Member Pages FAQ

Since Culinate went online in January 2007, our editorial content has been free, and will continue to be so. You’ll always be able to read our site as you’ve been doing.

But we believe that each of you readers has a story to tell about sustainable eating, too. We want to give you a spot to blog about your food, to collect recipes that get the most out of your CSA or farmers’ market haul, to get ideas from others in the Culinate community.

We’re going for collective knowledge, folks. Plus, we think our member pages are fun.

How do I get a member page on Culinate?
You must be a registered member on the site to get a member page. If you’re already a registered member, log in and then click on “My Culinate” above your name in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

If you’re not a member, but would like to be, go to the upper right-hand corner of the page and click on “Register.” Provide your name, a User Name (this will show on all comments you make and on your member page), and a password. Follow the steps to register. Once that’s complete and you’re logged in, you’re set to go. Just click on “My Culinate” (also in the upper right-hand corner of the page) to go to your member page.

You mention blogging. What else can I do on my member page?
A lot of things! You can keep track of recipes — both those on Culinate and others from different sources. You can add friends, and then keep track of what your friends are cooking through the news feed. You can keep track of your comments and Fritters. You can set your status each time you visit to let others know what’s going on in your life foodwise. You can also Track and get regular updates for your favorite farmers’ markets. And yes, you can blog!

How do I add friends on Culinate?
You can add friends in one of two ways: Go to your member page and click on the link on the left side that reads, “Invite your friends to Culinate.” You can add email addresses and a note for people who might enjoy the site and want to join the community; we’ll then send a nice note inviting them to join. (See our site tour on inviting friends.)

You can also go to an existing member’s page. Find them through comments, Fritters, or from another user’s list of friends. For an example, check out my member page and click on the link that says “Add Kim Carlson as a friend.”

How do I put recipes on my user page?
You can add recipes to three areas on your member page — Queued Recipes, Cooked Recipes, or Favorites — directly from the recipe pages. Click on the appropriate tool to the right of each recipe to add it to a given folder. (You must be logged in to do this.) You can also add recipes to recipe boxes.

What are recipe boxes?
The recipe boxes are another place to store recipes. You can create your own cataloging system by giving each box a name: “Dad’s Recipes,” “Favorite Desserts,” “My own private recipes,” and so forth. You can add any existing recipe on Culinate to a recipe box of your choice; just click the tool “Add to recipe box” in the toolbox to the right of the recipe. And this is really useful: You can also add recipes not currently on Culinate to a recipe box.

How do I add a new recipe to a recipe box?
Once you’ve created a box and named it, you can click on it and follow the prompts to add sections or add a new recipe. Any recipe you add here will then go into that box.

What is a section in a recipe box?
Sections, which are optional, divide a recipe box. You can create sections — by courses, seasons, authors, bloggers, whatever — to help you organize your recipes.

You mean, I can add recipes from my favorite blogs to my recipe boxes?
Yes, but you will want to keep those recipes private, unless you have that blogger’s permission to publicly share the recipes.

Can I add recipes from cookbooks to my recipe boxes?
Yes. But unless you have copyright permission, you must keep those recipes private.

How do I keep recipes private?
In the recipe editor for each added recipe is a box you must check to make a recipe private. If you don’t check it, the recipe will remain public — that is, visible to everyone.

What if I don’t check the private box?
Others will be able to see and share your recipes. You must have copyright permission to share recipes that are not checked “private.”

Can I reorder my recipes?
You cannot currently reorder recipes; they will appear in the order in which you add them. We hope to add the ability to reorder recipes in the future.

Can I print out my recipes?
Yes! There is a print-friendly option in the toolbox on every recipe page.

What about photos?
You can currently add one photo per blog post and one per recipe.

How can I keep track of, and get updates from, my favorite farmers’ markets?
If you’re logged in, our market-finder page will display the closest markets in your area based on your ZIP code. Select a market from that list and choose the “I shop this market” link (in the left column below the market name). Once you’ve clicked on that link, the market will be listed on your member page and you’ll get automatic updates from that market (status, recipes, blog posts, etc.) posted by the market’s manager.

I know I can blog, but how do I get more personal information on my page?
Click “Edit Profile” on the left side of your member page. You’ll be directed to an editor where you may upload your photo and add basic and additional information about yourself.

And the blogging itself: Is that straightforward?
Yes, you can write posts right on your page. But you’ll want to be sure you publish your post after writing it (you can also save it as a draft); otherwise it won’t be visible to anyone but you.

Do you have a sample member page I could see?
Not exactly, but you’re welcome to come and see our staff pages: Kim's, Mark's, Caroline's, Carrie's, or James'.

Want to become a Culinate member today? Register now!