This is a deviation from our usual Romance reviews and gets into another thing near and dear to my heart… cooking.
I learned to cook when I was around three and made my first meal on my own when I was four… I wanted to surprise my parents with breakfast in bed, and I certainly did so. After all they didn’t expect their four-year-old to make scrambled eggs, toast, and OJ. And Yes, I did use the stove – standing on chairs was fun!
After that, my mother knew she had a budding chef on her hands and wanted to encourage it. So for Christmas in 1980 I got this cookbook. She got it because it was non-gendered, included artwork from kids, and had very simple recipes that even my father could follow.
We still have it.
The book has fallen apart, but we still break it out multiple times a year for one reason.. It has the best chocolate chip cookie recipe we’ve ever found. So many cookbooks nowadays are super gendered… they assume mom is cooking and even the books geared toward boys assume mom is the primary cook, which is not always the case and not something that should be assumed. This book uses the word “you” to refer to the child/primary cook. So it is good for non-binary or transgender children.
Here’s an example (and honestly a great recipe):
Yes this is a photocopy of one of the pages of this book complete with my notes on the side for how to double the recipe, because we always double it. We also leave out the nuts, but if you like them leave them in. The interior of the book is in color and the drawings are super cute.
Additionally, this book references “Find a grown-up” or “find a parent or guardian” to help the child in the kitchen. It’s not assumed that the girl is learning to cook and it includes super simple recipes like “Ants on a Log” and “Hard-boiled Eggs.” It’s meant to be a first cookbook. And as my mother said, it is good for people like my dad who are stymied by the seeming randomness of cooking.
I’ve bought this book multiple times. It’s that good.
Five Stars
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