Customer Reviews

Honest Pretzels: And 64 Other Amazing Recipes for Kids

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It was pretty frustrating looking for a kids' cookbook for my nephew. After looking at a few, I had seen about eight recipes for peanut butter on celery, and not a lot else.

Then I found this book. I agree with its premise, that children are not all idiots. This is the only book I found treats the young reader with respect. It's about real food, the kind that has a place at the supper table.

My nephew knew the difference, too. We made a few of the recipes, and had to scold his mother for eating too many of the cupcakes.

Most telling, his grandparents visited the week after I gave him the book. He insisted on making breakfast for them - pancakes from this book - by himself. They were impressed, and so was I when I heard about it. Not bad for age 7.

I've long been a fan of Mollie Katzen's cookbooks: she is so very user-friendly and clear in her writing. My most battered (so to speak) cookbook is Still Life with Menu. So Rowan (my ex's little boy, who is my "best friend," as he tells people) turned eight last week or so. He's been my cooking buddy since he was big enough to stand on a chair next to my stove (age two). He thinks I am the best cook in the world (and I'm not going to correct him).

The recipes are in these categories:

* Breakfast Specials: 10 recipes including Giant Baked Pancake Puff, Scrambled Eggs, and Corn Muffins
* Soups, Sandwiches, and Salads for Lunch and Dinner: 15 recipes including Tomato Soup with Crispy Croutons, Egg Salad and Cucumber Sandwich, and Tossed Green Salad with Two Dressings--Ranch and Apple Juice Vinaigrette
* Main and Side Dishes: Helping with Dinner for Real: 12 recipes including Lasagna, Torn Tortilla Casserola (aka Chilaquila Casserole from Still Life with Menu, I bet), and Carnival Baked Potatoes with Mild Red Pepper Sauce
* Desserts and a Few Baked Things: 12 recipes including Dinner Rolls, Cinnamon Swirl Sticky Buns, and Made-in-the-Pan Chocolate Cake
* Snacks and a Few Special Drinks: 18 recipes including Hip Bean Dip, Crunchy Zucchini Circles, Icy Strawberry Slush, and Frozen Fruit Pops

Every recipe has an illustrated diagram of steps, which include things to ask an adult to do (those things appear at the beginning of the recipe, where she explains it, as well as in the step-by-step diagram, in bold). The writing is typical Mollie: Don't be afraid of the dry mustard in the recipe. Even if you don't like the kind of mustard that some people like to put on sandwiches and hot dogs, you'll find that this mustard is not too spicy. It gives this cheese extra flavor boost, and the whole thign will taste really good because of it. (A couple of kids said, "Eeuuu-mustard!" when we tested the recipe, but they loved the result.)

Many recipes also have some kid quotes on the intro page: "I like how the vegetables are strapped down by the melted cheese." -Sam (on the "Grilled Cheese and Broccoli Sandwich").

She tells them everything, from equipment to ingredients to little tricks to food history. Rowan is happy and proud to own such a wonderful book.

My 9-year-old daughter and I love this cookbook! Here's the review in her words: The recipes are outstanding and not one has gone wrong. The instructions are easy to read and to understand and her writing style is nice (for kids and adults). My mom likes the recipes because they're pretty healthy. My favorite recipe is Spaghetti Pie - I've made it a few times and it's always great. I also like the Little Pizzas and the Pita Spirals (that we make with tortillas). This is a great book and every family should have it.

I decided to have my son (5) help with the cooking. Each week I let him choose one recipe from this (or Pretend Soup) and we cook together. He is eating much better, has learned a few kitchen skills, and tried new dishes. Her pictures are easy for even the younger kids to understand, but adults will still have to help with these recipes for the little ones. We now make pizza from scratch, and have more fun in the kitchen than we ever did before.

Most 7-year old boys probably wouldn't consider a cookbook to be good bedtime reading. But I'm convinced my son dreams about what he wants to cook next.

He's made several of the recipies already, and seems to have the rest on file in his head -- He offered his book for a shortcake recipie when we had fresh strawberries.

The directions are simple and easy to follow, with helpful illustrations. They describe how to measure things carefully - for example, using a measuring cup for dry ingredients and a glass pitcher for liquids. The kid-friendly techniques, such as separating eggs with a funnel, really work. And, there are careful notes about when an adult should help.

I'm an 11 year old kid. You might think I'd not like cooking, but I do. This cookbook is great. I love it. Great for any kid.

My 6-year-old used this book in a baked-art, art-baked afterschool class at school last year. Everyone had fun tasting new dishes!As a result, we chose to donate this book to our school library and have given it as birthday presents to everyone on our list! Even hard to please kids will eat something new when presented in a fun way and made together with their parents. Teaches math and science in subtle, yummy ways.

This book does everything right: healthy, clear recipes with authentic ingredients. Each recipe has an introduction that explains the concepts (such as "Fried rice is basically stir-fried vegetables with cooked rice added"). I love the thought of a child learning how to make tortilla chips out of tortillas. Also, I love the thought of children mastering important basic recipes -- whether it's macaroni and cheese or scrambled eggs or banana bread. And there are lots of practical, creative-yet-simple lunch ideas -- grilled cheese and broccoli sandwich, for example, or macaroni minnestrone. All the things that other kid-cookbooks do wrong, this one does right.

We love this cookbook. How wonderful to have a cookbook that my kids love that features healthy food! I can't say enough good about it. Not only is the food healthy, it tastes great and the instructions are super easy for my 9 yo to follow all on her own.

Buy it today, you won't be sorry!

This is a wonderful family cookbook. Easy enough for kids, it contains recipes that both young and old will enjoy. It is an excellent basic cookbook, providing easy how-to instructions for producing meals that you would like a cookbook to provide. I've tried a number of the recipes without encountering a dud. More significantly, the kids enjoyed cooking and eating them, and they looked forward to exploring new recipes.

Much less esoteric than many cookbooks, including the author's Moosewood Cookbook, it gives you the low-down on how to make delicious pizza, cinnamon rolls, fruit smoothies, etc. This is a cookbook that will be used -- a lot.