet on my computer where I entered all recipes that caught my eye with their basic info and three main ingredients, but I don't get to use my computer much, and it's too large to transfer to Google Drive (5000+ lines). Coincidentally, I've been pondering this question as well and have resurrected my old (basic, free) EYB-account a few days ago; but I don't know if it's worth it for me as I use lots of non-English sources as well.

That app sounds useful. I use OurGroceries, which lets me make custom shopping lists for different stores. Its helpful. When I used to cook a lot, I had a menu book (recently found!) where I planned menus, shopping, etc. But it would typically take me a couple hours on the weekend, and I had poor compliance by the other, ehmmm, cooks in the house. Starting in the fall, though, it will be down to just my DH and I, and I think I need a plan for us to have dinners together, and probably nice ones.

I've also thought about using five cookbooks, putting them on the free Eat Your Books account, and then rotating different cookbooks in/out. Its a pretty good idea, and a nice intermediate step - and I will need to select my five cookbooks. Hmmmm.

The app is even more useful with a few hacks. I've marked recipes in a certain way - a % at the end of the recipe title denotes that it's a dessert, # is vegetarian, ~ is fish etc. so I can also use it easily to browse recipes; it also searches through recipe titles AND ingredients, which can be very useful, and I've added general shopping lists as recipe, ie. my typical weekly groceries, stuff my parents-law-like when they visit, etc.

I like the five cookbook idea! Have you also posted reviews there? Is your daughter going to college (I think you had a son and a daughter, right?)?

I'm an EYB member and I find it very useful both for tracking down recipes that I know I've got somewhere (doesn't help with older, unindexed books) and for general inspiration, say if somebody has given me a bag of some fruit I don't generally use.

I keep up a general pantry and try to make a written note if something's running low. I have a little Moleskine notebook which I prefer to anything electronic. Basically I do a main shop once a week at the South Melbourne Market. Sometimes I have a particular dish in mind in advance, but as a rule I start at the butcher and the fishmonger, then move on to the deli and the veggie retailers.

I have an established repertoire of dishes, but try to do something new from time to time, for which I browse the books after checking EYB. If I find I need something extra I can usually get Himself to take the dogs down to the local shops - small erratically stocked supermarket and pricey gourmet food store - to buy the necessary.

Thank you all for giving me ideas on how to deal with cooking and its required planning. Its so good to learn how others manage. As a step toward vanquishing the chaos, I cleaned out and inventoried my chest freezer! And I've revived my EYB membership (on the free level), and will select five cookbooks. If I get my cooking mojo back, will spring for the full membership level. Selecting those five cookbooks, though, will be the trick.

I subscribe to the Times so the change in "Cooking" doesn't affect me, though I think I'd go for it as I love the site. And I don't really like EYB, though I have a lifetime membership (from the early days) and have most of my books listed there. I find the navigating/searching tedious.