Kids’ Kitchen (cooking card deck) by Fiona Bird, illustrated by Roberto Arenson
Reading level: Ages 8 and up
Boxed card set: 40 pages
Publisher: Barefoot Books; Cards edition (September 1, 2009)
ISBN-13: 978-1846861765
Back-of-the-box blurb: Kids’ Kitchen is designed to encourage children to cook delicious and nutritious recipes for their friends and family. The 40 recipes are displayed on laminated recipe cards stored in a sturdy box. Each is colour-coded to reflect guidelines on healthy eating, promoting a balanced intake of Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, Oils, Milk, Meat and Beans. Tips on how to combine the recipes are also provided. The card deck includes an 8-page booklet with information on the benefits of each food type, practical advice on hygiene and safety and a glossary of cookery terms. Author Fiona Bird is a Master chef and the founder of ‘Stirrin’ Stuff’, a charity dedicated to teaching cookery skills and an understanding of nutrition to primary school children.
"Eat the Bowl!"
She is Too Fond of Books’ review: My kids and I had a fun time exploring the Kids’ Kitchen card deck, and even more fun making and tasting two of the recipes! The format is unique and I found it great for using a “divide and conquer” method of giving each of the four children a stack of cards to sort through for recipe ideas.
Color-coded cards (over-sized, about 6 x 9 inches) separate the recipes into Fantastic Fruit, Eggs ‘n’ Beans, Spuds ‘n’ Grains, Milk ‘n’ Dairy, and Vital Vegetables. Note: there are plenty of protein dishes, but no meat-based recipes. An 8-page fold out explains the various food groups, and discusses vitamins, minerals, and kitchen safety. I realized that I’d been erroneously referring to calcium and iron as ‘vitamins’ instead of ‘minerals,’ proving once again that “it’s never too late to teach an old Dawn new tricks.”
"The red pepper has 3 rooms, the orange pepper has 4!"
I was initially disappointed that the ingredients were listed on one side of the card, and the instructions on the other. Then it hit me that this really teaches kids (and me!) the proper practice of gathering and measuring all ingredients before starting a recipe.
Roberto Arenson’s colorful and abstract illustrations give the cook an idea of what the finished recipe might look like, but don’t set up an unattainable measure of perfection that so often haunt me in food photos that have been professionally styled. An important reminder is at the bottom of each card: Wash your hands before you start.
"Pour the couscous in the bowl - it sounds like rain."
The recipes are easy-to-follow, and require minimal supervision for ages eight and up (sharp knives, oven and stove use). We loved the variety of recipes, including many different ethnicities; carrot cake, root vegetable soup, and mashed potatoes were in the deck alongside more adventurous tortillas, paneer, raita and dahl. I read every card in the deck and found only ingredients that would be available at our local grocery store, nothing obscure or hard to get.
What did we make? Our sweet treat was Fab Fruit Gelatin, which we made with blueberries and raspberries AND topped with homemade whipped cream. We doubled this recipe to make a tasty dessert for the entire family.
"Stir it all together."
The second recipe we tested – and devoured – was Eat the Bowl!, a couscous and vegetable mixture (we used carrots, cucumber, tomatoes and pesto) served in hollowed sweet pepper bowls. These are the photos you see in this review.
The Barefoot Books website shows images of the front of some sample cards in Kids’ Kitchen and a complete list of the recipes included in the deck (click ‘step inside’ then ‘images’). There are also step-by-step instructions for making a chef’s hat out of poster board and white tissue paper; we may try this with the younger kids while the older two are busy at the stove during our next cooking adventure!
"I'm putting a hat on my pepper!"
Pop on over to Beth Fish Reads’ Weekend Cooking to find links to other food-related posts today. There may be book reviews, recipes, kitchen gadget tips and tricks …
FTC disclosure: review copy provided by the publisher.
You always have the cutest kitchen helpers!
This sounds so great! I wonder if my niece would like this. She’s vegetarian, so the no meat would be a good thing! I love the photos — looks like you all had a fun time.
personally, I wasa little off put by their being no meat recipes…lol
it sounds like a nice book to use with kids and teach them in a fun way.
I could use a lesson on that ingredient gathering thing.
“Eat the Bowl” would be popular at our house!
What fun! I love the picture of your son holding the peppers! Your finished product is beautiful. What’s on the plate, holding the pepper upright?
Super idea for kids. I love the eyes on your cute model/helper.
What a great idea for kids (and moms.) I’m so glad your family had a good time preparing some recipes.
rhapsody – I’ve been trying to get them more involved in routine meal prep
Beth – how old is she? It might be perfect!
caite – it’s funny, because I don’t use recipe cards (since I always have to flip back and forth). Then it hit me that it really was teaching them a good lesson to prep everything before starting to cook/assemble.
JoAnn – He picked up the pepper and took a bite of it, and I told him to use his fork and knife. Response? “Do they say that in the instructions?”
Kathy – we (I) cut a bit of the bottom off the pepper, to make it flat so it would stand. I cut a bit too deep, and went into the pepper, so there’s a little puddle of liquid on the plate (that didn’t get absorbed by the couscous)
Margot – we had fun, and enjoyed the yummy results. Both our boys have big wide eyes
Julie – they always want to help in the kitchen, and I’m finally getting a little more relaxed about it.
Sounds like a great set. And thanks for the pictures.
Wow! What a great resource for those with kids! It sounds like this is a really neat and useful set to have and I wouldn’t be surprised if my older kids enjoyed it just as much as yours did. I love the pepper recipe and think the pictures are great as well. Very nice review, I am really glad that your family enjoyed this so much!
This seems great .. and I didn’t know there were more rooms in an orange pepper either! This is about my speed for cooking … forget about kids!
What a beautiful post of your kids in the kitchen and so colorful, too!
My favorite recipe in the deck is “mean green guacamole”!
This is such a neat review and I especially love the pictures!! Is it a normal difference between peppers that they have a different number of chambers??? I never knew that….cool.
FUN!
THANKS DAWN!! and all your junior chefs, too. Thank them as well.
you are listed on the Best Posts of the week for this posting! Great job!
~N
Kids’ Kitchen recipe deck is included in the Barefoot Books Online Winter Sale.
What a great book! I wish I would have thought of it. I have been cooking with my grand kids for several years now. They love it and this would really simplify the whole experience.
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