Keeping family recipes, traditions alive

BOISE -- In kitchens the world over traditional holiday foods are being prepared tonight. 

But for one local lady preserving those culinary customs is turning into recipe for success!

Erin Miller's kitchen creation is now selling like hot cakes.

Her homegrown business is making homemade memories.

"Well, this is marzipan, it's made of almonds, sugar and egg whites," said Erin Miller.

In her Boise kitchen, far from her British background, Erin Miller is carrying on a tradition that dates back generations. 

"It's not just the cake itself, it's the tradition of making it that's really important," said Miller.

KTVB

Erin Miller

This is an English Christmas Cake.

“It's got so many traditions behind it, I mean so many people in England have made this cake for so many years.  I know my grandmother made it, I know her mother made it and we've always had the same recipe," said Miller.

But when it came time for Erin to make some family favorites on her own she realized she didn't know how.  Having moved a continent away from her mother, she was missing the culinary connection to her past.

"If I didn't find a way of documenting these recipes soon they could be lost and I thought, if that were to happen it would be such a part of my roots would be gone," said Miller.

Erin decided to do something about that -- not just for her, but also for others who value homemade legacies.  She turned from her kitchen to the computer, creating Matilda's Fantastic Cookbook Software.

It began selling online six months ago.  Erin says sales have doubled each month since then -- making it now the top selling recipe software on Amazon.com.

"I've been surprised at how great the response has been.  I thought it would be great if we could sell some of these," said Miller.

Beyond the recipes, Erin says this program allows amateur authors to document family histories -- from biographies, to phone lists to funny stories -- all helping turn these recipes into riches far greater than the food they help produce.

"It's a real organic family document, it's more than a recipe book really that we've allowed people to make, and people have really responded to that," said Miller.

And for Erin, it's a chance to preserve her own past for generations to come.

For more information on Matilda's Fantastic Cookbook Software, go to www.cookbookpeople.com.