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Redesigned note panel

In this update, we completely redesigned the note panel. The goals of the redesign were clarity and simplification. You’ll notice that the new layout is much more space-efficient. For example, we moved information about the note into the “i” button. We also made note sharing options much more prominent with the new, big share arrow.

In addition to saving space, the new layout is also easier to understand and use. The icons have all been updated, and we now treat dropdowns in a new, cleaner way.

Additionally, we added some intelligence into the headers. When you’re browsing through your notes, we show the date created and updated in the note header area. As soon as you start editing the note, the date fades away and becomes the formatting bar. If you want to edit the date, click on the “i.”

Easier checklists

Creating checklists has never been easier. Now, the app will continue your checklist when you move to a new line. Start your checklist by clicking the checkbox icon in the format bar or by pressing CMD+SHIFT+T. After typing in your first item, hit return. The next line will also contain a checkbox. Hit return again without entering any text and the checkbox will disappear.

View multiple notes when in fullscreen mode

When you’re in full screen mode on OS X Lion, you can now double click on as many notes as you like and view each in its own window, all while Evernote remains in full screen in the background.

Better tables

Tables also get an upgrade in this release. Now you can add or remove rows and columns in existing tables. To do this, right click on the table and select Tables from the menu.

And lots more

As always, in addition to the things you see, there are a ton of improvements under the hood. We have lots more to come. Enjoy.

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I tend to attack at least a few recipes a week that require step-by-step instructions and a few ingredients I probably don’t have at home. For a weeknight dinner, I might do something as simple as pan searing a piece of fish and roasting a few vegetables on the side. Weeknights, particularly when I’m having friends over for dinner, I’ll put together an actual menu: an appetizer, main, side dish, and dessert. This requires some additional research and planning. I have Evernote installed on my work computer (a Mac), my second home computer (also a Mac), my Android phone and my iPad, so no matter where I am — at work, on the couch, in the kitchen, at the grocery store, or on the train — I have access to my recipes, grocery lists and notes.

Here is how I go about planning out and cooking a delicious meal:

• Ongoing capture of recipes and recipe inspiration.
  I feverishly clip from the web using the Evernote browser extensions for Firefox and Chrome. I clip recipes from my favorite food blogs (like 101cookbooks, The Year in Food, A Sweet Spoonful, Dula Notes, shutterbean, Smitten Kitchen, Joy the Baker, Not Without Salt and Sprouted Kitchen) as well as resource and magazine sites like Epicurious.com, Bon Appetit and Saveur. I like to grab the recipe along with an image or two. If the accompanying post is something I might want to remember, I clip that as well. I’m not super organized about my recipes. I tag them as ‘recipes,’ ‘main,’ ‘dessert’ or my favorite: ‘breakfast.’

See a collection of my favorite breakfast recipes from my food and music site, Turntable Kitchen, in my Shared Notebook. >>> Turntable Kitchen Breakfast Recipes

• Saving photos of handwritten and printed recipes.
  The web is a wealth of information when it comes to recipes, but I love a good old fashioned cookbook or magazine. I’ll often snap a photo of a recipe from a cookbook and save it in Evernote to remind myself to make it later. My mom is a fabulous cook, but she rarely writes down her recipes, so when I get her to write something down — on a piece of scrap paper — I now take a photo of it to search for it later. Evernote can search for text inside of an image so Mom’s Beet Salad doesn’t get lost in my kitchen drawers.

• Narrowing down the recipe search.
  Search is one of Evernote’s most powerful features. Within seconds, I can narrow down hundreds of recipes into a handful. I can compare them visually to figure out which one I want to go with. A search for ‘drinks’ and/or ‘party’ brings up all of the recipes tagged as such. A search for ‘chicken’ finds every recipe with chicken as an ingredient. If I search for ‘Mom,’ I’ll find the recipes my mom has shared with me. From there, I might look in my pantry and decide I really want to use some dried beans I recently purchased. I can search for beans and see all of the recipes containing the word ‘beans.’ Sometimes I’m drawn to a recipe by name, sometimes, by image.

• Choosing the recipe, preparing the grocery list.
  Once I’ve decided on what I’m making, I’ll create a new note titled, “Grocery list.’ I often delete my grocery lists after I’m done with them. If I’m at my desk, I’ll create a checklist, but if I’m on the train, I’ll just jot down the items I remember into my phone. When I’m at the store — even if it’s a last minute pit stop — I always have the grocery list and the full recipe with me.
• The real fun: cooking.
  Back home, I bring my iPad into the kitchen, pull up the recipe in Evernote and start cooking!
• Documenting the experience.
  When I’ve made something, I like to note whether it was tasty, and if I’d make it again. If a recipe is a complete fail, I delete it from my Evernote. But if it could be made better, I make a note of it for the future.

There you have it: planning and cooking a meal with Evernote.

Do you have any tips for organizing recipes, planning and cooking a meal with Evernote? We’d love to hear them in the comments.