Bon Appétit!: Books to Introduce Your Children to Cooking (continued)

The historical contextualization makes this a singularly interesting and lively treatment of food in the United States.  The author takes pains to show how the processes governing social assimilation of marginal groups extends to the acceptance of their culinary contributions, witness the relatively recent popularity of Chinese and Japanese cuisine which dates from the post-WWII era.

Eichord has chosen a few representative recipes for readers to experiment with: Matzoh Balls and Chicken Soup, Fried Rice and Swedish Meatballs among others.  These are all intended to be undertaken with adult supervision.  The usual strictures governing young children in the kitchen (surrounded by all those potentially dangerous tools) certainly apply.  Cooking a few of these dishes will certainly open up new gustatory horizons for many readers and should lead to an enriched appreciation of the potential variety embraced by the term “American” food.  The illustrations by Jan Davey Ellis provide a warm-hearted and visually entertaining counterpoint to the mouthwatering text.

Acorn Pancakes, Dandelion Salad, and 38 Other Wild Recipes
By Jean Craighead George, Illustrated by Paul Mirocha
HarperCollins, $14.89 (Hardcover)

You don’t really need to fry up a pan of fiddlehead ferns to appreciate the beauty of this simple book.  The author, a staunch environmentalist and advocate for the protection of wild animals and their habitats, has served up these recipes more as an example of what can be found and eaten without going to your local supermarket rather than as a guide to what you should be eating.  In that spirit, readers can take a certain delight in dishes like Weedy Lawn Salad and Cat-o’-Nine Tails Pancakes.  Actually, foraging for wild foods can be as much fun as eating them.  What better way to spend the day than strolling down the banks of a creek looking for cattails and greens?  You’ll need to practice your identification skills before you graduate to advanced collecting but all the foods assembled here are easily recognized and not that hard to find.  Paul Mirocha’s beautiful illustrations are exquisitely detailed and provide ample visual cues to assist in identification.  Next time you go for a hike, take a closer look at the plant life, lunch might be just around the corner.

Salad People: And More Real Recipes
By Mollie Katzen
Tricycle Press, $17.95 (Hardcover)

Here’s one book to put under the tree this year for the youngest chef in the family.  It’s sure to pay delicious dividends down the line.  Molly Katzen, author and illustrator of numerous award-winning cookbooks including the superb Pretend Soup, has collected twenty new dishes, tested and reviewed by children.

As with all great cookbooks, this one combines recipes with a generous leavening of corollary information about cooking in general. Katzen describes the advantages of early culinary education to develop general skills including simple mathematics, organization, cooperation, and language comprehension.  She stresses the importance of early learning in the acquisition of good eating habits as an adult.

Like its predecessor, Pretend Soup, the recipes in this book are structured as cooperative projects for adults and children.  The author notes the need for kitchen safety and parental supervision.  No recipes is overly complex; all are designed to succeed, so young cooks can proudly exclaim, “I made it myself!”  Salad People is a very well-designed cookbook that encourages aspiring chefs to have a grand old time in the kitchen.