It’s about time the kids learned how to cook…

I love cookbooks. I read them the way other people read novels. I have a particularly soft spot in my heart for really good cookbooks aimed at kids. Encouraging kids to cook is brilliant on so many levels: it teaches them math and science, promotes trying new foods and most of all encourages them to stop and consider how much work it is for me to cook for them every single day of their lives! Sorry, projecting a little bit there.

I came across a wonderful example of a really good kids cookbook: “Mom and Me Cookbook” by Annabel Karmel (http://www.annabelkarmel.com/usa), available on Amazon.com. The photography is great, the font is child-friendly and the recipes are creative but still stuff you’d really make. You’ll find both straight-forward recipes such as “Sweet and Sour Chicken” as well as recipes for the high-achievers out there like the adorable “Potato Mice” (twice baked potatoes with radish-slice ears and chive-whiskers). I particularly liked Sunny Scrambled Eggs (with buttered toast “rays”), Avocado Frog dip with veggies to plunge and Chocolate Fridge Cake with dried fruits and nuts.

By supplying a photo along with written directions at every step, there is very little chance to mess up. I also appreciate that, while masterpieces are being created, the book is teaching kids proper techniques which they’ll need throughout their culinary lives. Even though the photos show kids in the 5-8 year old range, there is plenty that younger kids could do and much to inspire older kids including teenagers. In fact, this would be a great book for a full-fledged grown up who insists they can’t cook to save their lives. You know who you are.