Lucy Broadhurst

This book has fallen to the usual fate of cookbooks in my house. I always buy them with the best of intentions ("THIS one will get me cook!") then barely use them. My daughter has gone through the book so many times she has probably memorized all the recipes by now, but we still haven't actually made any of them. She has a list, and one of these days we will get organized enough to actually tackle one. I say "tackle" as if any of the recipes even look difficult, which they don't - it says more about me as a disorganized non-cook than it does about the book.… (más)

I'm not really sure if this is intended to be a book for grown-ups on recipes to appeal to kids, or a book that's intended to be for kids to cook on their own (or with assistance).

If it's the former, I would have expected some more interesting presentations. If it's the latter, I would have expected some more specific instructions for kids who aren't used to reading a recipe yet, maybe some step-by-step pictures.

The book is very pretty, but none of the recipes really grab me as an adult, and I don't think they'll be overly attractive to kids either. It's not a bad edition to my cookbook library, but I don't think I would've paid money for it.… (más)

There are two good things about this book. 1) The full color pictures and 2) the mostly nutritious recipes.

Based on the introduction, the book seems to have kids as its primary audience. However, the instructions and recipes are definitely too complex for a beginning cook. My kids and I tried several recipes and there is no way they would understand the directions by themselves. In the directions for Chicken Noodle Omelet it simply says, "Cook for five minutes." It doesn't say whether to cook in oven, on the stove or at what temperature. The organization is confusing too. The first section is titled, "Little Food" but the food in not particularly little (and it's not necessarily appetizers). There is no glossary and the safety instructions are minimal.

Another recipe book destined for the bargain table.… (más)

I love the idea of this book. My kids are 2 1/2 (so likely young for the target audience) but love cooking so I want to get them more involved. I really appreciate the photos, particularly the recipes that have photos of multiple steps, kind of like the kids' version of pioneerwoman.com. I like the variety of recipes, both in terms of types of food (e.g., dinner vs. dessert) and the variety of cultures represented. On the negative side, there are occasional inaccuracies (e.g., pumpkin soup has butternut squash, not pumpkin, as an ingredient). There also sometimes could be more detail, particularly for children (e.g., sometimes it doesn't say what level heat to use on the stove).

I've now made 4 recipes. Vegetarian chili was a hit. Grown ups and kids all loved it. Chicken and leek risotto was our least favorite. I loved it in theory, but it had very little flavor. I might try it again with 3 or 4 (instead of 1) leeks and more seasoning. Tofu with greens and noddles was also rather bland (and my kids love tofu). The biggest hit was jam thumbprints. The recipe was super simple and tasty. But more important, it was really fun for the kids to make. There was measuring, pouring, mixing, rolling dough, making the thumbprints, and adding the jam, and of course, eating cookies. Ours looked nowhere near as pretty as the photo, but no one cared!… (más)