Mollie Katzen

I may be jumping the gun a bit, reviewing this book before trying any of the recipes.

But when I gave it to my 2 Littles to look over and to pick a recipe for us to try together, they enjoyed it very much. As I was driving, the littlest Little (granddaughter) read aloud, unprompted, the recipe she would most like to try, Blueberry Pancakes.

When she was done, I was filled with enthusiasm. I said to her, "I'm so excited. Do you realize that's the first recipe you picked to make? You will read show more a lot of recipes in your life, yummy things to make for yourself, your friends, your husband, your kids, but this will always be the first recipe you picked yourself and will make."

Her response wasn't quite the same level of amazement I expected. ha. But she is just 7 and I'm nearly 60 years older than her, so, yeah, that makes sense. Maybe in 60 years she too will say something similar to her grands.

Yippee for Sunday morning when we will have Blueberry pancakes!

Before they move out of state at the end of summer (away from newly unfriendly Texas 2025), I hope we'll have time to try a few more recipes from this book together. show less

Get Cooking accomplishes an almost impossible feat: to break down cooking into its simplest components and appeal to complete novices while still providing something for grizzled cooking veterans. This is the best book I’ve ever seen for newbies, making recommendations on knives, bowls, everything you need to furnish an adequate kitchen. But longtime cooks will find lots of simple but creative recipes.

Mollie Katzen, author of the seminal The Moosewood Cookbook: Recipes from Moosewood show more Restaurant, Ithaca, New York, really scored with this fabulous cookbook. Highly recommended. show less

Written by the Mollie Katzen, author of the Moosewood Restaurant cookbooks and the children's cookbook Pretend Soup, Salad People is a book of recipes that have been selected and tested for creating with preschool-age and older children. Each recipe has two parts: the part for "the Grown-ups" and the part for the kids. The grown-ups' pages include a traditionally-written recipe, plus tips for creating the recipe with kids such as safety guidelines, what should be done before bringing the show more kids into the kitchen, and what types of jobs are good for different aged children. Grown-up pages also include quotes from some of the children that Katzen tested the recipes with, such as "It's like raisin bran, except it's salad," and "I covered a rosemary with some dough. It's gonna be hiding."
The kids pages make this book really great. Following each grown-up-style recipe is a two-page spread that fully illustrates each step in the recipe. The steps are numbered, which can help teach young children how to read from left to right down a page, and include captions such as "add 15 basil leaves" under the picture of 15 basil leaves.
Salad People is a wonderful cookbook for adults to share with the young children in their lives. It encourages the development of a healthy relationship with food and can help teach young children math, prereading and beginning reading, fine motor skills, patience, cooperation, and many other skills, not to mention developing and encouraging creativity and confidence. The pairing of traditionally written recipes with child-friendly step-by-step illustrations allows children to take greater ownership of their culinary creations, unlike most kid cookbooks which either expect an adult to read the recipe to the child or are written for older children to read on their own. Salad People is also unique in the types of recipes it contains. All of the recipes are relatively healthy, centered on whole foods, and vegetarian. Some contain sugar, and a few contain questionable store-bought items like pre-made pizza dough, pie crust, and tortilla chips, but adaptations can be made and many recipes are suitable for dairy-, wheat-, gluten-, and soy-free diets.
Salad People is highly recommended for purchase by all libraries, community centers, preschools, and other organizations serving children and their parents. It is a great choice for young children with an interest in cooking and a wonderful way for grown-ups to encourage and guide children toward a healthy relationship with food. show less

I'm one of those people who can read a cookbook just as avidly as any novel, and 'Get Cooking' is quite a read. It's designed for the beginning cook, complete with pages of what gear a kitchen needs, from knives to storage. There is even a lengthy section--with plenty of pictures--of how to chop vegetables, which would have seemed odd to me if I hadn't just had to teach a young man I know that yes, you DO need to peel a yellow onion before you slice it. Then begins the 150 simple recipes to show more make some cooking basics like soups and mashed potatoes. She starts with the absolute basics, then lists add ins and other ideas for a bit more flair, still keeping it as simple as possible. Which I LOVED. I've read through her 'Moosewood' books and often been frustrated by their complicated instructions or exotic ingredients. There is very little of that here, and it's confined to the 'get creative' sections of each recipe. This book is accessible to everyone, with enough tips and twists on recipes to keep a seasoned cook interested. Heck, her version of Waldorf Salad actually sounds GOOD, which is a minor miracle in my pot-luck scarred opinion. This would make a great first cookbook for a person just starting out on their own, or a great addition to anyone's bulging cookbook shelves. show less