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The iPhone app I saw at WWDC but still can't show you: Bon App
I guess you could say I'm an armchair foodie. Strangely enough, once I started working at home I rarely got the chance to cook a proper meal. It doesn't help that my kids have typical kid palates, and attempts to "get fancy" with the ingredients are met with wrinkled noses and frowning faces. So when I see an app that looks like it'll make my cooking life simpler and better I'm very, very excited.Bon App looks to do just that -- it simplifies the entire cooking process, from planning to shopping to cooking. All on the iPhone (or iPod touch). What really has me excited is the way it does this. Any blunt object can bash a nail. I mean, there's a reason Mac users have higher standards, right? I like to think we appreciate ease-of-use and quality design. Bon App has an extensive feature list, yes, but it looks darn good doing what it does, and the developer spent serious time thinking about how you interact with the app.While I can't show you any screens (the developer was adamant that I not record video), I tell you about a few things I saw. One nice touch: when selecting a particular dish to cook, an icon of the recipe bounces down into a menu bar, indicating where to go next (shopping list, if I recall correctly). I don't remember the shopping list feature well, but the cooking features are exceptional. The app shows you a visual indication of how long each dish will take along a bar graph. This helps you plan what to cook and when. As anyone who has played Hell's Kitchen will tell you, timing is critical. You don't want hot side dishes and a cold entree. It was the first time I'd seen that on an app, and was indicative of the thought put into the app's flow.The final pieces hadn't been put together when I had a look at the demo. The developer was still thinking through the last phase (cooking, which can be tricky, as trying to prep a meal isn't as straightforward as you might think) and tweaking the interaction. I'm also not sure how recipes get into the app. If you're looking for a desktop cooking app that syncs with the iPhone, about the best I've found so far is Avenio's MacGourmet. But I will certainly be keeping an eye out for Bon App. Even though I'm very happy with Sous Chef, the detail and design of Bon App has me wishing I could pre-order now.
MacGourmet improves upon a winner
Let me tell you about the fly paper storage method. I spent my youth in a shoebox-shaped house in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It had vinyl siding, cracked slate sidewalks and an under-performing rose bush in the front yard. Inside you'd find my family: happy enough, God-fearing and terribly disorganized. The kitchen was a narrow galley with pink laminate counter tops and linoleum floors. A row of cabinets ran along the wall opposite the appliances, and inside the door on the far right was my mother's recipes. Unlike your mom's collection, Carol's never saw the inside of a cookbook. Instead, they clung to the back of the door from yellowing strips of tape. A Hellman's mayonnaise label dangled next to pages ripped from Family Circle magazine, supermarket hand-outs, index cards, torn envelopes with their stamps intact ... anything flat enough to write on and light enough to stick to the door was used. While the fly paper storage method keeps recipes accessible, it's a poor filing system. Anchovy paste mingles with blueberry cheesecake, which should never happen, not even in print. What all this means is that I've got chaos in my blood. I'm not a fly stripper, but a stacker. Piles of this and that are everywhere. I'm also a geek who wants a flying car, a lightsaber and a robotic sous chef. Instead, I've got a Saturn Vue, an iPhone App and MacGourmet. While the latter isn't Rosie, it's pretty darn close. We've written about MacGourmet before, so I'll give you a brief recap. It's extremely useful for storing and sharing recipies and creating shopping lists. You can create smart lists, add a wine library and more. In fact, it's a part of my Dream Kitchen Mac setup (I'll have to write about that someday). Earlier this week, Mariner Software introduced MacGourmet Deluxe 1.2, which adds unique features of its own. It includes a USDA nutritional database, letting you calculate the nutritional value of nearly anything you want to eat. You can also view the nutritional values of your own recipe collection and the individual servings. The coolest feature for me is the meal planner. Plan what you'll make on any given day of any given week and sync the results with iCal. As a father of two toddlers, I love this feature. It's a real treat to eliminate the whole "What are we doing about dinner?" question. You can even order a hard-bound cookbook of your favorites. For Mac-toting foodies, MacGourmet is a must-have (not as cool as Scotch Tape, but what can you do?). New customers can purchase MacGourmet Deluxe for $44.95US, while registered MacGourmet customers can upgrade for only $24.95.
MacGourmet Deluxe sale about to expire
Getting this one in almost under the wire, MacGourmet Deluxe is currently on sale until the end of Saturday for $34.95 USD, about 30% off its normal retail price of $44.95.We've covered MacGourmet Deluxe in the past, and it was actually Dave Caolo's post that motivated me to give the software a try. The software is touted as the "iTunes for your recipes," and it definitely doesn't disappoint in that area. I have a feeling if Julia Child was still alive, she'd be using this software to organize recipes, interface with iCal for planning meals and publishing cookbooks through the partnership with TasteBook. It's actually almost a bit overwhelming for someone whose cooking experience might be tossing together frozen pre-packaged meals from the grocery store and occasionally experimenting with Alton Brown recipes from Food Network's "Good Eats."But the services that MacGourmet Deluxe is touting with this sale is the integrated nutritional resources. MacGourmet uses the USDA National Nutrient Database to analyze recipes and automatically updates the software as the USDA database is updated.MacGourmet Deluxe requires Mac OS 10.4 or higher.For those wavering on whether or not to purchase this software, the tipping point just might be the recently released MacGourmet app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. MacGourmet [link opens iTunes] will allow users to sync with the desktop version of the program to transfer recipes, shopping lists, and more in order to streamline meal planning. You can also create shopping lists from the recipes already on the app itself and comes with more than 200 recipes already built in. The MacGourmet app is $4.99 USD in the App Store and works with both MacGourmet Deluxe and the regular version of MacGourmet.
DIY Cookbooks with MacGourmet and TasteBook
Advenio's MacGourmet is a perennial favorite for Mac owners who want to track recipes. TasteBook is the place to grab recipes from various online sites (think FoodNetwork. Epicurious, AllRecipes.com) and create your own cookbooks. Now MacGourmet and TasteBook have partnered to make creating your custom printed cookbook as easy as, well, making a photo book in iPhoto!You'll need to create a TasteBook account, export your personal recipes from MacGourmet and then upload them to Tastebook.com. You can add recipes from those other online recipe sites, divide the book into chapters, then have the cookbook professionally printed. Changing the order of recipes in TasteBook is done via drag and drop, and you can upload your own photos to give your cookbook a personal touch.The cost of the cookbooks is anywhere from $19.95 for 25 recipes to $34.95 for 100 recipes, with quantity discounts available. You can also get a 20% discount on orders of $34.95 or more between now and September 30th by using the code RECIPESW during checkout at TasteBook. It may be September, but it might be a good idea to start thinking about Christmas gifts ... like a custom cookbook!
MacGourmet Deluxe is ready to go
MacGourmet is a very nice recipe organizer for the Mac that we've written about several times. It's definitely a far cry from the home grown database I was running on my SE.For the uninitiated, MacGourmet lets you organize your recipes and menus as you would expect. It also lets you publish of recipes online, assign ratings, pair certain dishes with favorite wines and more. Mariner calls it "iTunes for your recipes," and for good reason.This week, Mariner released MacGourmet Deluxe 1.0. Changes include The Cookbook Builder, which allows users to build, print and share their own cookbook. A mealplan feature with iCal integration A new shopping list editor Several new award-winning recipes MacGourmet Deluxe can be downloaded now for $44.95US, and requires Mac OS 10.4 or higher. Registered MacGourmet customers may upgrade to MacGourmet Deluxe for a reduced price.
Macgourmet 2.1 is available
When we last looked at Macgourmet, they were wrapping up the beta phase of version 2. Today, the beta phase is over and version 2.1 has been released.If you're unfamiliar, Macgourmet is kind of like "iTunes for your recipes." You can store recipes, sure, but Macgourmet also lets you publish to your iDisk - or other WebDav server - for sharing with pals, generate shopping lists based on what you want to make, create relationships between dishes and wines and a lot more. Changes in version 2.1 include: Improved recipe export (including iPod) Import improved to include 3rd party formats Improved method of grabbing recipes from the web Multiple recipe libraries If you had a copy of Macgourmet running in your prep area on, say, a Mac mini with a 15" display, you'd be all set. This is a free upgrade for registered users. A single license will cost you $24.95US. Macgourmet is universal and requires Mac OS 10.4 or later.
MacGourmet 2 Public Beta - Round Two
The folks at MacGourmet have entered their second round of Public Beta 2 - Version 2.0.0 Beta 9. We've written about MacGourmet many times before and we're still fans of this recipe manager for OS X.MacGourmet 2 is universal binary and this release includes the following changes: [FIXED] Added type-ahead to library browser, category and equipment lists, for consistency. [FIXED] Enter key will open the selected recipe again. [FIXED] Data entered into Info field in multiple recipe editor now correctly updates recipe information. [FIXED] Info field data is correctly sent to the database. [FIXED] Extended keyboard Delete key is now supported. [FIXED] Delete toolbar button no longer enabled for items that can't be deleted. [FIXED] Exception is no longer thrown when something is posted to a weblog with no definitions. [FIXED] Exception no longer thrown when fetching XML file and there are no blog posts and no feed file on server. [FIXED] Categories and equipment are now sorted in a case-insensitive manner. [FIXED] Recipe box search field is now cleared and previously hidden item is selected if something in library browser is double-clicked. [FIXED] Search in Library Browser is restored after a change is made. [FIXED] Fixed a "random" crash caused because of incorrectly released memory. [FIXED] Image viewer should now correctly save its location. [ADDED] Added preference to turn off Library Browser change confirmations. Although it's UB, the beta is still a debug version, so performance may not be optimal just yet. MacGourmet 2 is a free upgrade for registered users of MacGourmet 1 and if you purchase v1 before December 15th you can save $5 by entering the code: BETATHANKS at checkout. This 2.0.0b9 will expire on Friday, December 15th, 2006 at midnight.I'm entering the final phase of a major kitchen renovation and have been spending more and more time staring at my shiny new appliances and into the cupboards trying to think of what to cook when it's all done. I recently downloaded MacGourmet and the included sample recipes have already given me lots of inspiration and I've already started cataloging my meager wine collection with it. As soon as the final touches are put on my new kitchen, I am sure I will be filling the digital Recipe Box with some of my own tasty treats!
MacGourmet call for beta testers
MacGourmet, the recipe and ingredient management tool that we took a look at a number of months ago, is readying version 2.0 for public consumption. Currently they are running a closed beta, and are in need of participants. For the unfamiliar, MacGourmet lets you not only store recipes, but create "relationships" between wines and dishes you like, upload you database to .Mac, create shopping lists and so on. It's really quite nice. The folks behind MacGourmet have laid out the specifics for potential beta testers. From the website:"I really need testers with the following characteristics or for the following areas: People with medium to large databases to test migration to the new database format. People who are interested in .Mac publishing, and have done it before in the past. People who are interested in scaling, and know what to look for when the scaled values are wrong. People who are interested in english to metric conversions and know what to look for when the conversions are wrong." If that's you, drop them a line. I'm sure they'd appreciate your help.
MacGourmet goes universal
MacGourmet, the recipe manager that behaves much like iTunes and iPhoto, has gone universal with version 1.2 (version 1.2 also includes a variety of bug fixes). We took a look at MacGourmet back in August. It's terrifically handy, and lets you organize your recipes and ingredients, generate shopping lists, rate recipes, create smartlists and more. You can even generate relationships between wines you've tried and dishes they compliment. MacGourmet 1.2 requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later and is priced at US$24.95 for the Download Edition and US$29.95 for the CD Edition. This is a free upgrade for registered users.
