Let's Cook a Treat
Little Lion and I have an off and on morning tradition due to the fluctuating start times at her school. Younger grades start later than older grades so over the years, we've had morning library time. This has been intermittent depending on whether she would rather play with her friends before school or read by herself or read with me or if Mr. Bookworm does drop-off.
I cherish these times. She's getting older, like Mini Me, and soon may be too busy for it. Either way, both my girls have always had a love for the library--both the one at school and our local one that we spent many a Tuesday attending story time when they were younger. I think it's true: early introduction to books sparks a love for reading.
The puff pastry options from Let's Bake a Treat by DK books. Hazelnut Palmiers are pictured above but Little Lion asked to substitute peanuts instead.
Every so often, Mini Me will check out a cookbook. For a very long time. We're terrible about hoarding our books and keeping them too long. I like to think that getting library fines is my way of supporting new book acquisition at our local library. :D And Mrs. M at our school library is always patient with the Bookworm family. This time around we've been hoarding Let's Cook a Treat: A Step by Step Guide, which is from the DK family of books. (Please note that it may be out-of-print, I could only find it's counterpart, Let's Bake a Cake, available to purchase. However, I'm sure you can find it at your local library.)
I don't normally post our crafting or cooking processes because I don't come up with new recipes or craft ideas. I tend to do a mish-mash of craft ideas I've heard of, unless I'm problem-solving a costume. But since the holiday season is coming up, I'll tell you that this book was great for baking with a 7 year old! And likely great for kids age 5 and up. Or even 4 if they're good with a rolling pin and have lots of parent guidance.
So this is a review of the book, not a how-to of any of their recipes. Little Lion made Peanut Palmiers and Cheese Twists. The directions were mostly intuitive for me but I'll admit that sometimes I like more direction. However, they did try to squeeze 3 puff pastry recipes into two spreads, so space is limited. They have a similar pattern for each recipe by starting with a picture of all the ingredients you need and then show step-by-step instruction on what to do. And then a photo of the finished products.
Overall, the recipes are fun and can incorporate younger kids too. Some other ideas include making ice cream caterpillars and decorating pizzas into a clock-face or animal faces. I know that there are a LOT of cooking and craft tutorials out there online in blogs and vlogs, but sometimes it's nice to sit down with a book. And I'll say that Little Lion has studied all of these pages. There's something that's still nice about the tactile nature of turning pages and not just staring at a blue screen. We enjoyed the process very much!
PS Yes, my kitchen is small and so is my house. They are always a mess. However, we manage and we loved incorporating these recipes into our repertoire. The girls and I always love to bake together. I'd never make it as a photographer or with a cooking blog. Their pictures are clean-looking and perfect. Mine are our reality and makeshift or problem-solving as you'll note that I used a steam tray from my Instant Pot and the toaster oven tray as my cooling racks. :D
More important than my tricks of innovation was the special time Little Lion and I spent together. No, we don't always have time to really make the recipes in the books that she checks out, but maybe I need to start making more time!
Tell Dr. Bookworm!
Do you have a favorite kid-friendly recipe book that you like to use with your littles? Or a favorite cooking blog? Let me know so I can find more fun recipes to do with my girls.
