Thanks to this week's MotherTalk book selection, the boys and I have spent a lot of time together in the kitchen lately. And thanks to the kid- and parent-friendly recipes, I didn't need to go lie down with an icepack on my head afterward!When I received the Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook, Recipes Inspired by Dr. Seuss!, and saw the big ham on the cover with green stuff all over it, I winced. Just a little. But we worked around the ham, and I'm happy to report many successes, both logistically and gastronomically.
The book itself is a large (not oversized) hardcover with spiral binding inside, so it will lie flat or stand open to a recipe, making it easy to work with in the kitchen. The sturdy pages are loaded with Dr. Seuss illustrations as well as fun photos by noted photographer Frankie Frankeny (you should check out her Star Wars Cookbook too). Author Georgeanne Brennan has won awards for her cookbooks and runs a cooking school in the south of France, so she knows of what she speaks.
Here's a summary of the recipes we tried and the results:
Glunker Stew: John had this concoction for lunch over yogurt. I peeled the apples and helped him chop them up and get them into a saucepan with a few other ingredients. Then we dropped a dollop of the warm apples over some berries. Very simple. Very fruity. What's not to love?
Blueberry Bumplings: These are very much like a scone, although the name "bumpling" is way more fun to say. I challenged myself to make these because baking is not my thing. It's too exacting, I always make some little mistake that ruins everything. This time, I was sure I'd let the butter get too soft and handled the dough too much. But they turned out great. Scones can be dry, but these are moist. Brian even liked them, and he's a scone-hater.
Happy Glunker Stew and Blueberry Bumpling eater
Moose Juice: This is an orange-banana shake topped with whipped cream. I couldn’t find plain orange sherbert (only rainbow, isn’t that strange?) so I got the Edy’s kind with chocolate chips. As always, chocolate makes it better! I’m glad I got this picture of John before he took a sip, because once he started, he didn’t stop drinking until the whole thing was gone. Thumbs up!
"My mom is The Best!"
Schlottz’s Knots: These are bread sticks made to look like a Schlottz tail. So easy and fun – the boys stretched the dough out, and gobbled up almost all of them in one sitting.
Just in case you didn't know what a Schlottz tail looks like
Skipper Zipp’s Chops and Chips: Pork chops, roasted potato wedges, and a rousing reading from Oh Say Can You Say made for an enjoyable dinnertime experience with the boys. Try saying “Skipper Zipp’s Clipper Ship Chip Chop Shop” even one time fast! The chops were a little dry (maybe I baked them a bit too long), but the potatoes? We now have a new potato-roasting method.
Circus McGurkus Pink Lemonade: Easy, all-natural, not loaded with sugar and yet sweet enough to pass muster with my six year old, whose sweet tooth is the size of an ice cream truck.
Each recipe begins with the selection of Dr. Suess' prose that inspired it and has easy-to-follow directions. Some of the recipes are so simple they border on non-recipes (for example, the Noodle-Eating-Poodle Noodles, which are essentially noodles with butter and parmesan). However, simplicity is part of this book's success. The recipes are very do-able for a busy parent like myself. The book also has many unique ideas, as well as plenty of more complex recipes for when you have the time.
The whole package -- the recipes, photos, prose, and illustrations -- really came together to capture my boys' imaginations. And that's what this book is all about. That, and yummy food. I know we'll make more things from this book. I might even get the boys to try shrimp, since they're begging me to make Jedd's Bed of Shrimp. The Green Eggs and Ham? Well, we'll see.
No, I didn't forget that it's Giveaway Tuesday: The publisher was generous enough to give me an extra copy of the Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook to pass on to one of you. Leave me a comment between now and Thursday at midnight, EST, and I will pick a winner at random and post it on Friday. Since I'm feeling hungry after writing about food for an hour, please share, if you want to, either a kids' cookbook or fun meal idea that you've had success with. Now, where's that bag of Blueberry Bumpkins ...?
13 comments:
I cook when we have my niece and nephew here, so if I don't win the cookbook I'm totally going to buy it!!! :) Looks great.
Ooh, that looks great. My daughter has just discovered she likes to cook. And Green Eggs and Ham was my all time favorite book!
You made me wanna bake something with my 2 year old! That takes some skill! I have a few great cookbooks by Annabel Karmel. They are by one my favorite publishers, and really great just to look at.
My daughter, Little Miss Susie Homemaker herself, would LOVE this cookbook!!!
My son, who is going on four, loves to pull up a chair, stand on it in order to see over the counter, and stir things up in the pot or add a dry or wet ingredient to any pancakes or cookies I might be making. His Montessori training has only increased his curiosity and his need to participate in making things like his macaroni and cheese.
Plus, he LOVES reading "Green Eggs and Ham", and I think he'd love a cookbook based on it. Schlottz's Knots, here we come! Hopefully...
I've loved reading all these reviews of the Dr. Seuss cookbook - it seems so fun, even though I'd have to do the recipes with my cat since I don't have any kids. But one recipe I'd totally recommend: the "Apple Slop" from Sundry Buzz (http://www.sundrybuzz.com/2006/11/02/apple-crumble-dessert/) - we tried it last week and it was fantastic, and incredibly easy (even for people who aren't bakers, because there isn't a traditional crust).
I havent started cooking with Grace yet. Is 2 1/2 too young for that? But she loves to "cook for her babies" with the plastic food while I prep the "real dinner". Maybe Dr Seuss will calm my nerves about this one so she and I can actually have fun together after work!
Well by the looks of the post title I thought the book was about childrens stories by Dr. Seuss until I read your post. This cookbook actually looks pretty interesting. I'm going to have to order it and try some recipes.
ham it is a food that can be used as a contrast plate with high succuss.
A contrast plate it is a plate that combine a sweet food with a salty food provided the last it is not strictily salty but sweet and sour.
Examples :Cured ham with melon, cured ham with pineapple, or cured ham with tomatoas and olive oil.
It is esay to prepare by kids, you just have to cut and plate.
I recommend as cured ham the "jamon iberico"
I love cooking with my kids but I think that Ham is not a healthy and nutritious food for children. it contains a lot of saturated fat.
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This recipes in this book look fabulous to test out with my little ones. Now if there was only a simple way to keep them from getting the recipes all over their high chairs, I'd be all ears!
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